Chapter 21

You want to know how you can tell that Jeremiah’s messages come from God?

If you have a look at the name of the guy sent by the King to plead his case to Jeremiah, and to ask Jeremiah to pray for his victory, it may seem familiar.

That’s right! It’s the same guy who ordered a whipping for Jeremiah in yesterday’s chapter!

Now, if Jeremiah were simply doing his own thing, he’d milk that moment for all it was worth. Here’s the big bad, having to crawl to him! Who wouldn’t love that? I can certainly think of a number of people who have hurt me over the years. What I wouldn’t give to see them crawl at MY feet! I’d drag that moment out as long as I can.

Maybe that’s why the King sent him. Maybe the king was thinking “I’ll send the very guy who ordered Jeremiah scourged to talk to him. Once he’s humiliated the man, I can go to him personally.”

But Jeremiah isn’t going to respond normally. This is because he’s unable to do so. God has once again taken charge of him, and Jeremiah will once again give God’s response to the Priest (and through him, the King).

In passing, we might just note that the King is being pretty cynical. It’s not as though Zedekiah has been faithful all his life and is asking God for help as a result. It’s not even an example of a person finally reaching the point of repentance and calling God to forgive him.

No, it’s straight up and down a person looking for an ace-in-the-hole. Zedekiah realizes he’s in trouble when he hears reports of the size of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, so he simply asks for God’s help.

God is (rightly) furious at this. Nobody likes a user.

So He decides to ensure that the King knows in no uncertain terms that He (God) will not be backing HIM (the King!).

But God also knows that not everyone in the city is disobedient. So what God does is to announce that there is an escape clause. The escape clause, though, is one that few self-respecting Israelites could stomach – that is, they’ll need to surrender to the Babylonian army.

There are is something I’d like to highlight from here.

Firstly we have the unwise nature of trying to sweet talk a prophet of God. Honestly, he should have known better! What did he expect was going to happen?

Then, of course, we have the challenge for the royal line of Israel/Judah. They are to humble themselves, and look after the poor, and MAYBE God might come back to listening!

It’s pretty heavy stuff (And yes, the escape clause does apply to the leadership). The people of Israel are going to be exiled, destroyed, and nothing is going to prevent that now.

So where are we with all this?

I think for me the lesson is about the difference between lip-service and actually following hard after God.

When I was a kid, I knew the words to a dozen and more hymns in the Believers’ hymn book. I could recite verses from the Bible, I could rattle off common prayers.

But it wasn’t until I was about 12 that all this started to gel. From that point, my lip-service began to take on substance.

Jeremiah’s faith has substance. He will do whatever God asks of him (and let’s face it, none of us would change places with him!).

Contrast that with the King. A cynical, cupboard-love situation.

Maybe the words are the same, but there’s a world of difference between the two heart attitudes.

Which one is closer to your attitude, and which is closer to my attitude?