Quiet Time in Jeremiah 52
- Filip
- Feb 13, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 16, 2022
EXPAND TO READ: JEREMIAH 52 (HCSB)
The Fall of Jerusalem
1 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2 Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done. 3 Because of the Lord’s anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence. Nevertheless, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4 In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army. They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall all around it. 5 The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.
6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the people of the land had no food. 7 Then the city was broken into, and all the warriors fled. They left the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. They made their way along the route to the Arabah. 8 The Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army was scattered from him. 9 The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.
10 At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes and also slaughtered the Judean commanders. 11 Then he blinded Zedekiah and bound him with bronze chains. The king of Babylon brought Zedekiah to Babylon, where he kept him in custody until his dying day.
12 On the tenth day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, entered Jerusalem as the representative of the king of Babylon. 13 He burned the Lord’s temple, the king’s palace, all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the nobles. 14 The whole Chaldean army with the commander of the guards tore down all the walls surrounding Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported some of the poorest of the people, as well as the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But some of the poorest people of the land Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, left to be vinedressers and farmers.
17 Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the Lord’s temple and the water carts and the bronze reservoir that were in the Lord’s temple, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19 The commander of the guards took away the bowls, firepans, sprinkling basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and drink offering bowls—whatever was gold or silver.
20 As for the two pillars, the one reservoir, and the 12 bronze bulls under the water carts that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 21 One pillar was 27 feet tall, had a circumference of 18 feet, was hollow—four fingers thick— 22 and had a bronze capital on top of it. One capital, encircled by bronze latticework and pomegranates, stood 7½ feet high. The second pillar was the same, with pomegranates. 23 Each capital had 96 pomegranates all around it. All the pomegranates around the latticework numbered 100.
24 The commander of the guards also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25 From the city he took a court official who had been appointed over the warriors; seven trusted royal aides found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and 60 men from the common people who were found within the city. 26 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar deported: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; 29 in his eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; 30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported 745 Jews. All together 4,600 people were deported.
Jehoiachin Pardoned
31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 32 He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life. 34 As for his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, for the rest of his life.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 2): Ever since coming to faith, I have done many things in my life that are considered “evil in the Lord’s sight.” Please forgive me for this, Father. I have been very immature in my Spiritual journey since coming to faith, often rebelling against You out of selfishness. Help me to become a better follower, so that I no longer live in this evil and selfish manner, Father. Help me to slowly but surely become more like Jesus as I progress and become more mature in my Spiritual journey.
PROMISE (verse 3): In this verse, You basically stood by Your promise to Your people here. You assured them that You would banish them from Your presence if they stuck by their evil ways. They never swayed from their evil ways, so through Your righteous anger You stood by Your promise and banished them from Your presence. You brought destruction on them due to their rebellious nature. Essentially, You allowed them to choose the path they went down and they chose the more selfish and self-righteous path, which naturally angered You. Thank You for standing by Your promises, Father, even though sometimes that means the results are painful for us.
ATTITUDE (verse 3): I have often lived in a rebellious attitude most of my life, but especially since coming to faith. Many times throughout my Spiritual journey with You, I have known the way You wanted me to live, but rebelled against Your will for my life. Instead, I chose to go my own way, the world’s way, or even sometimes the enemy’s way for my life. Forgive me for this rebellious nature and attitude, Father. Help me to be better at following Your will and Your way for my life instead of my own. Help me to be better at abiding in Your commands throughout this Spiritual journey You have me on in this life, Father.
COMMAND (verses 28-30): You commanded the armies of Babylon to bring destruction onto Jerusalem as a punishment for its evil ways. Whether they knew it or not, they successfully followed Your command fully to the point that all of Jerusalem was defeated, many died, but You chose to save 4,600 people via deportation. Although You commanded destruction, You also showed some grace and restraint here by allowing several thousand people to be saved via deportation to Babylon. You followed through with Your promise, sent a command, and ensured that command was followed while still showing some grace to some of Your people. Thank You so much for always knowing and doing what’s best for us, Father.
EXAMPLE (verses 31-34): In these last few verses of Jeremiah 52, You show us an example of grace. Jehoiachin, King of Judah, was imprisoned initially due to the evil ways of him and his people. Although he was imprisoned justly and rightfully, You showed grace by allowing the King of Babylon at the time to sort of free Jehoiachin from the destructive imprisonment and bring him into the king’s court to serve as a trusted and gifted person in the King of Babylon’s court. He was able to live out the rest of his days with favor from the King of Babylon as a result of Your grace. Thank You for this example, Father, to show us that even through the well-deserved discipline and punishment You inflict on us You oftentimes show Your grace and mercy towards us.
*DAILY NOTE: This was the final chapter in Jeremiah. It was quite an amazing book to read. All of the historical information, the promises, commands, and amazing examples of who You are to us were plentiful. Thank You for bringing the book of Jeremiah to my table, Father, to teach me some great lessons along the way. Thank You for all that You are working in me through Your Scripture, prayer, and my fellow brothers in Christ that You have brought into my life recently. I am blessed because You have made me so and I am so very grateful for that.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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