The compiler of Jeremiah ends the book the same way that 2 Kings 1:1–25:30 ends; with an account of what happens to Jehoiachin, king of Judah. Jehoiachin had been taken into exile with his mother by the Babylonians in 597 BC. In the thirty-seventh year of his exile Jehoiachin was graciously freed
by Evil-merodach who was king of Babylon at the time. The year was 561 BC and Nebuchadnezzar had died and been replaced by his son Evil-merodach. Jehoiachin’s status in Babylon changed dramatically. He went from being a prisoner to being treated kindly by the king and was given a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
This is probably a reference to other kings who had been taken into exile by the Babylonians. Jehoiachin is given special treatment, but maybe even more significant is how differently he is treated compared to Zedekiah.1 This account of Jehoiachin’s release is the same as the one in 2 Kings 25:27–30, except that the words, until his death
are added. This implies that this account was added after the death of Jehoiachin. Jeremiah’s prophecy, in Jeremiah 22:26–27, that Jehoiachin would die in exile and never return to the land is therefore fulfilled. Jehoiachin would not restore the Davidic line in Jerusalem. However, the fact that Jehoiachin lived long after the exile and was given his freedom may have seemed like the first signs that restoration was indeed possible and that this hope lay with the exiles in Babylon and not with those who were still in the land or exiled in Egypt.2 All of this pointed to the truthfulness of Jeremiah’s message to Judah which meant that his message of restoration could also be trusted. Despite being set free, Jehoiachin is not the saviour king of the Lord’s people as many hoped. But the Lord will eventually send the Righteous branch of David who will save the people of Judah and Israel and restore righteousness to the Lord’s people (see Jeremiah 23:5–6). The path into the future is not clearly mapped out, but there is a call for faith and confidence that there will be a reversal of their current circumstances. The opportunities that human discernment can perceive may be foreclosed (Jehoiachin is not the saviour king after all); all is clearly shown to depend on the grace and favour of divine intervention.
3 Just as the Lord has been faithful in keeping his word of judgment, so will he be faithful in keeping his promise of restoration. In the bigger picture of the Lord’s unfolding plan of restoration, that promise is ultimately fulfilled, in the life, death, resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. This fulfilment of restoration is not just for Israel, but for all the nations, even for the whole of creation.
31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.