The perspective in this passage changes in Jeremiah 22:28–30. While the reign of Coniah is still clearly the topic, it is no longer the king being spoken to, but the nation. In Jeremiah 22:24–27 the king’s exile still lay in the near future; now in these verses, it is in the recent past.
Two questions are asked regarding Coniah’s reign. First, Is this man a despised, broken pot, a vessel no one cares for?
This is a rhetorical question, and the implied answer appears to be yes.
It is not clear who is asking the question. Is it the Lord presenting the question to the people of Judah, or are the people asking it of the Lord? The same question can be asked of the follow up question, Why are he and his children hurled and cast into a land that they do not know?
In some ways, it does not matter who is asking the questions; the general meaning seems to be clear. Coniah is indeed a rejected, despised, broken pot, a vessel no one cares for. The imagery here seems to recall the one in Jeremiah 19:1–13 where the nation is discarded by the Lord as useless clay vessels. The same has happened to Coniah and his family1 This verdict concerning the king should be seen in light of what the Lord says in Jeremiah 22:24 where he says that though (Coniah) were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off.
Coniah’s failure could never be even partly blamed on the Lord. The Lord longed to have the same close relationship with the young king that he wanted with all the kings of Israel, a relationship based on covenant faithfulness. Coniah is rejected by the Lord because the young king, in his short three-month reign, rejected the Lord and did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. The second question about why Coniah and his children are hurled into exile is never answered in the passage. But in light of the first question and the context of the passage, the answer is obvious; he has been sent into exile because of his failure. The people of Judah must understand clearly why the Lord has brought judgment onto the nation by sending their king into exile.
28 Est-il donc un vase méprisé, brisé, ce Jéconia? Est-il un objet auquel on n'attache aucun prix? Pourquoi sont-ils jetés, lui et sa postérité, Lancés dans un pays qu'ils ne connaissent pas?