Jeremiah 52 “Prophecies Fulfilled, Prophecies Yet to Be Fulfilled”

Jeremiah 52 NIV

Suggested Praise Songs:      

• Way Maker – Leeland
• Trust in God – Elevation Worship
• Blessed Assurance – Celtic Worship

Resources for Family Worship (with Children):

• Gizmo’s Daily Bible Byte – 153 – Hebrews 10:35 – Trust In The Lord – Lesson for Kids
• We Are God’s People – Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• Give All Your Worries to God (1 Peter 5:7) | HLA Athens VBS | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• Thankful | Yee-Haw VBS | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• Discussion Questions for Children & Youth are located in the section after Explanation, Meditation, and Prayer (at the end of this email/blog).

Explanation:

The editor of the Book of Jeremiah concludes the book by directly copying the account of the fall of Jerusalem recorded in 2 Kings 24:18-25:7.

Judah had already become a vassal state of Babylon in 605 BC. King Jehoiakim challenged Babylon with Egyptian support, and as a result, in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem and isolated the city. During this time, King Jehoiakim died, and when his son Jehoiachin ascended the throne, he surrendered to Babylon almost immediately. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive and installed Zedekiah as a puppet king (vv. 1–3).

Nine years later, in 588 BC, Zedekiah again attempted to break free from Nebuchadnezzar’s rule by relying on Egypt’s support. Nebuchadnezzar marched his army toward Jerusalem, surrounded the city and cut it off for eighteen months, and built siege ramps next to Mount Zion. As the supply of food from outside was cut off, the residents of Jerusalem suffered severe famine (vv. 4–6). When the siege ramps became higher than the city walls, the Babylonian army launched its attack. Realizing that the fall of the city was inevitable, the king fled at night with his soldiers. The Babylonian troops pursued them and captured them on the plains of Jericho. In Zedekiah’s presence, Nebuchadnezzar executed his sons, gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, and then took him to Babylon. Zedekiah ended his life in a Babylonian prison (vv. 7–11).

Returning to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar sent Nebuzaradan, the commander of the imperial guard, who looted and destroyed the royal palace and the temple in Jerusalem. Then it tore down the city’s walls (vv. 12–14). Leaving only the poorest of the land behind, he deported the people of Jerusalem to Babylon (vv. 15–16). All the vessels and furnishings of the temple were carried away (vv. 17–23). He arrested all the officials and nobles who remained in Jerusalem and took them away as captives (the “Seraiah” mentioned in verse 24 is a different person from the “Seraiah” in 51:59). The total number of Judean exiles taken in three deportations amounted to 4,600 people (vv. 24–30).

Jehoiachin, who had been taken captive during Nebuchadnezzar’s first campaign, remained imprisoned in Babylon for thirty-seven years. He had been taken into captivity at the age of eighteen and thus lived in prison until the age of fifty-five. During that time, King Nebuchadnezzar died, and Evil-merodach ascended the throne. Upon becoming king, he released Jehoiachin and honored him more highly than all the other captive kings until the day of his death (vv. 31–34).

Meditation:

The reason the editor chose to place the account of the fall of Jerusalem at the conclusion of the Book of Jeremiah was to show that Jeremiah’s prophecies were fulfilled exactly as he had spoken. Among the prophets of his time, Jeremiah was the most “unpopular.” When the nation’s fate was already collapsing, instead of offering hopeful messages, he went around proclaiming that God had decided to judge Judah. Naturally, no one welcomed his prophecies. They hoped his words were not valid. Even if they were true, they wanted to ignore them. They wished that the words of the prophets who spoke of hope would prove to be true. Yet in the end, Judah was destroyed exactly as Jeremiah had proclaimed.

The Jews who were living in exile would have come to acknowledge, albeit belatedly, that Jeremiah—the one they had hated and rejected so fiercely—was a true prophet. They must have been filled with reverence for the word of God. If the prophecies Jeremiah delivered were fulfilled just as spoken, then the prophecies that had not yet been fulfilled would surely be fulfilled one day as well. Babylon, which now held them captive, would fall just as Judah had fallen, and the city of Babylon would become ruins like Jerusalem. The prophecy that they would one day become free and return to their homeland would also surely be fulfilled. That hope would have been the power that sustained the Jews living as exiles in a foreign land.

We now know that what the Jews living as exiles hoped for through those prophecies did indeed come to pass. Babylon fell, and all the other empires disappeared as well. The people of Judah who had lived in exile returned to their homeland. Everything happened exactly as the word given through Jeremiah said it would. The prophecy of a new covenant was also fulfilled a little over five hundred years later through Jesus Christ.

Therefore, we believe and wait for the promise of the new heaven and the new earth that will come through that Messiah. This is the strength that enables us not to let go of hope, even when we endure suffering similar to that experienced by the people of Judah living in exile.

Prayer:

Just as the people of Judah longed for their homeland while living in Babylon, we too live in this land while longing for the kingdom of God. Just as the people of Judah found hope in the Lord’s word that promised their future restoration and lived their present reality by the power of that hope, we too live our present reality with hope in the new heaven and the new earth. Faithful God, who makes promises and fulfills them, thank You. Amen.

Discussion Questions for Children & Youth:

Key Point: God always keeps His promises—even when things are hard—and that gives us hope to keep trusting Him and moving forward.

• For Preschool-Elementary:
  • Jeremiah said God’s words would come true. Can you think of a promise God makes to us that makes you feel safe?
  • The people waited a long time for good things to happen. What is something you must wait for, and how do you feel while waiting?
  • When you feel sad or discouraged, what helps you remember that God is with you?
    
• Youth:
  • Jeremiah was ignored because his message wasn’t popular. Why do you think it’s hard to listen to the truth when it’s uncomfortable?
  • The people of Judah found hope by trusting God’s promises while living in exile. What helps you hold on to hope when life feels uncertain or stressful (school, friendships, future)?
  • The Bible talks about God’s promise of a new heaven and a new earth. How does that promise shape the way you think about your life right now?