What the Bible says about Zedekiah's Weakness
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Jeremiah 38:4-5 Seeing in the prophet's confinement an opportunity to silence him for good, the princes request permission from the king to execute him. Zedekiah's response displays his typical weakness before his princes: "Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you" (verse 5). Zedekiah's fear has immobilized him; figuratively, his feet are mired in a bog. The princes waste no time hurling Jeremiah into a literal bog, a miry pit, with the intent that he will die of exposure and hunger there. Charles Whitaker Servant of God, Act One: Going Around, Coming Around Related Topics: Going Around, Coming Around | Jeremiah's Imprisonment | Zedekiah | Zedekiah's Fearfulness | Zedekiah's Weakness

Jeremiah 38:19 At this juncture, God has not made an irrevocable decision concerning the evil He will soon create for His people (Isaiah 45:7); He has not condemned Zedekiah to death, the house of Pharez to extinction, or Jerusalem to flame. Zedekiah, by making the right decisions, can salvage the situation in part. Given the historical moment—the burden on the king—his answer to Jeremiah appears almost surreal: "I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me" (verse 19). History would have been different if only he had obeyed God. To Zedekiah, a prophet of God is nothing more than a crystal ball with legs, valuable as a source of knowledge of things future. Jeremiah shares the fate of Cassandra, a woman of Greek myth who, though blessed with great prophetic power, is cursed to be always disbelieved. Zedekiah's "I am afraid" reveals a pathetic character indeed. He fails to understand his obligation to heed the pronouncements of the prophet God has so graciously provided. He lacks the resolve to obey God, his fear for his safety overruling his sense of responsibility to his subjects and to his capital. Charles Whitaker Servant of God, Act One: Going Around, Coming Around Related Topics: Going Around, Coming Around | Greek Mythology | Zedekiah | Zedekiah's Disdain for God's Prophets | Zedekiah's Fearfulness | Zedekiah's Lack of Responsibility | Zedekiah's Pathetic Character | Zedekiah's Weakness

Jeremiah 38:23 The burdensome weight of office must have shaken the weakling king, maybe even overwhelmed him. He abruptly and unceremoniously ends the interview. Apparently, afraid lest his princes learn of the momentous burden on his shoulder, he promises Jeremiah royal protection as long as he remains silent. The prophet departs unheeded, and waits. What a burden is Zedekiah's: "You shall cause this city to be burned with fire." The fate of Jerusalem rests on the king's decision, on a person whose feet are "sunk in the mire." The times demand a courageous leader resolved to obey God, able to make and implement decisions, yet the king appears almost catatonic—paralyzed with fear, as one in a nightmare, trying desperately to flee disaster but unable to move. His only action, it appears, is to retire into the relative—and temporary—safety of his palace. There, like Jeremiah, he waits. Charles Whitaker Servant of God, Act One: Going Around, Coming Around Related Topics: Going Around, Coming Around | Zedekiah's Fearfulness | Zedekiah's Pathetic Character | Zedekiah's Weakness

 

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