Zedekiah, king of Judah - Jeremiah 37

Jeremiah 37:1 "And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah."

Coniah is a whole other story. Zedekiah is king and Jerusalem is in the end days. The Chaldeans have besieged Jerusalem but Pharaoh's army is on the way so the Chaldeans pull out. It seems that Jerusalem is saved.

v5 "Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem."

Meanwhile, Jeremiah tried to leave the city to go into the land of Benjamin but the princes thought he was going over to the Chaldeans and arrested him. So he is in prison in the scribes house which is nothing more than a dungeon.

v17 "Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."

Jeremiah is plan with the king. He asked him where the prophets were that told him everything was going to be just peachy. He also asked Zedekiah to not put him back in the dungeon. So he was allowed to stay in the court of the prison.

v21 "Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison."

We should note since the Chaldeans are retreating and Pharaoh's seems to be coming to the rescue that there was a word from the Lord on the matter.

v10 "For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire."

Judah has rejected God and his words from Jeremiah and the Chaldeans are the instrument of their punishment. It was to happen as God said it would.