Jeremiah 37 - 41

Jerusalem Falls

All of the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah and the capture and exile of the people to Babylon begin to come true in the chapters of today's readings.  What is remarkable is how that King Zedekiah kept hoping against God that the prophecy was not true.  Because he did not heed Jeremiah's warnings to surrender to the Babylonians, he came to an ignominious end.

Jeremiah was treated horribly by the leaders of Jerusalem up to the time that the city was captured.  The king of Babylon instructed his army to find and set Jeremiah free and to treat him with great respect and allow no harm to come to him.  The irony is that the enemy of Jerusalem treated the prophet better than the people did.