After all the fervent emotion of the prophet Jeremiah throughout the whole book, this is a remarkably emotionless telling of the story.
If you want to hear the same story told in all its pathos, we could pause here and spend a few weeks in the book of Lamentations. The book of Lamentations takes five chapters to reflect on the Fall of Jerusalem.
But Jeremiah 39 is a cold factual account devoid of prophetic passion – and totally lacking in the “jeremiad” – the recounting of Jerusalem’s sins.
Indeed, in the whole account of the destruction of Jerusalem in verses 1-14, there is no reference to God – no reference to sin – only a simple, bare, factual account of the events.
Why so simple?
Because by this point, it would be redundant. Jeremiah has been telling us over and over that God’s judgment is coming against Jerusalem.
Sometimes you just need to lay out the plain, unvarnished facts.
If you want to compare the fall of Jerusalem with other biblical events, this one is up there with the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the conquest of Canaan.
Though, of course, all of those events were judgments against the nations. This is the son of God – the people of God – the temple of God. God is bringing judgment against his own people.
There is no other event to compare it to – until you come to the cross of Jesus. The destruction of Jerusalem was a picture of God’s wrath against the sin of his people. As such, it also points to the cross of Jesus.
And as God forsook his only Son at the cross, so also he turned away from Jerusalem – and remained silent....
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