Book of Jeremiah – Jer 38:1-28 Obey, I Beseech Thee, the Voice of the LORD
Jer 38:1-28 Obey, I Beseech Thee, the Voice of the LORD
[Study Aired May 14, 2022]
Jer 38:1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
Jer 38:2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
Jer 38:3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.
Jer 38:4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
Jer 38:5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
Jer 38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Jer 38:7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
Jer 38:8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying,
Jer 38:9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
Jer 38:10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
Jer 38:11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Jer 38:12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
Jer 38:13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Jer 38:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
Jer 38:15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
Jer 38:16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
Jer 38:17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Jer 38:18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Jer 38:19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
Jer 38:20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
Jer 38:21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
Jer 38:22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
Jer 38:23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
Jer 38:24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
Jer 38:25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
Jer 38:26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
Jer 38:27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
Jer 38:28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
The first verse of this chapter names the four princes who are now seeking the death of the Lord’s prophet Jeremiah:
Jer 38:1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
Among these four princes is “Jucal the son of Shelemiah”. This is the same Juhucal the son of Shelemiah who is one of the two men the king had sent to ask Jeremiah to “Pray now unto the Lord our God for us” in the previous chapter:
Jer 37:3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.
Just as it was with Christ and all who follow Him, Jeremiah had the experience of having people, who at one time regarded him as a prophet of God, just suddenly decide that he is not a prophet of God but is a traitor to the Lord and His people. As we all know such a turn of events is a gut wrenching ‘experience of evil’:
Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.
Jeremiah was in the same situation that anyone today is in if he or she is obedient to Christ and the things He told us to do. This is what Christ commands and expects of anyone who claims to know Him and who appropriates His name and calls themself a ‘Christian’:
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Those words are the equivalent of telling us today that we are not to resist evil, just as Jeremiah was instructing those of His day. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what Christ has instructed us to do in the verses immediately preceding the two verses we just quoted here in Matthew 5:
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
None of these words are in any way patriotic. Not one orthodox Christian minister would agree with Christ’s commandment that those who claim His name are to “resist not evil”. Neither did any of the leaders of Judah agree with the words of the Lord, which He gave to Jeremiah, telling the people of Judah while being besieged by the armies of Babylon that they should all “go forth unto the Chaldeans”:
Jer 38:2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
‘Going forth to the Chaldeans’ signifies that we acknowledge our self-righteous transgressions:
Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
When we acknowledge our self-righteousness and our transgressions, we must realize that such a confession accepts the judgment that comes with that confession and acknowledgement of our iniquity and our sins:
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day [of judgment] shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
The ‘fire’ which tries our works is the Word of God, and that word includes the seven last plagues of His wrath which must be fulfilled in the life of every man, now in “this present time” or in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment.
Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
‘Entering into the temple” signifies our salvation, and that is the meaning of “he shall have his life for a prey and shall live”. Here is verse 2 again:
Jer 38:2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
What we are being told is that we will ‘go forth to the Chaldeans’. That is going to happen, and it is to our advantage to do so now rather than wait for the Lord to judge us at a later judgment:
Jer 38:3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.
What Christ is telling us is that if we submit our lives to His chastening hand via the sword of our enemies, He will deliver us. Our worst enemy in this life is that beast we see in the mirror every day. If we submit to acknowledging our iniquities and our transgressions and judge ourselves in ‘this present time’ then He will deliver us from death, “When [we] awake with His likeness”. Our enemies, including our own ‘old man’, are actually nothing less than His chastening hand:
Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him [“the wicked who oppress” us (vs 9)] cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Psa 17:14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
Psa 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
King David did not say, “I shall be satisfied in this life.” He did not say, “I shall be satisfied when I see my enemies reap what they have sown in this life.” Instead he is actually telling those who are ‘given eyes that see’, that it is we who will be the first to be judged by “thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world” (our own flesh included, Rom 7:17-21), and reap what we have sown in this life at this “present time”, and then we will be rewarded by being given the gift of “the resurrection of life… the blessed and holy… first resurrection (Rev 20:6) as opposed to “the resurrection of judgment”:
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Even the Old Testament prophets realized there was a “better resurrection” of the dead and that there was life after this life:
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
It does not read ‘We without them’. It reads “they without us should not be made perfect”. That “better thing” is for us. The “better thing” is not for them; it is only for us. The “better thing [is] for us” because no one in the Old Testament will be in the first resurrection. The “blood of bulls and goats” could not take aways sins, and the Savior had not yet been sacrificed:
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Those in the first resurrection will be perfected without the men and women of the Old Testament, and we will be perfected through death and resurrection before them. We know this is true because Christ made it crystal clear that even the least in the kingdom of God would be greater than John the Baptist who was as great as any Old Testament man who had ever been “born of women”:
Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Such an honor comes only through “much tribulation” and through being rejected and “hated of all men” in “this present time”.
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
We will not enter into the kingdom of God through a life of ‘coffee and doughnuts’ nor through the lies of the ministers of the so-called ‘prosperity ministries’ which appeal to our flesh but are the death of our new man.
Notwithstanding it is true that the blessings and glory bestowed on those “chosen… few” who endure “much tribulation” and are given to have a part in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, will far outweigh “the suffering of this present time”:
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
That is the spiritual message we are to get out of this agonizing event in the history of the nation of Judah. If we are willing to be “hated of all men” because we are obedient to the Words of our Lord to love our enemies and follow in His steps and do all the things He said we are to do, then we “shall be saved”:
Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
This experience of Jeremiah demonstrates that those who obey our Lord will indeed “be hated of all men for [His] name’s sake”. ‘His name’ means His doctrine, and His doctrine is what is hated by all men.
Jer 38:4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Jeremiah was seeking their best interests. However, it is completely understandable how the natural mind cannot receive a message which encourages it to submit to the chastening hand of the Lord through the sword of evil men.
Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
It is only natural for any patriotic individual to place their citizenship on this earth above their invisible heavenly citizenship. Heavenly citizenship is about as meaningful and valuable to our natural man as Esau’s birthright was to him when he was hungry:
Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Gen 25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
‘Jacob’ means ‘supplanter’, and that is what he did to his elder twin, just as our new man is in the process of supplanting our carnal-minded old man who has no appreciation for the promise of future invisible, spiritual blessings in reward for present physical suffering. Just like Esau we are selling our birthright for a bowl of pottage when we put patriotism above obedience to Christ’s commandments. Our old man considers it only natural to hate and to want to destroy our new man who our old man considers to be a traitor:
Jer 38:5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
King Zedekiah is telling The Truth. He typifies our rebellious carnal mind. As such, he truly is helpless to save the Lord’s people from their enemies. This fact is expressed in these words in the New Testament:
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
We of ourselves are completely helpless against the beast that is within every man and every woman.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man [There is no article in the Greek before the word ‘mankind. There is only the Greek word (G444) ‘anthropos’, mankind]; and his [‘anthropos’, mankind’s] number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Jer 38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Being placed in a pit, in scripture, just as Joseph was put into a pit by his ten brothers, symbolizes entering the realm of death:
Job 17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
However, the Lord had provided Jeremiah with “friends of the unrighteous mammon” in the person of one, “Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house.” The Lord caused Ebedmelech, to go out of the king’s house, out of the house of the very symbol of our old man, and plead for Jeremiah’s life:
Jer 38:7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
Jer 38:8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying,
Jer 38:9 My lord the king, these men [the princes] have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
In this betrayal by King Zedekiah of the Lord’s servant we are informed that there is no water in the pit (vs 6). That is exactly what we were told in the story of the betrayal of the Lord’s servant Joseph:
Gen 37:23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;
Gen 37:24 and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
Just as in the story of Jeremiah, the Lord had provided Joseph ‘a friend of the unrighteous mammon of this world’ in the person of his oldest brother, Reuben:
Gen 37:19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Gen 37:21 And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.
The same king who could not refuse the princes’ desire to kill Jeremiah now cannot refuse Ebedmelech’s petition to save Jeremiah’s life for this reason and for this reason only:
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
That is true for all men of all time, and that is the doctrine of all scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Because “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord”, because “the preparations of the heart… and the answer of the tongue are from the Lord” and because “it is God that works in [all men] both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, this was “[the Lord’s] good pleasure” for Jeremiah coming from the ‘preparations of the heart’, which the Lord worked in wicked King Zedekiah:
Jer 38:10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
Jer 38:11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Jer 38:12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
The Hebrew word for ‘old’ in this verse is:
H1094
בְּלוֹי בְּלוֹא
belô’ belôy
bel-o’, bel-o’ee
From H1086; (only in plural construction) rags: – old.
The words ‘cast clouts’ are translated from the single Hebrew word:
H5499
סְחָבָה
sechâbâh
seh-khaw-baw’
From H5498; a rag: – cast clout.
So both words, ‘belo’ and ‘sechabah’ convey the concept of a piece of cloth that is old and worn… a “rag”. These rags were used to pad the “cords” that were placed under Jeremiah’s “armholes”:
Jer 38:13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
It is not adding to the Word of God to say that these words of Psalm 40 applied outwardly to Jeremiah at that time, and they apply to each of us inwardly and spiritually:
Psa 40:2 He brought men a rock, and established my goings.
Psa 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Jer 38:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
Once again, immediately after putting Jeremiah through a severe trial by giving four princes permission to put Jeremiah to death, King Zedekiah wants to know what the Lord has told Jeremiah the prophet. He knows that Jeremiah is the Lord’s prophet because the Lord has made it so clear that He speaks through the prophet Jeremiah. Here is just one of many prophecies the Lord had given Jeremiah which came to pass:
Jer 28:12 Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Jer 28:13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.
Jer 28:14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
Jer 28:15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
Jer 28:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.
Jer 28:17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
The children of the adversary know who belongs to the Lord, as these stories clearly demonstrate:
Mat 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
Mat 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?Act 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
Act 19:14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
Act 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Act 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Act 19:17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
We are informed that “Sceva, [was] a Jew, chief of the priests” whose seven sons attempted to appropriate the power of our Lord to themselves. The significance of this detail is that it is always prominent men of the churches of the great harlot who “appear as an angel of light” and “as a lamb with two horns”, but they do not know Christ and do not have His power to withstand the adversary. Sceva’s sons are ‘seven’ because they typify a completely apostatized church which is overcome by the adversary.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
King Zedekiah, like the seven sons of Sceva, has heard of the Lord through the Lord’s prophet Jeremiah. Like the seven sons of Sceva, King Zedekiah has seen the power of the Lord working through His prophet, Jeremiah, but also like the sons of Sceva he himself has no connection to the Lord and attempts to make that connection through his acquaintance with Jeremiah. Knowing who ‘the Lord’s Christ’ is while not knowing Christ Himself, typifies our old man and all who are still under his beastly rulership. God’s elect, as Jeremiah was, are as “a city built upon a hill [which] cannot be hid”. Even the king of Babylon knew that everything the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah had come to pass as the words of “the captain of the guard” reveal:
Jer 40:2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
Jer 40:3 Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said [through Jeremiah]: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.
Jer 40:4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go.
Jer 40:5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go.
Jeremiah had ‘made friends of the mammon of unrighteousness’ and was now being received into age-lasting tabernacles by the captain of the guard of the armies of physical Babylon, while at the same time physical Babylon was being used by the Lord to chasten “Mystery Babylon The Great”.
That is chapter 40, and it all happened just as the Lord through Jeremiah had said it would happen. Symbolic ‘Mystery Babylon the Great’ was carried away captive to physical Babylon, and the type and shadow of ‘Mystery Babylon’ was burned with literal fire.
What the Lord is showing us in this story is that King Zedekiah, the symbol of our rebellious, self-righteous, old man, our ‘man of sin’, is torn and tormented by being caught between being told by the Lord’s prophet what to do to save himself and his people and his fear of his own people. Like King Saul, who many years earlier had admitted that he “feared the people” (1Sa 15:24), King Zedekiah, and all of mankind, wants to know in advance what the morrow holds, and he comes secretly to Jeremiah, like Nicodemus, for the same reason… “for fear of the Jews”, came to Christ by night:
Joh 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.1Sa 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
Jer 38:15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
The Lord has made us to know in advance that this world will reject the witness of being a city built on a hill and being the light of the world:
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
The Lord has already informed us that:
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Those words alone bode ill for our old man even as “we judge ourselves” now, and they also bode ill for this sinful world. We all, just naturally as wicked King Saul, want to know the future in advance even though we know it will not be what our old man wants to hear.
Jer 38:16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
Once again, this is the only reason King Zedekiah pledges to protect Jeremiah from His enemies:
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart [and every man’s heart] is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Again, this is a “preparation of the heart” (Pro 16:1) of King Zedekiah which is “from the Lord” and not from himself.
Jer 38:17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Jer 38:18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Jer 38:19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
“The fear of the Jews” is a phrase we see again and again in the New Testament:
Joh 7:11 Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?
Joh 7:12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.
Joh 7:13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.Joh 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
“For fear of the Jews” is Biblical symbolism for our fear of what the religious leaders of this world will think of us and do to us if we are granted the courage to put the fear of God ahead of our fear of what this world and its religious leaders, our friends, and our families will think of us and do to us for following in His steps and being faithful to the Lord’s Words and the Words of those through whom He speaks following His crucifixion and resurrection.
Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Here is the Old Testament type of our message to this world within us and outwardly today:
Jer 38:20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
The Lord knows that our old man cannot come to Him and cannot hear His words and cannot do the things He says we are to do, but for our sakes He put King Zedekiah through this helpless and hopeless experience of evil:
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
King Zedekiah, signifying my flesh and your flesh, simply could not fear an invisible God more than he feared his own physical people. It is not that he would not have liked to do so. It is simply that it was “not given” to Him to do so:
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.
The Lord is in fact “seeking an occasion against” our old man and against his ways just as He sought an occasion against the Philistines who ruled over the Lord’s people at the time of Samson:
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it [marrying a Philistine woman of Timnath] was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Jeremiah knows that King Zedekiah will not go out to the Chaldeans, but the Lord still has Jeremiah tell us the fruit of fearing men instead of fearing God:
Jer 38:21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
Jer 38:22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
These “women that are left in the king’s house”, signify the churches which have taught the word of God in the king’s house. They taught it but did not perceive what they taught. This is another way of saying:
Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
Here is how Christ explains these words of the “women of the king’s house”:
Mat 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Mat 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Jer 38:23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
Just like King Saul when he went to the witch of Endor, Zedekiah now knows what will happen the next day. He has been earnestly beseeched by the Lord’s prophet Jeremiah to set the example for his people by submitting to the king of Babylon, but he is not given to humble himself and obey the words of the Lord. As a type of each of us, he fears the people more than he fears God.
We have all been where Zedekiah is in this story. Except the Lord Himself had made us to submit we would be right where wicked King Zedekiah is… simply not given to fear God more than man:
Luk 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell [Greek: ‘Gehennah’ – the lake of fire (Rev 20:15)]; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Jer 38:24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
Jer 38:25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
Jer 38:26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
Jer 38:27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
These murderous princes had no idea that Jeremiah had once again given their leader the same uncompromising words of God warning him of his and their imminent destruction. Jeremiah knew better than to cast His pearls before these spiritual swine who had just made it clear to King Zedekiah that they wanted him dead.
King Zedekiah demonstrates clearly who it is that he fears, and it is not his God. King Zedekiah signifies our own flesh which “is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be”:
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Jer 38:28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
In type and shadow, Jeremiah was in this world, but he was not of this world. He was made to be “conversant with” and “very good” to the leaders of this world, but he was not in the least affected or leavened by the doctrines of those leaders.
1Sa 25:15 But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [Greek: ’eon’ – age]; and the reapers are the angels.1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Other related posts
- The Book of Romans, Part 23 - Continuing Down the Romans Road to Salvation (December 26, 2023)
- Gospels in Harmony, Part 138 - The Eighth Day We Become New Creatures (May 9, 2023)
- Exodus 8:1-32 Behold, I will Smite all thy Borders with Frogs (May 2, 2022)
- Book of Jeremiah - Jer 38:1-28 Obey, I Beseech Thee, the Voice of the LORD (May 14, 2022)