11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take [a]possession of some property there among the people. 13 While he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are [b]going over to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “A lie! I am not [c]going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the [d]dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.
17 Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said, “Is there a word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my petition [e]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.
Previously, we saw the king issue an order for Jeremiah to be captured, but this was from Zedekiah’s brother (Jehoiakim), and we are now two kings removed from that. Regardless, it seems that maybe Zedekiah had issued a similar order, or that someone had it out for Jeremiah. He is falsely imprisoned, beaten, and kept in a dungeon for many days.
Then Zedekiah actually calls for Jeremiah and we see something interesting. He asks Jeremiah, in secret, whether there is a word from the Lord. Huh, and this was the king who refused to turn from evil and repent? Well, it was, but I suspect there were other, rather influential people who had also put pressure on the king not to make any reforms. Otherwise, it was his pride that caused him to do this in secret.
King Zedekiah does transfer Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse, which was effectively “house arrest” compared to the dungeon at Jonathan’s house. So this makes one think he was afraid of someone else and trying to appease them and not create an uproar by releasing Jeremiah. This takes us back to something we saw the other day, the fear of man vs. the fear of the Lord.
It seems Zedekiah had enough respect for God to treat His prophet well, but he was still afraid of what others might think or say. There really ought to be no contest, for Him, or in our own minds. Yet we can find ourselves hesitating or holding back because we fear the reaction of others. We need to put aside our fears, for they are not from God, and put our focus back on Him alone.
Let God direct your steps, and no other, lest we be led astray like Zedekiah was. He would be given into the hands of the Babylonians because he refused to follow God’s commands. Jeremiah had no such qualms and told the king what God’s message was without hesitation. For us, it may not even be something big, but check your actions against what God tells you, and what is found in His word. Don’t be afraid to take a stand for God and His truth, even when it is uncomfortable.