NOTES for Jer 37:1-21

Hope is one of the most important and profound concepts in human life. But like all other important and profound concepts, it can have two sides and two directions: toward God and away from God. In the Book of Jeremiah, Israel’s calamities are depicted as God’s struggle against the false hopes of the people and the king. The whole military and political intrigue is portrayed in this way: the Egyptian army is about to help Jerusalem lift the siege—and this almost happens. But at the most important moment, the hopes placed in Egypt collapse; in the prophet’s understanding, God Himself destroys them, leading His people to true hope—not in Egypt, but in God. For him it is clear: hope dies, but it dies precisely in order to make room for new hope.