Study from God’s Word… 2Kgs 25: 2-4 [Jer. 39: 2-3]; 2Kgs 25: 4-6 [Jer. 39: 4-5]; 2Kgs 25: 6-7 [Jer 39: 5-7; 52: 9-11]; 2Kgs 25: 8-10 [2Chron 36: 17-19 and Jer. 39: 8; 52: 12-14]; 2Kgs 25: 18-21 [Jer 52: 24-27]; 2Kgs 25: 13-17 [2Chron 36: 18 and Jer 52: 17-23]; 2Kgs 25: 11-12 [Jer 39: 9-10; 52: 15-16]; 2Kgs 25: 21 [Jer 52: 27-30]; 2Chron 36: 20-21; 2Kgs 25: 22; Jer. 39: 15-18; Jer. 39: 11-14; Jer. 40: 1-5 … Passage for Reflection: Jeremiah 39: 17 – 18 … NIV 15 While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him: 16 "Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17 But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. 18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.' "
My Journal for Today: If you were to go back and read the parallel accounts of the fall of Jerusalem which I was led to read today via The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, edited by Dr. F. LaGard Smith, you would see what a tragic time this was in Israel’s history; and it had been fully prophesied by Jeremiah and a number of God’s Prophets of the time. But God’s children ignored His prophesies; and they fell. But today, in the highlighted text, we’re led to read of an assurance that God gave to one of the Hebrew leaders [and thereby all of God’s people – including you and me] by Jeremiah which shows God’s ultimate mercy and His retained love for His recalcitrant, disobedient children, whom God had disciplined through the Babylonian captivity.
To illustrate the point of today’s text (underlined and emboldened above), Dr. Smith uses a word picture with which most parents, and especially dads, can identify. It is the picture of the little one at pool side, afraid to jump in the water but being encouraged by his dad to do so. And as often is the case, to help the little one make the jump, the dad declares, “Come on; jump, I’ll catch you!” And the fearful child jumps in spite of the fear because he trusts in his dad to be there to catch him.
And I think you can see the descriptive parallel between today’s text and this very common picture of a father helping his child overcome a fear. That, of course, was what God’s children needed to do coming out of the Babylonian enslavement. They needed to trust their God and jump into His arms, letting Him rescue them from their captivating fears. And that is what ALL OF US MUST DO in our relationship with Christ, our Messiah and Lord. And as I write this, you may be thinking, as I am right now, of that wonderful proverb Solomon wrote to his son (and to you and me - Prov. 3: 5 – 6 - which states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart …” Or maybe you were thinking of the passage from Isaiah 41: 10, in which God, the Father, declares, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Or maybe this encouragement from the Apostle Paul came to your mind, where he declared in “Romans 8: 31, “If God be for us, who can be against us.”
All of these passages are God, our Father, at poolside, trying to get us to jump into His arms; … because the truth is (see Heb. 13: 5-6 or Deut. 31: 6) God will always be there to catch us.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I cling to the trust that You’ll always be there for me. Amen
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