This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’
8 “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’
Message to the House of David
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:
“‘Execute justice in the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 “Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,
declares the Lord;
you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’
14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds,
declares the Lord;
I will kindle a fire in her forest,
and it shall devour all that is around her.” Jeremiah 21 ESV
Jeremiah 21 Jerusalem Will Fall To Nebuchadnezzar
1-2. When King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur - This is not the same Pashhur from chapter 20, who beat Jeremiah, his father's name was Immer. This jumps ahead to the days of Zedekiah when Babylon was engaged in campaigns against Judah. They take the outer cities, remove some into captivity, put Jerusalem under siege and eventually sack the temple that Solomon built.
“The episode, c. 588, transports us suddenly to the final siege of Jerusalem, some 20 years after the events of chapter 20.” (Kidner) In this period Judah and Jerusalem did not fall in one decisive battle; it happened in stages.
· About 17 years before this Nebuchadnezzar first came to Jerusalem in the reign of King Jehoiakim and subjugated the city and took captives from the best and the brightest of Judah, such as Daniel (about 605 BC). - Enduring Word
Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful deeds - The consequences Jeremiah had been preaching about for so long were now upon them, and though they didn't hate the sin, they did despise the consequences and hoped for a favorable word. Now, if we remember, they beat Jeremiah for His words, and this is a good many years later, but they had plenty of favorable words, the other prophets predicted that none of this would happen. They are probably reminiscing the time of King Hezekiah when God's angel killed 185,000 Assyrians and sent them packing. Jerusalem was saved that time, but we should never look at what God has done for someone else in the past as a guarantee for what will happen now. If we do that then we must look at God's reasoning, and we have to consider His overall purpose and His attributes. In the past, He has also removed the rule of the northern kingdom, in the past, He has caused His people to wander in the wilderness, has destroyed whole cities, has confounded languages and destroyed the earth by flood. The consistent thing here is God's hatred of sin, and the command is always to repent.
3-10. I Myself will fight against you - Babylon is here by God's permission. They are here to bring justice to a land that has turned it's back on God, followed superstition and refused to humble themselves.
Surrenders to the Chaldeans - This was the equivalent of accepting God's judgment, but it will not make Jeremiah popular. In the ears of those with hardened hearts, this will sound traitorous because they are nationalists, patriotic, but in no way Godly. They have a form of godliness in religion, but they deny the power of God, His right to rule over what He has created.
11-14. Execute justice in the morning - God didn't just give them the law, He had expectations with it, and though judgment is unavoidable they can still repent. It is a serious human flaw that would say, "what's the point?" If God wasn't going to return them to prosperity, then they would see no reason to repent, but they fail to realize, God does not owe them even their breath, much less our wants. There was still time at Jeremiah's saying of this to avoid ultimate destruction, but most of them were of a hard heart. Look at the thief on the cross, he doesn't ask to be let down, no, he acknowledges that he is there for a reason, guilty, and to the One that is there and not guilty, He says, "remember me, Lord, when You enter Your kingdom."
Him who has been robbed - God has warned them over and over again about their unjust deeds, treatment of the fatherless and widows, and of strangers in their land. Like so many prosperity teachers, they view wealth as a sign that God is not displeased with them, regardless of their actions. The self righteous will be judged, but they will also be blind to it coming, because they don't think it could ever happen to them, and it does not fit their ideology.
O rock of the plain - This is a sarcastic poke at another thing they put trust in. Some trust in chariots and some in horses. They had walls around the city, and it was on a mount so that they had the advantage of high ground. Sometimes they thought they had enough to wait out a siege, but this won't be the case.
I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds - It is a frightening thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.
…5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.…
…8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; 10but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.… Romans 2: 5-10
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