Just before the final Babylonian assault on the besieged city, in 587 B.C., King Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to seek for a message from God about the future.

21: 1-2. Zedekiah hoped for a miracle to save the city, probably remem-bering what had happened in 701 B.C. when the Assyrian ruler Senna¬cherib withdrew his army from Jerusalem when plague swept through their camp. It is significant that Zedekiah asked Jeremiah for a message from God, in view of Jeremiah's unpopularity and rejection by the court officials, but it shows that his continued faithfulness to his prophetic ministry made some impression even on those who scorned and abused him. It had become obvious that prophets such as Hananiah (Jeremiah 28) who prophesied peace might be false in their utterances.

21: 3-7. Jeremiah described frighteningly what was soon to happen, if the Jewish resistance continued.

Jeremiah and the fall of Judah 21:8-10. The prophet then offered the only way of saving the lives of the people of the city, although the city itself would be destroyed. If the king surrendered immediately the Babylonians would show mercy to the people. Jeremiah echoes the words of Deuteronomy 30: 15, in verse 8. This chapter does not describe how the king reacted to the message which Jeremiah sent to him but we know from later chapters in the book that the king and his officials did not accept what Jeremiah had said; they refused to surrender and went on resisting, hoping for help to come from Egypt.

21: 11-14. Jeremiah presented God's judgement on the descendants of David who had not maintained the justice and righteousness that were intended to be the foundation of kingship in Israel and Judah. Physical descent from David would not save an unjust ruler from God's anger. The royal palace and city would be destroyed because of the evil committed by those who were proud of being the descendants of David, but who had not honoured God as David had.