Jeremiah and the Fall of Jerusalem.[3] 

        The promises of restoration (30-33) are a collection of short prophecies, most of which are earlier; some, however, will be from this period. Note that many of them deal especially with the restoration of the North, viz. most of chs. 30, 31. The approximate order of the narrative sections is 24; 29; 27, 28; 21; 34:1-7; 37:3-10; 34:8-22; 37:11-21; 32, 33; 38:l-28a; 39:5-18; 38:28b-39:14.

        It will be noted that apart from promises of restoration not many prophecies are attributed to Jeremiah. He had said all that needed saying, and the death of Jehoiakim and the exile of Tehoiachin had vindicated his message. All that was left for him was to rub in the grim moral as needed.

        When the remnant in Jerusalem began to believe that the storm of judgment had passed them by because of their merits, they were told that on the contrary the exiles had been taken away to save them from the wrath to come (ch. 24, and cf. ch. XIII, p. 102). When false prophets promised the exiles a hope of speedy return, Jeremiah insisted that there was no hope until the fixed time of God’s judgment had run its course (ch. 29).

        Already when Nebuchadnezzar had scattered the army of Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish, Jeremiah had recognized in him and the Chaldeans the fulfilment of his earlier visions, and he had proclaimed him as the man of God’s appointing against whom no one could stand (25:9, 11). This conviction enabled him to stand against the attempts to form an anti-Babylonian conspiracy in the fourth year of Zedekiah (chs. 27, 28) and to deflect the weak king of Judah from it in spite of the assur­ances of the court prophets.

        This conviction also explains his attitude during the final siege of Jerusalem. Zedekiah’s rebellion was not only a breach of his oath (IIChron. 36:13; Ezek. 17:13-21), but also opposition to the ruler of God’s choice. Submission was a sign of loyalty to Jehovah. No wonder that he was con­sidered to be in the pay of the Chaldeans (37:13; 38:4).

        A little-known incident is contained in 34:8-22. Ap­parently when Nebuchadnezzar drew near Jerusalem, all Jewish slaves were freed. The motives were probably mixed, partly guilty conscience (ver. 13ft; Exod. 21:2; Deut. 15:12), partly the desire for extra fighters. With the withdrawal of be Chaldeans (37:5, 11), the solemn covenant (ver. 18f) had been broken and the slaves enslaved once more. Jeremiah immediately showed the same burning zeal for social righteousness that marked out all the true prophets.