Jeremiah 38 Study Notes

38:15 Jeremiah had good reasons for not wanting to deal with Zedekiah.

38:16 Zedekiah swore (as the Lord lives) to the prophet that he would not kill him or turn him over to his enemies.

38:17-18 The Lord, through Jeremiah, offered Zedekiah a way forward that would avert great disaster.

38:19 Apparently a few citizens of Judah had already defected to the Babylonians. The king feared these defectors might abuse him if he fell into the hands of the Babylonians.

38:20 Jeremiah’s message was not surprising. Obedience would bring blessing.

38:21 The vision the Lord had shown Jeremiah (the verdict that the Lord has shown me) was the basket of figs (24:1-10), and it still foretold the same dire consequences.

38:22 Zedekiah feared the ridicule of Judah’s defectors (v. 19), but he was even more frightened of the women (his own harem) who would remain in the palace of Judah’s king. They might shower insult and ridicule on him for being so gullible that he trusted weak allies and false prophets. The women would try to curry favor with their new Babylonian overlords.

38:23 Jeremiah had good news and bad.

38:24-27 What Jeremiah told the officials of the king was the truth. The prophet had requested that he not be sent back to his cistern prison again. Some argue that this was not the whole truth but only a half-truth. However, some persons give up their right to know the full truth. For example, the Lord instructed Samuel to tell Saul that he had come to offer a sacrifice, not revealing that he had also come to anoint David as king. Saul by his actions had forfeited his right to know the full truth (1Sm 16:1-4).