No matter what Jeremiah says, the kings and the people remaining in Jerusalem will not listen to him. The ones who have not surrendered to the Babylonians are still trying to hold on to the glory days, but they are gone. Every time Jeremiah tries to tell them that disaster is coming, they throw him in prison or down a cistern. King Zedekiah finally gives some credence to what Jeremiah has been saying all along, but even then, he tries to hide it from the other officials left in the city, because they will kill Jeremiah if he mentions defeat. Their bread is running out, the Babylonians are building a siege ramp to enter the city, and the Babylonian army is on the move. Yet they still believe they can survive. Zedekiah's request, that Jeremiah pray to God for them, comes too late. The city is stormed and burned. Zedekiah's sons are all killed and he is blinded and led into captivity along with the rest of those who remained in the city. Only the poor, working the fields, remained. The king and all of those in positions of influence had it all wrong.
It is better to surrender than be taken captive,
Better to be poor than rich,
Better to trust in God than in any noble leadership.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.- Proverbs 14:12 KJV
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