God's Mysterious Ways
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.
-Jeremiah 52:1-11 - God is good but just
Jeremiah tells us the very depressing story of Zedekiah, a Jewish king who was put on the throne in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar after conquering his nephew Jehoiachin. He seems to tire of supporting the Babylonians and rebels thinking this won’t be noticed (maybe). God had warned the Jewish nation for a very long time that they would be punished if they didn’t stop serving useless idols and sacrificing their children. Zedekiah (didn’t listen) and ended up in a very bad way as you see from the above scripture. This whole story reminded me of Pastor Joel’s sermon a while back when he made the statement “God is Good” and we followed with “All the Time”! Our God is so good, and he forgives our sins often being patient for a long time. I liked the thought Pastor Joel gave us that God is good, but he is not “nice”. There are consequences to constant disobedience. God is just, and we must confess sin as well as turn away from going our own way. Let’s not be as foolish as Zedekiah thinking we are God’s children so we can live our own way! The main way to know God and his ways is know his Word of Truth, the Bible. The older I get the more I realize how much I need God’s Word. It is easy to be caught off guard as the devil still prowls like a roaring lion, but when we “trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways submit to him and he will make our paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:19-26 - Handling Affliction
Jeremiah is credited with writing Lamentations after Israel was taken captive and Jerusalem was laid waste. Jeremiah was caught in places he had no control over. He had to bring the word of God in very difficult times. He starts with remember my affliction and wanderings… I know many in this church have had our share of affliction with things like illness, death of loved ones, or depression and maybe a family member turning from God or caught in an addiction. He adds he remembers wandering, the bitterness and the gall. As I write this I too can remember wandering from God’s ways and feeling so awful. I can quote Jeremiah’s feelings “my soul is downcast within me”! The wonderful part to this lament is the hope it ends with. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed! Now in Jesus we see the whole picture! We are called to come and find God’s mercies which are there for us. We must come with repentance and a desire to go his way!
To the angel in the church of Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are of the synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you; the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Revelations 2:8-11 - A final challenge
God seems to be saying here, “Sit tight, don’t worry soon this will be over, even though some will have to die!” It may seem like Satan has the upper hand, but he NEVER does! How about my life – am I persecuted? Not really. I’m not enduring prison or death being threatened because I believe in Jesus! Yet should we ask ourselves is Satan a threat in our lives in other ways? Is a type of persecution happening to our hearts when we don’t feel worthy of God’s goodness? Or is there a death threat to us when we feel certain our sin is TOO GREAT to be forgiven, and we aren’t worthy of Heaven? All the passages above tell us to be faithful in claiming God’s promises of forgiveness, not our worthiness. We need to put down the devil in Jesus Name and claim the fact that the second death has no power over us! Praise Jesus!