Jeremiah 37 - Zedekiah

 

Jeremiah 37 – Zedekiah

 

Over thirty years of ministry have gone by for Jeremiah. He started out as a young man of 20, a young priest who was called to be a prophet of God. Now he is in prison, and the army of Babylon is outside the walls of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 52; 2 Chronicles).

This is the third time Nebuchadnezzar has come against Jerusalem, the first two times he had taken a certain number of people captive and made Zedekiah, his slave, king over the remaining people. Zedekiah wanted to get out from under Nebuchadnezzar, so he asked the Pharoah of Egypt to help him.

The Egyptians came and Nebuchadnezzar retreated, and it looked like the false prophets had been right and Jeremiah wrong, but God had determined this destruction of Jerusalem.

The Bible records that Jeremiah was imprisoned five times. This time he was imprisoned because the princes thought he was abdicating over to the enemy’s side.

When God moved Zedekiah to call for Jeremiah, he begged for his life. Zedekiah wanted the intercession of the man of God but not the instruction of the Word of God. He never should have separated the two. He wanted God to be his servant and deliver the city, but he was not willing to be God’s servant and obey the Word.

 Zedekiah didn’t release Jeremiah, but moved him to a safer place in the courts where Jeremiah remained until the Babylonians came and took Jerusalem. After being in prison, Jeremiah continued to minister to fulfill God’s role for him. The Lord had promised Jeremiah years before that He would care for him, and He kept His promise. Jeremiah did not have an easy life, but he had a good conscience, for he knew he had been faithful to God.

Our responsibilities as the Lord’s followers do not change with our circumstances. God does not call us to serve Him only when conditions are right. The apostle Paul said, “I know how to be based, and I know how to abound.” He concluded; “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

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J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.