NOTES for Jer 39:1-18

The prophecy has been fulfilled. Jerusalem has fallen, the king has been taken captive, and a considerable part of the people has gone into exile with him. Those who remain are given the opportunity to arrange their daily lives under the occupiers’ rule. Some measures may appear not only humane but also consistent with social justice, since they gave the poor lands and vineyards taken from their former owners. Yet for some reason one does not feel like thanking the conquerors for this: what has been taken from one’s neighbor will sooner or later stick in one’s throat.

Now Nebuchadnezzar himself is concerned for Jeremiah’s safety. It would seem that Jeremiah has every opportunity to rise above his compatriots, and had he truly been the traitor they believed him to be, he would certainly have known how to take advantage of those opportunities. But we see no attempt on his part to use the situation for selfish gain or to take revenge on those who offended him. Moreover, we do not hear his words immediately after the defeat. An anxious pause has fallen over the land of Judah between old and new calamities. A pause has also come in Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry. But great is the depth of his silence.