The previous three chapters (Jeremiah 37:1–39:18) described the tragic fall of Jerusalem. It was a time of political turmoil in Judah as its king lacked the conviction to trust the Lord’s word and Jerusalem was driven to its knees by the Babylonian siege. The Lord’s judgment finally fell on the city as the Babylonians breached the walls, and destroyed the city. Most of the population, including Zedekiah, was either killed or taken into exile. The narrative in the next section of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 40:1–43:7) describes what happens in Judah after Jerusalem has fallen.
The account begins in Jeremiah 40:1–41:3 with the description of Gedaliah’s brief and tragic rule as governor of Judah. The description of Gedaliah’s time as governor begins with the word of the Lord coming to Jeremiah as he is released by the Babylonians. This account of Jeremiah’s release is more detailed than the one already given in Jeremiah 39:11–14. Jeremiah is said to be released at Ramah by Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard. The account in Jeremiah 39:11–14 says that Jeremiah is released from the court of the guard in Jerusalem, where he had been held by Zedekiah before the invasion. This difference between the two accounts is most likely explained by the fact that Jeremiah 39:11–14 is a summarized account of his release and that after his release in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was mistakenly arrested because of the chaos in the city due to the Babylonian occupation and taken to Ramah with the rest of the exiles. After learning of this, Nebuzaradan released Jeremiah for a second time in Ramah.
It is during this second release that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. However, the way this word is delivered is very striking and telling. Instead of Jeremiah, it is Nebuzaradan, a pagan Babylonian official who speaks and says exactly what Jeremiah would have been expected to say. He confirms the fact that the Lord has done as he said.
He has brought destruction on Jerusalem, and the reason is because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice.
The you
here is plural and is referring to the people of Judah. It is the Lord who sent the Babylonian army to destroy Jerusalem because of the people’s unfaithfulness.1 There is no reason to think that Nebuzaradan is a believer or that he has received a message from the Lord. However, it is very likely that he would have been very aware of the message Jeremiah had been communicating to the people of Judah and so he is repeating what he knows of that message. There is no indication in the narrative why Nebuzaradan would have spoken these words to Jeremiah. It may simply be the victor emphasizing the total defeat of the vanquished. He is pointing out how Judah’s God has acted against them. However, the profound irony of the narrative is that the Lord is using Nebuzaradan as his servant to bring his message to those who remain in Judah, much like he used Nebuchadnezzar as his servant to bring judgment. A pagan Babylonian officer is able to identify Judah’s sin as the root cause of the tragedy that has befallen the nation, while the people of Judah simply have not had the same insight because of their stubborn unbelief. This ironic twist is typical of the way harsh truth is sometimes conveyed by the prophets.
2
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.