and he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; and every great [man's] house he burned with fire.
Jeremiah's closing chapter records the unthinkable: Babylon's army burned the temple Solomon built, the king's palace, and every great house in Jerusalem. Why would God let His own house burn, and what did that fire settle for the nation, for the world, and for us?
The house of the LORD is named first, before the palace and before the homes. Commentators ask what its burning proved that the ruin of the city alone did not.
God calls His house at Jerusalem the place of His sanctuary, the sanctuary of Christ. He was and is always the God of the Jews. This is not a simple treading down of the people by God's permission, as punishment for their sins. For it to go that far, God lets the temple itself be thrown down, as He did at the time of the captivity in Babylon. It had to be so, in order that God might show He has completely handed His people over to the fruit of their ways. While He upholds His honour in that house, He must stand up to defend them, even while He disciplines them. But if that house is destroyed and their city laid flat, then He truly leaves them to the ripened fruit of their sins. Even then, He may still intend to bring them back.
Could God ever give up His own sanctuary? Jeremiah had already answered that with Shiloh.
Shiloh was the place where God's tent of worship first stood in the land. What was Shiloh now? God had profaned it. He would do exactly the same where the ark now stood, in the sanctuary at Jerusalem. It is impossible for God to bind Himself to maintain an empty form. The temple was a beautiful picture of His truth. He would sustain it no longer, for the state of the people and of the priests was the most offensive evil under the sun in His eyes. God had given the Jewish people and their priests great truth and blessing, or at least great privileges. The greater the gift, the greater the wickedness of their insults to His holiness in His own temple.
Babylon's soldiers lit the fire. One writer looks past them to the One who gave the order.
Their civil disgrace and ruin were dreadful, because their outward standing and blessings came from God in a way unique to Israel. But what was that next to His degrading His own dwelling on earth among them! … It was no use thinking about the Chaldeans. It was God who brought Zion and the temple, and their feasts and fasts and sacrifices, with king and priest, to nothing.
Chapter 52 is an added conclusion to the book. Why does it end with this list of ruin?
The Holy Spirit of God has a special reason for giving us such a complete summary in this added conclusion. It is to picture for us the total failure of man on the ground of responsibility. We see it in the most privileged nation of all — the nation God gave special privileges and a unique place of nearness to Himself. This matters, because it proves that man cannot be trusted to direct a nation. If the most privileged nation fails, we can expect nothing better from the others — only worse.
The fire did more than ruin a city. Its date marks a change that has not ended yet.
In 588 B.C. Jerusalem fell in complete ruin, along with the temple Solomon had built. God took power and authority out of the hands of His own people and put it into Gentile hands. Nebuchadnezzar was the first head of the line of Gentile kingdoms (Dan. 2:38). It is still the "times of the Gentiles," and these will last until the kingdom comes into the hands of Christ.
Why burn the temple at all? One writer gives the reason, then turns it on the church today.
Nebuchadnezzar realised the Jews must have no centre of gathering. So fire destroyed the temple that Solomon had built in such splendour. What is there in the Christian world that answers to this? God's true Centre in the Church is Christ Himself. But does the church that bears His name recognise this today? No — Satan has succeeded in blotting out the clear recognition of Christ as God's one Centre. The result is confusion, with many sects and denominations struggling against each other.
- Privilege — Judah held the greatest privileges God ever gave a nation. It used them to insult Him in His own house.
- Patience spent — God will not keep a building going as an empty form. What happened to Shiloh happened to Jerusalem.
- Handed over — the burning sanctuary was God's sign that He had stopped shielding His people. He left them to the fruit of their own ways.
- Power transferred — with the temple in ashes, rule over the earth passed to Gentile hands. It has not returned yet.
- Centre kept — fire took Israel's one gathering place. For believers today the Centre is Christ Himself, and no fire can touch Him.
And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the body-guard, broke down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
Verse 14 records the last stroke of the siege: the temple had burned, and now the whole Chaldean army pulled down every wall around Jerusalem. God had chosen this city as His dwelling place, and now it lay open ground — so who really did this, and why?
Zedekiah's rebellion was more than a political gamble. Commentators trace the ruin to a refusal to accept a sentence God had already passed.
Zedekiah should have been a pattern of submission, acknowledging the just judgment of God. Above all, it was their evil that had blocked the blessing of all the nations of the earth as independent powers. It had also thrown down not only themselves but all the others with them, under the empire of the golden head, the king of Babylon. And now Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon. That rebellion was really against the sentence of the Lord. So, in a sense, He was morally compelled to cast the Jews out of His presence.
Judah still had every outward advantage when the end came.
At that time Judah stood for the whole nation of Israel. It still had the city of government and a king of David's line on the throne. The House of the Lord still stood before them, and spoke to them of the preserving mercy of God. The chief priest and others still carried on the ministry. But they not only failed to do the good, they did what was downright evil in God's sight.
The verse names the Chaldean army. One commentator, writing on the book of Lamentations, looks past that visible cause.
Their loss of standing and their ruin were dreadful. Their outward place and blessings came from God in a way that belonged to Israel alone. But what was that next to His bringing down His own earthly dwelling among them! … It was no use thinking about the Chaldeans. It was God who brought it all to nothing: Zion and the temple, their feasts and fasts and sacrifices, with king and priest.
A wall does two things: it keeps danger out and it marks off what is inside. Breaking down all the walls destroyed both at once. One commentator reads that loss as a picture for God's people in any age.
Besides this, the army of the Chaldeans broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around, so the city would have no protection from raiders. So today, in the professing church, the wall of separation has been broken down, and unbelievers have easily come in to do damage.
Jeremiah's own words end at chapter 51; this chapter was added afterwards. Commentators ask why the same history found in 2 Kings needed repeating here.
Clearly, it was added to show how exactly the judgments and warnings God gave through Jeremiah came true. For a time the false prophets had their way; their lying messages, their words of delusion and false hope were listened to and believed. The prophet of God walked a lonely road; people rejected him and he suffered. But the time came when God vindicated him and His own Word, while the false prophets were found out to be liars and deceivers.
Another writer notes how complete the ruin was.
Jeremiah did not write chapter 52, yet it closes the book well. It links the Chaldean with the king, the capital, and the temple. The plundering of the city and sanctuary was complete, and so was the captivity of the people. God had not failed in anything He had predicted about Babylon's supremacy, nor about the value of submission to Babylon, the scourge of Judah's sin.
These same walls were rebuilt in Nehemiah's day, and Scripture looks on to a time when Jerusalem will need no stonework at all.
Walls will be unnecessary. The Lord Himself will be a wall of fire around the city, and He will also be "the glory in her midst." … Their walls, gates and bars will go (Ezek. 38:10-11): the Lord alone will defend them. This should be a clear, ringing testimony to the Church of God today. We have too often turned to people and to organizations for our protection, and for help in bearing witness for Christ before the world.
- Cause — A king rebelled against a sentence God had already passed. The army that broke the walls only carried out what that rebellion invited.
- Hand — Behind the army stood God Himself. He brought Zion, the temple, king and priest to nothing.
- Loss — A broken wall means two losses: defence and separation. What is left has no guard against what should have stayed outside.
- Vindication — The ruins proved the rejected prophet right, and the popular voices of false hope wrong.
- Hope — One day the Lord Himself will be the wall. He is where His people are meant to look for safety now.
And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive of the poorest sort of the people, and the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
Jerusalem has fallen. At the very end of Jeremiah's book, this verse records how Nebuzaradan, the commander of Babylon's royal guard, sorted the survivors. Why close the book with a record of defeat, and why do the poor appear on both sides of his list?
This last chapter is an addition to the book. One writer reads it as the vindication of a man whose message nobody wanted:
It was clearly added to show how literally the judgment predictions and divine warnings given through Jeremiah were fulfilled. For a time the false prophets had their way. People listened to their lying messages, their words of delusion and false hope, and believed them. The prophet of God had a lonely lot. People rejected him, and he suffered. Yes, often the weeping prophet was discouraged and filled with gloom. But the time came when God proved him right, and proved His own Word right, while the false prophets turned out to be liars and deceivers.
Judah's last king, Zedekiah, rebelled against Babylon. One writer names what that revolt really was:
Zedekiah ought to have been a pattern of submission, owning the just judgment of God. It was their evil above all that had hindered the blessing of all the nations of the earth as independent powers. That same evil had thrown not only themselves but all others with them under the empire of the golden head, the king of Babylon. And now Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon. That was really a rebellion against the sentence of the Lord. So the Lord was, as it were, morally compelled to cast out the Jews from His presence.
Older translations end this verse with "the rest of the multitude" where the ESV has "the rest of the artisans," and the writers quoted here follow that older wording. The verse lists three groups of people, and one writer draws a single conclusion about them all:
Nebuzaradan carried away the rest of the people left in the city, those who had already gone over to the enemy, and the remnant of the multitude. We are surely right to see these captives as the main part of the non-fighting population of Jerusalem and Judah.
Note the detail: deserting to Babylon saved no one. Those who abandoned the city ended up in the same march as those who stayed in it.
Some of the poorest went into exile. Others stayed. One writer reads God's hand in that, and even guesses who these people were:
The poorest were allowed to remain, and they were treated with mercy. God remembers the poor and spares them. For all we know, these poor people, who had nothing, were the godly ones, those who wept over the conditions and who cried to God for help. God answered their prayer, the prayer of the needy.
Babylon meant to empty the land. Writing on the same scene told earlier in the book, one writer looks at who was left and sees a promise:
Yet the clearance was not complete. The poor did not fail in the land; some were left in it. That was a pledge, little as the foreigner realised it, of the return of a poor remnant. It was a pledge too of a nation yet to be poor in spirit, when God will bring back the captivity of His people, and Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.
The exile is more than a national tragedy. One writer reads it as a test case, run on the people who had every advantage:
It is there to picture for us the complete failure of man on the ground of responsibility. That failure is shown in the most favoured nation of all — the nation to which God gave special privileges and a unique place of nearness to Himself. This matters, because it shows clearly that man cannot be trusted with national direction. If the most favoured nation fails, we can expect nothing better from the others, and rather worse.
- Cause — Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon. In truth he was rebelling against a sentence God had already passed, and the exile followed.
- Proof — This closing chapter shows that every warning Jeremiah gave came true. The voices that promised comfort proved false.
- Reach — Those carried off were the ordinary, non-fighting people. The list even names the deserters, so changing sides saved nobody.
- Mercy — Some of the poor went into exile and some stayed. One writer sees God sparing the needy as an answer to the prayers of people who had nothing.
- Result — The few left in the land were a pledge of a remnant returning, and of a nation one day poor in spirit. The record of failure ends by pointing forward.
But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard left of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
Babylon's army burned Jerusalem, pulled down its walls and marched its people away. The one exception was the poorest people, who stayed to tend vines and fields — which raises a question: does God still care about what is left of a ruined nation?
The same detail appears at the end of 2 Kings. One writer marks what this moment began for the Jewish nation:
The end of 2 Kings tells how Nebuchadnezzar's captain of the guard destroyed Solomon's temple and razed Jerusalem to the ground. He broke down its walls, burned its palaces and houses, and deported all the Jews. He left only a few of "the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields" (2 Kings 25:12).
reader: DELETE It was then that the Times of the Gentiles began — the time when the Jewish nation came under Gentile domination.
Another writer reads the whole chapter as the record of a collapse, and draws a lesson from it:
Jeremiah 52 tells us of the failure of Judaism. May we learn the lesson and cling to the Lord Himself, abiding in Christ so that our joy may be full in spite of the failure.
The officer's plan was practical. Vinedressers tended vines and plowmen worked fields, so the conquered land would still produce food. One writer sees more in it than farm policy:
Still, the clearance was not complete. The poor did not fail in the land; some were left in it. Little as the foreign officer thought it, they were a pledge of the return of a poor remnant. They were a pledge, too, of a nation yet to be poor in spirit, when God will bring back the captivity of His people. Then Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.
The captain of the guard decided who stayed. One writer looks past him to God:
The poorest were allowed to stay, and they were treated with mercy. God remembers the poor and spares them. For all we know, these poor people, who had nothing, were the godly, those who wept over the conditions and who cried to God for help. Their prayer, the prayer of the needy, was answered.
Jeremiah could have gone to Babylon. He stayed instead with the poor of the land — the people this verse describes. One writer weighs the two futures he faced:
He faces two choices. He may go to Babylon and enjoy the king's favours. There he will find his friends Daniel and Ezekiel, and other captives taken away earlier. There he can spend the rest of his life in relative quiet. On the other hand, he may remain with the poor of the land in Palestine and carry on a ministry among them. They will probably accept it no better than his earlier prophesying. Still, on God's part, it will bring a last encouragement to these desolate remains of Israel.
Decades later, when the returned exiles finished rebuilding the temple and kept the Passover, the guests included people who had separated themselves from the corruption around them. One writer traces where they came from:
When the house of God was finished, there was a season of much joy. The people offered sacrifices and kept the Passover. We learn from Jeremiah 52:16 that when the great captivity took place, "some of the poorest of the land" were left where they were, so that they might be farmers and work the soil. Some of these, or their descendants, cleansed themselves from evils they had become involved in. They joined in this time of revival and blessing, and so could take part in the feast of unleavened bread.
- Poor — The only people still standing in the wreckage owned nothing. The verse calls them the poorest, and that word carries the whole point.
- Kept — The conqueror saw cheap farm labour. God kept a foothold in the land: the poor "did not fail" there.
- Remembered — Kings and priests died, yet these poor received mercy. One writer sees God remembering the needy and answering their prayer.
- Joined — Jeremiah turned down comfort in Babylon and stayed with these poor people, to bring them a last encouragement from God.
- Restored — Some of these farmers, or their children, cleansed themselves and shared in the rebuilding. The pledge of return was already there in the vineyards.
And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke up, and carried all the brass thereof to Babylon.
Jerusalem has fallen, and the Babylonians now strip the temple itself. The bronze they smash and cart away was not decoration. It carried the most public signs of God's house — so what had Judah lost, and was anything left to hope for?
The two pillars had names, and the names were a message. One commentator explains both names, and what became of that house:
The pillars had names: Jachin on the right of the entry and Boaz on the left. Jachin means "He shall establish." That is a promise that God will establish His house one day. It was not to be established then. Israel was unfaithful, and that house was later destroyed. But God's promise about the future remains. Boaz means "in Him is strength." Israel's weakness led to ruin and failure, but the Lord Jesus is still the strong One. He will do the will of God perfectly.
The sea and the stands were working equipment, not monuments. What they were for carried a message, and Revelation picks that picture up:
The molten sea could hold 3,000 measures of water. It was there for the priests and the Levites to wash themselves. The ten lavers with their bases were for washing the sacrifices. The sea pictures the cleansing His people need, which the Lord Himself provides in grace. The huge amount of water in it suggests the unlimited provision grace has made. In Revelation 4:6 we read of "a sea of glass, like crystal" before the throne. That sea of glass points back to the molten sea in Solomon's temple. But it is not a sea of water, because the redeemed in glory no longer need cleansing. They have entered a perfect and fixed state of holiness.
Once Judah broke the link with God, the pillars had nothing left to say in Jerusalem. One writer presses the point as a question, then turns to what God still intends:
The Lord had been despised. What should Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness, and God had destroyed it instead of establishing it. So ends the history of man, placed under responsibility before God. God must give him up — but His promises are without repentance. He will re-establish the reign of His anointed upon these two marvellous pillars, and this reign will be unshakeable.
None of this came without notice. Jeremiah had already warned the priests about the temple vessels. His message contradicted the prophets who promised a quick recovery:
Jeremiah speaks also to the priests — those responsible in the sphere of religious activity. He especially warns them about "the vessels of the LORD's house" (27:16). Contrary to the words of the false prophets, these vessels would not yet be brought back from Babylon. Rather, the vessels still left in the temple would eventually be carried away. Such a sad prospect should have brought those responsible for the worship of God to repentance. But they did not care.
Where the bronze ended up matters as much as how it broke. One commentator notes when the stripping happened, and draws a line from Babylon to religion today:
Verses 13-17 seem to describe what happened before Nebuzaradan burned the temple. The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars and the bronze sea to take them to Babylon. They also took the firepans, the basins, and the articles of solid gold and solid silver. All these things were God's property. They are symbols of what only faith can properly take up. But going to Babylon — which means "confusion" — put them in connection with idol worship. False religion today has also taken for itself what really belongs to God, and uses it for its own unholy profit.
The wagon-loads of scrap metal marked more than the end of a building. They opened a period that is still running:
In due course came the terrible day when the LORD could no longer tolerate the evil nation, and everything was given up to destruction. The inspired historian tells us, with sorrow of heart, how they broke up the famous pillars Jachin and Boaz. The bases, the molten sea, the twelve bronze bulls and the rest went too. All of it was loaded up as "scrap" in a dismal convoy of wagons and carted off to Babylon! "The bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight" (Jer. 52:20). So did "the times of the Gentiles" begin, and they are not ended yet. Israel still bleeds, and the nations of the earth find no rest. Oh, the folly of sin against God!
- Sign. The pillars said God would establish, and that strength is in Him. The sea spoke of the cleansing His people need.
- Sin. Judah was unfaithful, so the signs had nothing left to say at Jerusalem. God broke down what He had promised to build up.
- Word. Jeremiah warned the priests in advance, against the prophets who promised quick comfort. The warning called for repentance. They did not care.
- Scrap. Men smashed what belonged to God for its metal and set it beside idols. Religion still does this whenever it takes God's things for its own gain.
- Sure. The broken pillars mark the end of man on trial and the start of the times of the Gentiles. But God's promise stands. The reign He establishes will not be shaken.
The pots also, and the shovels, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, they took away.
Jeremiah 52 records how Jerusalem fell, and at this point the record slows down to count the temple's small bronze tools one by one. Why does God's Word stop for shovels and wick-trimmers?
One writer sets out how the chapter divides. The largest block covers the house of the Lord.
Verses 4 to 7 show us the overthrow of the city. Verses 8 to 11 show the punishment and blinding of the king. Verses 12 to 23 show the destruction of the house of the Lord and everything connected with it. Verses 24 to 27 show the killing of the chief priest and others.
Most of that block is an inventory. God's Word records the loss piece by piece.
The list ends with "all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service." The metal matters. One writer explains what gold and brass each stood for in the tabernacle, and where each belonged. (Older translations say "brass" where the ESV says "bronze.")
"Gold" stands for divine righteousness, the divine nature in "the man Christ Jesus." "Brass" stands for righteousness that demands the judgement of sin, as in the brazen altar. It can also stand for the judgement of uncleanness, as in the brazen laver. That is why, inside the tent of the tabernacle, everything was gold — the ark, the mercy-seat, the table, the lampstand, the altar of incense. All of these were symbols of the divine nature, the inherent personal excellence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Outside the tent, everything was brass — the brazen altar and its vessels, the laver and its base.
So the tools taken in this verse belonged to the courtyard. They served sacrifice and washing.
The snuffers are wick trimmers, and they look like the least important thing in the verse. One writer finds a lesson in them for everyone who bears testimony.
Wicks themselves are not mentioned. They do not speak of the Lord Jesus, but of believers who bear testimony and yet must be trimmed, because the testimony of one day cannot serve for the next day. However brightly we may have shone for the Lord at one time, the burnt wick has to go, so that we may keep shining with new energy.
The taking of these vessels was not ordinary plunder. One writer compares the three times Babylon carried people away, and asks which one God counted from.
There had been three deportations. The last of the three did the most damage. The temple was burnt, and very large numbers were taken captive. But the 70 years of captivity count from the first one, which we would call relatively unimportant. Why was this first one the important one in God's eyes? Well, it's because of the vessels. Nebuchadnezzar had taken the vessels of the Temple, took them to Babylon, and even put them into the house of his idols. Such a thing had never happened before. True, some kings had taken silver from the treasure and even from the wings of the doors of the temple (Ahas and Hezekiah) to appease the king of Assyria. But the holy vessels had never been touched.
One writer sees the same loss repeated in the church today.
We are in the same circumstances, in some measure. We have seen the equivalent of the vessels of the sanctuary carried into captivity. What Babylon stands for has wrecked the church in its responsibility. The book of Revelation traces this right through, until the false system is judged at last.
The counting has a sequel seventy years later, when Babylon itself fell.
The conqueror of Babylon proclaimed a kind of jubilee for the captives, but expressly to build Jehovah's house in Jerusalem. The holy vessels were counted and restored, as far as was fitting, for that house. The ark, the centre, the highest in value, the nearest to the glory, was not there. Alas! the glory itself had withdrawn. But in the day that the salvation of Israel comes out of Zion, the glory will return, no more to leave.
- Counted. The chapter lists the temple furniture down to the snuffers and basins. God records every piece of His house, however small.
- Bronze. Bronze marks these as courtyard vessels. It speaks of righteousness dealing with sin and uncleanness, while gold stood inside.
- Carried. No one had ever put the holy vessels in an idol's house before. God counted the seventy years from that first deportation, not from the greater ruin later.
- Repeated. Commentators see the same pattern in the church. What belongs to God falls into a Babylon-like system, and Revelation traces that system to its judgment.
- Returned. The vessels came back out of Babylon, counted again. The ark was missing, and the full glory waits for the day salvation comes out of Zion.
And the basons and the censers, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the cups, and the goblets, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away.
The last record of Solomon's temple is an inventory. A Babylonian officer carried off its gold and silver utensils of worship, and Scripture lists them item by item. Why does Scripture bother to name each item, and what does it mean that things made for God ended up in a pagan treasury?
The list sits in the book's closing chapter. Its point is that nothing God had said failed.
Jeremiah 52 is a fitting close to the book. It shows how the Babylonian dealt with the king, the capital, and the temple. The plundering of the city and sanctuary was complete, and so was the captivity of the people. Everything God predicted came true — Babylon's rule, and the value of submitting to Babylon, the rod that punished Judah's sin.
Commentators differ on who wrote the chapter. Kelly takes it as added by an editor; others leave the question open.
Chapter 52 is an appendix corresponding nearly word-by-word with 2 Kings 24:18-25, 30. This appendix was added under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, maybe even by the prophet Jeremiah himself.
Each item on the list had a job in worship. Their removal also came with a time limit.
The sacred vessels were carried away to Babylon and treated with contempt by king Belshazzar. Some of them will be brought back, in obedience to the order of Cyrus, and put in the restored temple (Ezra 1:7-11). These vessels represented the worship rendered to God. The prophet announced seventy years between their removal and their return. That long gap shows how much they stood for.
The verse sorts the spoil by metal. That order matches how close each vessel stood to God.
All the vessels of the Holy Places inside were of gold. The lampstands and tables used in the side rooms were of silver. The vessels in the inner and outer courts were of brass... So the value drops step by step as you move outward: gold, silver, brass, iron, clay... in the Temple vessels we see the value and glory of the worship and service rise as the worshipper draws nearer and nearer into the presence of God.
Earlier kings had raided the temple's treasury under pressure. Touching the holy vessels themselves was new, and God dated the seventy years from it.
There had been three deportations to Babylon. The last of them did the most damage. The temple was burnt, and very large numbers led captive. But the 70 years of captivity count from the first deportation, the one we would call minor. Why was this first one the important one in God's eyes? Well, it's because of the vessels. Nebuchadnezzar had taken the vessels of the Temple, took them to Babylon, and even put them into the house of his idols. Such a thing had never happened before. Earlier kings had taken silver from the temple to buy off the king of Assyria, but the holy vessels had never been touched.
The officer weighed the gold as gold and the silver as silver. Their character lay somewhere else.
In the Lord's eyes each vessel takes its character from its use. They are in the house for use, not for ornament. Those that have been misused are debased — not in what they are made of, but by their contact with impurity. So Nebuchadnezzar carried the golden vessels of the Temple to Babylon, and there men used them to dishonour God. His grandson Belshazzar, for instance, made irreverent use of them at a banquet to his gods. He poured drink offerings to his idol images into the vessels set apart for Jehovah. Could anything be more dishonouring to Jehovah than that?
The captain of the guard could move the gold; he could not change whose it was.
We can be sure of this: if God allowed these vessels to go into captivity, He could still look after His own interests there. The same was true when the ark of the covenant was captive in the land of the Philistines. In our day too, God has the whole matter in hand. Our part is to seek to maintain what is due to God, and to stand against whatever has made God deal with His people the way He has.
What happened to the vessels has a parallel today.
All these things were God's property. They stand for what only faith can truly take hold of. But once they were taken to Babylon — a name that means "confusion" — they ended up tied to idol worship. Today too, false religion takes for itself what belongs to God and uses it for its own unholy profit.
- Vessels given. The gold and silver utensils were the tools of worship. The metals ranked them by nearness to God: gold inside, silver next, brass in the courts.
- Vessels taken. God dated the seventy years from the first touching of the holy vessels, not from the worst destruction. No earlier king had crossed that line.
- Vessels defiled. In Babylon they served idols at Belshazzar's banquet — debased not in metal but by misuse.
- Vessels kept. Captivity did not change whose they were. God could guard His own interests in Babylon, as He did when the ark was among the Philistines.
- Vessels returned. Under Cyrus some were brought back to the rebuilt temple. So the list is a record of what God meant to recover, not of what He lost.
The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen oxen that formed the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah for the brass of all these vessels there was no weight.
This verse reads like a list of loot. The great bronze furniture that Solomon made for the house of the Lord is now scrap metal, bound for Babylon. Why did God let it go?
One writer follows what became of everything Solomon and Hiram made for the temple.
It is painful to refer, even briefly, to the later history of everything Solomon and Hiram made... In time came the terrible day when the Lord could no longer tolerate the evil nation. He gave everything up to destruction. With sorrow of heart the inspired historian tells us of the breaking up of the famous pillars Jachin and Boaz, the bases, the cast bronze sea, the twelve bronze bulls, and more. All of it was loaded up as "scrap" in a dismal convoy of wagons and taken to Babylon! "The bronze of all these things was beyond weight." So began "the times of the Gentiles," and they are not ended yet. Israel still bleeds, and the nations of the earth find no rest. Oh, the folly of sin against God!
Each of the two pillars had a name, and the names pointed forward to Christ's reign of peace.
Jachin means "He will establish." Boaz means "in Him is strength." The names imply that God will establish the kingdom in strength and in peace, under the administration of Christ. So the names are pictures of the millennium. There appears to be a reference to these pillars in Revelation 3:12, where the one who overcomes is made a "pillar" in the temple of God.
So what was left for those two names to say once Judah had turned away? One writer answers, then looks past the ruin.
Even the two pillars of the temple are broken in pieces and carried away to Babylon. So are all the bronze, the gold, and the silver of the house of God. The Lord had been despised. What did Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness, and God had pulled down instead of establishing. So ends the history of man placed under responsibility before God. God must give him up — but His promises are without repentance. He will re-establish the reign of His anointed on these two marvellous pillars. That reign will be unshakeable.
The verse also names the sea and the twelve bulls under it. Both the number and the animal say something.
The Sea matches the washing basin of the tabernacle, but how much greater! It was 10 cubits across (about 15 feet) and 5 cubits high (7½ feet). It rested on 12 bronze oxen, all facing outward, three toward each point of the compass. The 12 tribes of Israel are represented in this way. The oxen speak of lowly, patient service. The priests washed in the Sea, a picture of the moral cleansing needed for carrying out their service.
Where the metal went is part of the message, and so is the meaning of that city's name.
There was so much bronze in these objects that no one could measure it. All these things were God's property, and they picture what only faith can properly take up. But in being carried to Babylon (which means "confusion"), they were placed in connection with idol worship. Today also false religion has taken for itself what really belongs to God, and uses it for its own unholy profit.
The vessels did not stay in Babylon. Their journey out and back had a set length.
The seventy-year captivity in Babylon begins in the year 606 as the prophet announced (25:11). After it a remnant will come back with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple, as the first chapters of Ezra relate. The sacred vessels were carried away to Babylon, and king Belshazzar desecrated them there. Some of them will come back, following the decree of Cyrus, and take their place in the restored temple (Ezra 1:7-11). These vessels represented the worship offered to God. The prophet announced seventy years between their removal and their return. That span shows what they stood for.
One writer draws the lesson of the whole chapter for readers now.
Jeremiah 52 tells us of the failure of Judaism. May we learn the lesson and hold fast to the Lord Himself, abiding in Christ. So may our joy be full despite the failure, and so may we be to God's glory in these "difficult times."
- Made — Solomon made the pillars, sea and twelve oxen for God's house. The oxen stand for the twelve tribes and for lowly, patient service.
- Named — Jachin means "He will establish." Boaz means "in Him is strength." The two names promised a kingdom set up in strength and peace under Christ.
- Broken — Judah despised the Lord, so God pulled down instead of establishing. The pillars had nothing left to say at Jerusalem.
- Carried — Babylon means "confusion." God's own property ended up there, linked to idol worship. False religion still takes what belongs to God.
- Restored — The vessels stood for worship. After seventy years some came back under Cyrus. God does not take back His promises, and the reign of His anointed will be unshakeable.
And as to the pillars the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers it was hollow.
The last chapter of Jeremiah lists what went to Babylon when Jerusalem fell. Yet in the middle of the list God stops to record the size of one pillar — scrap metal by then, and measured anyway.
Commentators have asked why this chapter is in the book at all.
The substance of this appendix is found in 2 Kings 24:18-20 and 25:1-21, 27-30. But why is it added here once more? Clearly to show how exactly the judgments and warnings God gave through Jeremiah came true. For a time the false prophets had their way. People listened to their lying messages, their words of delusion and false hope, and believed them. The prophet of God had a lonely lot; he was rejected and he suffered. But in the end he was proved right, and so was God's Word, while the false prophets were exposed as liars and deceivers.
So the measuring is part of that proof. Another writer notices the mood of the report.
Meanwhile, Solomon's notable pillars have been broken up as scrap, and carried to Babylon (Jer. 27:19-22; Jer. 52:17-23). The Holy Spirit dwells sorrowfully upon their beauty while recording their destruction.
The verse pairs solid metal with an empty middle. Commentators find meaning in both.
They were cast "in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan" (1 Kings 7:46); they were hollow, and the brass was four fingers thick (Jer. 52:21). BRASS is the emblem of strength; HOLLOW expresses emptiness. People skilled in such matters say that these proportions of thickness and size give the greatest strength with the least metal. That is just like God in His perfect wisdom.
The writer quotes an older translation: where it says "brass," the ESV says "bronze."
Chronicles gives a different figure for these pillars. Commentators explain the gap.
Notice that in Kings and Jer. 52:21 the height of each pillar is 18 cubits, but in Chronicles their length is given as 35 cubits. The explanation is this: Kings gives the height of each pillar, while Chronicles gives the length of the two pillars together. So 17½ cubits, perhaps with a socket, would come to the same as the 18 cubits in Kings.
These were not anonymous columns. Solomon had named them, and the names were statements about God.
Solomon "set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin [which means 'He will establish'], and that on the north Boaz [which means 'in Him is strength']" (2 Chron. 3:17). They are silent but eloquent witnesses to the great truths of ESTABLISHMENT BY GOD and STRENGTH IN CHRIST.
That is what makes the breaking so pointed. Judah kept the pillars but despised the God whose names they carried.
Even the two pillars of the temple are broken in pieces and carried away to Babylon, along with all the brass, the gold, and the silver of the house of God. The Lord had been despised. What should Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness. God had destroyed it instead of establishing it. So ends the story of man, tested under responsibility before God. God has to give him up — but His promises do not change.
The metal went to Babylon. What the pillars said about God did not go with it.
Solomon's kingdom could not be established, because he did not seek his strength in God. But even if the material pillars have disappeared, the moral pillars remain. The day will come when the Lord, in whom is strength, will show everyone that He has established in righteousness a kingdom that can never be moved.
The pillar image turns up once more in the New Testament.
There seems to be a reference to these pillars in Revelation 3:12, where the one who overcomes is made a "pillar" in the temple of God.
- Measured — God keeps the height, the circumference, the four-finger thickness and the hollow middle on record. The chapter exists to prove that Jeremiah's warnings came true to the letter.
- Meaning — Brass pictures strength; hollow pictures emptiness. The proportions give the most strength from the least metal — just like God in His perfect wisdom.
- Named — Jachin means "He will establish." Boaz means "in Him is strength." The two pillars were silent witnesses: God establishes, and strength is in Christ.
- Broken — Judah despised the Lord. The strength left, and God pulled down the pillars that promised it.
- Re-established — The metal went to Babylon; its message did not. The day is coming when the Lord will set up in righteousness a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
And the capital upon it was brass, and the height of the one capital [was] five cubits; and the network and the pomegranates, upon the capital round about, all of brass; and similarly for the second pillar, and the pomegranates.
Jerusalem has fallen, and the record reads like an inventory — it even measures the bronze crown on top of one pillar and counts its decoration. Why does Scripture linger over beauty at the very moment Babylon is smashing it up and carting it away?
The "capital" (older translations say "chapiter") was the crown set on top of each bronze pillar at the temple entrance. The accounts give different heights for it. One writer reconciles them by breaking the crown into parts:
What strikes one commentator is the tone of the record. The details are loving; the event is a demolition.
David's royal house has forfeited everything by unfaithfulness; but Christ will restore it all in the day of His power. Meanwhile, Solomon's famous pillars have been broken up as scrap and carried to Babylon. The Holy Spirit dwells mournfully upon their beauty while recording their destruction.
The verse repeats one word: bronze, bronze, bronze. The material itself carried a message.
Bronze signifies the righteousness of God in judgement. So it was used for the Altar of Burnt-offerings. Scripture gives four figures of righteousness: Gold — intrinsic divine righteousness. Bronze (or copper) — divine righteousness as applied to man in judgement. Linen — "the righteousness of the saints." Filthy rags — the righteousness of the flesh.
One writer reads both ornaments as pictures of what Christ works for His own and in them:
"Nets of chequer work": He has caught us out of the sea of humanity for Himself. "Wreaths of chain work": He binds and secures all whom He acquires. Scripture often uses "pomegranates" as emblems of fruitfulness. All who are Christ's are meant to be fruitful.
The pomegranate has a companion elsewhere in Scripture, and the pairing turns the ornament into a test:
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. The hem of the high priest's garment was trimmed with bells and pomegranates, one after the other. The bells represent the testimony, the pomegranates the fruit… Our fruit should bear the character of Christ and be worthy of Him. It should also match our testimony, just as the pomegranates were the same in number as the golden bells. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates, more words than fruit!
The verse insists that the second pillar was identical. There were two, and each had a name:
Solomon "set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north." He named the south pillar Jachin ['He will establish'] and the north pillar Boaz ['In Him is strength']. They are silent but eloquent witnesses to two great truths: God establishes, and strength is in Christ.
Once you know the names, the smashing of the pillars reads as a verdict:
Even the two pillars of the temple are broken in pieces and carried away to Babylon. So are all the bronze, the gold, and the silver of the house of God. The Lord had been despised. What did Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness. God had destroyed it instead of establishing it.
The bronze went to Babylon. Yet the loss of the objects did not cancel what they said:
Even if the material pillars have disappeared, the moral pillars remain. The day will come when the Lord, in whom is strength, will show everyone this: He has established in righteousness a kingdom which can never be moved.
- Crown. The capital was the crown on top of the pillar. It stood five cubits high, ringed with network and pomegranates.
- Cause. Bronze pictures the righteousness of God applied to man in judgement. The very metal the record measures spoke of the judgement then falling.
- Fruit. Pomegranates picture fruit borne for God, and bells picture testimony. The standing danger is more words than fruit.
- Collapse. The pillars carried the names "He will establish" and "In Him is strength". The Lord had been despised, so God broke instead of establishing.
- Continuance. The bronze went to Babylon, but the truth did not. The material pillars fell; the moral pillars stand. Christ will yet establish a kingdom that cannot be moved.
And there were ninety-six pomegranates on the [four] sides; all the pomegranates upon the network were a hundred round about.
The chapter ends with a list of what Babylon carried off from the temple. It stops to count the ornaments on the two great bronze pillars at the entrance. Why would God count decorative fruit while the enemy tore His house down for scrap?
This list belongs to a record of loss, not of dedication. One commentator notes that the pillars named for God's promise ended up as scrap on the road to Babylon:
He will establish; in Him is strength — a precious assurance both for Israel and for ourselves. He is willing, He is able. David's royal house has forfeited everything by unfaithfulness. But Christ will restore it all in the day of His power. Meanwhile, Solomon's famous pillars have been broken up as scrap and carried to Babylon (Jer. 27:19-22; Jer. 52:17-23). The Holy Spirit lingers sorrowfully over their beauty while recording their destruction.
The figures here — ninety-six on the sides, a hundred on the network — have puzzled readers. Scripture gives the count in more than one way. One account lays out the arrangement and takes the "sides" as the four directions the pillars faced:
The number is given in different ways. The pomegranates were in two rows, twelve in a row: twenty-four on the upper ledge of each pillar, and twenty-four on the lower ledge, facing the four winds (Jer. 52:23) — that is, east, west, north, and south. That makes forty-eight on each pillar, ninety-six together. One pomegranate stood at each corner of the ledges, making one hundred around each ledge, two hundred on each pillar. The number on the two pillars was four hundred. The pomegranates and lily work speak of the fruits and graces of the Spirit.
The same writer distinguishes the network in this verse from the chain work, and finds meaning in the chains:
The seven chains of wreathed work on each pillar speak of complete subjection, and of what it results in: fullness of honour. In the English translation there is constant confusion between the network, or chequer work, and the chain work, or wreaths — seven chains suspended on each pillar. The confusion is not in the Hebrew Scriptures, which are clear and distinct. It is in the translation.
This ornament carried meaning. One writer points to where else the pomegranate appears:
In the Word the pomegranate seems to be the image of fruit borne for God. Bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the high priest's garment (Ex. 28:31-35). The bells represent the testimony, the pomegranates the fruit... Our fruit should bear the character of Christ and be worthy of Him. It should also match and resemble our testimony, just as the pomegranates were the same in number as the golden bells. One often finds Christians with more bells than pomegranates, more words than fruit!
Another writer reads the pomegranate from its most obvious feature:
Pomegranates are known for their many seeds. They point to the promise of great fruit, and that fruit is the result of submission to the Lord.
The two pillars carried names: Jachin, "He will establish," and Boaz, "in Him is strength." One commentator asks a blunt question about them:
Even the two pillars of the temple are broken in pieces and carried away to Babylon, along with all the brass, the gold, and the silver of the house of God. The Lord had been despised. What should Jachin and Boaz still have to do at Jerusalem? The strength that was in the Lord had departed through Judah's unfaithfulness. God had destroyed it instead of establishing it. So ends the history of man, placed under responsibility before God.
The metal went to Babylon. What the pillars stood for did not go with it.
Even if the material pillars have disappeared, the moral pillars remain. The day will come when the Lord, in whom is strength, will show everyone that He has established in righteousness a kingdom that shall never be moved. Then it shall be said, "The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting" (Ps. 93:1-2).
- Counted. The ninety-six pomegranates faced the four directions. With the corner pieces, each ledge held a hundred — four hundred over both pillars.
- Fruit. The pomegranate, packed with seeds, stands for fruit borne for God. It matched the bells on the high priest's robe: fruit and testimony, equal in number.
- Subjection. The chain work on the pillars speaks of complete subjection. Fruit is the result of that submission to the Lord.
- Broken. Jachin ("He will establish") and Boaz ("in Him is strength") went to Babylon as scrap. The strength was in the Lord, and Judah had despised Him.
- Established. The Spirit lingers over their beauty even while recording their ruin. The promise they carried still holds: Christ will establish a kingdom that will never be moved.