24 Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [p]officers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven [q]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led away into exile from its land.
28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the [r]seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.
31 Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that [s]Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, [t]showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So [u]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and [v]had his meals in [w]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.
After the punishment of Zedekiah, Nebuzaradan rounds up yet more of the leaders of Jerusalem and they are executed also. Then we see a final count of the Jews carried captive, where commentators believe this was probably only the number of men, as was common in ancient times (like the feeding of five thousand by Jesus). Lastly, in this very last chapter of Jeremiah, there is one tiny spark in the life of Jehoiachin.
After thirty-seven long years in prison, a new king (whose name simply means “Man of Marduk”) takes the throne and shows kindness to the captive king. (vv. 31-34) Do you ever feel like you’re slogging through something, like things just aren’t happening quickly enough? Or perhaps you’re waiting on an answer to prayer, and it seems God is taking His sweet time?
Of course, we need to know that God’s timing is perfect, and we can’t rush Him, or we might get half-baked results. But that’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes, yet we can remember Jehoiachin and realized our plight is (likely) not even half so bad as his. He reigned in Judah a mere three months and then spent decades in prison.
Most of us have never faced anything so severe, and we know, even if Jehoiachin did not, that God is with us always. (see Matt. 28:20) We are not abandoned, just as God did not abandon His people in exile. It took thirty-seven years for the Babylonians to show any grace to Jehoiachin, but as Peter reminds us, “God is not slow to keep His promise…”
Though it isn’t on our timeline, Peter continues to say that He is patient toward us, and that reminds us He will not rush the result. If you read the context, he’s talking about a different promise, but the principle still applies. God has a plan, and is working on it every day, whether we see it or not. So when you feel downcast, be thankful you aren’t Jehoiachin, and be reminded that God walks with you every single day.