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August 18th

The bible reading today is in Jeremiah 38-40 and Ps 74 & 79.

“Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.”

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud and Jeremiah sank in the mud.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭38:4-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Babylonians were at the gates of Jerusalem, within days of taking the city, after an 18-month siege. Things were going down just as planned. Jeremiah had prophesied for years that because of Judah’s unfaithfulness to God, they and their great city would go down to their enemies. The enemy was Babylon.

God gave a last message to Judah through the prophet. “Surrender to Babylon. Submit to her king. And God would watch over them and restore them to their land one day.”

That one day would turn out to be 70 years. God would raise up spiritual leaders for the exiles in Babylon and, for the most part, would give them favor with their captors.

According to the text, the prophecy did not sit well with the princes of Judah. Instead of listening to God and going along with His plan, they listened to their financial advisors apparently. These powerful princes probably had great wealth tied up in the city. They probably superintended government deals with surrounding countries that were primed and ready to make them even wealthier. So giving up to the Babylonians would cost them greatly. And apparently they would have sacrificed military lives to keep their wealth and power intact.

So to what lengths did these “kingmakers” go? They told lies about Jeremiah and convinced a weak character king Zedekiah to put him away for good.

This reminds me of some similar actions against God’s servants recorded in the bible. Moses was a very humble man...He was accused of pride by the rebellious Korah. Job was a righteous man...He was accused of great sin by his friends. Jesus was the spotless one...He was accused of being demon-possessed by religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Yes, God’s servants can be attacked and railroaded into muddy dungeons without water and food to die, so self-serving men can prosper. Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus...now that would be good company for obeying God.

Another thing about God’s servant/leaders, they all have to deal with hypocrites. Earlier in the siege, King Zedekiah came to Jeremiah. He begged the prophet to pray for him and Jerusalem...saying, “Pray to “our” God that He might help us.”

Zedekiah was playing Jeremiah...playing the hypocrite...pretending.....acting. He wanted the prophet’s prayers, but he didn't want the prophet’s preaching nor his counseling. Zedekiah was putting on a religious show for God’s prophet, looking to score some favorable points perhaps with Jeremiah and maybe God.

But in today’s reading, we learn that the friendship of Zedekiah to the prophet, was a self-serving fake at best, and outright betrayal at worst.

Wow, but what you and I don't hear...Jeremiah blaming God for his terrible life-threatening circumstances. Like Jesus and Paul, he gloried in being a part of God’s work. No matter what.

Have a great day