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A Prophecy Concerning the Outcome of The Siege
v. 1. And King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, whose original name had been Mattaniah, a brother of Jehoiakim, 2Ki_24:17, reigned instead of Coniah, or Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah, a mere vassal of the mighty Eastern ruler.
v. 2. But neither he nor his servants, nor the people of the land did hearken unto the words of the Lord which He spake by the prophet Jeremiah. Jer_36:31.
v. 3. And Zedekiah, the king, sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, one of his high officers, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, the highest church dignitary of the land at that time, Jer_21:1; Jer_29:25, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord, our God, for us. This was, in the first place, an act of amazing stupidity in view of the king's deliberate disobedience, but also one of revolting hypocrisy, since Zedekiah feigned an allegiance to Jehovah which he was far from possessing. Zedekiah, moreover, did not seem to notice that his act was a further insult to Jeremiah, after the manner in which his messages had been received by the men in high places.
v. 4. Now, Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, he was at that time unhampered in his movements; for they had not put him into prison, he was not in ward in the prison court, where he had been compelled to spend so much time before.
v. 5. Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt, Pharaoh-hophrah having undertaken to make war on the mighty Eastern ruler, probably as a result of a message sent by Zedekiah, Eze_17:15; and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, received news of their approach, they departed from Jerusalem, they discontinued the siege in order to meet this new danger. Such were the circumstances at the time when Zedekiah sent his men to Jeremiah.
v. 6. Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
v. 7. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, the name expressing His majesty and power, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah that sent you unto Me to inquire of Me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, with the object, however, of trying to gain the world-power, shall return to Egypt, into their own land. It was foolish, therefore, for the people of Judah to attach too much importance to this temporary relief.
v. 8. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
v. 9. Thus saith the Lord, Deceive not yourselves, by entertaining vain hopes, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart, they would not permanently discontinue their siege.
v. 10. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, according to the Hebrew, "such as had been severely wounded," yet should they rise up every man in his tent and burn this city with fire. As the disobedient Jews in this instance, so the unbelievers ever depend upon false conclusions and vain delusions in order to have some basis for their opposition to the Lord and His Word. But they merely deceive themselves.