Jeremiah’s Arrest and Imprisonment (Jeremiah 37:1–21)

Jeremiah had faithfully proclaimed God’s messages to Judah for forty years. Now all his warnings were being fulfilled with the imminent fall of Jerusalem. Events were vindicating him as a true prophet. The people should have begun to believe him, but instead they considered him a traitor for encouraging them to surrender to the Babylonians. Furthermore, his warnings that the temple could be destroyed, that the land of their forefathers could be taken from them, and that the Davidic dynasty could be overthrown were blasphemous to them. His messages, which, if heeded, could have saved Judah, only hardened the hearts of the people.

I. The King’s Request for Prayer (37:1–5)

1 Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to the LORD our God for us.” 4 Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Then Pharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

A. Zedekiah sent men to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for the nation.

Afraid to come personally lest he lose the support of his officials, the king sent Jehucal (Jucal) and Zephaniah to solicit the prayers of Jeremiah for the king and the nation. It was the second time Zedekiah sent men to Jeremiah during the siege to ask him to seek help from the Lord.

It’s ironic that they had consistently ignored Jeremiah’s messages but now asked for his prayers. The Babylonians were at that very moment besieging the city. One of the men sent by Zedekiah was Jehucal son of Shelemiah (spelled Jucal, 38:1). He was not a friend of Jeremiah because he was among those who demanded the prophet’s death (38:1, 4).

B. Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people.

A prophet can intercede, as did Moses and Samuel. Earlier on in his ministry Jeremiah had received the message that the time of intercession was over, since judgment was inevitable. Nevertheless, Zedekiah still expects something positive as a result of the prophet’s intercession.

We saw in chap. 32 Jeremiah already was in prison when Hanamel came to him to sell his field. In chap. 37 he was free to leave the city to look at the field he had bought. With the (temporary) withdrawal of the Babylonians, there was more freedom for people to leave Jerusalem, giving Jeremiah the opportunity to settle some family matters. it’s unclear about his precise intentions, but it may be that he went out to redeem that property.

II. Jeremiah’s Reply to the King (37:6–10)

6 Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’ 9 Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart. 10 For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”

A. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to inform Zedekiah that though the siege had been lifted.

The Babylonians would soon return to attack Jerusalem. They would capture it and “burn it down”. Pharaoh’s army would return to its own land without providing any relief for the besieged city.

It was not a message the king would want to hear. It is not certain whether the Egyptians were defeated in battle by the Babylonians or retreated without a fight in face of the superior enemy.

B. Jeremiah warned not to “deceive yourselves” that the Babylonians would withdraw.

He dashed their optimism with a curt “They will not!” Employing rhetorical exaggeration, Jeremiah added that even if Judah should defeat the entire Babylonian army, the “wounded” men left in their tents would get up and burn the city down.

The meaning of Jeremiah’s words could not be missed—there was no escape from the coming destruction of the city.

III. Jeremiah’s Arrest (37:11–15)

11 And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. 13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”14 Then Jeremiah said, “False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him.So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.

A. Jeremiah was a free man, but his enemies found reason to imprison him.

During the lull in the siege, Jeremiah tried to go home to Anathoth to take care of some family business, but the guard at the gate arrested him for defecting to the enemy. Of course, Jeremiah had preached surrender to Babylon and would preach it again, but he certainly wasn’t a traitor. He loved his nation and gave his life to try to save it, but his first loyalty was to the Lord.

The prophet is suspected and accused of deserting to the Babylonians , not only because he appeared to be going to them, but also on account of his message which seemed pro-Babylonian. Jeremiah is beaten and placed in a vaulted cell, a dark and horrible dungeon. The fact that they left him there for a long time must have added to Jeremiah’s suffering considerably.

B. Jeremiah denied the accusation, but Irijah would not listen to his protests.

Irijah took Jeremiah into custody and brought him to the officials. They could not have been the same officials of 36:12, 19. They showed no sympathy for Jeremiah, as the former officials had done.

They had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary. His house may have been made into an improvised prison because the others were already filled, or this one may have been set aside for those who were considered to be especially dangerous political prisoners. Jeremiah may have been confined there so special watch could be kept on him to keep him from further demoralizing the people with his appeals to surrender.

IV. Jeremiah’s Secret Interview with the King (37:16–21)

16 When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?”And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’ 20 Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

A. Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to the palace for a private interview.

When Zedekiah heard about Jeremiah being put into prison, he recognized it as an opportunity to talk safely to Jeremiah, for the officers would think the king was looking into Jeremiah’s case. After bringing him to the palace, the king asked, “Is there any word from the Lord?” The prophet gave him an immediate answer, “Yes … you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

Jeremiah took the opportunity to expose the deceptive, optimistic messages of the false prophets. If they had been speaking the truth, the king should have asked them for a message from the Lord! Meanwhile, Jeremiah asked to be delivered from prison, a request that Zedekiah granted. The prophet was placed in the court of the prison and granted a daily ration of bread as long as the supply lasted.

B. In an unexpected display of mercy, Zedekiah gave orders to place Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard.

Conditions there would have been much better than the dungeon. The king further ordered that bread be given to Jeremiah from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. The amount of bread was rationed and would have been only enough to keep him alive.

Since the city was under siege, the only supplies were ones that were in the city prior to the attack. Once the bread was gone, either starvation or the enemy would eventually overtake the Israelites.

Many people throughout history have been imprisoned for being faithful to God. In the NT, Paul, Barnabas, and others were arrested because of their faith in Christ. Since the NT many believers have suffered the same fate. Like Jeremiah, believers must be willing to make the supreme sacrifice in the life of faith. God calls people to obey him at any cost