By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: Jeremiah
38:1-28
Exodus 20:1-3
And God spoke all
these words:
2 “I
am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You
shall have no other gods before[a] me.
(ESV)
The nation of Judah and the
people of Jerusalem are guilty of duplicitous worship of God as well as the
pagan god Baal, which is not duplicitous worship at all, but disobedience of
the first commandment (Exodus
20:1-3). This disobedience means they face exile (Deuteronomy
28:15-68), which will occur at the hands of the Babylonian army. The choice
is no different for people today once presented with the Gospel, allowing them
to choose eternal life free from the condemnation of sin through Christ, or
condemnation by remaining in their sin (John
3:16-18). This is a choice with eternal consequences, with everyone reading
this post having an opportunity to make at the end of this post.
The passage in Jeremiah
38 represents a final warning for Judah and the people of Jerusalem because
Jerusalem is about to fall to the Babylonian army (Jeremiah
39:1-10). In this passage, we see the quick and total rejection of truth,
an attempt to silence the messenger of truth, and the king considering the
message of truth coming from the Lord through Jeremiah. This passage shows us,
1)
Jeremiah rejected and arrested (Jeremiah
38:1-6) – The king’s officials hear the words Jeremiah is speaking to the
people, reminding them that if they remain in the city, they will die by sword,
famine, and pestilence. However, those that go out to the Chaldeans will live (Jeremiah
38:1-2). Jeremiah also reminds them that the city of Jerusalem will be
taken and given to the king of Babylon (Jeremiah
38:3). These words from Jeremiah are not new (Jeremiah
14:12; 29:17-18; 32:24) and have a biblical basis in Deuteronomy
28:15-68. Jeremiah is speaking truth from the Lord, but the truth is
unacceptable to the king’s officials with them asking the king to put Jeremiah
to death, resulting in them casting Jeremiah into a cistern without food or
water (Jeremiah
38:4-6).
2)
Jeremiah rescued (Jeremiah
38:7-13) – Upon hearing of the casting of Jeremiah into a cistern from
Ebed-Melech, the king orders him to take thirty men with him and rescue
Jeremiah (Jeremiah
38:7-10). Ebed-Melech obediently did as the king commanded, rescuing
Jeremiah, and placing him in the court of the guard for safety (Jeremiah
38:11-13).
3)
Zedekiah warned again (Jeremiah
38:14-28) – After Jeremiah’s rescue, king Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah to
ask him a question, urging Jeremiah not to hide anything from him (Jeremiah
38:14). Jeremiah has concerns that the king will put him to death and not
listen to him (Jeremiah
38:15). King Zedekiah comforts Jeremiah’s concerns, promising not to put
him to death or hand him over to those seeking his life (Jeremiah
38:16). Comforted by the king’s promise, Jeremiah tells the king he can
escape death by handing himself over to the king of Babylon, also saving
Jerusalem from destruction (Jeremiah
38:17-18). The king also has concerns with the Judeans who have deserted to
the Chaldeans, fearing they will deal cruelly with him (Jeremiah
38:19). Jeremiah brings comfort to the king by assuring him that he will
not be handed over to the Judeans and will escape death by the sword through
surrender to the Chaldeans (Jeremiah
38:20-23). The conversation with the king ends with him telling Jeremiah
not to tell anyone about their conversation and if asked, to say that he
pleaded with the king not to be sent to the house of Jonathan where he would
surely die (Jeremiah
38:24-27). Jeremiah remains in the court of the guard until the day
Jerusalem is taken (Jeremiah
38:28).
The Word of God does not
return void when presented (Isaiah
55:11) but has an impact on one’s life. The choice for one that hears the
Word of God is either to accept it as truth or reject it. The officials of the
king hearing the Word of the Lord from Jeremiah rejected it because it did not
bring them encouragement in defending Jerusalem from the pending attack of the
Babylonian army but instead instructed them to surrender to the Chaldeans where
they would find safety and life (Jeremiah
38:2-3). The people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem have sinned against
God by not making Him their only God (Exodus
20:1-3; Jeremiah 9:14; 11:13-14; 19:5) and can only have deliverance
through repentance from their sin (2
Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 12:15-16). God knows that should the people
remain in Judah and Jerusalem they will not repent for that is where they have
erected temples to their false gods. Instead, God must remove them from their
rebellious environment where they will be able to repent from their sins and
return to their land after 70 years of exile.
Jesus instructed His
Church to present the good news of the Gospel (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20) and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Individuals presented with
this truth have a choice to reject or accept it. Since all have sinned, everyone
lives in rebellion against God (Romans
3:23) and under a penalty of death (Romans
6:23), with the only choice leading to salvation and eternal life, being the
belief and acceptance of the free gift of eternal life through Jesus’ death
burial and resurrection (Ephesians
2:8-9; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; 10:9-10). There is no condemnation for those
choosing Christ (John
3:17) but self-condemnation for those choosing not to accept Christ and
remaining in their sin (John
3:18). I invite those reading this post to choose Christ by praying with me
now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
Life is full of choices
with choosing Christ the most important choice one can make because it has
eternal benefits. May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.
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