Jeremiah 39 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Jeremiah 39 Bible Study
INTRO AND TIMELINE:
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth (3 miles from Jerusalem). His ministry was directed towards the people of Judah, immediately before and during their exile in Babylon. His work as a prophet dates from 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah is the longest book in the English Bible by word count. The book has 52 chapters.
Jeremiah prophesied under the following Kings of Judah:
Manasseh (687-642 BC)
Amos (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
EZEKIEL 12:13:
There is a mysterious prophecy in Ezekiel 12 that is difficult to understand until you read the documented history of this chapter.
Speaking of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, God prophesied, “I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there” (Eze 12:13).
How was it possible that Zedekiah could be captured, brought to Babylon, and even die there, but never see the city?
We will be able to understand Ezekiel’s prophesy perfectly by the time we finish through the history of the fall of Jerusalem in Jeremiah 39.
OUTLINE:
JERUSALEM FALLS TO THE BABYLONIANS (39:1-10):
In the 9th year of Zedekiah, Babylon besieged Jerusalem.
In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the city walls were penetrated.
The officials of the Babylonian army entered Jerusalem and sat in the middle gate, showing their authority over the city.
Zedekiah and his family fled during the night, but they were captured near Jericho.
The rebellious king of Judah was brought to Nebuchadnezzar for sentencing. Nebuchadnezzar killed his sons in front of him, slaughtered all the officials of Judah, put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and then took him in chains to Babylon.
The Babylonian army tore down the walls of Jerusalem and burned it.
All the people of Judah were rounded up, put in chains, and carried away captive, just as Jeremiah had prophesied.
The only exceptions were the poorest people of the land, who Nebuchadnezzar left in Judah to care for the fields and vineyards.
JEREMIAH IS RELEASED FROM PRISON (39:11-14):
Nebuchadnezzar ordered Jeremiah to be released from prison and be allowed to live amongst the people in Judah.
He was to be treated well and not harmed in any way (39:12).
EBED-MELECH’S BLESSING (39:15-18):
Before Jeremiah was released from the court of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him regarding Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian who saved him from the muddy cistern (38:7-13).
God promised to save Ebed-melech from the Babylonian slaughter.
He said to him, “I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in Me” (39:18).
APPLICATION:
The day of judgement finally came for Jerusalem, after decades of God’s prophets promising it.
I can’t imagine how many people scoffed at Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, saying, “These crazy guys have been bloviating about Jerusalem’s downfall for over 100 years, and it still hasn’t happened, does anyone take them seriously anymore?!”
The fall of Jerusalem should be instructive to us today.
How many people mock the words of God’s messenger, God’s scriptures, and God’s preachers?
They say, “Those Christians have been going on and on about the future judgement of God for 2,000 years! Does anybody take them seriously? No serious person pays attention to their long expired message! If God was so mad about sin, He would have done something by now. I’m going to keep living my life the way I want!”
Many in Jerusalem chose that route, and they found out the hard way that just because a prophecy was old didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
Let’s not repeat their mistake. God may delay His judgement, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t coming.
