Study from God’s Word… Jeremiah, Chapters 37 – 38 … Passage for Reflection: Jeremiah 38: 22 … NIV All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah [i.e., King Zedekiah] will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you: " 'They misled you and overcame you — those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.'
My Journal for Today: Reading Chapters 37 & 38 of Jeremiah’s Book in the OT, we read of an interesting interaction between Zedekiah, the King of Judah at the time of the Babylonian siege, and the Prophet Jeremiah. A lot of political intrigue was going on at the time; and the people, especially the officials of the King’s court had trouble believing in and buying into God’s word, through Jeremiah, that only the people who surrendered to Babylon would live to remain alive and be loyal to the one, true God. And one could understand their reluctance to this prophetic paradox. Here, supposedly, was God’s Prophet saying that God’s chosen people of the covenant, the followers of the God of the universe, must surrender to a pagan people, the Babylonians in order to save themselves. And King Zedekiah, though showing some respect to Jeremiah, with at least a marginal belief in God, just couldn’t take the prophesies from Jeremiah. And his quandary was evident as he had Jeremiah taken captive, under house arrest, yet he kept coming back to Jeremiah, asking for what God was saying to him. He just didn’t know what to believe.
Ever been there; … when things are really confusing; and you’re getting conflicting advice, some of which just doesn’t make sense? And like King Zedekiah in today’s text, you just don’t know whom to turn to or whom to believe. And that is why we have such an advantage, being New Covenant believers, over the people of Jeremiah’s day. We don’t have to seek out select Prophets, who are blessed by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. No, we have, through our faith in the fulfillment of all of the OT Prophets, Jesus Christ, the very Holy Spirit Who guided Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Joel, and all of the OT prophets. And we also have God’s declared and final word as part of His New Covenant, sealed forever by the blood of God’s Son, Jesus, … the very Messiah prophesied by Jeremiah and others.
But like Zedekiah, we can hear the truth (or in the case of reading God’s word); but then we must, like King Zedekiah, receive and believe the truth enough to obediently follow the direction of God’s word. Zedekiah had only a marginal faith in the truth of God’s word from Jeremiah; and he paid dearly – with his life – for his very human denial and lack of willingness to surrender to God’s proclaimed truth.
How about you, my friend? Are you willing to get God’s truth deeply into your consciousness, to listen to God’s proclamations of purpose (for example, read and meditate on Isaiah 55: 11 and 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17]; and then, after knowing what God’s word say, are we willing to do what Jesus commanded of His disciples, … i.e., to willingly set aside self and follow Him (see a verse you should have memorized, Luke 9: 23)? Because if you’re not willing to selflessly surrender to God’s truth from His word, you will only have your self and others from Satan’s world to influence your direction; and the outcomes of that WILL BE horrible.
Enough from this pitiful teacher! What will be my choice (or yours) … to know God’s truth and to follow His word, or to languish in the proclamations of those who only have selfish motives to share with us?
Our choice!
My Prayer for Today: LORD, I choose Your word and the direction You provide to me as I get to know you more and more and more. Amen
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