Deeper Commentary
Jeremiah 21:2 Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon makes war against us: perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according
to all His wondrous works, that He may go up from us- This is the
typical human tendency, to ask someone else to pray for us, to engage with
God on our behalf. God wanted to deal directly with Israel, speaking
personally to them; but they wanted Moses to go and talk with Him and then
tell them. We see the same mentality in 1 Kings 13:6; Acts 8:28. It is
classic religion, and is on the opposite pole of personal relationship
with God which the Bible seeks to inculcate. We note that they are now
recognizing that Egypt is not going to help them; Ezekiel pictures them as
a prostitute now desperately going to all and any man for help against
Babylon, and that included going to Yahweh. Perhaps this incident is after
the battle of Carchemish when Egyptian military power was destroyed by
Babylon. "All His wondrous works" is quoting Ex. 3:20 of Yahweh's
deliverance of the people from the Egyptians. They were aware of Yahweh's
historical salvation, and were asking for it to be repeated. But they were
to be treated like Egypt, and smitten along with their animals with a
great plague (:6).
Jeremiah 21:3 Then Jeremiah said to them, You shall tell Zedekiah- We
might imagine that his response could have been that God had told him not
to pray for them. But God does respond, although not with the message they
expected and hoped for.
Jeremiah 21:4 Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back
the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against
the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who besiege you without the
walls- This continues the great prophetic theme that all human
strength and military technology is brought down beneath God's judgment.
See on :13.
Jeremiah 21:5 I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand
and with a strong arm, even in anger, wrath and great indignation-
This contradicts the common understanding that a national god, or the god
of a city, would always fight for and not against that people or
city; for to do otherwise would seem so illogical, to as it were destroy
himself. But the God of Israel was so different; He would Himself fight
against His own people, city and nation. And this implied that He would do
so to His own personal hurt and loss. His wrath was therefore not painless
for Him. It was the duty of the priests to discharge their office so that
there would not be the "indignation" of Yahweh against His people (Num.
1:53; 18:5 s.w.). This statement is therefore tantamount to saying that
the priesthood had not done their work. Jeremiah was himself a priest; no
wonder his own relatives, who were also priests, were so incensed against
him. "Anger... wrath... and indignation" is a quote from the curses for
breaking the covenant (Dt. 29:28).
Jeremiah 21:6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and
animal: they shall die of a great plague- It seems that one prophetic
scenario was that God would create "a great [specific] plague" which would
destroy both people and animals within Jerusalem. As noted on :2, the
people thought God would deliver them as He had Israel from Egypt; but
they were to be treated like the Egyptians, to whom they had returned in
their hearts and whom they had looked to for deliverance from Babylon. And
yet it seems that this particular scenario didn't happen; there is no
mention of such a great plague. In wrath God remembered mercy, or chose to
work through one of the other possible paths of judgment which Jeremiah
has elsewhere outlined. All the time we see God's flexibility and openness
to working with men.
Jeremiah 21:7 Afterward, says Yahweh, I will deliver Zedekiah king of
Judah and his servants and the people, even such as are left in this city
from the plague, from the sword and from the famine, into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and
into the hand of those who seek their life: and he shall strike them with
the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor
have mercy- I noted on :6 that this "great plague" which was to
destroy most of the people and animals in the city didn't apparently
happen. And likewise the remnant were not all killed by the sword nor were
all the people taken to Babylon (see on Jer. 10:18). Zedekiah wasn't slain
by Nebuchadnezzar, but rather died in captivity (Jer. 52:11). Perhaps he
repented; or God chose to work out another path of judgment with Zedekiah
which would achieve more glory for Him and His objectives than simply
having him slain by the sword. The statement that Nebuchadnezzar would not
show him "pity nor have mercy" and not spare him was therefore not
fulfilled; because he was reflecting the God who had also said He would
not spare or pity, but yet He did.
Jeremiah 21:8 To this people you shall say, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I
set before you the way of life and the way of death- Although they
had broken the covenant (see on :5), they are now invited to see
themselves as facing again the choice of accepting or rejecting it. For
these are the words which God presented to Israel as they entered the land
(Dt. 31:27). Even at this point there was the possibility that they could
enter a reestablished land and Kingdom of God.
Jeremiah 21:9 He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by
the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out, and passes over to
the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him
for a prey- The prediction of death by plague in Jer. 21:6 was
therefore conditional. Those prophetic words need not have come true if
Israel had been obedient to this call to surrender. "Passes over" is
literally "to fall down". They were to accept their condemnation, and
thereby save their lives. Their lives would be to them "for a prey",
literally, as booty taken from a conquered city. This was and is the great
paradox- that surrender, acceptance of defeat, was the great spiritual
victory.
Jeremiah 21:10 For I have set My face against this city for evil and not
for good, says Yahweh: it shall be given into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire-
Jeremiah 21:11 Touching the house of the king of Judah, hear the word of
Yahweh- The family of Zedekiah were guilty of injustice and abusing
people (:12), and he clearly was involved in this himself. He was not
simply weak minded and manipulated by his courtiers; he was himself
guilty.
Jeremiah 21:12 House of David, thus says Yahweh, Execute justice in the
morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor-
Jeremiah 21:13 Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley and of
the rock of the plain, says Yahweh; you that say, who shall come down
against us? Or who shall enter into our habitations?- LXX "that
dwellest in the valley of Sor". It could be that :13,14 speak of the
judgment of Moab in similar terms to Jer. 48:8,21 and they have become
added here out of place. Yet :14 can be clearly understood as referring to
Jerusalem. But GNB likely has the sense right: "You, Jerusalem, are
sitting high above the valleys, like a rock rising above the plain. But I
will fight against you. You say that no one can attack you or break
through your defense". This continues the theme that all human might and
apparent advantage is as nothing before God's judgment; see on :4. These
were likely the words of the false prophets, who taught [as some
evangelicals do today] that Jerusalem is inviolate and will always be
protected by Yahweh. But that is to argue on the level of mere religion
and not spirituality. God's historical actions against Jerusalem clearly
show that she is not inviolate.
Jeremiah 21:14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,
says Yahweh; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour
all that is around her- Jerusalem being like a forest destroyed by a
forest fire is the language of Is. 9:18. The "forest" of Jerusalem may
refer to the temple, famed for its cedar paneling from the forests of
Lebanon (see on Zech. 11:1).
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