Jeremiah 52:8

Verse 8. The army of the Chaldeans pursued] 2Kg 25:5.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Lam_4:19 f. may perhaps refer to this, in which case the circumstances probably were these, that one body of Chaldaeans followed, and another laid wait in the plain. Cp. Eze_12:13.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then they took the king,.... King Zedekiah, being left alone, excepting some few with him:

and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; which is supposed to be Antioch in Syria:

where he gave judgment upon him; or "spake with him judgments" (r): chided and reproached him for his perfidy and ingratitude; expostulated and reasoned with him upon this subject, exposing his iniquity; and then passed sentence upon him, which was after executed; See Gill on Jer 39:5.

(r) "qui cum eo locutus est judicia", Schmidt. So Cocceius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Vers. 8-11. The fate of Zedekiah.

I THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE FATE OF ZEDEKIAH.

1. The general calamity of his nation. The king suffers with his people. Unfortunately it too often happens that an innocent people is punished for the fault of its sovereign. We must not be surprised if the converse is sometimes true. We are all members one of another. Not only kings, but in a less degree private individuals, must expect to share the troubles of the community, apart from the exact measure of private desert. In this life the execution of Divine justice is general; in the next life it will be particular then the judgment will be individualistic.

2. His own sin. Zedekiah did "evil in the eyes of the Lord" (ver. 2). Others may have done worse and escaped. But if we have no more severe a fate than we deserve, we can find no ground for complaint in the fact that more wicked men receive (at present) a milder treatment.

3. His weakness. Zedekiah was more weak than wicked. It is often observable in history that the weak king suffers calamities which the bad king escapes. But weakness is a culpable defect in a sovereign. If he is not strong enough for his duties he should resign the reins of power. No one has a right to retain a post which he cannot efficiently fulfil. Moral weakness is always wrong to be blamed as much as to be pitied for it can be overcome. (Isa_40:29-31)

4. His erroneous policy. Zedekiah was set on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar; he plotted with Pharaoh against his suzerain; and when his rebellion roused the vengeance of Babylon, he found Egypt to be only "a broken reed." In his case the vanity of trust in princes was illustrated.

5. The will of God. The fate of Zedekiah had been predicted by Jeremiah. (Jer_34:1-7) The prophecy implied a Divine decree. God has no hard, cruel decrees irrespective of our conduct and will. But following our wrong doing, God"s fixed counsels of judgment make flight hopeless.

II THE LEADING FEATURES OF THE FATE OF ZEDEKIAH.

1. He was captured in the agonies of flight. According to Josephus, this was not till he had reached the banks of the Jordan. How terrible to be so nearly saved, and yet to fall a prey to vengeance at last! To be only almost saved is worse than never to have had a hope of deliverance. They who have been near to the kingdom of heaven and have not entered it will feel the more bitterly the doom that they will share with the city of Destruction. "Remember Lot"s wife.

2. He was carried to Babylon and tried before King Nebuchadnezzar. The triumph of the great monarch was the shame of his vassal.

3. His children were slain before his eyes. Parents suffer in the sufferings of their children more than in the pain of their own bodies. The action of Nebuchadnezzar was cruel, brutal, devilish. There are no such spiteful elements in God"s punishment of the wicked. His is given in sorrow and with reluctance.

4. His eyes were put out. Here was the greatest refinement of cruelty. Zedekiah"s sight was preserved till he had witnessed the death agonies of his children. Then he was blinded, so that the last vision to dwell in his memory was the harrowing spectacle of his children"s massacre. But after so terrible a sight would the wretched man care to look on the light of day?

5. He was detained in prison till his death a punishment worse than death. Dethroned, humiliated, in chains, in a dungeon, bereaved of his children, the poor blind king is left to the agony of his own bitter thoughts. May God deliver us from a similar fate in the future world!

Vers. 8-11. The irony of a name.

These verses tell of King Zedekiah of the tragedy of Zedekiah, we might say, for never was there a tragedy more terrible than that in which he bore the chief part. But think of his name our Righteousness." "As the last note of Jeremiah"s dirge ever Jehoiachin died away, he had burst forth into one of those strains of hope, in which he had represented the future ruler of Israel as the righteousness or justice of Jehovah. (cf. Jer_23:5-7) It may be that, in allusion to this, the new king assumed that name Zedek-Jah on his accession to the throne. He was a mere youth, but not without noble feelings which, in a less critical moment, might have saved the state." And his very name attested the hope which was cherished concerning him. But read the history of his career and his awful fate, and see if ever there could be sadder irony than in the name he bore. It was a glorious name, but how miserably belied! Defeated, dethroned, disgraced, bereaved, tortured, blind, an exile, a slave, so he dragged out the last weary years of his life. We know not how many they were, we can only hope they were but few.

I SUCH IRONY OF NAMES IS FREQUENT. The degenerate bearers of noble and hallowed names are many. The children of Abraham were told by our Lord that they were children of the devil. A good name should be an inspiration; it often is; noblesse oblige. That it may be so is often the motive wherewith it is given by parents to their children. But, as with Zedekiah, their character and their names are in sad contrast.

II NOTE THE CAUSE OF THIS SAD IRONY IN THIS CASE. It was not lack of right knowledge. For a while he was under the teaching and influence of God"s prophet Jeremiah. And men rarely go wrong from lack of knowledge. Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor. Nor for lack of right feeling. He had again and again good purposes and aspirations. So with men like him. Nor were there wanting sundry endeavours to act according as God prompted him. He made one and another attempt. But the secret of his sad failure was his lack of strength, infirmity of will, weakness of resolve. And thus it perpetually is with men who turn out failures in life. There is no more pitiful sight in this world than the spectacle of these ruined men. Jeremiah lamented bitterly over Zedekiah, as he well might.

III LET THIS ILL-APPLIED NAME LEAD US TO THINK OF HIM WHOSE NAME WAS NOTHING BUT BLESSED TRUTH JESUS. He was called Jesus because "he should save his people from their sins." For in him is the remedy for all such as Zedekiah was. Give up our will to him, come to be in him by a living faith, and his strength shall be reproduced in us, and out of weakness we shall be made strong. C.

Zedekiah"s army scattered.

Zedekiah"s aim was to keep his army together, for as long as he could do that there was a chance of averting the evil day, and perhaps in the end escaping it altogether. But without his army he was utterly helpless. He could not bring himself to heed Jeremiah"s counsels, doing the right and putting his trust in Jehovah. And so when the army was gone everything was gone. Nothing remained but random, desperate attempts at flight, and the certainty of ultimate capture. We have to ask ourselves what we shall do when our army is scattered from us, when the resources of our own making are vanished. The chief battles of our life are not to be fought with external resources at all. In every warfare where the weapons are carnal the weapons must fail at last. Only when we are engaged in truly spiritual warfare, and have the hosts of heaven on our side, can we be sure that our army will not be scattered from us. Y.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.