Jeremiah 52:1-11
1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the plain.
8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 9 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. 10 Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 He also put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
This chapter reads as an epilogue to show all the fulfilled prophecies given by Jeremiah to Israel and against Babylon. The references in 2 Kings show even more (read 2 Kin. 24:18—25:26; 2 Chr. 36:11–20; Jer. 39:1–10 for more). The reign of King Zedekiah is summarized and his fate spelled out for all the sinful evil he did during his rule of God’s people. The end of this evil was all of the people cast out of Jerusalem and Judah into Babylonian captivity for seventy years to discipline and correct them. When Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon encircled the holy city, once the center of God’s worship, and starved them out over a couple years. When the city wall was breached they ran to escape the captivity which Jeremiah told them to embrace and learn humility and holiness, then those who were not scattered were taken by the Chaldean army to Babylon after first blinding Zedekiah to show he could not see like the Pharisees centuries later were told (John 9:40-41). The people who had worshiped idols and ignored God’s corrective submission to Babylon were taken there by force anyway. Zedekiah was thrown in prison for the rest of his life as he had done to the messenger of the LORD, Jeremiah before. God had history in hand and moves the hearts of kings (Proverbs 21:1) along the plan of time He set before creation. The lesson for us is to endure correction as sons and daughters instead of resisting the discipline of our Father who always knows best (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 12:10-11). He works all things for His glory and our good in His time, often using adversity. We are to beware those teaching falsely that we are only to have good and not accept hard times (Job 2:10) to sanctify us lest we end up in rebellion like Zedekiah.
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