Based on Jeremiah 37:1-19 (New King James Version)
“Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the Lord which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘Pray now to the Lord our God for us.’ Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. Then Pharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem. Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: ‘Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.’ ’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,’ for they will not depart. For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ’ And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘You are defecting to the Chaldeans!’ Then Jeremiah said, ‘False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.’ But he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, ‘Is there any word from the Lord?’ And Jeremiah said, ‘There is.’ Then he said, ‘You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!’ Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, ‘What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?”
There will always be problems when disobeying the Lord, and such problems that will happen here and now, but even worse, after, when standing before His throne. We live in an era where our cultures and society have adopted a mentality where they think that man reigns and controls reality, both the person that is situated in place with human power as well as the common man, per se. Satan has worked in such a way in the world that the great majority of people think that their opinions define their own realities, even God’s actions and eternity. Man believes that everything will turn out just as they think, and unfortunately, the ones that have adopted this attitude, this mentality the most are the so-called people of God.
Just as Ecclesiastes wrote: “…there is nothing new under the sun.” What we see today is identical to what was seen before, just as we read in today’s passage. Zedekiah and the people of Judah did not obey the Lord. They did just as they pleased, and unfortunately completely contrary to what God had taught them so long ago through His Word. Instead of following the Lord, they followed other gods. And they followed such gods that even demanded the death of their children as part of the worship, to obtain their favor. The only difference between killing children before and now is that it was done for a god, to gain favor. Now, millions of children are being killed before being born with the excuse that a woman can do whatever she wants with her body. The god Moloch has the form of a woman today. That is the only difference. And the people of Judah, instead of loving their neighbor, they would treat them unfairly by wronging the innocent and the defenseless. In summary, Judah did what was evil before the eyes of the Lord, and for a long time, for generations. Our society, and even worse, our Christian communities are following the same path, adopting lifestyles that go completely against the Lord, and turning themselves into their own lords, or rather, enthroning Satan in their lives and serving the sin that dwells within their members. It wasn’t good before, and it surely it is not good now, no matter how much people think that everything will be fine and that no evil will come upon on them. They must have thought that nothing bad was ever going to happen to them, just like many think now.
Back then, they also had lying prophets, just like we have them now. Many prophets had spoken to Zedekiah and the people saying that everything would be fine, and that there would be peace and blessing despite all of the sin that was being committed, just like now. Jeremiah even asked the king, saying: “Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?” No matter what they say, no matter what they think, everything God truly says will come true. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, ‘You shall have peace’ ’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ’ For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. ‘I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. ‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the Lord, ‘And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the Lord; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord. ‘I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart.” Jeremiah 23:16-26. Does this really need much explanation?
The things of the Lord are as simple as this: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:7-8. Will God bless if His so-called people sin against Him by fornicating, by committing adultery, by looking for other gods, by looking to fulfill their own will, and like that, despising the Lord and their neighbor? Can life be produced when only death is sown? I don’t think so. So then, in what way will God’s Word be fulfilled in your life? Lord bless! John