Jeremiah – Page 5 – Be Still…

Jeremiah 42:1-22 – Ask God First

Ask Knock Matthew 7 words against sun shining through clouds

Is it easier to ask permission or seek forgiveness? I can remember as a youth wanting to do something that instinctively I knew my parents would forbid. So, if I were to go through with it, I’d be asking for forgiveness instead. That is certainly not easy! While I was a rebellious teen, I did try to ask for permission as often as possible!

In our passage today, we see the leaders seeking God’s input to their situation. The people approached Jeremiah and asked him to pray to God. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? But it was almost as if their fingers were crossed behind their backs. They were putting on a good show, weren’t they?

Jeremiah 40:13-41:18 – What a Gift!

Read Jeremiah 40:13-41:18

Why do you think Gedaliah didn’t believe that Ishmael would be plotting against him? Was it that hard to believe that his own people would rise up? Clearly Gedaliah was in denial believing that he was somehow safe because of his association with the Babylonians. Apparently, that same association made him unpopular and perhaps an easy target.

Gedaliah’s own military leader tried to warn him that Ishmael was being used by the king of Ammon to kill Gedaliah. I wrote about this event from the perspective in 2 Kings 25. We now see what happened through Jeremiah’s eyes. If the target was the newly appointed governor, there was collateral damage when Ishmael went on a killing spree.

Jeremiah 40:1-12 – Next Chapter

Read Jeremiah 40:1-12

little girl sitting on big pile of colorful books as she reads one herself

We now have a behind the scenes kind of peek at how Jeremiah’s jail break took place. How surreal that must have been to be Jeremiah and to know that God’s wrath had finally come. After all those years of trying to get the people to listen. Now it’s happening, and Jeremiah is in chains! Would he be forgotten? Would he die?

The wait to be found alive was excruciating. Have you ever felt so tormented? Like being unable to get out of a situation gracefully, being chained to something of little value, or feeling like you’re invisible. Those are the times that lead into a new chapter. Something is going to change. For Jeremiah, it was freedom.

Jeremiah 39:1-18 – It Finally Happens!

Read Jeremiah 39:1-18

two hands, one holding the earth and the other reaching to take it with the galaxy of stars in the background

Jerusalem falls. Jeremiah has been telling his audience to return to God or else. The “or else” has arrived. What struck me right away was the two-year attack before the fall. Granted, warfare would have looked a lot different back then than it does now. But still, two years of a siege would still mean fear, destruction, homelessness, hunger, death. Not a pretty sight!

I don’t want to spend much time thinking about what happened to Zedekiah. It’s frightening to see such brutality take place between human beings, even if they are nasty kings who ignored and rebelled against God. Zedekiah’s punishment was not escapable according to Jeremiah’s prior prophecies. My takeaway is to see God’s seriousness. When he says something, it will happen. That’s an understanding Zedekiah clearly did not have. He could have prevented the whole slaughter. Do you feel at all sorry for Zedekiah?

Jeremiah 38:1-13 – Now That’s the Pits!

Read Jeremiah 38:1-13

abandoned cistern made out of brick and rock

The life of the prophet Jeremiah has had some very unpleasant moments. Of course, we are privy to only a portion of what he experienced. But today’s circumstance was certainly the “pits.” I recall using that word regularly to describe all the unpleasant things a teenager might encounter. It’s been decades since I used that little phrase. Certainly, Jeremiah had to be glad that his time in the “pits” didn’t end in death!

This was an interesting interlude of the unfolding drama of Jeremiah’s imprisonment. Jeremiah has had a rough road. Now the king’s officials want him dead because his message hurts the morale of the fighting men and people left behind. Heaven forbid! It’s one thing if morale is being affected by negative talk, but Jeremiah’s prophecies, while not at all “pleasant,” sounded God’s warning and promise of hope for the redeemed.