And set his throne above the throne of the kings, &c.— And set his seat above the seat of the kings. This may easily be understood to signify, that the king of Babylon shewed him more respect and honour than he did to any of the other captive princes, by placing him nearest himself. See Esther 3:1. It is probable, the phrase may have proceeded from the custom of placing cushions for persons of more than ordinary distinction in the place allotted them to sit in. See Harmer's Observ. ch. 6 obs. 26.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, We are here told,
1. The cause of the ruin of Zedekiah and the people. It was their sins which provoked God's wrath against them: and what particularly hastened their destruction was, his rebellion against the king of Babylon, in violation of the oath of God which was upon him; and this God permitted as a punishment for his former sins. Note; When sinners wilfully depart from God, he gives them up to their own folly; and usually nothing more is needful to push them on their destruction.
2. The instruments employed were, the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar, who, after a siege of about eighteen months, took the city by assault, the famine having disabled the besiegers, and the obstinacy of the king and princes preventing a surrender.
3. Too late the king, and the men of war who survived, attempted to escape. Though covered by the night, they are quickly pursued and taken. See the unhappy king dragged as a criminal before the Babylonish monarch; judgment passed upon him; his sons murdered before his eyes; his princes slain; and then, as if to fix upon his mind continually the memory of the shocking scene, his eyes put out; in chains carried to Babylon, and condemned in a prison to languish out the remainder of his miserable days. He would not be warned, therefore he must suffer for it.
2nd. A month after the taking of the city, we have an account of its entire demolition by Nebuzar-adan, sent for this purpose by Nebuchadnezzar: the temple is laid in ashes, after being plundered of all its vessels and all its brass; the quantity of which was immense, and the particulars of which are mentioned, to shew the exact fulfilment of the prediction, chap. Jeremiah 27:19. The palaces and houses of Jerusalem are burnt to the ground, the walls razed, and the residue of the people, who survived the siege and famine, led captive by the Chaldean army. A melancholy scene! a warning to other nations, how dangerous it is to provoke a jealous God!
3rdly, When the sword is drawn, it is not quickly sheathed. We have,
1. The dreadful execution of seventy-four of the principal men, who were brought up by Nebuzar-adan to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The account in Exodus 25:18-19 reckons them but seventy-two; some hence imagine, that Jeremiah and Ebed-melech were of the number who were taken, but afterwards released; or two, of less note than the rest, might not be there reckoned. All these were murdered in cold blood by Nebuchadrezzar's orders, as a punishment for their rebellion; and we must own this to be the just fate of traitors, while we condemn the cruelty of the Chaldean king.
2. Their repeated captivities in the seventh, the eighteenth, and twenty-third years of Nebuchadnezzar. The two former we had an account of, 2 Kings 24:12; Exodus 24:20 though the numbers considerably differ. Perhaps here the men of note only are mentioned, and the officers; there the common people also: but the latter probably was the gleaning of the people after the death of Gedaliah and the flight of Johanan: a number small and inconsiderable, compared to the multitudes which once dwelt in the land; but by pestilence, famine, and the sword, they were thus miserably reduced. Such ravages does sin make!
4thly, There is a difference between the account given, Jeremiah 52:31 and that in 2 Kings 25:27. There Jehoiakin's deliverance from prison is said to be on the 27th day of the 12th month; here on the 25th: probably the orders were given this day, though not executed till two days after. The captive king experienced now a very happy change; released from his prison; arrayed in royal robes, instead of his prison-garments; his throne exalted above his fellow-captive monarchs; treated with great affection and regard by the Babylonish emperor; admitted to a constant seat at his table, and nobly provided for all his days. Thus strange are the changes of this shifting scene; prosperity and adversity are often set over-against each other, that in our highest estate we may never be confident, nor, in the lowest, despair. It was, no doubt, matter of inexpressible joy to this unhappy captive, after so long a confinement, once more to taste the sweets of liberty. But how much greater the delight of the captive soul, when delivered from the bondage of corruption through the blood of the covenant; exchanging its filthy prison-garments for the glorious robe of righteousness; fed at the table of the King of kings; yea, called to sit down on his throne.