How ironic that Jeremiah – the great prophet who warned that the Babylonians would conquer Jerusalem, raze the city, and destroy the Temple of Solomon – provides us with a dispassionate description of the capture of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah: “They captured the king and brought him before the king of Babylon at Riblah, in the region of Hamath; and he put him on trial. The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons slaughtered before his eyes; he also had all the officials of Judah slaughtered at Riblah. Then the eyes of Zedekiah were put out, and he was chained in bronze fetters. The king of Babylon brought him to Babylon and put him in prison (where he remained) to the day of his death.”
Blinding a conquered king was the Babylonian punishment for being a disloyal vassal. Why did Zedekiah not heed the words of Jeremiah and not take up arms against an empire that was a military machine? Jeremiah, heeding the word of God (and having those words written by his scribe Baruch ben Neriah) and being a political realist knew that the Kingdom of Judah was doomed. But even though Jeremiah is remembered and Zedekiah forgotten, perhaps the king was not reckless and did have a chance to repel and defeat the Babylonians. He was no fool.
In the late summer of 594 BCE, a coalition of regional kingdoms met to discuss uniting against the Babylonian Empire. At the time the Kingdom of Babylon was wracked by internal dissent. Delegates from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon planned a rebellion against King Nebuchadnezzar. The chances of success looked good. After a couple of years passed, the up and coming power of Egypt made a commitment to the anti-Babylonian alliance. It seemed that the hostile empire could be defeated. Zedekiah proved an able king and his plans were not reckless. Since we all view the events of the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE through the eyes of Jeremiah—his prediction of doom was correct despite the fact that he would rather the Judahites atone rather than be destroyed—we dismiss Zedekiah as a rebel against God and God’s prophet.
Zedekiah could have easily had Jeremiah executed for treason. It is to his credit that he allowed the prophet and his followers to live. Jeremiah’s true foe was Hananiah, son of Azur, a prophet who predicted that Judah would defeat its foe and the Temple would remain standing. He represented a large portion of Judah’s population that despised Jeremiah.
But one wonders: What if a Jeremiah emerged in 1967 and warned Israel not to fight its enemies because God was punishing the Jewish State for its sins. Yoel Teitelbaum, the most prominent Satmar rebbe believed Hitler was a tool of God to punish all Jews for the crime of some Jews embracing Zionism. We are no longer living in a time when conquered Jews are spared. We are living in an age of genocide—whether the threats of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Zedekiah may have underestimated his enemy but Jeremiah’s theology of “Exile for Sin” is untenable today. Zedekiah fought to preserve his sovereignty. Israel must do the same. We are living in modern times. Jeremiah and Zedekiah lived 2500 years ago. A new theology of defiance must emerge.
Throughout most of the history of prophecy, the prophet challenged the power of a corrupt state and a sinning population. Elijah was a rebel who faced down King Ahab and Queen Jezebel—she was a Phoenician princess, Ba’al worshipper, and persecutor of the prophets of the One God of Israel. Ahab was a superior warrior and a great builder of fortified cities. According to the “Monolith Inscription” of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III, Ahab provided 10,000 men and 2,000 chariots as part of a rebelling coalition that faced the emerging superpower of Assyria at the Battle of Qarqar in Syria in 853 BCE. Ahab was successful in halting the enemy and preserving the sovereignty of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He was a brave warrior. And he was a great architect responsible for building fortified cities.
Yes, Ahab was evil – he framed his neighbor Naboth for treason and executed him in order to seize his vineyard. We should all revere Elijah as a harbinger of the Messiah and a great prophet. But as a student of history, I will not dismiss the kings and warriors who fought to defend their sovereignty. That includes Zedekiah.
The writer is rabbi of Congregation Anshei Sholom in West Palm Beach, Florida