Day #228
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 37 - 41 …
Jeremiah and the people who remained in Judah as
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army approached had a decision to make:
Listen to the false prophets and resist, or listen to God as He spoke
through Jeremiah and be carried off to Babylon, trusting that God would keep
His promise to restore them after seventy years. From a human
perspective, it was a difficult decision. The Egyptians appeared to be
willing to help Judah fight against Babylon … maybe they could win! So
when Jeremiah came with his message from God, telling them to surrender, "neither
he (King Jehoiachin) nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any
attention to the words the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet" (37:2).
Instead, the king of Judah sent messengers to
Jeremiah with this message: "Please pray to the LORD our God for
us" (37:3). Remember, God had already said to Jeremiah, "Do
not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead
with me, for I will not listen to you" (7:16). And God had
repeated this to Jeremiah as it is recorded in 11:14 and again in 14:11: "Do
not pray for the well-being of this people." Why had God told
Jeremiah not to pray for them? Because God had already determined to
bring this judgment upon them and had sent Jeremiah with the message to
surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar. This was God's discipline on a people
who had utterly and totally turned away from Him by rejecting His Word and turning
to other nations instead of Him for protection.
How like the king of Judah and the false prophets
and the people are so many today? There are times when all of us need
discipline from the Lord. That doesn't mean every problem or trial or
suffering we face is discipline, but God DOES teach us through all of these
things to depend upon Him. And if we have strayed from the path of
faithful trust and obedience, such discipline is the most gracious thing we can
hope for. The writer of Hebrews says, "Endure hardship as
discipline; God is treating you as sons. … No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a
harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews
12:7,11).
Jeremiah faithfully proclaimed to King Zedekiah the
message that God had given him: "If you surrender to the officers
of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be
burned down; you and your family will live. But if you will not surrender
to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the
Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from their
hands" (38:17-18). Prior to speaking with the king, Jeremiah had
been telling all the people, “This is what the LORD says: 'Whoever stays in
this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the
Babylonians will live'" (38:2).
In reality, it took more FAITH to surrender than it
did to stay and fight. God had
previously sent the prophet Isaiah to encourage the remnant of believers in
Israel to trust in Him as He sent Assyria to bring judgment on their nation,
saying, "'Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and HE will have mercy on him, and to our God,
for He will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:6-9).
That is good advice for believers in every
generation, especially when things happen that we don’t understand. Now it was Judah’s turn to experience God’s
judgment. What God spoke through
Jeremiah took place exactly as He had said. King Zedekiah and the people
of Judah refused to surrender and fled from Jerusalem, only to be captured.
Zedekiah's sons were killed in front of him and his eyes were taken out
and he was bound and taken to Babylon. The Babylonians then burned the
palace and the temple and destroyed the walls of Jerusalem. "All
this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey
Him" (40:3).
And judgment didn't stop there. Judgment
continued to fall on those who remained in Jerusalem, even after the king and
most of the people had been taken into captivity to Babylon. Some might
ask, "Why all of this harsh judgment? What ever happened to God's love
and mercy and forgiveness?” Isn't it interesting that people always
question God's judgment, but never His goodness and grace. Why is God
gracious? Why does He forgive? Why did He send His own Son to bear
His wrath and judgment Himself on the cross? People would answer: "Because
God is love." But you see, God is also HOLY! God is GOD,
and He has revealed Himself and His character so that those who believe know
BOTH "sides" of His character. God is not God without either
His love or His holiness.
One day soon God's judgment will fall upon this
planet, just as God has said. God has called all people to surrender to
His Son ... not to an enemy, but to the One Who loved them so much that He gave
His life for those who were HIS enemies (Romans 5:10). Yet many think that
God is their enemy and they scorn the name of Jesus. They reject God's
call to repent, as Israel and Judah did, and so God's judgment will come upon
them. Paul described his ministry in his letter to the church in Rome
this way: "Through Him (Jesus Christ) and for His Name's sake, we
received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to
the obedience that comes from faith" (Romans 1:5).
True FAITH leads to obedience. Faith believes
God's promises and acts accordingly. We are not saved by our obedience,
but rather, through faith that LEADS to obedience. FAITH hears God,
believes God, trusts God and obeys God. Faith does not ignore God's Word.
The obedience God desires is FAITH! There's an old hymn that says, "Trust
and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and
obey." We would do well to listen!
"LORD, You are perfect in all Your ways and
just in all You do. Your judgment comes because of sin and Your
discipline comes because of love. Give me wisdom to accept Your
discipline and to turn from sin, trusting in Your promise to forgive through
faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Lord. Help me daily to
live in obedience to Your Word and so experience the joy of being reconciled to
You. In Jesus' Name, Amen"
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