Readings:
Jeremiah 50-52

Now the Prophecies turn against Babylon. Although it and it’s King we’re chosen to be instruments of judgment on the nations, it too was a wicked place and evil city. Now Jeremiah is telling them that their time will come soon and a nation to the north (the Persians) will destroy and overthrow them like they overthrew the Assyrians.

After these long and detailed denunciations and prophecies against Babylon, Jeremiah gives instructions to the quartermaster of the kings court when they left to go into exile, to take the words and read them in the midst of the city. I can’t imagine the Babylonians took that well, or maybe he was disregarded and ignored like a crazy man standing on the corner of a big city and shouting at cars as they drive by. but he’s instructed to carry out this prophetic denunciation and then toss the words into the Euphrates river that runs through the city.

The end of his book is a retelling of the capture of Zedekiah that we seen a little earlier and is also found in 2 kings. He was told to surrender and it would’ve went better for him, but he wasn’t really the kind of king to listen to God’s commands and so did what he thought was best, and it ended with him witnessing the execution of his sons and being led away blinded into captivity.

We don’t know what happened to Jeremiah apart from seemingly being took to Egypt against his will after he warned the princes and governor to not go there. He is also credited with hiding the The Ark of The Covenant in 2 Maccabees, although the author there isn’t saying for certain that’s what happened, but just that it’s the ‘word on the street’ so to speak.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
Lamentations 1-3
Hebrews 12