A Warning to Judah’s Kings
This collection of messages to the last kings...
This collection of messages to the last kings from David's line in Judah ends with a promise. God will one day appoint a true descendant of David to lead his people.
Jeremiah gave a message based on the Sinai...
Jeremiah gave a message based on the Sinai covenant. It outlined the duties of a king of Judah. If the king fulfilled these duties, the dynasty of David would continue in Jerusalem. If the king refused, the palace and kingdom would vanish.
1This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, 2saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. 3This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
4For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people. 5But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”
A Warning about the Palace
Farmers grew valuable crops in the valleys and...
Farmers grew valuable crops in the valleys and on the slopes of Gilead. Gilead is the highlands that rise eastward from the Jordan Valley.
Lebanon is the area north of Israel along the seacoast. It includes a high mountain ridge on the country's eastern side. Lebanon was famous for its tall cedar trees.
Farmers grew valuable crops in the valleys and on the slopes of Gilead. Gilead is the highlands that rise eastward from the Jordan Valley.
Lebanon is the area north of Israel along the seacoast. It includes a high mountain ridge on the country's eastern side. Lebanon was famous for its tall cedar trees.
After the Temple, Judah’s royal palace was the...
After the Temple, Judah’s royal palace was the nation's most important building. Skilled craftsmen built this expensive structure (1 Kings 7:1–12). It served as the king’s home and the center of his government. Although the Lord valued the palace, it would not avoid the destruction he planned for Jerusalem.
6For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“You are like Gilead to Me,like the summit of Lebanon;but I will surely turn you into a desert,like cities that are uninhabited.7I will appoint destroyers against you,each man with his weapons,and they will cut down the choicest of your cedarsand throw them into the fire.
The destruction of Jerusalem would show other nations...
The destruction of Jerusalem would show other nations what happens when Judah breaks their agreement with the Lord, their God.
8And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
9Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
A Warning about Shallum
King Josiah died in 609 BC, killed by...
King Josiah died in 609 BC, killed by the Egyptians at the Battle of Megiddo. The people of Judah were not to mourn his death. Instead, they should focus their sorrow on Josiah’s son, whom they had chosen as the new king. After three months, King Jehoahaz was exiled to Egypt, where he lived for the rest of his life (2 Kings 23:1–33; 2 Chronicles 36:1–8).
This section presents serious accusations against Josiah's descendants.
This section presents serious accusations against Josiah's descendants.
11For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum† son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return, 12but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”
A Warning about Jehoiakim
Egypt put another of Josiah’s sons, Eliakim, on...
Egypt put another of Josiah’s sons, Eliakim, on the throne in Jerusalem and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Most of the material in Jeremiah 7–20 was likely written during Jehoiakim’s reign, from 609 to 598 BC. The Lord accused him of being unfaithful and greedy, put him on trial, found him guilty, and sentenced him to death.
If Jehoiakim wanted plenty to eat and drink,...
If Jehoiakim wanted plenty to eat and drink, he did not need to use corruption and oppression. Compared to his prosperous father, Josiah, Jehoiakim was not a great king. Josiah, on the other hand, was fair and honest in all his actions, serving both God and his people. Because he followed the ancient covenant's rules, God blessed him.
God judged Jehoiakim for his terrible sins. Neither...
God judged Jehoiakim for his terrible sins. Neither his family nor his people would mourn him.
18Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn for him:‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’They will not mourn for him:‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’19He will be buried like a donkey,dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.20Go up to Lebanon and cry out;raise your voice in Bashan;cry out from Abarim,for all your lovers have been crushed.21I warned you when you were secure.You said, ‘I will not listen.’This has been your way from youth,that you have not obeyed My voice.22The wind will drive away all your shepherds,and your lovers will go into captivity.Then you will be ashamed and humiliatedbecause of all your wickedness.23O inhabitant of Lebanon,†nestled in the cedars,how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you,agony like a woman in labor.”A Warning to Coniah
Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, became king at...
Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, became king at eighteen in 597 BC. The Babylonians attacked Jerusalem because his father rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. After just three months as king, Jehoiachin wisely surrendered and was taken captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8–14), along with most of the royal family.
24“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah† son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
Young King Jehoiachin feared the Babylonians would kill...
Young King Jehoiachin feared the Babylonians would kill him, but they exiled him instead.
25In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.† 26I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die. 27You will never return to the land for which you long.”
This poem taunts Jehoiachin with two rhetorical questions,...
This poem taunts Jehoiachin with two rhetorical questions, both expecting the answer, "I do not know." Jehoiachin's sins and his ancestors' wrongdoings caused his fate. Yet, the people of Jerusalem seemed unwilling to accept the fairness of his exile.
30This is what the LORD says:
“Enroll this man as childless,a man who will not prosper in his lifetime.None of his descendants will prosperto sit on the throne of Davidor to rule again in Judah.”