Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Jeremiah 32:5 (NIV)
“He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”
Jeremiah 32:5 (MSG)
“He will be handed over to the king of Babylon and forced to face the music. He’ll be hauled off to Babylon where he’ll stay until I deal with him. God’s Decree. Fight against the Babylonians all you want—it won’t get you anywhere.’”
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“…and he will lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him [for evaluation and judgment],” says the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed”’?” -AMPLIFIED
“God’s “visiting” a person sometimes signified his coming to “bless” the individual; but here it does not seem to indicate any such thing. Zedekiah’s fate was much worse than that which usually befell defeated ancient kings. They slaughtered his sons before his eyes, and then put his eyes out, and carried him to Babylon where he died (1 Kings 25:2-7).” ~Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible
Jeremiah had no choice, he had to speak the words that the Lord gave to him to speak. But Zedekiah was not happy to hear the Messages that Jeremiah had to deliver, and this was why Zedekiah imprisoned Jeremiah. King Zedekiah had this to say to Jeremiah:
“King Zedekiah of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why are you prophesying as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am about to hand this city over to Babylon’s king, and he will capture it. King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Chaldeans; indeed, he will certainly be handed over to Babylon’s king. They will speak face to face and meet eye to eye.” -Jeremiah 32:3-4 (CSB)
What Jeremiah spoke were Words of Truth, Messages that the Lord had given to him for Zedekiah and Israel, but foolishly neither of them wanted to hear the Truth. In today’s passage, we find Zedekiah still ranting over a Message that Jeremiah had given to him about he, the king of Judah, being taken prisoner to Babylon, and he was not happy. Zedekiah considered Jeremiah a traitor, and God would deal with him for this behavior appropriately.
“Nebuchadnezzar will order Zedekiah to be taken to Babylon, where he will stay until I am ready to visit him. This is what I, the Eternal One promise: if you try to fight the Chaldeans, you will fail.” -(VOICE)
Zedekiah was angry over Jeremiah’s words about what would happen to him in the future. And at this point in time, he raged over the prophecy, but we have record that what Jeremiah foretold would happen, did happen. Everything that he prophesied about Zedekiah actually did come to pass. We can turn over to 2 King, chapter 25, and find this historical record:
“On the 10th day of the 10th month, during the 9th year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon’s king) and his entire army surrounded Jerusalem. They camped outside the city and built siege ramps around it. The city remained under siege until the 11th year of Zedekiah’s reign. On the 9th day of the 4th month, there was a food shortage in the city, and no one had anything to eat. Everyone became afraid of starvation. The city wall was breached, and all the warriors ran out during the night through the gateway between the two walls near the king’s garden, in spite of the Chaldeans surrounding the city. The warriors went on the Arabah road. The Chaldean army chased after the fleeing king and caught up to him in the fields of Jericho. His army dispersed in all directions. They took the king captive and escorted him to Babylon’s king at Riblah. Nebuchadnezzar decided on a punishment for the king: they killed Zedekiah’s sons right in front of Zedekiah; then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes so that the slaughter of his sons was the last thing he ever saw, and they put him in bronze shackles and transported him to Babylon. On the 7th day, during the 5th month of Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year as king over Babylon, Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king and captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s guards, arrived in Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan set fire to the Eternal’s temple, the palace, and every house in Jerusalem. He burned down every large house and structure in Jerusalem. The entire Chaldean army, who was with Nebuzaradan, tore down Jerusalem’s walls.” -2 Kings 25:1-10 (VOICE)
The Lord who knows everything, including the future, was not taken by surprise by any of this. And the God who is in control of all things, dealt with the one who persecuted His spokesman. Things happened exactly as God, through His spokesperson, Jeremiah, said they would.
Tomorrow we will begin to look at Jeremiah’s response to Zedekiah.
“He shall take you to Babylon and imprison you there for many years until you die. Why fight the facts? You can’t win! Surrender now!” Jeremiah had told him again and again.” -(TLB)
“The things were true which Jeremiah prophesied, and fulfilled, and Jeremiah could not forbear speaking them, because he was sent of God upon the errand; yet the king and court could not bear his words.” ~Matthew Poole
Let me remind you, just as the Lord dealt with Zedekiah over the poor treatment that he gave Jeremiah, so too will He deal with those who have hurt you. Scripture reminds us of this many times over:
- “Revenge is Mine. I will settle all scores! Soon they’ll stumble because the day of disaster is almost here, and their doom is coming quickly!” -Deuteronomy 32:35 (VOICE)
- “Again, my loved ones, do not seek revenge; instead, allow God’s wrath to make sure justice is served. Turn it over to Him. For the Scriptures say, “Revenge is Mine. I will settle all scores.”” -Romans 12:19 (VOICE)
- “For we know the God who said, “Vengeance belongs to Me—I will repay,” also said, “The Eternal One will judge His people.” It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God.” -Hebrews 10:30-31 (VOICE)
What should we do when someone treats us poorly because we speak the Truth to them? Should we react in anger? Ostracize them? Ignore them? Or retaliate? Scripture gives us guidance on what to do.
1.) Love your enemy. “If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do.” -Luke 6:27a (VOICE)
2.) Do good to your enemy. “Keep doing good to those who hate you.” -Luke 6:27b (VOICE)
3.) Pray for those who persecute you. “But I tell you this: love your enemies. Pray for those who torment you and persecute you…” -Matthew 5:44 (VOICE)
4.) Bless your enemy. “Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you.” -Luke 6:28a (VOICE)
5.) Pray for those who abuse and mistreat you. “Keep praying for those who mistreat you.” -Luke 6:28b (VOICE)
6.) Repay evil with good. “But consider this bit of wisdom: “If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink; because if you treat him kindly, it will be like heaping hot coals on top of his head.” Never let evil get the best of you; instead, overpower evil with the good.” -Romans 12:20-21 (VOICE)
7.) Forgive those who abuse you. “If you forgive people when they sin against you, then your Father will forgive you when you sin against Him and when you sin against your neighbor. But if you do not forgive your neighbors’ sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” -Matthew 6:14-15 (VOICE)
“We may not be able to prevent other people from being our enemies, but we can prevent ourselves from being enemies toward others.” ~Warren Wiersbe
My friend, God’s Word tells us that He will deal with those who abuse, mistreat, and persecute us. Our job is to love them, to pray for them, to bless them, to do good to them, and to forgive them. That is easy to say, but difficult to do, I know. But with the Lord’s help, we can do it. Allow God to deal with those who have hurt you, so that you do not allow anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness to drive a wedge between yourself and your Lord.
“The Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if doing what is right and believing what is true should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will regard it as a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be even more friendly and will reveal Himself to him more graciously than ever.” ~Alistair Begg
My Prayer:
Adonai Elohim, my Great Lord, I am learning about forgiveness and what to do when others hurt me. Lord, it’s not easy to forgive someone who has abused me, and left me with what feels like a mortal wound. My first reaction tends to be to seek revenge, but I am learning that is not your way. Help me to follow the example of Jesus, who forgave those who had hurt Him, even as He hung on the cross. Lord, help me to respond with love, not hate, forgiveness, not retaliation. I am learning that your way of doing things is better than mine. Your way brings about reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness. Help me to be obedient in doing things your way. Thank you, Lord.
Growing with God 