When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. So it is with those who obey God. Whom God calls, He enables. Jeremiah was called to be his messenger of doom. God told him to tell the people of Jerusalem that they would be captured and brought into exile in Babylon.
Jeremiah went through much hardships – people tried to kill him to shut him up: he was beaten, he was imprisoned, he was thrown in a cistern (well) – to starve to death. But each time, people asked him what God said, he was not afraid to say the exact same thing that God told him.
It would have been easier perhaps to just say what the people wanted to hear to escape the persecution. But would he escape God’s wrath and judgement for disobeying his calling? Jeremiah was faithful and obedient always. And always, God came through for him. He sent people to help Jeremiah. Even the king who put him in prison, sent someone to get him out of the cistern.
Lesson to apply: God calls us for His purpose. When He calls, he provides. His grace is sufficient. His grace allows us to persevere in whatever He calls us to do no matter how hard it is… even the courage to face death is grace of God.
Jeremiah 37-39 narrate for us stories of God’s providence – God works in mysterious ways through seemingly bad circumstances to bring about His purpose. His Word never fails – all His promises come true. He protects His servants. Those who trust and obey Him will never be put to shame. See all these truths in the stories of Jeremiah’s life: beaten, imprisoned, left to die because he kept obeying the Lord and even the foreigner who helped him experienced God’s grace as he did.
37:1-10 Jeremiah prophesied to the king of Judah according to what the Lord told him to – that his ‘supposedly’ allies – the Egyptians will leave them and his enemies the Chaldeans will defeat them and burn the city.
37:11-21 Jeremiah was accused of going over to the Chaldeans. He was beaten, put in jail and given daily a loaf of bread only.
38:1-6 Again Jeremiah prophesied about the doom of the city and was accused of discouraging the men of war – for which he was put in a cistern – (distinguished from well by their waterproof linings built to store rainwaters) but this cistern is filled with mud and he was given no food and left to die.
38:7-13 It took an Ethiopian Ebed-melech to go to the king to ask him to release Jeremiah.
38:14-28 King Zedekiah of Judah then interviewed Jeremiah again about his prophecy and Jeremiah repeated what he said before that those who surrendered to the Babylonians will live but those who do not will be killed by the Chaldeans. The king then told Jeremiah not to tell anyone about their conversation and even told him to lie when people ask what they talked about.
39:1-10 Jerusalem captured according to the Word of the Lord. Everything that Jeremiah prophesied as God told him to – happened.
39:11-14 Jeremiah was spared by the king of Babylon.
39:15-18 The Lord told Jeremiah to assure Ebed-melech that ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread. 18 For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”
BECAUSE YOU HAVE TRUSTED in ME…God wants my trust, He will deliver what He promised. All His words are trustworthy.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O what a fore taste of glory divine!
