Confined
While the Babylonians are besieging Jerusalem, the army of Egypt marches out to confront them. The Babylonians break their siege to meet them. Is the country being delivered from destruction? Has the Lord saved them? No, Jeremiah says, it is only temporary. They will return to finish the job.
This chapter helps shed some light on other passages we’ve already seen. In chapter 34, the people temporarily released their fellow Israelites from slavery, only to enslave them again. This probably coincided with the Egyptian army coming in (see Jeremiah 34:22 where the Lord says he will bring the Babylonian army back). They released the slaves, the Babylonians lifted the siege, and so they enslaved them again.
Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord twice in this chapter, the second time done secretly (Jeremiah 37:17 – the NIV translates as “privately” but the Hebrew means “in secret”). It seems Zedekiah had an uneasy relationship with Jeremiah. If he didn’t value Jeremiah’s words at all, why even bother consulting him? Maybe he wanted Jeremiah to just tell him what he wanted to hear, to have God validate his actions. On the other hand, he also fears what his officials think. He was made king by the Babylonians to keep the peace (Jeremiah 37:1), which could be a contributing factor to why he appears to be such a weak leader.
With the temporary lifting of the siege, Jeremiah intends to take care of some business at home (his home town of Anathoth is in the territory of Benjamin). What is being described isn’t entirely clear, except that it has to do with dividing or distributing land. Attempting to leave, Jeremiah is arrested, resulting in him eventually ending up confined to the courtyard of the guard, which is mentioned at the beginning of chapters 32 and 33.
To Ponder…
- Are you more concerned about what others think than listening to the Lord?
- Are you able to hear everything from the Lord: both good and bad? Or do you want to focus on the words you like and ignore what you don’t want to hear?
- Would you rather speak God’s truth or be accepted by others?