2nd Kings 25:5-7, “And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.”
This is one of the saddest passages in the inspired Word of God. King Zedekiah was the last king of the southern kingdom of Judah, whose capital city was Jerusalem. God had sent the prophet Jeremiah to warn Zedekiah of the coming invasion by Babylon, whose king was Nebuchadnezzar. Israel had failed to keep the Sabbath Day (a ceremonial law for Old Testament Jews which symbolized Christ in whom we rest for salvation). They had failed to keep the Sabbath Day for 490 years. So, God decided to chastise His people for 70 years (1 year for each of the 7 years they hadn't kept the Sabbath Day).
God told Zedekiah through the prophet Jeremiah that he had one of two choices:
- Obey God to submit to Babylon for 70 years. God promised Zedekiah that if he submitted to the king of Babylon, the Jews would be allowed to remain in their own homes in Jerusalem and life would go on as usual under the rule of king Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.
- Be conquered by Babylon and taken into captivity for 70 years. If Zedekiah refused to obey God's command to submit to Babylon, then Jerusalem would be invaded and war would ensue. Many men, women and children would be killed. The women would be ravished and assaulted. Their homes would be burned to the ground. Their wealth would be taken as booty.
God told Jeremiah to place wooden yokes upon his shoulders and go appear before the king and his princes, which symbolized king Zedekiah submitting to voluntarily wear the yoke of Babylon for 70 years. The false prophets broke the wooden yoke from Jeremiah's shoulder. In so doing, Jeremiah pronounced judgment upon them, saying that they had forged for themselves and the people yokes of iron. Babylon did invade Jerusalem in three stages, the last and most brutal in 586 BC. Jerusalem was annihilated and burned to the ground. Following the siege the prophet Jeremiah penned the book of Lamentations. Lamentations 1:16, “For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.”
As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the saddest passages in the inspired Word of God. 2nd Kings 25:7, “And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.” Zedekiah had 70 sons! To humiliate and crush the soul of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar ordered his soldiers to murder all 70 of Zedekiah's sons in front of him. And then after beholding such a horrifying site, the soldiers put out his eyes. All of this because Zedekiah refused to obey God to submit to Babylon. Here is a parallel passage from the book of Jeremiah...
Jeremiah 52:10-11, “And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.”
I feel sorry for Zedekiah. If you read these Bible stories you will learn that Zedekiah was under pressure from the princes who ruled with him. This is very typical of human nature (i.e., peer pressure).
King Zedekiah Was More Afraid Of Man Than God
I encourage you to read Jeremiah chapter 38, which explains a lot. You need to understand that the atmosphere was tense in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 38 you will read that Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to tell him the truth. Jeremiah told the king that he would have him killed if he told him the truth, but the king promised to keep him alive. The princes and false prophets hated Jeremiah and wanted to kill him. Here is THE TRUTH which Jeremiah spoke to King Zedekiah...
Jeremiah 38:17-23, “Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.”
Wow, that is some serious stuff! Zedekiah was afraid of the wrong things. Please don't miss this important Bible truth, because it is very applicable to our daily lives. Zedekiah was more afraid of the Jews than he was afraid of God. Read what the foolish king said in Jeremiah 38:19-20, “And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.”
Ultimately, the foolish king succumbed to his fears and failed to obey God. Sadly, Zedekiah caused the entire city to be burned with fire. All of the women and children, who could have remained in Jerusalem in their own families and homes, were all taken into captivity and carried away to Babylon 400 miles to the east. It is tragic how the sins of just one man adversely affected the lives of tens of hundreds of Jews. There were approximately 4,600 men deported to Babylon (about 14,000 to 18,000 total including women and children). If Zedekiah had been a spiritual man of character, it would have spared tens of thousands from the horrors that followed. Truly, everything rises and falls on leadership. Jeremiah 38:21 and 23b, “But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me... thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.”
In Jeremiah 38:24-28 we see again that Zedekiah was worried about what the princes thought about him. He threatened Jeremiah with death if he told anyone about their private conversation. I wonder why Zedekiah sought to keep hidden Jeremiah's stern warning from the Lord, of what woeful evil was about to befall the entire kingdom if they didn't surrender to Babylon to serve them. Zedekiah was a fool of fools. Oh, what a horrible leader! I am shocked that Zedekiah kept this critical matter all to himself. Look what happened next; here is the last verse of chapter 38 and the first verse of chapter 39...
Jeremiah 38:28 and 39:1, “So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken. In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.”
Isn't that sad? God's prophet was thrown into prison for telling THE TRUTH, which was a deep miry pit of clay and mud underground.
And also, I think it is beautiful that King Nebuchadnezzar told the Captain of the Guard to do whatever Jeremiah requests. You see, the king had heard for a long time from Babylonian spies in Jerusalem that the prophet was telling the Jews to surrender to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar knew that it was God's will for the Jews to surrender to Babylon. Yet, the leaders in Israel rebelled against God, called Jeremiah a false prophet and even imprisoned him. I love how the tables were turned when King Nebuchadnezzar came to town! The arrogant rulers were abased. The poor were uplifted. Jeremiah was freed from prison and honored. The brokenhearted prophet weep. Jeremiah is commonly called, “The Weeping Prophet.” James 4:8-10 teaches that if we draw nigh unto God, He will draw nigh unto us; but if you read the next couple verses, we also need to weep with God over sin and unbelief.
The main lesson I want you to take away from the story of King Zedekiah is that he foolishly allowed the fear of man (the Jews, princes and Babylon) to dictate his decisions, rather than fear God and obey Him (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Zedekiah was only 32 years old in 586 BC when Babylon invaded and conquered Jerusalem. It doesn't seem fair that upwards of 18,000 people's lives were horrifically impacted by the foolishness of one 32 year old heathen man. Such is life. Zedekiah didn't fear God, he was afraid of people. You need not fear man if you are living uprightly. Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
