Urijah - rebuke or reality check?

[Irenaeus]

In Jer. 26:20-24, is Urijah implicitly rebuked for fleeing to Egypt? Or is Jeremiah simply reminding us that not all who defy the ungodly will be spared from death as a result?

 

[VictorBravo]

I think it is simply relating facts of history. One can infer from this, and many other places, that believers can and do die because of their faith.

But I don't think Jeremiah was necessarily trying to give a "moral of the story" here, except maybe to note that he didn't die because of friends protecting him.

 

[Jack K]

No, it's not a rebuke of Uriah for fleeing to Egypt, or even a commentary on Uriah at all. Rather, it's about the hardness of the king. The point of the brief account is to show the extent of King Jehoiakim's refusal to listen to God's prophets, revealing how much danger Jeremiah faces in the larger passage. The king is so hostile to true prophets that he isn't content with having forced Uriah to flee, but pursues him all the way to Egypt in order to kill him and dishonor the body. No blame rests on Uriah for that, but much rests on the king.