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Jeremiah 39 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
After 2 ½ years of the people watching and wondering when the Babylonian army would penetrate their city, it finally happened. Jerusalem was taken captive. King Zedekiah, who had been told by Jeremiah to surrender, did the opposite. He ran. Overtaken, just as Jeremiah predicted, his suffering was monumental. He watched his sons be killed and then was blinded and carted off to captivity to end his days in a horrific humiliation. The last thing his human eyes watched was the death of his children. Had he listened and heeded the Word of God, things certainly would have been different.
Jerusalem burned. The captain of the Babylonian army took the rest of the people into custody with the exception of the poor and Jeremiah himself.
It was a unique mercy given to Jeremiah. Found with favor by this pagan commander, he was released from prison and put under the new governor of the city. God rewarded Jeremiah’s faithfulness and would also keep His voice among the remaining few of the city. Interestingly, the Ethiopian who had stepped in to help Jeremiah was also spared.
I will keep you safe, and you will not be put to death. You will escape with your life because you have put your trust in me. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Jeremiah 39:18 GNB
The takeaway is just how God rewards the faithful. Living in such tumultuous times, God had marked Jeremiah for purpose. It was a marking he didn’t want but also could not escape. The heavy hand of God pressed in upon him. As a lone voice most of the time, Jeremiah proclaimed the Word of God despite the hardship he endured because of it. Through this faithfulness, God redeemed others, like the Ethiopian man. All was not lost. There was fruit coming forth from Jeremiah’s faithfulness.