Jeremiah 37:3

And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. ZEDEKIAH ... SENT TO ... JEREMIAH, SAYING, PRAY NOW UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD FOR US. Zedekiah's reason for applying to Jeremiah to intercede with God was, he feared lest, in the event of the Chaldeans overcoming Pharaoh-hophra, they should return to besiege Jerusalem. See note in beginning of Jeremiah 21:1; that chapter chronologically comes in between Jeremiah 37:1 and Jeremiah 38:1. The message of the king to Jeremiah here in...

Jeremiah had briefly explained what was the state of the city and the land, that though they had been already severely chastised by God’s scourges, they yet remained obstinate in their wickedness. He now adds, that messengers were _sent _to him by _King Zedekiah, _when danger arose from the Chaldeans; and it is probable that this message came to Jeremiah when the siege was raised, or if the siege still continued, it was at a time when the Jews, no doubt, flattered themselves with the hope of receiving some aid, while yet they saw that the power of the king of Babylon was very great. For though they hoped for some help from the Egyptians, they were yet perplexed, and fear constrained the king to send messengers to the Prophet Jeremiah. But it appears from the answer that the Egyptians were already in arms, and had also come out for the purpose of raising the siege, and driving the Chaldea...

1-10 Numbers witness the fatal effects of other men's sins, yet heedlessly step into their places, and follow the same destructive course. When in distress, we ought to desire the prayers of ministers and Christian friends. And it is common for those to desire to be prayed for, who will not be advised; yet sinners are often hardened by a pause in judgments. But if God help us not, no creature can. Whatever instruments God has determined to use, they shall do the work, though they seem unlikely....

Verse Jeremiah 37:3. _ZEDEKIAH - TO THE PROPHET JEREMIAH_] He was willing to hear a message from the Lord, provided it were according to his own mind. He did not fully trust in his own prophets....

This embassy is not to be confounded with that Jeremiah 21:1 which took place when Nebuchadnezzar was just marching upon Jerusalem; this was in the brief interval of hope occasioned by the approach of an Egyptian army to raise the siege. The Jews were elated by this temporary relief, and miserably abused it Jeremiah 34:11. Zedekiah seems to some extent to have shared their hopes, and to have expected that the prophet would intercede for the city as successfully as Isaiah had done Isaiah 37:6. Jehucal was a member of the warlike party Jeremiah 38:1, as also was the deputy high priest Zephaniah, but otherwise he wa

EXPOSITION Nothing worthy of relation appears to have happened to Jeremiah till the latter period of the reign of Zedekiah. The first two verses of this chapter form the transition. The embassy to Jeremiah mentioned in verse 3 took place after the temporary withdrawal of the Chaldeans from Jerusalem. JEREMIAH 37:1 CONIAH; _i.e._ Jehoiachin (see on Jeremiah 22:24). WHOM NEBUCHADREZZAR … MADE KING. Zedekiah, not Jehoiachin, is referred to (see 2 Kings 24:17). JEREMIAH 37:3 AND ZEDEKIAH THE KING SENT. Th

AND ZEDEKIAH THE KING SENT JEHUCAL THE SON OF SHELEMIAH, AND ZEPHANIAH THE SON OF MAASEIAH THE PRIEST,.... That is, Zephaniah the priest, as the accents shaw; though his father Maaseiah was doubtless a priest too; according to the Syriac version, both Jehucal, called Jucal, Jeremiah 38:1; and Zephaniah, were priests; since it reads in the plural number, "priests": these the king sent as messengers TO THE PROPHET JEREMIAH, SAYING, PRAY NOW UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD FOR US. This message was sent either upon the rumour of the Chaldeans coming against Jerusalem, as some think; or rather when it had departed from the city, and was gone to meet the army of the king of Egypt; so that this petition to the prophet was to pray that the king of Egypt alight get the victory over the Chaldean army, and that that might not return unto them. Thus wicked men will desire the prayers of good

JEREMIAH AND ZEDEKIAH AND THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (37-39) CHAPTER 37 _ 1. Jeremiah's warning (Jeremiah 37:1) _ 2. Jeremiah's arrest (Jeremiah 37:11) Jeremiah 37:1. To understand more fully these Chapter s it must be remembered that the besieging army before the gates of Jerusalem was temporarily withdrawn, because an Egyptian army had appeared against it. This was no doubt an occasion for the false prophets to preach their false hope, so that the people were deceived. Once more Zedekiah sent to the prophet a deputation (Jeremiah 21:1) after Nebuchadnezzar had made him king. The occasion was on

JEREMIAH 37, 38. FORTUNES OF JEREMIAH DURING THE SIEGE (588- 586). JEREMIAH 37:1. Zedekiah, made vassal-king in place of his nephew, Jehoiachin (in 597) sends Jehucal (Jeremiah 38:1) and Zephaniah (Jeremiah 21:1, where a similar inquiry earlier in the siege is recorded) to ask for Jeremiah's intercession with Yahweh (_cf._ Isaiah 37:4), at a time when the siege has been raised through the Egyptian expedition of Pharaoh (Hophra, 589- 564; _cf._ Jeremiah 44:30). Jeremiah sends back to say that the Babylonians will return, and

_And Zedekiah the king sent_ This mission took place later than that related in ch. Jeremiah 21:1, which was sent when Nebuchadnezzar's army was approaching Jerusalem. In this case on the contrary the siege had begun and had been raised, and the hopes of the people were excited in consequence. _Jehucal_ In ch. Jeremiah 38:4 he ("Jucal") proposes that Jeremiah should be put to death. _Zephaniah_ See chs. Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25....