Jeremiah 37-39
When Jerusalem fell Zedekiah was the King. (Jeremiah 37:1) The people refused to take heed of God’s word as spoken by Jeremiah.
King Zedekiah would not openly show his faith in Jeremiah, instead he chose to secretly seek information (Jeremiah 37:17), but even then he was too weak to stand against his people and submit to God’s will.
Jeremiah 37:7-10, 39: 17-18, 20-23
God’s message to His people was for them to surrender to the Chaldeans and their lives would be spared and the city would not be burned with fire. If they had but only listened they would have been spared.
“Zedekiah was afraid of the Jews, afraid of ridicule, afraid for his life. After years of rebellion against God, Zedekiah thought it too humiliating to say to his people, I accept the word of the Lord, as spoken through the prophet Jeremiah; I dare not venture to war against the enemy in the face of all these warnings” PK 457.2
The results of king Zedekiah’s disobedience was witnessing the death of his sons followed by the plucking of his eyes (Jeremiah 39:6-7). The walls of the city were broken down and people’s houses burnt (Jeremiah 39:8).
Often we face the same fears, the fear of judgement by peers, and the fear of ridicule because of our beliefs; we then disobey God’s clear commands in exchange for acceptance by man. We should always stand for God’s word, love the truth and hate sin because God is willing to show us mercy if we choose to submit to His requirements.
Colette Lisutu