21:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask,
King Zedekiah ruled from 597-586 B.C. He was appointed as a puppet king by King Nebuchadnezzar at the time of the second deportation when King Jehoiachin was taken into the Babylonian Captivity. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah.
God promised Jeremiah that a day would come when people who rejected him would instead come to him for counsel to seek the Word of Jehovah. However, this request would be too late. This day had arrived. The year was 588 B.C. Babylon was marching against Jerusalem. King Zedekiah sent three influential men to seek Jeremiah’s help.
The pashhur of chapter 21 is not the same of chapter 20, because he has a different father. He was the same pashhur found in Jeremiah 38. He was the officer of the Temple grounds and second-in-command to the High Priest, This was a very high official. King Zedekiah was sending very powerful people to talk to Jeremiah.
21:2 “Please ask the Lord to come and help us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform one of his miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave.”
This was the first time in Scripture that Nebuchadnezzar was identified as the invading king. King Zedekiah was hoping that Jehovah would kill these invading army, just as He had done 100 years earlier when the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem. The Angel of the Lord had killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers who were camped outside of Jerusalem.
21:3 Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah 21:4 that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘The forces at your disposal are now outside the walls fighting against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians who have you under siege. I will gather those forces back inside the city.
Jehovah informed King Zedekiah that the Babylonian soldiers would be successful in entering the city of Jerusalem.
21:5 In anger, in fury, and in wrath I myself will fight against you with my mighty power and great strength!
Jehovah Himself would fight against Jerusalem, just as he fought against Egypt during the Exodus.
21:6 I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases.
Those people who remain in Jerusalem would all die.
21:7 Then I, the Lord, promise that I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.’
King Nebuchadnezzar spared the city on his first two invasions, but he would not do so during his third military visit. He would capture King Zedekiah. Many of the Jerusalem leaders and citizens would die by sword, starvation, or disease. Those who did not die would be captured and taken into Babylon as slaves.
Notice that Jeremiah was not a seeker-friendly pastor. He did not tickle the ears of his congregation. He did not tell them what they wanted to hear. Jeremiah would not be welcome in most modern American pulpits. He would not be supported by the community.
21:8 “But tell the people of Jerusalem that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death.
Jehovah gave the citizens of Jerusalem two choices. They could either live or die.
21:9 Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives.
Those who stay and fight in Jerusalem would die. Those who surrendered would be taken captive into Babylon. The Lord Jesus Christ would later give the future Jews living in 70 A.D. this same choice. The first choice was that they must surrender to the Romans and live. The second choice was to stay in Jerusalem, endure a seige, and end up eating their own children. The Messianic Jews listened to Jesus and left the city. The apostate Jews did not listen to Jesus and they died during the Roman siege of Titus in 70 A.D..
21:10 For I, the Lord, say that I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’ ”
The King of Babylon would burn Jerusalem to the ground.
21:11 The Lord told me to say to the royal court of Judah, “Listen to what the Lord says,
Jeremiah gave a message from Jehovah to the royal House of David.
21:12 O royal family descended from David. The Lord says: ‘See to it that people each day are judged fairly. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you. It will burn like a fire that cannot be put out because of the evil that you have done.
The responsibility of the house of David was to rule with righteousness. They were to establish a righteous judicial system. The leadership of David fell into corruption, so God would judge all of Judah.
21:13 Listen, you who sit enthroned above the valley on a rocky plateau. I am opposed to you,’ says the Lord. ‘You boast, “No one can swoop down on us. No one can penetrate into our places of refuge.”
Jehovah was coming against the House of David, because they were guilty of boasting in their own security. The House of David did not think that Jerusalem could be defeated. God did not allow the Assyrians to take Jerusalem 100 years earlier, so they did not think that God would allow the Babylonians to take Jerusalem in their day.
21:14 But I will punish you as your deeds deserve,’ says the Lord. ‘I will set fire to your palace; it will burn up everything around it.’ ”
Jehovah would not only burn the city of Jerusalem, but He would burn the palace of the House of David as well.