A Problem to Fix a Problem
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This week's guest blogger is Drew Wilson from Blue Springs, MO. Thanks Drew!
Jeremiah37:1-10
1Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonmade king in the land of Judah, reigned insteadof Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor thepeople of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke throughJeremiah the prophet. 3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah,and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,"Please pray for us to the LORD our God." 4 Now Jeremiah wasstill going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans whowere besieging Jerusalem heard news about them,they withdrew from Jerusalem.6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 "Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me,'Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to itsown land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against thiscity. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says theLORD, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely goaway from us," for they will not go away. 10 For even if youshould defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, andthere remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would riseup and burn this city with fire.'"
It's probablynot the happiest, most encouraging thing that I have ever read in Jeremiah butthis verse stuck out to me recently as I was reading through the book ofJeremiah. To give a little background on what is happening at this point inJeremiah we have to go back to the book of Kings (or chronicles) and look atthe history up to this point. So, Zedekiah was placed in power byNebuchadnezzar after Babylon took over Judah the firsttime. Luckily some people changed and God left some people in the land and tookmost of the King and his company to Babylonthus putting Zedekiah in power as a vassal state virtually. But as most badkings do Zedekiah decided he would rebel instead of serve the time that God hadgiven them. Thus as we see the Chaldeans (Babylonians) came back against Jerusalem to besiege itand punish the rebellious King.
Now this is areally good illustration I think of how we very often act in the face of God'sdiscipline. We act so much like the king. You see this king trying his best tobe free even when God has so definitely laid discipline on him. He is soconflicted that he may even believe this is for God ( he obviously thinks thatGod will hear a prayer from Jeremiah for help) yet he is relying on theEgyptians to get rid of the Chaldeans when they had enslaved them right beforethe Chaldeans did! A problem to fix a problem! (remind you of Exodus andwanting to go back to slavery than live in a desert?) And furthermore the Kingrebelled even though he vowed by God to be under Nebuchadnezzar- Isn't that solike us when we so obviously disobey a command of God only to justify thebreaking of it by saying that we did it to honor God?
So that's what is happening when we finally get down to verse 6-10. The kingasks for Jeremiah's prayer and Jeremiah responds as usually with his veryunpopular message from God that this town will burn. But then Jeremiah goesfurther because this time the people have their hope not only on God but alsothat if he gives them an unfavorable response that Egypt might help. And yet theyforget that God sees the heart and the attitudes- He knows if thediscipline is melting their hearts. So, God goes further and tells them nomatter what happens that He will accomplish His goals. The city will burn and Godcan do it with anything, even if that means defeating Jerusalem with injured and unlisted soldiers.That is amazing to me! How utterly defeating and yet encouraging to me it is toknow that God is strong enough to humble me utterly using the marginalized thatI may have even defeated (or humbled) earlier.
Thatbeing said I think there are 2 things to take away from this passage. One isthat God is powerful enough to accomplish His will regardless of the resourcesat hand. What a powerful and wonderful God that is- to be able to do anythingat anytime. Total worship moment. The second thing I got from this is to learnyour lesson the first time. If God is disciplining you, serve your time- that'sa good thing. Don't take matters into your own hands and especially don't tryto honor God with your plan when God's plan (maybe even involving discipline)is already playing out. Always let your heart be molded to his because Godmight just give you a humbling that no one will forget.
Jeremiah37:1-10
1Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonmade king in the land of Judah, reigned insteadof Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor thepeople of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke throughJeremiah the prophet. 3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah,and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,"Please pray for us to the LORD our God." 4 Now Jeremiah wasstill going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans whowere besieging Jerusalem heard news about them,they withdrew from Jerusalem.6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 "Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me,'Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to itsown land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against thiscity. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says theLORD, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely goaway from us," for they will not go away. 10 For even if youshould defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, andthere remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would riseup and burn this city with fire.'"
It's probablynot the happiest, most encouraging thing that I have ever read in Jeremiah butthis verse stuck out to me recently as I was reading through the book ofJeremiah. To give a little background on what is happening at this point inJeremiah we have to go back to the book of Kings (or chronicles) and look atthe history up to this point. So, Zedekiah was placed in power byNebuchadnezzar after Babylon took over Judah the firsttime. Luckily some people changed and God left some people in the land and tookmost of the King and his company to Babylonthus putting Zedekiah in power as a vassal state virtually. But as most badkings do Zedekiah decided he would rebel instead of serve the time that God hadgiven them. Thus as we see the Chaldeans (Babylonians) came back against Jerusalem to besiege itand punish the rebellious King.
Now this is areally good illustration I think of how we very often act in the face of God'sdiscipline. We act so much like the king. You see this king trying his best tobe free even when God has so definitely laid discipline on him. He is soconflicted that he may even believe this is for God ( he obviously thinks thatGod will hear a prayer from Jeremiah for help) yet he is relying on theEgyptians to get rid of the Chaldeans when they had enslaved them right beforethe Chaldeans did! A problem to fix a problem! (remind you of Exodus andwanting to go back to slavery than live in a desert?) And furthermore the Kingrebelled even though he vowed by God to be under Nebuchadnezzar- Isn't that solike us when we so obviously disobey a command of God only to justify thebreaking of it by saying that we did it to honor God?
So that's what is happening when we finally get down to verse 6-10. The kingasks for Jeremiah's prayer and Jeremiah responds as usually with his veryunpopular message from God that this town will burn. But then Jeremiah goesfurther because this time the people have their hope not only on God but alsothat if he gives them an unfavorable response that Egypt might help. And yet theyforget that God sees the heart and the attitudes- He knows if thediscipline is melting their hearts. So, God goes further and tells them nomatter what happens that He will accomplish His goals. The city will burn and Godcan do it with anything, even if that means defeating Jerusalem with injured and unlisted soldiers.That is amazing to me! How utterly defeating and yet encouraging to me it is toknow that God is strong enough to humble me utterly using the marginalized thatI may have even defeated (or humbled) earlier.
Thatbeing said I think there are 2 things to take away from this passage. One isthat God is powerful enough to accomplish His will regardless of the resourcesat hand. What a powerful and wonderful God that is- to be able to do anythingat anytime. Total worship moment. The second thing I got from this is to learnyour lesson the first time. If God is disciplining you, serve your time- that'sa good thing. Don't take matters into your own hands and especially don't tryto honor God with your plan when God's plan (maybe even involving discipline)is already playing out. Always let your heart be molded to his because Godmight just give you a humbling that no one will forget.
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