March 9, Jeremiah 37
And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go away." - Jeremiah 37:8-9
We know almost nothing about some of the prophets whose books are in our Old Testaments. We may know their name, and maybe their father's name or their hometown or the time frame in which they lived and prophesied, and nothing more. But because of Chapters 37-44, we know more about the personal history of Jeremiah than any other prophet. Jeremiah was faithful and courageous in a time when it was dangerous to serve God and speak God's word to people who did not want to hear it. He endured intense suffering at the hands of evil men. And through it all, he did not waver from faithfully speaking what God told him to say.
The events recorded in Chapter 37 occurred when Nebuchadnezzar had returned to destroy Jerusalem, eleven years after the first invasion. The Babylonian king had not destroyed the city the first time. He put Zedekiah on the throne as
a vassal. When Zedekiah rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar came back to lay siege to the city and finish what he had started more than a decade before.
Even though Zedekiah and the people had not listened to Jeremiah's prophecies from God, they begged for the prophet's prayers to God on their behalf. Zedekiah may have remembered the history of how God had delivered the city from sure conquest by the overnight death of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. That miraculous salvation happened during the days of King Hezekiah and Isaiah. Maybe Zedekiah thought that could happen again. Hezekiah was a very different sort of man and king from Zedekiah. This time there would be no miraculous deliverance. But Zekekiah's request to Jeremiah shows the high regard that even the wicked king had for God's faithful prophet.
The response from God through Jeremiah was not what the king hoped to hear. As soon as Nebuchadnezzar pushed the Egyptians away, he would return and the siege would resume. Jerusalem would fall and be burned. The outcome was so certain that God said a handful of wounded Chaldeans could take and destroy the city.
Jeremiah was one of many servants of God through the years who suffered unjust persecution based on false charges against him. Like Joseph before him and Daniel after him in the Old Testament, like Peter, Paul and other apostles in the New Testament, Jeremiah suffered unjust mistreatment and imprisonment because enemies lied about them. The sinless Lord Jesus himself was tried and crucified because of false charges against him. Jeremiah had not deserted to the Chaldeans, but Irijah accused him of doing so. (Was he upset with Jeremiah because the true prophet's prediction of his false prophet grandfather's death came to pass within a year?) The accusation with no proof was enough. Angry officials beat Jeremiah and imprisoned him in a dungeon. The dungeon was an abandoned cistern beneath a house with cells dug into the side walls. With no ventilation for fresh air and no light from outside, the dungeon was like death row, a place to die.
The king sent for Jeremiah to come to him for a secret meeting. He asked the prophet if there was any word from the LORD. Jeremiah said there was, and told the king exactly what the word of the LORD had been from the beginning of this sad episode. God was still going to deliver Zedekiah into Nebuchadnezzar's hands. He then asked the king what wrong he had done to be treated in such a cruel and unjust way? He pleaded with the king, not for a pardon, but to be moved to a less severe place. By Zedekiah's order, Jeremiah got out of the dungeon and went to live at the guard's house with a daily ration of a loaf of bread until all the bread in the city failed during the siege.
We should be inspired to imitate the integrity and faithfulness of Jeremiah when the world around us does not want to hear the convicting word of God. We may be mistreated for holding fast to our faith in God, but it will be worth it. We should remember that God's word is sure and unchanging. Remember that God told Zedekiah, "Do not deceive yourself." We too may deceive ourselves by thinking that God does not mean what he says, but this episode reminds us that the future is in God's hand. It is known to him, and what he tells us about it will not change. Let's be wise and trust what God tells us.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—March 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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