Subsection 3 Part 1. Jerusalem Is Surrounded And Jeremiah Declares that There Is no Point In Holding Out Because Jerusalem Is About To Be Destroyed And Zedekiah Will Be Carried Off To Babylon To Meet Nebuchadrezzar Face To Face Where He Will Die ‘In Peace' And Be Lamented By His Nobles (Jeremiah 34:1-7).
Jerusalem was in dire straits. Surrounded by the Babylonians and by armies from ‘all the kingdoms of the earth which were under his dominion' it knew that only two other cities of Judah were still holding out, the fortified cities of Lachish and Azekah. Otherwise the whole of Judah was being ravaged and was in Nebuchadnezzar's hands. But it still thought that it had one hope. It was depending on Pharaoh Hophra to arrive with an Egyptian army and drive off the Babylonians. Jeremiah, however, warns them against such a vain hope. Let them be in no doubt. Jerusalem would be taken and burned with fire and Zedekiah its king would be carried off to Babylon never again to participate in political intrigue (he would die ‘in peace', excluded from political activity), and there he would meet Nebuchadnezzar face to face to receive his punishment. That was on the word of YHWH. It is noteworthy that there is no reference at this stage to his being blinded, confirmation that this is a prophecy before the event.
‘The word which came to Jeremiah from YHWH, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth which were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all its cities, saying,'
This is clearly describing a time prior to Jeremiah's imprisonment. The impossible position of Jerusalem is underlined. They were surrounded by the armies of ‘all the kingdoms of the world' which were under Nebuchadnezzar's control. (Note the use of ‘world' to indicate the local ‘known world'). ‘All the peoples' were fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. The idea is that there really was no hope. Of course, as vassals of Nebuchadnezzar the other kingdoms had little choice in the matter. It was part of their commitment as vassals to provide Nebuchadnezzar with regiments to bolster up his army.
The change in description from Nebuchadrezzar (used earlier in Chapter s 21-25, and in Jeremiah 29:31; Jeremiah 32:1; Jeremiah 32:28; Jeremiah 35:11; Jeremiah 37:1; Jeremiah 39:1; Jeremiah 39:11, but not in Jeremiah 27:1 to Jeremiah 29:3) to Nebuchadnezzar indicates very little, for such a change could easily be made by the same author writing at a different time, especially as the use of the ‘n' in place of the ‘r' could simply have been in order to introduce a derogatory element into the name in view of the increasing intensity of the situation.
In Jeremiah the use of Nebuchadnezzar is mainly restricted to the passage Jeremiah 27:1 to Jeremiah 29:3 (Nebuchadrezzar appears in Jeremiah 29:21), whilst also occurring here in Jeremiah 34:1, with this last appearance having no obvious explanation. Nebuchadrezzar is used in Jeremiah 32:1; Jeremiah 32:28; Jeremiah 35:11; Jeremiah 37:1; Jeremiah 39:1; Jeremiah 39:11. In the end we may think what we like about the significance of the change for we have little to go on. The pattern is not wholly consistent.
‘Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, “Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus says YHWH, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire,”
YHWH here underlines their lack of hope. As ‘YHWH, the God of Israel' He calls on Jeremiah to go to Zedekiah the king of Judah and tell him that YHWH Himself intends to deliver Jerusalem into the hand of the king of Babylon. This reveals Israel's hopelessness in that if Israel's own God was not supporting them, what possible hope could they have? Furthermore, He declares that the city will be burned with fire, something which was the regular treatment for a rebellious and obstinate city.
“And you will not escape out of his hand, but will surely be taken, and delivered into his hand, and your eyes will behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you mouth to mouth, and you will go to Babylon.”
Nor should Zedekiah think that somehow he himself might escape from Nebuchadnezzar's hand. He was to recognise that he would certainly be taken and handed over to Nebuchadnezzar, and would have to see him face to face, and speak to him mouth to mouth (he would of course do it grovelling before him with his face to the ground), for ‘he would go to Babylon' whether he liked it or not.
‘Surely hear the word of YHWH, O Zedekiah king of Judah, “Thus says YHWH concerning you, You will not die by the sword,”
Furthermore he would not die nobly by the sword, neither in actively fighting for his country (no such noble death was to be his), nor by execution. This too was the word of YHWH. His only future lay in prison. (It should be noted that no mention is made of the fact that he would be blinded, something which demonstrates that the prophecies were not tampered with after the event. It would have been all too easy for a dishonest or over-enthusiastic copyist to introduce the idea. The fact that it did not happen reminds us how carefully copyists refrained from such activities).
“You will die in peace; and with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they make a burning for you, and they will lament you, saying, ‘Ah Lord!' for I have spoken the word, the word of YHWH.”
Indeed he would die ‘in peace' (i.e. in a non-belligerent situation, languishing in prison) and would have a normal royal funeral, with the burning of perfumes and spices (compare 2 Chronicles 16:14; 2 Chronicles 21:19) and the lamentations of his nobles. That at least would be permitted to him and was all that he had to look forward to. The emphasis is more on the fact that his usefulness was at an end and that he would not accomplish anything more in his life, rather than being intended as being an indication that he would have a pleasant life. He would, in fact, probably die in prison.
‘And Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, when the king of Babylon's army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah which were left, against Lachish and against Azekah, for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities.'
It is then emphasised that these words were spoken when Judah was on its last legs, with only two other fortified cities, apart from Jerusalem still holding out. Lachish and Azekah were in the low foothills of Judah and were two strong cities. Lachish was 40 kilometres (23 miles) south west of Jerusalem and surrounded on three sides by the River Lachish which meandered around it. It was important enough for Sennacherib of Assyria in c. 701 BC, having failed to capture Jerusalem, to celebrate its subjection by a relief sculpture in his palace at Nineveh. It was eventually to be taken again by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Azekah was seemingly almost as strong and held out bravely, although succumbing to the Babylonians some time earlier than Lachish. It was about 26 kilometres (18 miles) south west of Jerusalem. Interestingly we have possible contemporary evidence of its fall, for letters were discovered in the ruins of Lachish in which a guard commander, presumably writing from an outpost, informs his governor that ‘we are watching for the signal fires of Lachish for we cannot see those of Azekah', which may indicate that the latter had ceased burning because the city was taken.