The word that came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,
With an enemy army at his gates, a king sends a priest and an official to the prophet he has ignored for years, asking him to seek God's help. The chapter asks whether God answers a prayer born of panic, and whether His promise to David's line can survive this king.
Some have questioned where this chapter sits in the book. Zedekiah, meanwhile, borrows his hope from an older rescue, when God wiped out the Assyrian army in Hezekiah's day.
Some say this chapter is out of its historical place. They take that as evidence that this book had more than one author. For some reason unknown to us, the Spirit of God has put it here. Zedekiah sent Pashhur to Jeremiah to ask about Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon. This was a different Pashhur from the one in the previous chapter. This is of course Nebuchadnezzar, and here Jeremiah names the great king for the first time. The wicked Zedekiah may have remembered God's dealing with Hezekiah, when the Lord wiped out the army of Sennacherib the Assyrian.
Earlier chapters exposed the people, the priests and the prophets. This one turns to the throne, and that is what makes the case hopeless.
If only the king had been right, though the people and the prophets were ever so wrong, God would still send blessing to Israel. Everything depended on the king, the seed of David. God might have disciplined the prophets and priests and people, but He would have held on to them for the sake of His servant David. But it was not only that they went astray. The king himself led the wickedness. Then it was utterly impossible to hold on to them, and Jeremiah's sorrowful task was to announce this divine decision.
Zedekiah picks two men of standing: Pashhur, and Zephaniah the priest. Their rank changes nothing.
Jeremiah refuses to be impressed by the importance of the messengers. He can only confirm the judgment already announced.
Pashhur son of Malchiah turns up again later in the book. By then he is not asking Jeremiah to pray. He is asking the king to kill him.
Then... Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words Jeremiah had spoken to all the people... So the princes said to the king, "We beg you, let this man be put to death, for he weakens the hands of the soldiers who remain in this city... This man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm."
A polite question does not get a soft answer. God reads the man underneath it.
The Lord's answer left no room for appeal. How could it be otherwise to a king who put on a show of honouring the Lord with his lips while his heart was far from Him? Everything was hopeless for the king of Judah, who valued the oath he had sworn less than the Gentile who had made him swear it.
The same thing happens wherever religious forms cover an unchanged heart:
It is often a mark of a backslidden state that the outward forms of godliness continue, and sometimes with increased zeal. As life decays, attention turns to rites and ceremonies. The soul deceives itself in this way, and slips into ignorance of its real condition.
The city gets no reprieve. Yet the same answer opens a door for any person willing to take it.
Yet even then God has a word for the people (vv. 8-10), and sets before them the way of life as well as the way of death. "He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence. But he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live, and his life shall be his as a prize of war."
The chapter ends by addressing "the house of David." That phrase reaches far past one siege.
This whole question of "the house of David" and "the throne of David" is of the greatest importance. If David's seed has failed for ever, then there is no gospel for us today! For the gospel makes known the sure mercies of David. Nor is there any coming age of worldwide blessing for this earth, for the One who rules and reigns to that end must be of David's line!
- Cause. The ruin is complete because the failure reached the throne. God would have held on to Israel for David's sake, but not once the king himself led the wickedness.
- Request. Zedekiah wants a rescue like Hezekiah's. He hopes an old wonder will repeat with no repentance now.
- Refusal. The answer leaves no room for appeal. The king honoured God with his lips while his heart was far from Him. He valued his oath less than the foreign king who imposed it.
- Reach. Rank does not soften the message. Jeremiah refuses to be impressed, and one of these messengers later demands his death.
- Result. Judgment falls, yet God still sets a way of life before anyone who will surrender. The question of David's throne, raised here, runs on to the gospel itself.
Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us; for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that Jehovah will deal with us according to all his marvellous works, that he may go up from us.
Babylon's army is at the walls of Jerusalem. King Zedekiah, of David's royal line, sends officials to Jeremiah. They are to ask the LORD for help. The request sounds hopeful. But can a king expect God to rescue a city He has already decided to judge?
This one request opens a long section of the book. In it God deals with the whole royal family.
Zedekiah asked Jeremiah whether the Lord would step in for the people against Nebuchadnezzar. On that occasion the Spirit of God brought together the testimonies about all the members of David's family who presided, so to speak, over the ruin of Jerusalem — Jehoahaz (Jer. 22:10), Jehoiakim (vv. 13-19), Jeconiah (vv. 20-30).
When Zedekiah speaks of God's wonderful deeds, he may have one earlier rescue in mind.
Zedekiah sent Pashur to Jeremiah to ask about Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon. (This Pashur is a different man from the Pashur in the chapter before.) This is of course Nebuchadnezzar. Here the great king is mentioned for the first time in Jeremiah. The wicked Zedekiah may have remembered God's dealing with Hezekiah when the Lord wiped out the army of Sennacherib, the Assyrian.
A royal delegation carries weight. It carried none with Jeremiah.
In chapter 21:1-7 he answers the two messengers of King Zedekiah. The king sent them hoping that God would deliver Judah from the king of Babylon through the prophet's intervention. Jeremiah, however, does not let the importance of the messengers impress him. He can only confirm the judgment already announced.
Why would God not listen? One writer points to the king's own record.
The answer of the Lord left no room at all for appeal. How could it be otherwise to a king who hypocritically honoured Jehovah with his lips while his heart was far from Him? All was hopeless for the king of Judah, who valued the oath he had taken less than the Gentile who had imposed it on him.
That put the defenders in a strange position. Their real opponent was not the army outside the walls.
To fight it out was nothing less than resisting the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar was not the only one taking Jerusalem. Jehovah was giving up the city and their king of the house of David. It was a most solemn sign of His displeasure.
The verdict on the nation was fixed. Escape for one person was not, but the only way out led through the enemy lines.
The king sends to Jeremiah to ask the Lord for them. But the answer gives them no hope. It only shows that the Lord Himself will fight against them (vv. 1-7). To the people it is said, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death." To live, they had to go over to the Chaldean army, which God was bringing; to die, they only had to stay in the sinful city (vv. 8-10).
Zedekiah looks like one more bad king. But everything hangs on his family line.
Zedekiah failed, and so the fire of judgment would consume their homes and the royal dynasty would be overthrown. This whole question of "the house of David" and "the throne of David" is of the greatest importance. If David's seed has failed for ever, then there is no Gospel for us today! For the Gospel makes known the sure mercies of David! And there is no coming age of world-wide blessing for this earth either. The One who rules and reigns to bring that day must be of David's line!
The same writer then asks where that King is now.
Where, then, is this deeply desired King, this One upon Whom so much depends? Is He living today? What is His Name? The answer to these questions is in 2 Timothy 2:8: "Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David."
- Ask — Zedekiah's question opens a section where God passes sentence on the kings of David's line.
- Hope — He hoped God would deal with Babylon as He dealt with Sennacherib's army in Hezekiah's day.
- Refused — God said no. This king honoured Him with his lips while his heart was far away. He also valued his sworn oath less than the foreigner who imposed it.
- Reversed — Nebuchadnezzar was not the real power taking the city. God was handing it over, so fighting on meant resisting the Lord.
- Escape — Even then each person had a choice: leave the doomed city and live. And beyond the fallen throne stands the King of David's line, risen from the dead.
And Jeremiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah
Babylon's army is pressing against Jerusalem when Zedekiah's messengers reach Jeremiah. He answers on the spot. He gives them no plan of escape, only words to carry back to the king. "You shall say to Zedekiah" sets the tone for all that follows. What comes next is not Jeremiah's opinion. It is God's verdict on the man at the top.
Two high officials came hoping the prophet would step in and turn the siege aside. Their rank changed nothing about the answer.
In chapter 21:1-7 he answers the two representatives of King Zedekiah. They were sent to him hoping that God would rescue Judah from the king of Babylon through the prophet's intervention. But the importance of the messengers does not impress Jeremiah. He can only confirm the judgment already announced.
The reply names Zedekiah. That is the point. In Israel, everything hung on the king.
The kingship was always the last channel of blessing in the history of Israel. If only the king had been right, however wrong the people and the prophets were, God would still send blessing to Israel. Everything depended upon the king, the descendant of David. God might have disciplined the prophets and priests and people, but He would have held on to them for the sake of His servant David. But not only did they go astray; the king himself led the way in evil. Then it was impossible to hold on to them. It fell to Jeremiah, with sorrow, to announce this decision from God.
Zedekiah wanted a word from God while breaking an oath he had sworn. The gap between his request and his life explains the tone of the reply.
The Lord's answer was final in the extreme. How else could He answer a king who honoured Him with his lips as a pretence while his heart was far from Him? All was hopeless for the king of Judah. He showed less regard for the oath he had taken than the foreign king who had made him swear it.
The messengers hoped Babylon would pull back. Instead the message puts God Himself on the attacking side, with Babylon's army as His instrument.
Zedekiah, whose name was Mattaniah, was a godless king. Nebuchadnezzar had made him king after carrying captives away from Jerusalem. Now he heard a message of judgment from Jeremiah. The Babylonian king's army stood in front of the city again, because Zedekiah had rebelled and broken his agreement with that king. How could Zedekiah even imagine that a righteous Lord had a message of peace for him? The Lord Himself will now fight against Jerusalem and its wicked king. The enemy will do the appointed work of judgment: "He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion."
The sentence on the king is not the whole reply. In the same breath God gives the people a choice and sets a way to live in front of them.
Yet even then God has a word for the people (v. 8-10). He sets the way of life before them, as well as the way of death. "He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war."
The judgment does not close the door. Repentance was still open, and a godly life still brought blessing.
He had already declared that the door was always open to repentance, and that blessing always followed a godly walk (Jer. 21:12; Jer. 22:1-5). Then judgment is pronounced again, and a sentence from God upon the different kings.
The message was not vague. Events matched it, detail by detail.
The prophecy plainly foretold that Zedekiah would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar, with the city and the people (Jer. 21:3-7), and it came true. There was nothing unclear about it, though it was a very solemn truth.
- Asked — Zedekiah's officials came for rescue. Their rank did not move Jeremiah. He only confirmed the judgment already spoken.
- Addressed — the reply names the king. When the head of the nation leads the way into evil, nothing is left to hold on to.
- Answered — lips that honour God while the heart is far away get a final answer, and so does a broken oath.
- Attacked — they hoped Babylon would pull back. Instead God Himself now fights against the city, using that army.
- Offered — even inside the sentence God sets out a way to live. The call to repent still stands. And every word came true.
Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you, outside the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
Babylon's army is besieging Jerusalem. King Zedekiah sends messengers to Jeremiah to ask the Lord for help. The answer turns everything around. God will turn the defenders' own weapons back on them. He will gather the Chaldeans — the Babylonian troops outside the walls — into the city they are attacking.
Zedekiah's plea came in religious language. That is what makes the reply so severe. The foreign king who put him on the throne had made him swear an oath, and Zedekiah had broken it.
The Lord's answer was final and absolute. How could it be anything else to a king who made a hypocritical show of honouring the Lord with his lips while his heart was far from Him? Everything was hopeless for the king of Judah. He valued the oath he had sworn less than the foreign ruler who had made him swear it.
The weapons will not just fail. God Himself turns them back. The message even comes from "the God of Israel", the God of the very people He now fights. The real opponent is not the army outside the walls.
The Babylonian king's army stood in front of the city again. Zedekiah had revolted and broken his agreement with the king. How could Zedekiah even imagine that a righteous Lord had a message of peace for him? The Lord Himself will now fight against Jerusalem and its wicked king.
Why did no rescue come this time? Judah's last line of protection was the king himself, and that line had gone.
Royalty was always the last stem of blessing in the history of Israel. If only the king had been right, God would still send blessing to Israel, however wrong the people and the prophets were. Everything depended on the king, the seed of David. God might have disciplined the prophets and priests and people. But He would have held on to them for the sake of His servant David. Now not only had they gone astray; the king himself led the wickedness. So it was completely impossible to hold on to them.
Judah thought the fight against Babylon was the loyal thing to do. The men holding the weapons believed they were the faithful ones, and that Jeremiah was the traitor.
In a day of ruin, faith always recognises the chastening of God and bows to it. Unbelief always resists, and treats opposing it as patriotism, or perhaps as religion. That is why the men of Judah saw Jeremiah as a false Jew through and through. He always advised them to submit to the king of Babylon. They counted themselves far better Jews, because they were willing to fight Babylon's king.
By Zedekiah's reign the message had changed. God had called earlier kings to repent, and He held the judgment back. Now He called the nation to bend its neck and take the punishment.
More than once the prophet did not shrink back from speaking directly to King Zedekiah. His message was not like the one he gave in the time of the earlier kings. Back then repentance would have held back the judgment. More than one group had already gone into exile. God now commanded the people to submit to His discipline. They were not to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, but to accept the yoke, to surrender, and to serve the king of Babylon. Zedekiah and the rest of the people did not humble themselves. They kept on resisting the Lord's command.
What difference did it make to submit? Set Zedekiah beside Jehoiachin and the two endings answer that.
Jehoiachin went to Babylon, and there yielded to the judgment of God, and in the end he was exalted. Zedekiah stayed at home. He could have accepted the punishment of his sin by submitting to the king of Babylon, the Lord's rod. Instead he rebelled against him, and at last perished.
- Request. Zedekiah asked God to step in while his heart was far from Him and his oath already broken. Prayer from the lips alone gets a final answer.
- Refusal. The reply is not that Babylon is too strong, but that the Lord Himself will now fight against the city and its king.
- Reason. Israel's last support was a faithful king. When the throne itself led the wickedness, the ground for sparing the nation was gone.
- Resistance. Fighting Babylon felt like loyalty, even like religion. It was unbelief refusing God's discipline. Faith bows to the rod instead of swinging at it.
- Result. Jehoiachin accepted the judgment and ended in honour; Zedekiah resisted it and perished. Submission is the only road out.
And I myself will fight against you with a stretched-out hand, and with a strong arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
Babylon's army is around Jerusalem, and King Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah hoping for a rescue. The answer names the real enemy: not the army outside the wall, but God Himself.
Zedekiah's hope had a precedent. God had once destroyed an army that was besieging Jerusalem.
The wicked Zedekiah may have remembered God's dealing with King Hezekiah. Back then the Lord wiped out the army of Sennacherib the Assyrian. So Zedekiah said: "Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us."
Two things lay behind the refusal: the king's hollow worship, and an oath he had broken.
attribution fact not in the printed quote
The answer of the Lord left no room for appeal. How else could He answer a king who was a hypocrite, honouring the LORD with his lips while his heart was far from Him? All was hopeless for the king of Judah, who valued the oath he had taken less than the Gentile who had imposed it on him.
The shock of the verse is the word "I." Nebuchadnezzar is not the real opponent. He only carries out the work God has appointed.
How could Zedekiah even imagine that a righteous Lord had a message of peace for him? The Lord Himself will now fight against Jerusalem and its wicked king. The enemy will do the appointed work of judgment: "he shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion."
Another writer summarises the whole exchange the same way — the messengers came looking for hope and found none.
The king sends to Jeremiah to enquire of the Lord for them, but the answer gives them no hope, and only shows that the Lord Himself will fight against them.
"Outstretched hand" and "strong arm" are not new words in Israel's story. They are the words God used when He promised to bring this same nation out of Egypt.
This was in line with His message through Moses: "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians... and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment." God is holy, so He had to be against His people, because they were sinners in Egypt. Now He could be for them, in keeping with all that He was, because of the blood of the lamb.
Jeremiah 21:5 is not the only place where this happens. Writing on Isaiah, one commentator traces the same reversal to its cause — and notes that the nation's response to God's kindness is what changed the relationship.
On God's part nothing had been lacking in His dealings with Israel. So what had been their response to all this goodness? Verse 10 gives the sad answer: "But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit." So His holy government had to come into action. He became their adversary.
The message does not end with wrath. Right after the sentence on the city, God shows each person a way to live.
Yet even then God has a word for the people, and sets before them the way of life, no less than that of death. "He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war."
The same point is made about the royal house: sentence was passed, yet the offer of change was never withdrawn.
The judgment of Zedekiah had been pronounced, and after declaring that the door was always open to repentance, and that blessing always attended a godly walk, judgment is again pronounced.
- Request. Zedekiah wanted another rescue like the one from Sennacherib. He hoped past wonders promised future ones.
- Refusal. The answer left no room for appeal, because the king honoured God with his lips while his heart was far from Him.
- Reversal. The hand and arm that redeemed Israel out of Egypt are now raised against Jerusalem. The holiness that was for them is now against them.
- Reason. A people who rebel and grieve God's Spirit meet His government. He becomes their adversary, and the invading army is only His instrument.
- Remedy. Even under sentence, a door stays open: surrender to the judgment God has sent, and live.
And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast they shall die of a great pestilence.
Nebuchadnezzar's army was closing in on Jerusalem, and King Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah hoping God would drive the invader away. The reply named God Himself as the one who would strike the city — which raises two hard questions: why turn against His own city, and why by pestilence?
Zedekiah's hope had a precedent. One writer suggests what the king had in mind:
The wicked Zedekiah may have remembered God's dealing with Hezekiah when the Lord destroyed the army of Sennacherib, the Assyrian.
But Zedekiah had sworn loyalty to Babylon and then broken his word. The reply matched his heart:
The Lord's answer left no room for appeal. How could it be otherwise to a king who hypocritically honoured Jehovah with his lips while his heart was far from Him? All was hopeless for the king of Judah, who valued the oath he had taken less than the Gentile who had imposed it on him.
The real enemy of the city is not the army outside its walls:
How could Zedekiah even imagine that a righteous Lord had a message of peace for him? The Lord Himself will now fight against Jerusalem and its wicked king. The enemy will do the appointed work of judgment.
The disease named here is no accident of nature:
Pestilence is often mentioned along with the sword and the famine as punishment from God upon His rebellious people. God Himself sends it directly. When David counted the people, the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, and 70,000 men died.
God let David choose which of three punishments would fall, and the words describing the third set it apart:
"I offer you three things," He said. "Choose one of them: either three years of famine, or three months of destruction at the hands of the enemy, or three days of the sword of Jehovah" — not of the enemy — "the pestilence in the land." David admits how hard and distressing the choice was, but he chooses the last. "Let me fall into the hand of Jehovah, for His mercies are very great. Let me not fall into the hand of man." David preferred the direct hand of Jehovah, and I think he was right.
Why do the animals die with the people? One writer points to the place God gave man in creation:
Man, by his sin, has not only brought ruin on himself, but has spoiled his home and dragged down all the creatures that depend on him. Thorns and thistles are marks of man's sin, and much more the groans of the animal creation (Gen. 3:18). God made man, unlike angels, the centre of a system of things. The whole of this lower creation either suffers or rejoices with its head.
Judgment now reaches the throne itself:
In Jeremiah 21 Jehovah's condemnation falls on the royal house of David in particular. The sin of Zedekiah was even more serious. The guilt of the people, the priests and the prophets already stands exposed. Now the responsible head of the nation comes under condemnation. There was no exception; the ruin of Judah is complete.
Sparing the city was not an option God could take, and the same writer explains why — while also showing where this road finally leads:
Suppose the Jews failed to represent the one true God. Suppose they falsified the testimony entrusted to them and were traitors to His name. What could Jehovah do then but destroy as enemies the people who, of all people, had the greatest responsibility to obey His law? So Jehovah must either accept His own dishonour if He kept Jerusalem standing despite its turning away from Him, or make them know that He is Jehovah by setting His face against them. A sorrowful choice! Since the first could not be, the second was the only course their sins deserved. It was the only road open until Messiah came. Bearing their judgment, He made it righteous for the mercies of God to begin again on the ground of sovereign grace.
- Wrong hope. Zedekiah wanted a rescue like Hezekiah's. But lips that honour God while the heart stays far from Him win no such answer.
- God's hand, not Babylon's. The Lord Himself fights against the city. The army outside the walls only carries out the work He assigned it.
- God's own weapon. God sends pestilence Himself — "the sword of Jehovah," not the enemy's. David chose that stroke over human hands, because God's mercies are very great.
- God's hand reaches wide. Animals fall with their owners. God set man at the centre of a system, and the lower creation suffers or rejoices with its head.
- God's hand spares no rank. The royal house of David stands condemned too, so the ruin is complete. That dead end is the road that runs on to Messiah, who bore the judgment so mercy could begin again.
And afterwards, saith Jehovah, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
Judah's last king asked God for help, and the answer left him nothing: God Himself would hand Zedekiah, his officials and every survivor over to Babylon. Two questions follow: why does God give His own people to an enemy who shows no pity, and what becomes of His promise to David?
Zedekiah used religious words, but he had already broken his sworn oath to the king of Babylon. One commentator ties the blunt answer to that gap.
The answer of the Lord was blunt in the extreme. How could it be otherwise to a king who hypocritically honoured Jehovah with his lips while his heart was far from Him? Everything was hopeless for the king of Judah, who valued the oath he had taken less than the Gentile who had imposed it on him.
The verse does not describe a military defeat that God failed to prevent. God names Himself as the one who hands them over. The Babylonian army only carries out what He has decided.
How could Zedekiah even imagine that a righteous Lord had a message of peace for him? The Lord Himself will now fight against Jerusalem and its wicked king. The enemy will do the appointed work of judgment: "He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion." The king will be taken captive.
The list begins with Zedekiah, not with the people. One commentator explains that the throne was the last place blessing could hold.
Royalty was always the last stem of blessing in the history of Israel. If only the king had been right, though the people and the prophets were ever so wrong, God would still send blessing to Israel. Everything depended on the king, the seed of David. God might have chastised the prophets and priests and people, but He would have held to them for His servant David's sake. But not only did the people go astray — the king himself led the wickedness. Then it was impossible to hold to them, and Jeremiah's sorrowful task was to announce this decision from God.
That is why the sentence covers every level of the nation at once.
Zedekiah's sin was still more serious. God had already exposed the guilt of the people, the priests and the prophets. Now He condemns the responsible head of the nation. There was no exception; the ruin of Judah is complete.
God used Babylon as an instrument of judgment. That did not make Babylon innocent. The God who grants the victory keeps account of how the victor behaves.
God put power into the hand of the Gentile. He gave his armies success, even against the nation of His choice, and even to the overthrow of Zion that He loved. Even so, He does not overlook the pride of heart, the lust of power, the self-will and violence of the rod He uses to correct His erring people. Those nations invaded His land again and again and destroyed life and property without restraint. They were His instruments to correct His stubborn and stiff-necked people. But doing the will of God was far from the thought of any one of them.
Nothing here was vague, and later history matched the words.
Zedekiah's case is perhaps even more astonishing, because puzzling details came true so exactly. God plainly foretold that He would give Zedekiah, with the city and the people, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 21:3-7) — and that is what happened. There was nothing obscure in that, though it was a most serious truth.
If the whole royal house falls under this sentence, the promise of a king from David's line looks finished. Much more hangs on that question than Judah's throne.
This whole question of "the house of David" and "the throne of David" is of the greatest importance. If David's seed has failed for ever then there is no gospel for us today! For the gospel makes known the sure mercies of David! And there is no coming age of world-wide blessing for this earth either, because the One who rules and reigns to bring it must come from David's line!
- Cause. The king used God's name with his lips while breaking a sworn oath. Hypocrisy, not bad luck, emptied his plea of hope.
- Hand. God says He will give them over Himself. The Babylonian army carries out an appointed work; it does not defeat a God who tried to stop it.
- Reach. The king first, then his officials, then everyone left alive. Judgment reaches the top of the nation, because the throne was the last place blessing could hold.
- Limit. The rod is still watched. God notes the pride and violence of the nation He uses, and no instrument escapes account for its own cruelty.
- Result. The house of David falls. And if David's line had failed for ever, there would be no gospel and no coming kingdom.