Today's Scripture Reading (June 8, 2020): Jeremiah 40
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, philosopher, and military strategist, might have originated the phrase, but, likely, the principle was already in use long before Sun Tzu's time in the latter part of the 6th-century B.C.E. More recently, it became the basis for the relationship between Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Second World War. In spite of the deep mistrust that existed between Stalin and both Churchill and Roosevelt, still they became allies because they all possessed a common enemy – Adolf Hitler. Circumstances made the West's enemy, their friend.,
From a contemporary point of view, there are many questions about Jeremiah's role in Jerusalem during the run-up to the eventual fall of the city. If it was not that God was speaking a message to the prophet, a word that was confirmed by the teachings of other prophets of that time, most notably Ezekiel in Babylon and Huldah among the women in Jerusalem, it might have been easy to label Jeremiah as a traitor to the city. But the message of God was present, changing our view of the weeping prophet.
Finally, the powers inside the city had had enough, and they had imprisoned Jeremiah in an attempt to silence him. A contingent of the advisors wanted the prophet executed, but it was something to which they just never got around. So, as the Babylonians enter the city, they find Jeremiah chained up and left behind in the city after the King had already left to try to save himself.
It seems likely that they had some idea that the prophet was not just a common criminal. The Babylonians likely knew about the work of Jeremiah inside the walls of the city, possibly even through the words of Ezekiel in Babylon. But it is not as if they were friends. Any relationship that existed between Jeremiah and Babylon was based on the fact that they had both opposed the reign of Zedekiah and his officials in Jerusalem, although for very different reasons.
And so, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the Babylonian imperial guard, finds Jeremiah and frees him from his chains. He also makes the prophet an offer. If Jeremiah wants, he can return to Babylon with him as a guest rather than a prisoner. The difference is significant. Most of the city was going to be forced to go to Babylon as captives of the conquering army. Those who were being left behind in Judea were simply decided to be too insignificant or weak to bother to take from the land. But Jeremiah was in a different situation. He could come, and likely would have lived a life of comfort under the care of Nebuzaradan, or he could stay in Judea and live a life that was likely now going to be very hard.
In the end, the choice was Jeremiah's. And Babylon would leave what happened next up to the prophet.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 41
No comments:
Post a Comment