Jeremiah 37

Jeremiah 37 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

If you have been following along in Jeremiah you may be confused at how the chapters skip around. I know I am. Thankfully, this chapter jumps back to the main timeline of events (588 BC) when King Neb takes a break from Judah to clean Pharaoh’s clock. During this time when Egypt comes to war against Babylon, King Neb places Zedekiah as king over Judah.

As we read along, Jeremiah is falsely imprisoned for treason. He is locked up in a custom-made jail cell. Then, out of nowhere, Zedekiah reaches out to the only man he knows will give him the truth.

Later on King Zedekiah sent for me, and there in the palace he asked me privately, “Is there any message from the LORD?” “There is,” I answered, and added, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylonia.”

Jeremiah 37:17 GNB

Ironic? Zedekiah was portrayed as a fairly selfish individual. However, it seems he had several encounters with Jeremiah. Though he desired a revelation from God, he honestly could not come to grips with the reality of what God was asking of him. So, he did his own thing. He trusted in Egypt’s strength over the Word of the Lord and he paid dearly for it.

Here is the question. How many are in that same boat today? Are you one of them?

There are many people today who are facing struggles that can essentially be grouped into two categories. You are either moving forward in the Word of the Lord or you are compromising by trusting in something or someone of this world. Honestly, it would be much harder for Zedekiah to trust Jeremiah’s word and respond with full submission to God than it would be to simply hope the Egyptians would come through. As we read in this chapter, he did nothing. He choice to do nothing was a vote for the Egyptian army over God.

Submission and obedience is not an easy task. It goes against everything in our flesh. But thanks be to Jesus who empowers us by His love to choose obedience over sin!