Many students of the Bible are aware that the Prophet Jeremiah had a mission to warn ancient Judah of its coming destruction. But what Jeremiah did after Judah went into Babylonian captivity is either completely overlooked or simply ignored by most theologians and Bible scholars today.

In the “Seals of Jeremiah’s Captors Discovered” exhibit we have in the grand lobby of Armstrong Auditorium, there are two clay seals with names of royal princes who persecuted Jeremiah in Jerusalem during these last days of the kingdom of Judah. You can read about that history in Jeremiah chapters 36, 37 and 38.

Picking up the story in chapter 39, we read about Judah’s demise. During the reign of Zedekiah, Judah was overtaken by the king of Babylon, just as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jeremiah 39:1-2).

King Nebuchadnezzar slew all the sons of Zedekiah—all the male heirs to the throne of David (verses 6-7). He also killed all the princes and nobles of Judah. Zedekiah himself was blinded and thrust into prison, where he later died (Jeremiah 52:11).

At this critical juncture of Judah’s history, it appears as if the throne of David ceased to exist. After all, there hasn’t been a Jewish king ruling in Jerusalem since the days of Zedekiah. So most people mistakenly assume that God must have broken His covenant with King David to establish that throne forever!

But in fact, God had a special commission for Jeremiah that would preserve David’s royal line and transfer his throne.

After Judah’s princes threw him in prison, Jeremiah was released at Nebuchadnezzar’s command when Babylon overtook Judah. But somehow, amid the confusion during the fall of Jerusalem, he had been led away in chains with the other captives.

Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian captain of the guard, found Jeremiah in Ramah and again released him. Just as Nebuchandnezzar had promised, Jeremiah was given free rein to go wherever he pleased (Jeremiah 40:4). Not only that, Nebuzaradan gave Jeremiah, who had been left with nothing, food and gifts (verse 5).

Jeremiah found favor with the Babylonian Empire because of the unique commission God had given him regarding David’s throne. Judah’s enemy ended up helping God’s prophet—giving him incredible favor (Jeremiah 39:11-12). And most people have absolutely no idea why!

After his release from captivity, Jeremiah headed straight to Mizpah—a town located northwest of Jerusalem in the land of Benjamin (Jeremiah 40:6). Why Mizpah? This is where God preserved a small band of lowly Jews (verse 7). And in Jeremiah 41:10, we are told that among this band of misfits were the king’s daughters.

Now we see why Jeremiah went to Mizpah!

King Zedekiah, remember, would die while still in Babylonian captivity. All his sons and nobles had been killed. Every possible heir to David’s throne had been put to death—except for the king’s daughters!

Why did God preserve them? It has to do with the second part of Jeremiah’s mysterious commission. God charged him with the mission of rooting out and throwing down that Davidic throne—and then planting and building up that same throne in another place! (Jeremiah 1:10).

After Jeremiah arrived in Mizpah, infighting broke out among the leaders of this small band of Jews God had preserved (Jeremiah 41). They became fearful that the Babylonian king would return to Judah and kill the survivors, so they decided to flee to Egypt (verses 17-18).

These Jews then approached Jeremiah, seeking God’s direction on the matter (Jeremiah 42). But they had already decided to go to Egypt and simply wanted God to bless their decision—they weren’t really interested in received direction from God. They wanted to go their own way.

In The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote, “Jeremiah was the only man from whom they could get God’s answer. He was the only one God was using. Jeremiah told them he would pray and seek God’s will. God didn’t answer immediately. He often builds our faith and patience by allowing us to wait on Him. God is in charge. Jeremiah had the faith and patience to wait on God. The people he was dealing with did not. We must learn from Jeremiah’s good example and the people’s rebellious example.”

Jeremiah had to wait 10 days for God’s answer, which was to stay in Judah. Jeremiah told them God’s words: “If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you” (Jeremiah 42:10).

Here is a clear reference to the second half of Jeremiah’s commission—to plant and to build. And this was after Judah, as a nation, had already been taken into captivity. God was continually reminding Jeremiah of his mission! (Jeremiah 1:10).

Despite Jeremiah’s words, the people rejected God’s warning (Jeremiah 43:1-7). Their leaders were “proud men,” the Bible says, and they weren’t about to sit around and wait patiently on God’s instructions and then humbly follow them.

Because of this, the remnant that escaped Babylonian captivity and later fled to Egypt ended up being wiped out by Babylon as well—all except for a very small number that would escape, just as Jeremiah had prophesied (Jeremiah 44:27-28). Who, then, was spared?

God’s Word provides the answer! Jeremiah 45 is a short chapter about how the strain of working for God was beginning to wear down Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch. These selfish Jews around him had influenced him negatively, and he started to turn inward. He started thinking not about the things of God, but about the things he desired (verses 1-3).

Notice verse 4: “Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.”

Here again we have an almost word-for-word reminder of God’s commission to Jeremiah from the first chapter of the book! When Baruch’s attitude started to worsen, God reminded him of why Judah had been overrun and taken captive—it was all according to Jeremiah’s prophecies!

Baruch was losing sight of this vision and commission because he was getting his mind on himself (verse 5). He knew Judah was very near to the point of captivity and ruin. But as bad as it was getting all around him, he still lost sight of why this was all happening!

Moffatt translates verse 5, “Do you expect smooth fortunes for yourself? Never expect that! Only, I promise you, as I bring doom now upon all mankind, I will let you escape with your own life, wherever you must go.”

What a promise from God! Baruch was told he would be protected wherever he must go. God had called him to assist Jeremiah in finishing the second half of his commission.

Well over a century before Judah went into captivity, Isaiah had prophesied, “And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this” (Isaiah 37:31-32). You can also find this same prophecy in 2 Kings 19:30-31.

The United States and Britain in Prophecy says, “It is well known that Jeremiah was used in warning Judah of the impending captivity, and the ‘pulling down’ or ‘overthrowing’ of the throne of David in the kingdom of Judah ….

“But note it! See it in your own Bible! Jeremiah was divinely commissioned to pull down and to overthrow that very throne of David in Judah—but notice the second half of the commission. To build and to plant!”

Jeremiah was commissioned by God to deliver that throne and its ruler—one of the king’s daughters—to Ireland. Later, the throne was moved to Scotland and then to Westminster Abbey in London. Even though it is called David’s throne, the throne belongs to the Son of God, and He will soon sit on that throne (Luke 1:31-33).

God worked out all of these incredible events so that Jeremiah could reestablish the throne of King David—so that David’s kingly line would continue right up to the return of Jesus Christ to this Earth!