I find myself not liking king Zedekiah very much, thanks to these chapters! He seems rather wishy-washy and spineless.
First he makes a covenant with all the people left in Jerusalem to let their Jewish slaves go free. The people reneged on their word and took back into captivity the slaves they'd released and the king did nothing about it. He sends secretive messengers to Jeremiah and asks that Jeremiah pray for the nation, but then doesn't release him when he's taken captive by fellow countrymen who think he's deserting to the Babylonians. Well, Jeremiah's released from the dungeon, but he isn't released from forced confinement.
Jeremiah's treated relatively well in the courtyard of the guard, but then some officials who didn't like his message of "sword, famine, and plague" conspire against him, and advise the king that Jeremiah should be put to death. And king Zedekiah claims what happens is out of his hands! They don't outright kill Jeremiah, but drop him into a muddy cistern and leave him there to starve to death instead, and an African official in the royal palace asks permission to rescue Jeremiah. Zedekiah eagerly grants it and then once again seeks Jeremiah's counsel.
This really doesn't look like KINGLY behaviour to me! Doesn't he seem impotent and inconsistent?? Obviously, he was easily influenced and just couldn't decide between public opinion and God's will.
Nevertheless, Jeremiah has a comforting message for the king before Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. Through the prophet, God promises to preserve Zedekiah's life, even though he will be subject to Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah is promised a peaceful end to his life and the honour of being buried as a king.
I confess, I just don't understand why God works the way He does sometimes!!
But I guess I need to be thankful God was merciful to Zedekiah instead of giving him the punishment I feel like he deserved. Because if I'm really honest, I'm not much different. I am a staunch, stalwart believer; a wise handler of the truth; a fearless, bold Christian...
...until I get out in public, too.
Oh, how thankful I am for pictures of very HUMAN people in the grand narrative of God's redemptive purposes! And I'm thankful God's mercy is extended to those who don't deserve it ~ because we're ALL in that boat.
And how is this possible? Well, that brings us to Hebrews 10, where the writer explains Christ's one-time atoning sacrifice that paid for all the sins of mankind. The one sinless Man who bore the full weight of God's fury against sin and evil, the one sacrifice that would never need repeating even after thousands of years and countless generations of priests who had to continually offer the blood of innocent animals. The author contrasts Christ's work with the work of the Jewish priests ~ their work was never done; they continually needed to stand to offer more sacrifices, day after day, week after week, year after year. Christ's perfecting work on our behalf is complete and that's why He can sit down at God's right hand.
Tomorrow's readings: Jeremiah 39, 52, 40; Hebrews 10:19-39
1 comment:
Zedekiah is definitely one wimpy excuse of a king that's for sure. A definite challenge to us to stand for Truth no matter what. Like Jeremiah did.
Oftentimes, when bad things happen to us while doing something we thought was God's will, we begin to questions whether it really was God's will or not. But Jeremiah shows us that we can definitely be punished despite doing the right thing, and oftentimes, because of it. Other people's reactions to our words/deeds to not determine whether we are in the right - God's Word does.
Post a Comment