3. What did Zedekiah want from Jeremiah, and how did Jeremiah respond?

³ King Zedekiah consulted Jeremiah on a number of occasions prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. Why? The king hoped to receive reassuring responses to inquiries about the future of his realm. He wanted Jeremiah to announce that divine intervention would save Judah from her enemies. Through emissaries, Zedekiah petitioned Jeremiah: “Please inquire in our behalf of Jehovah, because Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps Jehovah will do with us according to all his wonderful works, so that [Nebuchadrezzar] will withdraw from us.” (Jer. 21:2) The king did not want to follow God’s direction to surrender to Babylon. One scholar likened Zedekiah to “a patient returning again and again to a doctor in search of reassurance, yet unwilling to take the medicine prescribed.” What about Jeremiah? He could have become popular by telling Zedekiah what he wanted to hear. Why, then, did Jeremiah not just change his message and make his life easier? He refused to do so because Jehovah had told him to proclaim that Jerusalem would fall.​—Read Jeremiah 32:1-5.

Jeremiah could not shun Zedekiah altogether; he was still the king, even when refusing to follow God’s counsel. Jeremiah was not obliged, though, to conform to the king’s misguided thinking or to curry his favor. Granted, if Jeremiah had complied with the king’s wishes, Zedekiah could have showered him with gifts and other benefits. Jeremiah nevertheless refused to give in to any pressure or temptation to be close to Zedekiah. Why? Because Jeremiah was not about to alter the stance that Jehovah had told him to adopt.