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Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come
against you, nor against this land? Therefore hear now, I pray thee,
O my Lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted
before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan
the scribe, lest I die there. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that
they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they
should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers street, until all
the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court
of the prison.”
The wicked king dared not openly manifest any faith in Jeremiah,
but his fear drove him to seek information of him. Yet he was too
weak to brave the disapprobation of his nobles and of the people by
submitting to the will of God as declared by the prophet. At last men in
authority who were enraged because Jeremiah persisted in prophesying
evil went to the king and told him that as long as the prophet lived he
would not cease to predict calamity. They urged that he was an enemy
to the nation and that his words had weakened the hands of the people
and brought misfortune upon them, and they wanted him put to death.
The cowardly king knew these charges were false; but in order
to propitiate those who occupied high and influential positions in
the nation, he feigned to believe their falsehoods and gave Jeremiah
into their hands to do with him as they pleased. Accordingly the
prophet was taken and cast “into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of
Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down
Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire:
so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.” But God raised up friends for him who
besought the king in his behalf and had him again removed to the court
of the prison.
Once more the king sent privately for Jeremiah and bade him
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faithfully relate the purpose of God toward Jerusalem. “Then Jeremiah
said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me
to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? So
Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord
liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I
give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.” Then Jeremiah
again sounded the Lord’s note of warning in the ears of the king. Said
he: “Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou
wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy