At this point in the story, Jerusalem is besieged by the Babylonian armies. They are camped all around the walls with a view to starving out the inhabitants. In the pressure and uncertainly of the siege, king Zedekiah was desperate for some hope and to that end he turned to Jeremiah. He obviously believed that Jeremiah was indeed a prophet of God. We saw, in the last chapter, how he consulted Jeremiah on at least a couple of occasions. But when Jeremiah spoke God’s word to him, Zedekiah rejected it because it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear Jeremiah say that Jerusalem would be delivered. But Jeremiah was saying instead that they should surrender and, if they did, God would preserve his people in exile. For his trouble Zedekiah had Jeremiah cast into a cistern where he almost died. But Zedekiah was obviously uneasy about this because he subsequently allowed Jeremiah to be set free. God was offering Zedekiah and Judah something certain. But it was not the certainly they wanted so they continued to gamble for a better outcome. God offers you a certain path. It will inevitably go through hardship, but it will certainly lead you to a fruitful life and ultimate salvation. A hard path with a sure hope beyond it is far better than an easy though uncertain path. Zedekiah could have gone through some hardship with the certainty of God’s promise of hope beyond it. But he gambled on something easier. As a result, he lived in fear and unease. What will you choose?
Reflect on what God is asking of you today and commit to his way.
Read Jeremiah 38
