January 20, 2003
Feb. 9
___Jeremiah 37:1-2, 6-17; 38:14-23
Practice living by faith, not fear
___By James Shamburger
___One of the greatest challenges to the obedient Christian life is "fear." One of the greatest questions of the Christian life is "Can I really trust God"?
___There are so many things in our lives that cause us to fear. There are so many things that cause us to ask the question "Can I really trust God?" Cancer, loss of a job, the economy, prospects of war, terrorism, rising gas prices, the downturn in the stock markets, retirement, nursing homes, being disabled, raising teenagers, taking care of aging parents. Those are just some of the things that cause our mortal bodies to fear.
___In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul shares with Timothy one of the greatest concepts of the Christian life: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
___Paul also said in Philippians 4:19: "And My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
___The same was true in Jeremiah's day. The leaders and the people of God faced certain destruction if they did not obey the word of the Lord and put their complete faith and trust in God's provision. You and I have that same challenge today. We need to learn from the prophet Jeremiah that faithful living calls for responding courageously and obediently to God's guidance!
___Leadership not
___listening to God
___Zedekiah was elevated to the throne of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (587 B.C.). The Egyptian army of Pharaoh Hophra approached Judah from the south. Therefore the army of Babylon withdrew from Jerusalem to fight the Egyptians.
___Zedekiah inquired of Jeremiah for a word from the Lord. Jeremiah told them Egypt would flee the Babylonians and Jerusalem would be captured and burned to the ground. He warned Zedekiah that they should not presume the Babylonians were gone forever.
___During the time of temporary relief from the siege, Jeremiah went out of the city to go to the land of Benjamin. Irijah, son of Shelemiah, grandson of Hananiah, arrested Jeremiah for desertion and imprisoned Jeremiah (37:11-16). After many days, Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to his palace hoping to get a word from the Lord about Judah's immediate future. God's man told Zedekiah the only way to save their lives was for them to surrender.
___The people labeled Jeremiah as a traitor, and he was imprisoned again. Zedekiah once again asked for a word from God's man. Once again, Jeremiah said to surrender and live or remain in the city and die. Jeremiah further warned that if he did not surrender, Zedekiah's wives and children would fall into the hands of the Chaldeans. Zedekiah asked Jeremiah not to reveal their conversation to the princes. Jeremiah was left in the court prison until the day of the capture of Jerusalem (38:14-28).
___Prophecy fulfilled
___After a siege that lasted more than a year, Nebuchadnezzar's army finally broke through the wall and took the city. Realizing the city was lost, Zedekiah and his men escaped through the rear gate of the palace and headed toward Jericho. The Babylonians chased, caught and took Zedekiah before Nebuchadnezzar, who pronounced judgment on him. Zedekiah was forced to watch as his children and nobles were killed. Then his eyes were gouged out, and he was chained and sent to Babylon as a captive (39:1-10).
___Meanwhile, the Babylonian army tore down the walls of Jerusalem and burned the city and the palace. Except for a very few poor people who were left to do the work of the fields and vineyards, the entire population of the city was taken to Babylon.
___As for Jeremiah (God's man), Nebuchadnezzar ordered that he be found, released from prison and cared for. He returned home and lived there among his people.
___Hard, but truthful, lesson
___In Jeremiah 38:14-20, God's man gave Zedekiah the way to live: "If thou will asssuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thou shalt live, and thine house. But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. ... Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee, and thy soul shall live" (38:17-18, 20).
___One of our great songs of our faith says, "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!"
___God has given us his word. We need to read it and obey it. God has given us his messengers. We need to listen to God's message and heed it. God has given us his promise. We just need to believe it and obey (Psalm 27).
___Not long ago, I was flying in a private aircraft to go to a board meeting of Casa Hogar Orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico. We were making our final approach to the airport in Brownsville. We were flying at an altitude of about 3,500 feet coming into Brownsville.
___Suddenly the clouds surrounded us, and we could not see anything. We couldn't see the ground below us, we couldn't see sky above us. All we could do was trust the instruments and obey the voice of the traffic controller that came over the radio.
___I became frightened, for a moment, then that song that I learned as a young boy in church began to play in my heart. I began to sing, "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." A wonderful peace came over my heart.
___I had a good pilot. We have the best pilot. His name is Jesus. We had good instruments in the plane. We have the best instrument in the word of God. We had the traffic controller to guide us to safety. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us to safety every day if we will just simply trust and obey!
___What can we do?
___We learn from the tragedy of Zedekiak--the wages of our sin (disobedience) is destruction (death). God will not always be patient with us (Psalm 103).
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___Questions for discussion
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