The Indestructible Word (5)

Pray Psalm 75.1-3.
We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
“When I choose the proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly.

Sing Psalm 75.1-3.
(Galilee: Jesus Calls Us)
We give thanks, Lord, we give thanks for Your all-glorious Name is near!
Men Your wondrous works declare, Lord; let all living creatures hear!

When you choose the time of judgment, You will judge with equity.
Then the earth and all within it by Your hand no more shall be.

Read and meditate on Jeremiah 37.1-21.

Prepare.
1. Why was Jeremiah leaving Jerusalem? Was he justly detained?

2. How did Zedekiah ease Jeremiah’s situation?

Meditate.
Jeremiah had purchased a piece of land back in his home in Anathoth of Benjamin. When the Babylonians withdrew from Jerusalem for a season – because the armies of Egypt had arrived from the south – he thought he should go and secure the land he’d bought. A perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Zedekiah hoped this might be the deliverance the false prophets had been promising. But God’s message to him through Jeremiah was, “No.” Jerusalem’s destruction was certain, just as Jeremiah had been prophesying since the days of Josiah (vv. 1-10).

By now, we can be certain that Jeremiah was something of a marked man. He was the sole voice proclaiming the judgment of God. Everyone had heard him at one time or another, and most would have known him by sight. So when he showed up trying to exit the city, he was arrested and charged with defecting to the Babylonians (vv. 11-14). Now even the princes – who had previously listened to and protected Jeremiah (Jer. 26.10ff.) – had had enough. In their anger they struck the prophet, then threw him into a dungeon; but Zedekiah brought him out, still hoping for a reassuring word from God (vv. 16, 17).

Imagine the temptation Jeremiah faced at that moment: “Go on, tell him what he wants to hear. You can get along to Anathoth, and you won’t have to watch all the grisly events which are to follow.” But Jeremiah did not serve himself; he served God. He could only speak what God had given him: “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!” (v. 17)

Then he pled with Zedekiah not send him back to the dungeon. He had only been saying what God had given him to say, after all (vv. 18-20). Then, in some wonderful movement of God’s grace, Zedekiah remanded Jeremiah to house arrest, allowing him to roam the court of the prison, rather than to endure its cells, and providing bread for him, as long as it lasted (v. 21).

Life as a bearer of God’s Word is not always easy or pleasant. However, the grace of God is always with us. Jesus will never fail us nor forsake us. We must keep our eyes on Him, and be faithful to His Word, just as Jeremiah was. God will take care of us, come what may.

Reflect.
1. How was Jeremiah able to remain faithful to the Word of God, even in the face of adversity?

2. How can you prepare each day so that you won’t back down or remain silent when it’s time to bear witness to the Lord?

3. Does God still judge nations like He did in Jeremiah’s day? Explain.

The Prophet tells us, that God regarded the miseries to which he had been unjustly exposed: and the king no doubt became humane towards Jeremiah, because God turned his heart towards what was just and right. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Jeremiah 37.21

Thank You for the promise that You will always be with me, Lord. Thank You, and let me know You near today, as I…

Pray Psalm 75.4-10.
Pray that God’s people will come to repentance for our sins, and that God will delay judging His Church, and bring us to revival instead.

Sing Psalm 75.4-10.
Psalm 75.4-10 (Galilee: Jesus Calls Us)
Warn the boastful, warn the wicked: “Do not boast or raise your horn!
Do not raise your boastful voices; do not speak with pride and scorn!”

Neither east nor west nor desert shall exalting bring to man.
God is Judge, He puts one down and makes another one to stand.

For the cup of judgment foams in Jesus’ sovereign, holy hand.
He has mixed it and will pour it out on every wicked man.

As for me, I will declare it: Evermore to God be praise!
He abases all the wicked,  but His righteous ones He saves!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).