Good morning to all on this beautiful fall day. Waine and I are in Atlanta and we have enjoyed a nice restful weekend here at home. It was good to be home among my things; so many memories are around us and we do enjoy remembering all the places we have been and all of the significant events of the last 18 years in this house. Its been a cool weekend and so its nice to open the doors and air out the house. I trust you are having a wonderful relaxing weekend yourself and all is well with you and your family.
I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 38 verse 1 - 28, "Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it. Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.” So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him,“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.”Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.” Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.” But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.” Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them. King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you: They misled you and overcame you—those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you. All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down.” Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die. If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ then tell them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there. All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured. " Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
This is one of those chapters in Jeremiah that I don't quite get. I really don't understand why people are still thinking that killing the messenger is going to make the message different. I think this chapter speaks to one of the consistent themes in Jeremiah; the issue of CONTROL and the need of the king and officials of Judah to try and hold on to it. They wanted control over their own lives and did not want to submit to the Will of God and therefore were getting ready to be conquered by the Babylonians. The people of Judah didn't like what Jeremiah was saying so they decided to silence him and put him in a well and cover the well up. They didn't have the courage to kill him but left him in a position to die so when questioned they could say "we didn't kill him". These folk were cowards and deceitful to the core.
But a Black Man (The Cushite) saw what they did and because he had influence with the king of Judah was able to persuade the king to rescue and spare Jeremiah. Did this Cushite have a feeling that Jeremiah was right in his preachings? The Cushite was not of the chosen tribe of Judah but he had influence and knew right from wrong. There is a lesson in that. Standing up to right a wrong is always a Good Thing! Doing what God commands is not only a good thing but a behavior that will save your life figuratively and literally! For 37 chapters, God through Jeremiah has pleaded with the people of Judah to turn from their sins and turn to Him. They have continued to want to live their lives the way they want and not to turn their lives over to God. Have you met people like this?? They will go to their grave believing they are right even though the facts would belie their belief. These Jews were getting ready to be overtaken and instead of turning to God and obeying God they instead want to kill the messenger. If this shoe fits you or anyone you know, please own it, repent and then accept Christ as Lord. You will be better off for it! If trying it your way has just gotten you sorrow, heartache and pain, won't you try Jesus? There is no better Friend you can have than Jesus. He is always looking out for your interest and will never forsake you. He has your back, your front, your top, your bottom and your sides. Like the cistern that held Jeremiah, Christ has you covered!
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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