"He is in your hands," King Zedekiah answered. "The king can do nothing to oppose you." – Jeremiah 38:5

Today's Scripture Reading (June 6, 2020): Jeremiah 38

There has always been a tug of war between those who want to exercise absolute power over the people under their influence. The desire of the one in control is simple to understand. With complete control, they have the privilege of shaping their environment to fit what it is that they think is right, and ultimately what benefits them the most. Those they rule over feel that they should have some control, or at least input, over their own lives and their own actions. In the mid-1700s, those two forces found themselves on a collision course in North America. King George III believed that he was the one in power, if not an absolute power, not only over England but over the colonies as well. The colonies disagreed.

The core issue in the American War of Independence was the lack of American representation in parliament. Popularly, this problem was framed as a complaint about the taxes levied on the colonies without their consent. It is actually a refrain that is still heard today in the District of Columbia; how can there be taxation without representation? In 1776, the United States declared its independence by sending King George III their twenty-seven grievances, most of which dealt with the issue of lack of control over their own affairs. British statesman and historian Sir George Trevelyan (1838-1928), argued that in response, King George wanted to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable process, discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse." In reality, King George III did not hold absolute power in England, let alone in the colonies. But it is still a power for which political leaders like to grab.

And that idea of power is probably what makes these words of Zedekiah so striking. Political leaders often seem to like to grab credit even for things with which they are not involved. But here, much like Pilate at the trial of Jesus Christ, Zedekiah seems to want to wash his hands of the whole ordeal. The death of Jeremiah was not something with which Zedekiah wanted to be involved. And while Pilate's motives at the trial of Jesus were likely profoundly personal with the governor just not sure that Jesus deserved his execution, Zedekiah's were probably more political in nature.

It was not that the people supported Jeremiah because that does not seem to be the reality inside the walls of Jerusalem. But it might be possible that, while Zedekiah wanted to be free of Jeremiah's pessimistic prophecy, he deep down believed that Jeremiah was right. And if he was, and Jerusalem was about to fall, then Zedekiah didn't want the death of Jeremiah to be part of the charges that were being laid against him, either by God or by Nebuchadnezzar, who might have seen Jeremiah as an ally in his battle against Judea.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 39