Jerusalem, spring 587 BC

(2 Kings 25:1–3; Jeremiah 32; 33; 37:17–21; 39:15–18; 52:4–6)

THERE is something surreal about this ‘siege’ which has started again. The Babylonian camp, marked by fluttering flags and the smoke for ever rising from the mess tents, can be seen clearly from the walls of Jerusalem.

Against those walls the invader’s engineers are building huge ramps of rock and earth. Up them soldiers will climb, manoeuvring their huge battering-rams shielded by canopies from the hail of rocks and arrows which will be launched from the ramparts by desperate defenders. The scene is predictable, a re-run of countless others which have been played out against different scenery.

And yet the city is not so much besieged as blockaded. From tall wooden watchtowers around it, Babylonian guards warn off any daring traders who would try to make megabucks by selling fresh food. Nothing is allowed in, and food supplies are running low. Starvation is Nebuchadnezzar’s strongest weapon; weak people cannot fight, however well-fortified is their city.

But individuals can come and go, none the less. No doubt they manage to smuggle past the guards a few precious loaves or fresh vegetables from the country villages, although many outlying settlements have also been devastated by the invaders, much as if a swarm of locusts had swept across the region. In that sense, life goes on as normal.

One man who has made use of it is Jeremiah, the pro-Babylonian prophetic adviser to King Zedekiah. Although under permanent house arrest in the barrack area, he is allowed to have visitors. One has been his cousin Hanamel from the village of Anathoth, and the two have just completed a deal to transfer the deeds of family land to Jeremiah in accordance with Judah’s strict inheritance laws.

The prophet is jubilant. This, he claims, is a sign from Yahweh that one day, in this place, fields will once again be bought and sold, and the fortunes of the people will be revived. On that day God will raise up a righteous leader from the royal line of David.

But for those whose hopes of another reprieve from suffering are rising, he adds, ‘But not yet. The city will be destroyed first.’ Prophetic hope is clearly a long-term investment with no short-term interest payments.