In the ninth year of his reign, Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, looked out from his throne in Jerusalem only to find the formidable sight of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his vast, powerful army laying siege to his city. As Nebuchadnezzar’s relentlessly attacked the city, day after day, month after month, the people of Jerusalem found their spirits and their defenses gradually being worn down.
By the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, in the fourth month and the ninth day, disaster struck. The enemy breached the city’s wall. The leading men of Babylon, Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Rab-mag and others of their ilk, filed into the torn city sitting grandly in the middle gate to mark their dominance.
King Zedekiah, along with his warriors, gave into their fear and fled. They stole away under the cover of darkness, slipping through the king’s garden, and sneaking between the two city walls. The direction of their escape was toward the Arabah. But escape they did not. The relentless Chaldean army pursued them, catching King Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho.
After his capture, Zedekiah was led to Nebuchadnezzar, who was encamped in Riblah. The Babylon king passed judgment, killing Zedekiah’s sons in front of the broken king’s very eyes and mercilessly slaughtered all of Judah’s nobles. In a final act of domination, Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah, put him in chains, and led him toward Babylon.
Back in Jerusalem, the Chaldeans set the king’s house and the houses of the people on fire, and knocked down the walls of the city. Nebuzaradan—captain of the Babylonian guard took the remaining residents of Jerusalem captive and transported them to Babylon, leaving only the poorest residents who had nothing. These unfortunate souls were given vineyards and fields.
Nebuzaradan, following Nebuchadnezzar’s orders, took care of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was taken from the court of the guard and committed to Gedaliah in order to be led back home. He was instructed to treat Jeremiah with care, not to harm him but to follow Jeremiah’s own wishes.
The word of God came to Jeremiah while he was detained in the court of the guard. The Lord instructed him to send a message to Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, warning that the city of Jerusalem would suffer but amidst the chaos, God promised to protect Ebed-melech, promising safety and deliverance as a reward of his faith and trust in Jehovah.
And so, the chapter of the Judah kingdom closed under the siege and dominance of Babylon, while the embers of faith still flickered in the prophet Jeremiah and the faithful Ebed-melech.
