Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison.
Jeremiah 52:11, 31 (NIV)

In today’s chapter, the compiler of this ancient volume of Jeremiah’s prophetic works (it’s possible it was Jeremiah’s faithful scribe Baruch), ends the compilation with what publishers today would call an Afterword or Epilogue. It’s almost word-for-word a repetition of 2 Kings 24:18 – 2 Kings 25:21, 27-30, meaning that the compiler most certainly had access to the same source material or to the text of Kings itself.

What fascinated me was the contrast of treatment that was given to the two final Kings of Judah who were taken into exile in Babylon.

Jehoiachin had the distinction of ruling for just three months, and he was on the throne during Nebuchadnezzar’s first siege of Jerusalem. Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and avoided Jerusalem’s destruction and the death that would have accompanied a long siege.

Nebuchadnezzar placed Jehoiachin’s uncle on the throne as his puppet and named him Zedekiah. Zedekiah’s job was to pay tribute to the king of Babylon and remain a loyal vassal state to the Babylonian empire. In this chapter-a-day trek through Jeremiah, I noticed that it was Zedekiah who, time-and-time again refused to heed Jeremiah’s prophetic words. He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and when God through Jeremiah told Zed that he’d be spared if he simply surrendered, the hard-hearted Zed refused to do so. At every turn, Zed refused to listen to Jeremiah’s divine guidance.

The Epilogue of Jeremiah contrasts the outcome of the last two monarchs of Judah. Jehoiachin was released from prison by Nebuchadnezzar’s successor. He was given a place of honor at the king’s table, given an allowance, and allowed to live freely in Babylon until the day of his death. Zedekiah, ironically blinded by Nebuchadnezzar at the time of his captivity, remained blind and in a Babylonian prison until the day of his death.

As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, I found the two kings to be a living parable. Along my life journey I’ve encountered difficult stretches of the journey when I have a choice to surrender to God in the midst of my circumstances, seek His strength, and trust the Story. I can also choose to harden my heart, fight against my circumstances, and embitter myself. I couldn’t help but think of God’s words to the stunned persecutor Saul on the road to Damascus when he said, “It’s hard for you to kick against the goads.” The Greek proverb referenced a yoked ox who struggled against the “goad” or “prod” and succeeded in only hurting himself.

I recently finished reading Bono’s autobiography Surrender (I plan to publish my review this weekend), and it came to mind as I contemplated this parable of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Bono shares his path of surrendering his unbridled passions and bull-headed individuality to God, to his bandmates, to his wife, and to his family. The path of being a disciple of Jesus is one of perpetual surrender. Despite the health, wealth, and wisdom promised by name-it-and-claim-it preachers who spring up like weeds in every generation, Jesus’ called His disciples to perpetual surrender on this earthly journey. I only have to look at Exhibit A, the arguably two most famous and fervent disciples in history. Both Paul and Peter followed Jesus into their own personal exiles, their own captivities, and their own executions. It was in their surrender, rather than their “personal empowerment,” that they found the Source of true eternal power.

As I walk away from over three months in the book of Jeremiah, I find myself wanting to be a Jehoiachin not a Zedekiah. In a world that seems to only value power and triumph, I’m reminded that God’s ways always flow in the opposite direction of raw humanity. Eternal power is found in the surrender.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.