1Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2“Thus says the Lord: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4Then 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.” 5King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” 6So 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.
REFLECTION:
Zedekiah, king of Judah, did not have his own opinion. He listened to everyone’s opinions, and his administration was chaotic. He not only obeyed Jeremiah’s request and transferred Jeremiah from the dungeon cells to the court of the guard (37:21), but also allowed everyone to kill Jeremiah, and he finally saved Jeremiah’s life (v16). Jeremiah was very unpopular at the time. His remarks kept hitting the morale of the army and the people. It was very frustrating at first but in fact what he conveyed were divine warnings and good advice. The leaders of Judah threw Jeremiah into prison, trying to put him to death. The “prison” is actually a cistern, an underground hole used to collect rainwater. The bottom of the cistern was dark and damp, with thick mud. Jeremiah faithfully preached God’s message, but he was persecuted and framed time after time by the leaders of Judah. For 40 years he has served God faithfully, but he has not been appreciated, loved or supported by anyone. Instead, he has been beaten, intimidated, and thrown into jail until he is expelled. Only the Gentile Babylonians still have a little respect for him. God never promised His servants to be free from oppression, and even loyal servants are not immune. However, God promised that He would be with them and give them the strength to face the difficulties and dangers. When you serve God, you sometimes seem to be trapped in a thick mud. You must remember that you are serving God, not pleasing people. God is with you and will lead and build your life. Zedekiah is difficult to choose between public opinion and God’s will. Reflect in your daily life, is it the opinion of others or the will of God that has more influence on you?
PRAYER:
Pray for God to give you a pair of sharp ears so that you can distinguish the voice of God among the voices of the world, and a pair of bright eyes that can focus on the holiness and glory of God in filthy and dark places; pray that God will strengthen your heart so that you will not be shaken by the vanity of the world, even if it seems so attractive to people.
1Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”
REFLECTION:
King Jehoiakim died on the way to Babylon. His son Jehoiachin (Coniah) was appointed king of Judah, but he was taken captive to Babylon three months later. Afterward Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, set the puppet king Zedekiah as a tool to rule Judah, and Zedekiah became the last king of the kingdom of Judah. King Zedekiah and the officials did not want to listen to Jeremiah’s warning, but wanted him to pray for them. What they want is a superficial faith that does not have to pay any price. King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in 589 BC, and Zedekiah was like a drowning man clutching at a straw. He asked the Egyptian Pharaoh Hophra (44:30) for help and asked for the help of the army. The civil and military officials and the people in Jerusalem did not listen to Jeremiah’s warning, and looked forward to the Egyptian army’s help to relieve them from the crisis in Jerusalem. However, when the Chaldean army attacked again and confronted the Egyptian army head-on, the Egyptian army retreated and did not defend Jerusalem, fully fulfilling Jeremiah’s warning. Today, God is equally displeased with those who only crave for profit without establishing a deep relationship with Him. If we ourselves will not accept that our relationship with others is purely based on seeking benefits, of course we should not expect God to accept such relationship between us and Him.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to enlighten you and enable you to examine the foundation on which your relationship with God is based; pray that God will make you immune to the “prosperity theology” that is flooding us like a virus today, so that you can build a deeper relationship with God, experience His presence in everything you do.
1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”…
27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
REFLECTION:
In ancient times, most people were illiterate, so scholars were very precious and respected. The status of the scribes is even loftier, and their knowledge and learning are highly respected. Baruch was the scribe of Jeremiah. At that time, most people used lambskin and papyrus to record text, and then sewed or glued sheets of lambskin and papyrus into a volume of books, called scrolls. After the Israelites were taken into captivity, the scribes became law teachers, explaining the Old Testament law. In the New Testament era, the scribes became powerful political organizations. God ordered Jeremiah to write His words on a scroll, but because Jeremiah himself was not allowed to enter the temple, he called Baruch the scribe to write down what he was going to say on the scroll, and then read it to the people in the temple. As a result, when the rebellious King Jehoiakim heard God’s words, he not only turned a deaf ear to God’s words, but also burned the scrolls that recorded God’s words with resentment. Although he burned the scrolls, he could not destroy God’s words, nor could he escape God’s judgment. Today, many people still turn a deaf ear to God’s words and even become hostile, or say that the Bible contains many errors and is not worth believing. People can refuse to listen to what God says, but they cannot destroy it, because His words are powerful and will stand forever.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to strengthen your faith, make you believe that the Bible is infallible and be in awe of it, and be willing to live according to the way of life revealed in the Bible; pray for God to give you the courage, love and wisdom to face the stiffness and even hostility shown after people hearing God’s words, do your best to guide people to God.
