Jeremiah 38:28
“Jeremiah lived in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day that Jerusalem was captured.”
“Jeremiah lived in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
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Chapter 38, verses 11-28, continues with Jeremiah’s view of the political intrigue in Jerusalem until it fell. King Zedekiah called for Jermiah and questioned him again. At the king’s request Jeremiah held nothing back, giving the king an account of how this would end for him personally; his wives and children enslaved and given to the Babylonian generals. This supremely vacillating king promises to not to kill Jeremaih, and this time, sticks to it. God provides that Jeremiah lives in the courtyard of the guard, where there is food, until the last. Perhaps Jeremiah thought the fall of the city would be the end for him. But God wasn’t done with him.
Lord, give me the same grace and strength you gave to Jeremiah, allowing him to endure this extreme trial. Forgive my fretting about minor temporal inconveniences. Put them in perspective. Grow me in faith to live whatever you have planned for me. You are my good shepherd. Help me to faithfully follow you.
Jeremiah 38:10
“So the king ordered Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, ’Get three men and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.’”
“So the king told Ebed-melech, ‘Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.’”
The king caved and the men who accused Jeremiah were given permission to kill him. They threw him into the cistern in the courtyard of the palace guard, though they could have used a quicker means of execution. Perhaps it was a measure of their anger, or they were afraid of Jeremiah’s influence with God whom they had rejected.
God uses the proselyte Ebed-melek to rescue Jeremiah. It took an outsider to recognize the truth of Jeremiah’s preaching. God placed him in the king’s household and he was ready to obey when God called him to act against the political grain.
Lord, give me courage to stand up to the enemy in his many guiles. Make me aware of his presence and able to resist him by your power. Convict me when others seek to wheedle me away from you and your perfect will. Like Ebed-melek, may I be always ready to serve you.
Jeremiah 38:4
“These officials told the king, ‘Please, kill this man. He’s got to go! He’s ruining the resolve of the soldiers who are still left in the city, as well as the people themselves, by spreading these words. This man isn’t looking after the good of this people. He’s trying to ruin us!’”
“So these officials went to the king and said, ‘Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!’”
If I were in Jerusalem during this siege I would probably agree with these men. God’s messages through Jermiah seem to go against the national interest. Would I have missed God’s direction if I’d lived in ancient, besieged Jerusalem? I hope, with the many messages that preceded Nebuchadnezzar’s appearance I’d have been wise enough to heed God’s word. Without the presence of God’s Spirit within me, convicting me, who knows?
Oh Lord! I am afraid of myself. Without you I could so easily go astray. Please keep me close and tuned in. I want to be all yours. Your Spirit within is my only hope.
Jeremiah 37:20-21
“‘Listen to me, please, my master—my king! Please don’t send me back to that dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary. I’ll die there!’ 21 So King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be assigned to the courtyard of the palace guards. He was given a loaf of bread from Bakers’ Alley every day until all the bread in the city was gone. And that’s where Jeremiah remained—in the courtyard of the palace guards.”
“‘Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.’ So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city. So Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.”
The Lord always waits until his intervention is the only thing that will save me. Surely it would be easier if he came forward earlier in my neediness. He is not interested in my comfort, but in my holiness. He wants me to lean into relationship with him, trust him. Now, later in life, I’ve grown to expect this. And the waiting is easier because I’ve experienced his faithful deliverance in the past.
By learning to wait with patience I’ve learned I can endure, always more than I think I can. I can stand against the tide. I hope I never have to live in a cistern like Jeremiah. But I know one thing, God will be right there with me
Lord, again, thank you for being my personal school master. Your lessons are wise and fruitful, always in my best interest. I’m learning how to live with you. What a privilege. I love you.
Jeremiah 37:16
“So Jeremiah entered an underground cell in a cistern turned into a dungeon. He stayed there a long time.”
“Jeremiah was put into a prison cell, where he remained for many days.”
Jeremiah told King Zedekiah the Egyptians would not help Israel defeat the Babylonians. The city would still fall. The Babylonian’s pulled back when the Egyptians arrived allowing Jeremiah to attend personal business at his home in Benjamin. On his way out of the city he was seized, falsely accused and thrown into prison. We don’t know how long nor why God allowed it.
This was a wilderness experience for Jeremiah, persecuted for doing God’s will and then seemingly forgotten. Sometimes God leads us smack into painful circumstances where we feel utterly abandoned. We may also, like Jeremiah, never know why. Our feelings mustn’t draw us into paranoia and self-pity. Instead, like Job, we learn God is beholden to no one and works in ways beyond our understanding. He owes us no explanation.
Lord, thank you for these kinds of experiences in my life. Hindsight shows you were there though I thought you absent. I treasure the lessons you taught me. That you, mighty God, should care to teach me lessons in life, fills me with awe. I deserve it not and rejoice in your my great, merciful, and loving Lord.
Jeremiah 37:3
“However, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Pray for us—pray hard!—to the Master, our GOD.””
“Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ack Jeremiah, ‘Please pray for us to the Lord our God for us.’”
Things are not always as they seem. Verses 1 &2 tells us, at least in public, King Zedekiah and his officials paid no heed to Jeremiah’s messages. But in private they covet his prayers, enough so that he sends trusted officials to Jeremiah to ask for them. Our opinion of others public persona should always be seasoned with remembering they have a private side, for good or for ill. God’s Spirit often works incognito, behind the scenes, around the edges, through the ordinary. We don’t always see answers to our prayers because things are not always as they seem.
Lord, it is a great comfort to understand how you work, to see it in history and trust you for it today. Thank you for your perfect purpose that always moves forward toward redemption and healing. You are a good God and I praise you for it.
Jeremiah 36:26
“He just plowed ahead and ordered Prince Jerahameel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Jeremiah the prophet and his secretary Baruch. But GOD had hidden them away.”
“Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the LORD had hidden them.”
Our all-powerful God is able to hide his people in plain sight. It is good to know but we must be careful not to count it as a promise. God’s purpose may or may not be to hide us in time of trouble. As his followers we must be ready for any outcome, trusting our Lord Jesus is walking beside and knows the way through any trauma. The important thing is not that our self-interest be assuaged, but that God’s purpose goes forward. He, not we, is the center.
Lord, I’m certain in times of trouble such as Baruch and Jeremiah endured you can hide me too. Make my faith strong enough that in those times I desire not my own protection, but your will. I want this above all things. It is the only thing that can restore all and make everything right. Let your will be done in my life!
Jeremiah 36:3
“Maybe the community of Judah will finally get it, finally understand the catastrophe that I’m planning for them, turn back from their bad lives, and let me forgive their perversity and sin.”
“Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”
Here is a glimpse into God’s character. He does not want to curtail his people’s ‘fun’. Rather, he cannot tolerate their adventures with other gods because they bring destruction of many kinds upon themselves and the innocent they influence. Following God’s user manual leads to a healthier society, providing the best good for the most people, especially the innocent. God longs to forgive sin, but his justice demands recompense. He resolved this conflict within himself by Christ’s first coming which atoned for sin. Obeying God’s statues, whether through revelation or by instinct, brings life, a life he longed to provide for his people Israel.
Lord, you are amazing. Who could imagine a God like you, who sacrifices himself to rescue his people? Help me to live so that your resolving of my sin’s consequences shines a comforting light to many and shouts your love and care for all.
Jeremiah 34:15-16
“And now, you—what have you done? First you turned back to the right way and did the right thing, decreeing freedom for your brothers and sisters—and you made it official in a solemn covenant in my Temple. And then you turned right around and broke your word, making a mockery of both me and the covenant, and made them all slaves again, these men and women you’d just set free. You forced them back into slavery.”
“Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name. But how you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once ag”
Chapter 43 is about greed. It opens with God’s promise to King Zedekiah he will die a peaceful death. But that is the end of the good news. God’s Law given to Israel through Moses stipulated cancellation of all debt every seven years. This includes Hebrews who had sold themselves into slavery. Jeremiah’s preaching brought the wealthy to repentance but it fell among the thorns and died out. The good done was reversed and God mocked. All God’s prophets had plenty of condemnation for the haves abusing the have nots. We wealthy Americans must take note. The poor have a champion who will exact recompense for their abuse, sooner or later.
Lord, you have given us blessings without number. May we faithfully share them, casting our bread upon the waters of the worlds needy. Help us grow up to maturity in this, generously giving of our wealth, and our hearts as well.
Jeremiah 33:2-3,15,26
“This is GOD’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as GOD: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’
‘When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right.’
‘But as it is, I will give them back everything they’ve lost. The last word is, I will have mercy on them.’”
“This is what the Lord says- the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord, ‘Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.’
‘In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.’
‘I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them.’”
We could never imagine such a God. He sacrificed himself to atone for our sin and promises to return and set things right. Meanwhile his Spirit weaves about through the world, reaching, filling, and teaching. We, his followers, serve as his arms and legs. And, he is great in mercy. No other god does these things, is these things. This god, our God, is full of good surprises.
Lord, you are worthy of all praise and honor. Grace me to shine your light and truth in the darkening place where I live. Help me tell others of your wonders. You are my God, unlike any other!
Jeremiah 32:44
“‘I will restore everything that was lost.’ GOD’s Decree.”
“I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
God’s promise to restore is occasioned by his spoken word. It isn’t just the Hebrew people he will restore. In the New Testament’s final book, The Revelation of John, he speaks a future of healing and restoration into existence for all peoples and for our weary Earth. This hope means as much to us as God’s Old Testament promise of restoration meant to ancient Israel. He has not changed. He is just as good today as he was in years gone by. God is a restorer whether in the past or in the present.
Lord, thank you that you are the same God to me as you were to the Israelite people of old. Thank you for your character as revealed to them which I can stand on today. I am privileged to know you, the restoring, almighty, Lord and Creator of all that is.
Jeremiah 32:37-41
“Watch for this! I will collect them from all the countries to which I will have driven them in my anger and rage and indignation. Yes, I’ll bring them all back to this place and let them live here in peace. They will be my people, I will be their God. I’ll make them of one mind and heart, always honoring me, so that they can live good and whole lives, they and their children after them. What’s more, I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I’ll fill their hearts with a deep respect for me so they’ll not even think of turning away from me. Oh how I’ll rejoice in them! Oh how I’ll delight in doing good things for them! Heart and soul, I’ll plant them in this country and keep them here!”
“I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.”
Clearly God’s love for Israel is eternal and nothing they had done would extinguish it. In our day we have seen a partial fulfillment of this prophecy. The Jewish people have returned to their homeland where they are united in a shared heritage, not necessarily a shared faith. But God will bring it about and make a way for them to live good whole lives. He will write his law on their hearts. Then he will delight in doing good things for them. Knowing their suffering through the ages, I look forward to seeing it!
Lord, all I have in you was made possible by ancient, faithful Hebrews who preserved the revelation of yourself, who you are and what you require of us. Their descendants have suffered greatly for it these past 2000 years. May the time of their restoration come soon. Strengthen them I their faith with they wait for it.
You are wonderful! You have not required us to learn about you by ritual and guess work. Instead, you have done what no other god has, revealed yourself to us, and what a surprise. What ancient pagan could imagine such a god? You are truly totally other, totally beyond our speculation, surprising in every way. You are worthy of adoration and worship, and I delight in giving you mine.