The Way of Life and the Way of Death
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, 2 “Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.” 3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Tell Zedekiah: 4 ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and I will gather them into the middle of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation. 6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and animal. They will die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward,” says Yahweh, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. He will strike them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them, have pity, or have mercy.”’ 8 “You shall say to this people, ‘Yahweh says: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he will live, and he will escape with his life. 10 For I have set my face on this city for evil, and not for good,” says Yahweh. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’ 11 “Concerning the house of the king of Judah, hear Yahweh’s word: 12 House of David, Yahweh says, ‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 13 Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, and of the rock of the plain,’ says Yahweh. ‘You that say, “Who would come down against us?” or, “Who would enter into our homes?” 14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all that is around her.’”
A king asks for a miracle like the ones in the records, and is told that the God of the exodus will be fighting on the other side.
The request is respectful and it has a precedent in mind. Zedekiah sends a delegation with Babylon already at the walls, asking whether Yahweh will deal with them according to all his wondrous works so that the enemy withdraws. Everyone in the city knew what that meant. An Assyrian army had once camped outside Jerusalem and had gone away without taking it 2 Kings 19:35–36. The king is asking for that again. The request contains no repentance of any kind, only a hope that the pattern will repeat.
The answer is the most frightening reversal in the book. God will turn back the weapons in their hands and gather them into the middle of the city; and then, I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm. That pairing is exodus vocabulary, the standing description of how Israel was brought out of Egypt Deuteronomy 26:8. The arm that broke Pharaoh is raised against Jerusalem, and the deliverer's own formula is used to announce it. Zedekiah asked for the God of the wonders and was given him.
What follows is the counsel that made Jeremiah a traitor in the eyes of every patriot in the city. Two ways are set out — the way of life and the way of death — and the way of life is desertion. He who stays in the city dies by sword, famine and pestilence; he who goes out and surrenders to the besiegers lives and escapes with his life. There is no third option offered and no promise of victory. Judah's entire theology was that God defends this city. An instruction to walk out through the gate and give up was the practical denial of everything the temple slogan had said, and it is exactly why he is later arrested on suspicion of defecting Jeremiah 38:4.
Even here the offer to the dynasty is left standing, and it is not religious. Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. The house of David is told what would still avert the fire. It is the ordinary work of a court hearing cases early and finding for the plaintiff who was robbed. The city's inhabitants are then quoted asking who could ever come down against them, secure on their ridge above the valleys. The reply names what actually breaches a place like that. It is not a weakness in the rock. It is the fruit of what its rulers have been doing.
settled What this mark means