Chapter 37

Zedekiah was playing a dangerous game.

He’d been placed in the Kingship of Judah in place of Jehoiachin by the Babylonians, who wanted a pliable puppet.

Meanwhile he plotted with the Egyptians to overthrown Babylonian rule.

His treatment of Jeremiah shows a similar bipolarity – on the one hand, both he and his soldiers openly treat Jeremiah’s message with contempt. Privately, however, the King sends a messenger to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for Judah.

God gave Jeremiah a message for the king; before he could give it to the king, Jeremiah had been arrested and thrown into gaol for . .

. . for . .

, , , for looking like he might be deserting to the invading armies. That’s it.

Anyone wondering if Jeremiah was treated badly, please raise your hands!

And in a spectacular display of raw cheek, the King dares to ask him if he has a message from the Lord for him. Which Jeremiah obliges. He informs the king that he is to be himself dragged off to exile.

The king is more surprised than pleased.

The rest of the chapter is about how Jeremiah was kept, at first in a prison cell and later in the guards’ courtyard.

For me, the main lesson one can learn from this passage is perhaps a long bow to draw, but I believe it to be one worth considering. It is this: which side are we on? After all, as Christians we believe that there is an absolute right and wrong in this universe, and that means that sometimes we can end up on the wrong side.

Zedekiah had no desire to repent, yet he sought God’s advice on things. He tried to play both sides of the argument.

God doesn’t go for that. God wants full-hearted service. He wants you to pick the side (obviously he would prefer you to be on his side, but even honest opposition is more appreciated).

Jeremiah and Zedekiah can be easily compared: One had committed himself to God’s long term plan; the other simply tried to privately play both sides. One was a winner, and the other was not.

Which one are you most like?