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Prophets and Kings
The false prophet had strengthened the unbelief of the people in
Jeremiah and his message. He had wickedly declared himself the
Lord’s messenger, and he suffered death in consequence. In the fifth
month Jeremiah prophesied the death of Hananiah, and in the seventh
month his words were proved true by their fulfillment.
[447]
The unrest caused by the representations of the false prophets
brought Zedekiah under suspicion of treason, and only by quick and
decisive action on his part was he permitted to continue reigning as
a vassal. Opportunity for such action was taken advantage of shortly
after the return of the ambassadors from Jerusalem to the surrounding
nations, when the king of Judah accompanied Seraiah, “a quiet prince,”
on an important mission to Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:59
. During this
visit to the Chaldean court, Zedekiah renewed his oath of allegiance to
Nebuchadnezzar.
Through Daniel and others of the Hebrew captives, the Babylo-
nian monarch had been made acquainted with the power and supreme
authority of the true God; and when Zedekiah once more solemnly
promised to remain loyal, Nebuchadnezzar required him to swear to
this promise in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Had Zedekiah
respected this renewal of his covenant oath, his loyalty would have
had a profound influence on the minds of many who were watching
the conduct of those who claimed to reverence the name and to cherish
the honor of the God of the Hebrews.
But Judah’s king lost sight of his high privilege of bringing honor
to the name of the living God. Of Zedekiah it is recorded: “He did
that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not
himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the
Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had
made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his
heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.”
2 Chronicles 36:12,
13
.
[448]
While Jeremiah continued to bear his testimony in the land of
Judah, the prophet Ezekiel was raised up from among the captives in
Babylon, to warn and to comfort the exiles, and also to confirm the
word of the Lord that was being spoken through Jeremiah. During the
years that remained of Zedekiah’s reign, Ezekiel made very plain the
folly of trusting to the false predictions of those who were causing
the captives to hope for an early return to Jerusalem. He was also