Jer 37-38 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 37:1-38:28: 37:1–38:28 The focus now returns to Zedekiah, who succeeded his nephew Jehoiachin as king of Judah. These chapters record encounters between Zedekiah and Jeremiah that make plain Zedekiah’s inability to commit himself wholeheartedly to God’s word (cp. Deut 10:12-13 ). Zedekiah is a classic example of a “person with divided loyalty” (Jas 1:6-8 ). Summary for Jer 37:1-2: 37:1-2 These verses summarize Zedekiah’s reign and his entire response to the Lord’s messages through Jeremiah.

Summary for Jer 37:1-38:28: 37:1–38:28 ^a The focus now returns to Zedekiah, who succeeded his nephew Jehoiachin as king of Judah. These chapters record encounters between Zedekiah and Jeremiah that make plain Zedekiah’s inability to commit himself wholeheartedly to God’s word (cp. Deut 10:12-13 ^b). Zedekiah is a classic example of a “person with divided loyalty” (Jas 1:6-8 ^c).
Summary for Jer 37:1-2: 37:1-2 ^d These verses summarize Zedekiah’s reign and his entire response to the Lord’s messages through Jeremiah.
Summary for Jer 37:3-4: 37:3-4 ^e In asking for prayer, Zedekiah apparently hoped that Jeremiah’s petitions would magically defeat the enemy (see 14:7-9 ^f and corresponding study note).
37:5 ^g The Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem in 588 BC. But they left Jerusalem because the army of Pharaoh Hophra was coming to help Judah. The Babylonians hoped to block and defeat the Egyptians, which they did.
Summary for Jer 37:6-10: 37:6-10 ^h The Lord answered Jeremiah’s prayer (37:3 ⁱ) with a warning for Zedekiah. The Egyptians would provide no lasting help, and the Babylonians would return to destroy Jerusalem—a prophecy that was fulfilled in 586 BC.
Summary for Jer 37:11-12: 37:11-12 ^j When the Babylonians went to face the Egyptians, Jeremiah decided to walk three miles north to his hometown, Anathoth, to claim his share of the property among his relatives there. He wanted to see his newly purchased property (32:1-25 ^k).
Summary for Jer 37:13-16: 37:13-16 ^l The sentry and other officials of Judah misinterpreted Jeremiah’s action as desertion.
37:17 ^m By asking Jeremiah about other messages from the Lord, the king indicated that he was fearful of the future and still hoped that the Lord would defeat the Babylonians. Jeremiah answered quickly and emphatically that there was no hope for the kind of divine intervention that had destroyed the Assyrian army during Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kgs 19:8-37 ⁿ).
Summary for Jer 37:18-20: 37:18-20 ^o Jeremiah evidently assumed that Zedekiah was involved in his arrest and imprisonment. The prophet would have been in poor physical condition after being flogged and confined without medical treatment and with little food.
37:21 ^p The king defied his officials and ordered the guards to keep Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace under protective custody. Considering the scarcity of food during the long siege, a loaf of fresh bread every day was a generous ration.

‏ Jeremiah 38

Summary for Jer 38:1-13: 38:1-13 ^q Jeremiah was free to talk to people while he was in the prison courtyard. He repeated the Lord’s decrees of judgment, but this stirred fierce anger among some of the government officials. Zedekiah showed his cowardice by letting these men put Jeremiah in a muddy cistern; the king also had a courageous moment when he permitted a palace servant to rescue Jeremiah and return him to the palace prison. 38:1 ^r The Gedaliah mentioned here had a different father than the Gedaliah in 40:6 ^s.

• The first Pashhur might have been the man in 20:1 ^t. The second Pashhur had a different father.
38:4 ^u The officials apparently believed that the morale of the men resisting the Babylonian army outside the walls of the city would be harmed if Jeremiah continued to prophesy, so they put him on trial for treason.
38:5 ^v When the officials angrily confronted King Zedekiah and made their demands, he was weak and cowardly.
38:6 ^w In the presence of everyone in the palace courtyard, Jeremiah was thrown into an empty cistern. At the bottom was a thick layer of mud that slowly enveloped Jeremiah’s body.
Summary for Jer 38:7-8: 38:7-8 ^x the Ethiopian (cp. Luke 17:18 ^y; Acts 28:28 ^z): Jeremiah’s rescuer was not from Judah; he was a foreigner who dared to defy the other officials. He ran to the Benjamin Gate, where Jeremiah was first arrested (Jer 37:11-13 ^aa), and rushed into the king’s presence without ceremony.
38:10 ^ab The rescue party included thirty ... men, perhaps indicating that Zedekiah felt the need to keep his officials from attacking it.
Summary for Jer 38:11-12: 38:11-12 ^ac Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian rescuer (38:7 ^ad), was a caring person who wanted to protect Jeremiah’s weakened body as much as possible.
Summary for Jer 38:14-16: 38:14-16 ^ae Zedekiah so desperately wanted a miracle to save his kingdom from the attacking Babylonian armies that he arranged a secret meeting with Jeremiah. 38:14 ^af The location of the third entrance of the Lord’s Temple is not known. The gates of the Temple had small rooms nearby, so the private meeting probably took place in one of them.
Summary for Jer 38:17-18: 38:17-18 ^ag Jeremiah laid out the Lord’s decree. Zedekiah could save the city by surrendering or he could watch as it was destroyed by the invaders.
38:19 ^ah Zedekiah still feared his fellow countrymen—this time, those who had defected—more than he feared the Lord or the Babylonians, so he rejected Jeremiah’s advice. This was Jeremiah’s last message to the king.
Summary for Jer 38:20-22: 38:20-22 ^ai Jeremiah reassured Zedekiah that everything would go well if Zedekiah chose to obey the Lord. If he refused, even his friends would abandon him.
Summary for Jer 38:24-28: 38:24-28 ^aj When Zedekiah’s fear of his officials surfaced again, he demanded that Jeremiah keep secret what he had told the king.

• The officials might have suspected that Zedekiah was about to surrender to the enemy. Jeremiah obeyed the king’s order to keep quiet, and he spent the final days of the siege in the palace prison under the king’s protection.