Jeremiah 38: 1 – 28
How about the truth
1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’ 3 Thus says the LORD: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’?” 4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon, there was no water, but mire. So, Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7 Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. 14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’?” 19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: 22 ‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: “Your close friends have set upon you and prevailed against you; Your feet have sunk in the mire, and they have turned away again.” 23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’? 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s house to die there.’?” 27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So, they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard. 28 Now Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
“You can’t handle the truth!” is more than a line from a movie. Too many say they want the truth, but then ignore it. Can you handle the truth God reveals?
The truth is not always pleasant or easy. Sometimes we are tempted to ignore it or reject it rather than accept what it reveals about us or the tough changes it demands of us.
Sadly, most people can’t handle the truth. They aren’t willing to accept it. They would rather go on believing the things they have heard from others, things that have been passed on from previous generations
Sadly, most people can’t handle the truth. They aren’t willing to accept it. They would rather go on believing the things they have heard from others, things that have been passed on from previous generations, but that do not accurately reflect the Bible’s teachings.
When Christ Jesus our Lord told people in His time that many of their religious beliefs were based on the traditions of men as opposed to the truth of God’s Word, they couldn’t handle it. “He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:9).
His hearers often reacted with such anger that they tried to silence Him by stoning Him to death—that is, they were willing to kill Him for telling them the truth.
Paul spoke of those who “exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). Human nature, which has been influenced by the devil, has always been the same. Most would rather believe they do not have to live by the righteous laws of God, so they accept the lie that there is no God. Or they accept the subtler lie that God does not hold us accountable for our actions.
Paul warned that in the last days of man’s rule on earth, before Christ returns to set up the Kingdom of God, many will prefer to be entertained by false teachings than hear the truth of God. “The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine but will follow their own desires. … They will turn away from listening to the truth” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Jeremiah a true prophet of God, , spoke of people finally learning that there is no benefit in listening to or following false teachings. Only following the true teachings of the Holy Bible will bear the fruit of a better life now and, ultimately, eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
In that day people all over the earth will turn to God to find the hope of life based on truth. “O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things’” (Jeremiah 16:19).
In today’s study we come to understand that all decisions and choices have consequences; when we are willing to look honestly at the wrong decisions we have made and turn our life around, making wise decisions—then we can avoid the pain and difficulties that befall those who can’t handle the truth.
God’s laws were given to help mankind enjoy lasting marriages, families and lives. King David came to understand that and prayed, “Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me” (Psalm 40:11).
David understood that the truth could always be found in the Holy Scriptures inspired by God’s Spirit working in those servants He used to write the Bible.
In one of the last prayers Christ Jesus our Lord prayed before His death, He asked the Father to make His followers different by the teachings of those Holy Scriptures. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
Do not let it be said, “You can’t handle the truth!” The truths you will learn from God’s Holy Word of here are a pathway to a victorious life. If you accept the scripture and act upon the truth, it will change your life. It will set you on the path that leads to an abundant physical life and, eventually, to a life in that never ends as an eternal child of God.
Christ put it succinctly: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
Even though he was in the court of the guard Jeremiah had access to the people who would gather there to hear what he had to say. And nothing could prevent him from proclaiming the word of YHWH which announced the forthcoming surrender of the city. This displeased many of the king’s advisers who felt that he was weakening the city’s resistance and demanded that he be silenced. In consequence the king weakly acceded to their demands, allowing them to put Jeremiah into a deep well which rendered him inaccessible to the people and which would shortly, had he not been rescued, have resulted in his demise through starvation.
1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’
In verse 4 these men are described as ‘princes. They were probably prominent among the king’s advisers. As such they would often pass through the court of the guard, and it was while doing so that they became aware of what Jeremiah was declaring to the people.
Neither Shephatiah nor Gedaliah are mentioned elsewhere. Gedaliah must not be confused with the later Gedaliah, son of Ahikam (39.14) who would later be governor. Jucal the son of Shelemiah is mentioned in 37.3 where he was sent by the king along with Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah to seek for Jeremiah’s intercession on behalf of the nation, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah is mentioned in 21.1, where he also accompanied Zephaniah with a request to Jeremiah for intercession, when they received the same uncompromising message as the one found here.
Despite the danger that he was in Jeremiah continued to proclaim YHWH’s word faithfully without regard for the consequences. Counselling surrender to the enemy was hardly the best way of ingratiating himself with the authorities. It is indicative of the awe in which he was held as a prophet of YHWH that he was allowed for a while to get away with it.
His message was that death awaited those who remained in the city, either through starvation and disease due to siege conditions, or through the sword when the city was taken, whilst those who surrendered to the Babylonians prior to the taking of the city would live (compare 21.9).
‘His life will be to him for a prey.’ In other words, he will seize it like a hunter would a prey and carry it off safely.
3 Thus says the LORD: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’?”
An his message in verse 2 was based on the fact that the city would unquestionably be give into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar’s army because that was YHWH’s express word. It was not a message likely to endear him to those who were trying to bolster the resistance of the defenders. It just happened to be the truth.
4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
Understandably from a human point of view these princes were angry at what Jeremiah was saying, because it weakened the will of the defenders at a time when it was important that their morale be maintained. It was suggesting that resistance was pointless. Thus, in their view, far from considering the welfare of the city, Jeremiah was seeking to cause it considerable harm.
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”
Zedekiah was reluctant to act against Jeremiah himself because he recognized that he was a genuine prophet of YHWH. On the other hand he did not feel able to support him, because to do so might add to the weakening of morale. Thus, while making clear that he was not in agreement with the situation he gave them permission to act against Jeremiah in any way that they thought best. As Pilate would later with Jesus, he washed his hands about Jeremiah, thereby no doubt hoping to escape YHWH’s condemnation in respect of what would happen.
6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon, there was no water, but mire. So, Jeremiah sank in the mire.
For Jeremiah it was a case of ‘out of the frying pan into the fire’. Having previously escaped from the pit in the house of Jonathan (37.15), he found himself in an even worse situation in being lowered down by means of ropes into a pit which had previously been filled with water, and whose bottom was now covered with a thick layer of mud. It was probably in fact a cistern. It would have a narrow entrance at the top and widen out below the point of entry. The fact that it was empty drew attention to the water shortage in the city, whilst the fact that the mud was still soft indicates that it had not been empty very long.
Jeremiah’s predicament is emphasized by the fact that he sank into the mud. It was not a very happy position to be in.
It may be asked why they did not immediately put him to death? One possible answer is that that was the one restriction that the king had put on them. This could be seen as supported by his immediate response when he learned that Jeremiah was in danger of death (verse 9). But the answer may well lie in his prophetic status. To have slain a prophet of YHWH directly could have been seen by the people as automatically bringing doom on the city, and could have worsened the very situation that they were trying to alleviate (loss of morale). And they may well themselves have been equally superstitious. On the other hand, leaving him in the pit to die could well have been an easy way out. Then they could be throwing the onus on YHWH, in the same way as with Joseph long before (Genesis 37.22-24). Their argument could have been that it would then be up to YHWH to determine whether he survived or not (which they were sure he would not).
7 Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
News of what had happened did not immediately reach the king because he had temporarily housed himself at the Gate of Benjamin, one of the key defense points for the city, and the gate by which deserters would normally leave if they wished to submit themselves to the Babylonians. It may well have been with the intention of maintaining the morale of the defenders, or he may have been hearing the complaints of disgruntled inhabitants. He may even have been determining who should be allowed to desert to the enemy (leaving less mouths to feed in the city). Whichever it was he was taking his duties seriously.
One whom the news did reach, however, was Ebed-melech (‘servant of the king’), who was a high official in the king’s house. He may indeed have genuinely been a eunuch as superintendent of the king’s harem, but the noun does not necessarily indicate it, and we would not expect such an official to have great influence over the king. On the other hand it would explain his presence at the palace at such a time. It is, however, more likely that Ebed-melech (a Cushite from the Upper Nile region e.g. Northern Sudan) was of higher status, with enough influence to stand up to the princes. Why he thus supported Jeremiah we do not know, but he may well have feared that Jeremiah’s death would bring calamity on Jerusalem. As a foreigner or a proselyte, he may well have been in greater awe of YHWH than the natives were.
8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying:
So Ebed-melech left the palace and made his way to the Gate of Benjamin to seek an audience with the king.
9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.”
Once there he explained what had happened. He pointed out the evil that there was in all that the princes had done to the prophet of YHWH, in that they had cast him into the pit where, in view of the famine, he was likely to die of starvation, for who would bother to feed such a prisoner when the whole city was starving and without bread?
‘He is likely to die.’ Literally ‘he is dying’. In other words, he was as good as dead.
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”
The king responded immediately, something which suggests that it had never been his intention that Jeremiah should die. He commanded Ebed-melech to take a platoon of soldiers (‘ a thirty’) with a view to bringing Jeremiah out of the pit before he should die. The number of soldiers supplied suggests that the king recognized that there might be violent opposition to Jeremiah’s release. Feelings were running high. But he clearly felt the situation important enough to take men away from their defense duties. There was still within him a certain awe of YHWH.
11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Ebed-melech promptly did as he was commanded, and his genuine humanity was demonstrated in that he took steps to make Jeremiah’s release as painless as possible. He went directly to the storehouses under the king’s treasury and obtained from there patches of cloth and linen which could be used by Jeremiah with his emaciated body to protect his armpits when the cords went under his arms. These he let down to Jeremiah in the pit.
12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.
He then advised Jeremiah to put the pieces of cloth and linen under his armpits so that they would be protected from the harshness of the ropes, and Jeremiah did as he suggested.
13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Then they drew Jeremiah out of the pit by means of the ropes, and he was reinstated in the prison in the court of the guards. There does not appear to have been any reaction to his release. Perhaps the princes realized that they had exceeded their remit and kept silent.
This was to be Zedekiah’s last consultation with Jeremiah. During it he was offered a lifeline if he was willing to obey YHWH and surrender to the Babylonians. But there were huge pressures on him not to do so from his band of ‘princes’ who were firmly against such a surrender. We must presume that they still hoped that Egypt would come to their aid. And the consequence was that he refused to obey YHWH, with the result that in the end Jerusalem suffered for his disobedience. It was taken and burned and turned into a ruin.
Such is often the case if we listen to the voice of men rather than responding to the voice of God.
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
Zedekiah was clearly torn in his mind about what he should do, and he wanted assurance from YHWH that at least YHWH was on his side. Thus, he hoped that perhaps YHWH’s message though Jeremiah may have changed. That is presumably why he had him brought to him to a private place in the Temple where he may well have been praying.
Prayer is of little value if we are walking in disobedience towards God.
‘The third entry that is in the house of YHWH’ was presumably an easily recognizable spot and may well have been restricted to the king and the royal family, for he chose it so that he could meet Jeremiah privately. There was probably a private room in the gateway, suitable for Zedekiah’s purpose. There the king informed Jeremiah that he had something to ask him, and that he wanted him to be totally honest when giving him an answer. We are never in fact told what he wanted to ask him, but in all probability, it was as to the options open to him from YHWH’s point of view.
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
But Jeremiah pointed out that this put him in an difficult position, for if he told him the truth he would have him put to death, and if he gave him advice it would not be listened to. What then was the point of his speaking?
16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
The king then swore to Jeremiah secretly man to man that no matter what he said to him he would not have him put to death, nor would he again hand him over to the princes who were seeking Jeremiah’s life.
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’?”
Because of Zedekiah’s promise Jeremiah reiterated what had previously been said. The choice for Zedekiah was clear. If he surrendered to the Babylonians all would be well. If he did not, then disaster awaited both Zedekiah and Jerusalem.
It would seem quite possible that this interview was a consequence of an offer having come from Nebuchadnezzar offering surrender terms, for only such an offer would explain why options were still open. Normally a city that had resisted this long would be automatically doomed. It may therefore be that Nebuchadnezzar was aware of pressures elsewhere and, wanting to bring the siege to a rapid end, had offered favorable terms. And it may have been partly this that was encouraging the princes to hope for his withdrawal without having taken the city.
19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.”
That Zedekiah may have been contemplating surrender comes out in these fears. One thing that was preventing him was his fears lest when he surrendered he might be handed over to ‘the Jews who had fallen over to the Chaldeans’ who would then mock him, and worse. These would themselves have suffered mockery and hatred from Zedekiah and his princes. He thus feared reciprocation.
20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
Jeremiah then assured him that his fears were groundless. If only he would obey YHWH all would be well. Furthermore, he himself would prosper.
21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:
On the other hand, if he refused to go forth and surrender, then he would have to bear the full weight of the word of YHWH, in the way now described, and paradoxically this WOULD result in him being mocked, for he would be mocked by the women of his own harem.
22 ‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: “Your close friends have set upon you and prevailed against you; Your feet have sunk in the mire, and they have turned away again.”
The women who remained in the king’s house would, because of Jerusalem’s demise, become members of the harems of Nebuchadnezzar’s princes. And they themselves would mock Zedekiah and point out to him that he had allowed himself to be over-persuaded and to be led into the mire by his ‘friends’.
It is referring to the men who set Zedekiah on his false course (or ‘deceived’ him), and persuaded him to make the wrong decision, by declaring that by following their advice he would achieve peace and wellbeing. But the only consequence would be that his feet would be as though stuck in the mud (just as Jeremiah had been left in the mud in the cistern - 38.6), while his friends would turn around and desert him leaving him starkly alone.
23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’?
And not only the royal harem (which would always be taken over by the conqueror to demonstrate his superiority, but also all the wives and children of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, would be handed over to the Chaldeans, and the city itself would be burned with fire as one that was continually rebellious. Zedekiah himself, and his household, would also not escape out of his hand. All would be doomed.
Zedekiah would be directly responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem because of his failure to obey YHWH.
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
Zedekiah then swore Jeremiah to silence about their conversation and promised him that in return he would ensure Jeremiah’s safety. This brings out the huge pressure that was being exerted by the princes who were against surrender at any price. The king did not dare to let them know that he had even contemplated it.
The warning about death may be an additional assurance of the king’s protection as long as he remained silent, or a warning of what the princes would seek to bring about if they learned that Jeremiah had again exhorted the king to surrender to the Babylonians, or indeed both.
25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s house to die there.’?”
The uneasy relationships between the king and his chief advisers is brought out here. He was even afraid that his princes would seek to undermine him, and that to such an extent that he considered that they would give Jeremiah immunity instead if only they could get cause against the king. That is why he now enjoined total silence on Jeremiah concerning their conversation. As the conversation was from the start private, and was between the king and his subject, that was a perfectly reasonable request. A firm promise to remain silent must be observed. But in view of the fact that the princes might question Jeremiah about what had been discussed, Zedekiah said that he could release the fact of his request that he not be sent back to the prison in Jonathan’s house where he had been treated so badly. That that idea came up may well indicate that both were aware of pressures for such a move being made, which would serve to confirm that that matter was discussed. Furthermore we should note that in these circumstances Jeremiah would be acting on the king’s command which was sacred. To release a state secret would be a great sin.
The duty of a godly man to tell the truth must certainly consider a guarantee of privacy for matters which are essentially and specifically private, especially when they concerned someone like the king. It was perfectly reasonable not to reveal the whole of such a conversation, and it was therefore by no means deceitful not to do so. It was no business of the princes what Zedekiah had spoken to Jeremiah about, so they had no right to the information. They only wanted it so as to stir up trouble. Jeremiah cannot be faulted for doing what the king asked as long as the matter that he did speak of was also discussed. And this was especially so as disobedience to the kings command might have resulted in a revolution. After all, a prophet of YHWH had to be able to be trusted with secrets, otherwise no one would have consulted him.
27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So, they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.
Sure enough the princes did come to Jeremiah and question him about his meeting with the king, and it was no doubt in not too pleasant a way. Jeremiah responded to them in the way that the king had commanded. Eventually they appear to have been satisfied that there was no more to be discovered from Jeremiah for they let him be. Consequently, whatever their suspicions, they never discovered what had been the main item in the conversation. The uneasy truce between the king and the princes continued.
28 Now Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
And in consequence of all this Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard right up to the taking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. He was no longer subjected to vile conditions and was no doubt given such scraps of food as were available, for all would by this time be living on starvation rations.
The treatment of the prophet of YHWH who had brought the word of YHWH that is described in these last two chapters was final proof of the attitude of Jerusalem towards Him. They had broken His covenant (as regards slavery) after having renewed it (chapter 34), they had disobeyed their ‘Father’s’ commands in contrast with the obedience of the Rechabites (chapter 35), they had burned the word that came from YHWH as a deliberate act of rejection (chapter 36), and now finally they had continually mistreated Jeremiah, the very prophet of YHWH.
