July 16, 2023 - Jeremiah 37-39

“Zedekiah . . . reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet” (37:1-2). One last chance: Jeremiah continued to speak but this last king in Jerusalem refused the opportunity. We sometimes talk about “second chances.” The people and the kings have had chance after chance after chance and, yet, they have refused to listen and to turn. Instead, “King Zedekiah sent . . . to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘Please pray for us to the Lord our God’” (37:3). As if a people who absolutely rejected all God’s pleadings now hopes that a few words uttered by the prophet will save them. This is false religion, i.e., to refuse God in our lives and, at the same time, expect him to bless us. Yes, God’s grace is great; in fact, it is unfathomable. But his grace is given to those who really, genuinely desire it, and who actually turn to receive it.

Jeremiah preached for 40 years. What did he get for that? Imprisoned, thrown into a cistern to die. However, true to his word, God protected and rescued Jeremiah, sending Ebed-melech the Ethiopian to pull him out of the cistern. Not only that, the Lord said to Ebed-melech, “I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. . . . But I will deliver you . . . because you have put your trust in me,” (39:16-18). Our God takes care of his own!

I waited for the Lord my God,

And patiently did bear:

At length to me He did incline

My voice and cry to hear.

He took me from a fearful pit,

And from the miry clay,

And on a rock He set my feet,

Establishing my way. --Redemption Hymnal #111 (1800)