The Cedar King and the Donkey's Grave Text: Jeremiah 22:13-19
Introduction: The Tyranny of Self
We live in an age that has made an idol of the self. The modern man believes he is his own, that his desires are his law, and that his appetites are his god. This is not a new heresy, but it is a very old one, dressed up in the cheap clothes of therapeutic language and political grievance. The central lie of our time, as it was in the Garden, is that man can be his own lawgiver, his own savior, and his own god. And whenever this lie takes root in the heart of an individual, it produces a small-time tyrant. But when it takes root in the heart of a king, a president, or a man with civic authority, it produces tyranny on a grand and public scale.
The prophet Jeremiah is sent by God to confront this very thing in the heart of King Jehoiakim. Judah is on the brink of collapse, staring down the throat of Babylonian conquest, and the king is busy with interior decorating. The nation is morally bankrupt, but the king is focused on his opulent new palace. He is a man entirely consumed by his own appetites, and he has no problem using and abusing his people to satisfy them. He is the quintessential modern ruler, a man whose heart and eyes are set on nothing but his own greedy gain.
This passage is a divine woe, a funeral dirge pronounced over a man who is still living. It is God's courtroom indictment of a corrupt leader. But we must not make the mistake of thinking this is simply a history lesson about a bad king in a dusty, faraway land. This is a mirror. God's standard of justice for rulers has not changed. His definition of true knowledge of Him has not been altered. And His judgment upon those who build their houses on the foundation of injustice is as certain today as it was in the seventh century before Christ. This text forces us to ask some very pointed questions. What is the basis of a just economy? What does it mean to truly know God? And what is the ultimate end of a life, and a nation, given over to greed?
The Text
"Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay And does not give him his wages, Who says, 'I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.' Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?' Declares Yahweh. 'But your eyes and your heart Are set on nothing except your own greedy gain And on shedding innocent blood And on doing oppression and extortion.' Therefore thus says Yahweh in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, 'They will not lament for him: "Alas, my brother!" or, "Alas, sister!" They will not lament for him: "Alas for the master!" or, "Alas for his splendor!" He will be buried with a donkey's burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem."
(Jeremiah 22:13-19 LSB)
The Architecture of Oppression (v. 13-14)
Jeremiah begins with a divine curse, a "woe," directed at the king. This is the language of judgment.
"Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay And does not give him his wages, Who says, 'I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.'" (Jeremiah 22:13-14)
The sin here is not the building of a nice house. The sin is the foundation upon which the house is built. Jehoiakim is building his palace with injustice as the mortar and unrighteousness as the foundation stones. God's law was crystal clear on this point. "You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning" (Leviticus 19:13). To withhold a man's wages was to steal from him. It was a form of oppression. Jehoiakim is guilty of systemic theft. He is using forced labor, conscripting his countrymen and refusing to pay them. He sees the people of Judah not as his subjects to be protected, but as resources to be exploited.
And for what purpose? "I will build myself a roomy house." Notice the drumbeat of self-interest: "I will build myself." This is the anthem of the tyrant. His motivation is pure narcissism. He wants a grand house, paneled with expensive cedar from Lebanon, and painted a garish, ostentatious red. While the nation crumbles, he is focused on luxury. He is completely detached from the reality of his people's plight, insulated by his own ambition. This is the picture of every corrupt government. It extracts wealth from the productive populace and uses it for its own aggrandizement, for projects that serve its own vanity and power, while the people who paid for it all are left holding the bag.
The Josiah Test (v. 15-16)
God then draws a sharp, devastating contrast between Jehoiakim and his righteous father, King Josiah.
"Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?' Declares Yahweh." (Jeremiah 22:15-16)
God's question cuts to the heart of Jehoiakim's delusion. "Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?" Do you think the measure of your kingship is the luxury of your palace? Do you think authority is about out-building your rivals? This is the mindset of a pagan despot, not a covenant king of Israel. True kingship is not measured by the square footage of your house, but by the faithfulness of your rule.
The counter-example is Josiah. Now, Josiah was not an ascetic. He "did eat and drink." God is not against prosperity or the enjoyment of His gifts. The issue is not consumption, but the source and the context of that consumption. Josiah's prosperity was accompanied by justice and righteousness. He understood that his first duty as king was to reflect the character of God, and God is a God of justice. Because he did this, "it was well with him." There is a direct, causal link between a leader's faithfulness to God's law and the well-being of the nation.
And what did this justice look like in practice? "He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy." This is not some sentimental, bleeding-heart liberalism. This is the application of God's law. A righteous ruler ensures that the legal system is not rigged in favor of the wealthy and powerful. He ensures that the poor man gets a fair hearing in court. He protects the vulnerable from predators. And then God drops the theological bombshell: "Is not that what it means to know Me?"
Here is a definition of true religion that should shake us. Knowing God is not primarily about mystical feelings, emotional experiences, or having your theological ducks in a neat row. To know God is to obey Him. It is to love what He loves and hate what He hates. And God loves justice. To know God is to reflect His character in your dealings with others. If you claim to know God but you cheat your employees, if you claim to know God but you ignore the plight of the oppressed, if you claim to know God but your business practices are predatory, then Yahweh Himself says you do not, in fact, know Him.
The Diagnosis of a Greedy Heart (v. 17)
God now turns from the external actions to the internal source of the corruption.
"But your eyes and your heart Are set on nothing except your own greedy gain And on shedding innocent blood And on doing oppression and extortion." (Jeremiah 22:17)
The problem with Jehoiakim is a problem of vision and affection. His "eyes" and his "heart," the organs of perception and desire, are terminally corrupted. They are fixed, laser-focused, on one thing: "your own greedy gain." The Hebrew word for greedy gain is betsa, which means unjust profit, gain made by violence. This is the engine driving his entire reign. His lust for more is insatiable, and it leads directly to the other sins listed: shedding innocent blood, oppression, and extortion. When a man's heart is captured by greed, human life becomes cheap. People become obstacles to be removed or resources to be squeezed. Justice becomes a commodity to be bought and sold. This is why the apostle Paul tells us that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). It is not the only root, but it is a foundational one.
The Unlamented End (v. 18-19)
Because of this corruption, God pronounces a sentence that is as specific as it is shameful.
"Therefore thus says Yahweh in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, 'They will not lament for him: "Alas, my brother!" or, "Alas, sister!" They will not lament for him: "Alas for the master!" or, "Alas for his splendor!" He will be buried with a donkey's burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.'" (Jeremiah 22:18-19)
The judgment fits the crime perfectly. A man who lived only for himself will die unloved by anyone. He who had no compassion for his people will receive no compassion at his death. There will be no customary funeral rites. The family will not mourn, "Alas, my brother!" The people will not mourn, "Alas for the master!" His life was a monument to his own splendor, but at his death, no one will lament its passing. He was a man who cared for no one, and so no one will care that he is gone.
The final indignity is "a donkey's burial." This is a picture of utter contempt. When a donkey dies in the field, its carcass is dragged off and left for the scavengers. This will be the end of the cedar king. His body will be unceremoniously hauled out of the city gates and dumped on the trash heap. The man who built a magnificent house for himself will not even have a proper grave. This is God's righteous verdict on a life of self-worship and oppression. He who exalted himself will be utterly humbled.
Conclusion: The True King and His Just Kingdom
Jehoiakim is a type. He is a picture of every ruler who rejects the law of God and governs according to the law of his own appetites. He is a warning to us that a nation's economic and political life cannot be divorced from its theology. When a nation forgets God, justice becomes a hollow word, and the government becomes a ravenous beast.
But this passage is not just a warning; it is also a signpost. It points us to the need for a true and righteous King. Jehoiakim failed because he was a sinner, the son of a godly father but a rebel in his own right. He shows us the failure of the Davidic line, and the need for a greater Son of David who would not fail.
Jesus Christ is that King. He did not build a palace for Himself; He had nowhere to lay His head. He did not use His people for gain; He laid down His life for His people as a payment for their sins. He did not exploit the weak; He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and welcomed the outcast. He perfectly "pled the cause of the afflicted and needy" by becoming afflicted and needy for our sake. On the cross, He was dragged outside the gates of Jerusalem and thrown on the trash heap of Golgotha, suffering the donkey's burial that we deserved for our greed, our injustice, and our rebellion.
To know God is to know this King. To be a citizen of His kingdom is to be remade in His image. The gospel does not just save our souls for a future heaven; it transforms our hearts here and now. It rips out the greedy, self-serving heart of Jehoiakim and replaces it with the generous, self-giving heart of Christ. It reorients our eyes and our hearts away from our own greedy gain and fixes them on Christ and His kingdom.
Therefore, the application is straightforward. As Christians, we must be the conscience of the nation, calling our leaders to the standard of Josiah, not Jehoiakim. In our own lives, in our businesses and our families, we must practice economic justice. We must pay fair wages, deal honestly, and care for the vulnerable. Why? Because this is what it means to know God. This is what it means to be a subject of the true King, the one who is building a house, His church, not with cedar and red paint, but with living stones, founded on the ultimate justice of His own shed blood.