In Jeremiah, chapter twenty-one, verse seven, “And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as 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 that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.”
Jeremiah’s prophecy was literally fulfilled, as in chapter fifty-two, verses nine through eleven, and twenty-four to twenty-seven. Zedekiah’s sons were slaughtered before his eyes by the king of Babylon. Then Zedekiah’s own eyes were blinded, and in pitiful humiliation, he was led away in chains to Babylon, where he died in exile, as in chapter thirty-nine, verses five to seven. At the time the prophecy was given from God’s servant to the king, the words were bold words for the prophet to utter while the king was still on the throne.
When the siege began, Zedekiah sent to ask Jeremiah about it. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they only seek deliverance from punishment. When professors continue in disobedience, presuming upon outward privileges, let them be told that the Lord will prosper his open enemies against them. As the king and his princes would not surrender, the people are exhorted to do so. No sinner on earth is left without a Refuge, who really desires one; but the way of life is humbling, it requires self-denial, and exposes the difficulties. To obey is better than sacrifice, from First Samuel fifteen, verse twenty-two.