Prison of the Accountant

Jeremiah 37:18–20 ESV

Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.”

Pray

There is a prison that appears as the result of your being watched.

It does not start as a prison but later becomes one…

This prison is one that is made manifest in the documenting of all you do and unless you are willing to engage it will see you dead within its walls.

The prison of the accountant will find what you are doing twist it and accuse you before the king.

Zedekiah = God is my justice… when Jeremiah pleads to this king it is a cry for the Just God however, this particular king has been lied to about who Jeremiah is and the accusation has ascended to make even the most just action with the greatest intention to appear as a slight against the king.

Listen to Jeremiah’s plea

What wrong have I done to you or your servants

It appears in the work of ministry and leaves you perplexed “what did I do wrong?” “Did I do something to deserve such treatment?”

How terrible this house must be that Jeremiah pleads this way

The prison of the accountant keeps a record and is intent on killing you, you must settle the account and elevate your plea before the Lord.

Death in the House of the Accountant

Picture your every move being recorded and documented

Nothing you do is received as for the Lord and instead there is something wrong with what you are doing

There is a need to settle the account before the accuser finds you and takes a legal right as he twists your work to present you as guilty and since you did not elevate your plea you are found guilty

in such an instance listen to what the word of God says;

Matthew 5:25–26 ESV

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

you will not get out until the debt is fully repaid…

who is your accuser?

the one who has something against that has yet to want to settle the account… they are intent on twisting your every action before the Lord to show you guilty

how do I know someone has become my accuser?

watch their fruit

15 negative fruits are spoken of in Gal 5 but the ones I want to emphasize are;

enmity

strife

jealousy

fits of anger

rivalries

dissensions

division

envy

when even the actions being done as a measure of protection according to “God” result in this posture above the person has become your accuser…

Settle the account so you your enemy the devil does not gain rights over you

Elevate your prayer to the Lord “help me, to walk this relationship, to care for them

it is as it is written Do justice, love chesed, walk humbly before the Lord… to stand right before God and strip the enemy of any legality

I ask once more how bad was the prison of the accountant that Jeremiah was pleading to not be put back into it?

Dominant Reason for the Prison

Sentry = Baal is in the Benjamin Gate

someone who is passing themselves as a god

Irijah = God sees

Here we see it again the Benjamin Gate which is the sheep gate has a Baal and its not like the Lord does not see.

In lesser words, someone has lifted up their Baal (idol, way it should be, perception) and has exalted it above the ways of the Lord.

this Sentry is watching everything you do and is seeking to twist everything you do to accuse you and find something wrong.

The Sentry documents your every move, and does not listen to your reason or rationale;

Jeremiah 37:14–15 ESV

And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

Listen to the way the accuser turns to the ministers I mean officials

the ministers now beat Jeremiah and put him in the accountants prison where they will be watched closely’

This house of the secretary becomes a prison…

Do you want to know if you are being placed into this prison?

a. how is the person or persons who are assigned to your care development discipleship dealing with you? What fruits are they showing are they the 8 we previously mentioned?

b. are they keeping a record of everything you do hoping to find a mistake? or twisting your intended purpose to accuse you?

Do you want to know if your are the person who is subjecting people to this prison of the accountant?

a. check to see if you now believe you are the eyes of the Lord but your view is tailored or slanted in your favor

b. do you have a baal in the place of offering (it needs to be the way you want it or on your terms)

c. have you become so critical about people and their behavior that even when they are functioning in the Lord it becomes an offense to you and you are unsettled unless they pay back every cent

d. what fruits are on display?

Freedom from the Prison of the Accountant

Settle the Account Matt 25;

When the Lord returns He will ask for an account of what was placed in your hands

was it what you expected

did it not look like you wanted it to

did you hide it crush it or bury it out of fear

or; did you do well with what was placed in your hands

Confess your sin to the Lord \

just as David have that moment with the Lord “I have sinned against heaven and against you Lord.”

Confess your sins to one another Jas 5;

that there may be healing

Contend for reconciliation Matt 5;

whether you are the one with the offense or are the one who created the offense

Above all things Love;

1 Peter 4:8 ESV

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

According to 1 Cor 13:5 Love keeps no record of wrongdoing

We are in the Benjamin Gate we need to now turn to one another and let go of perceived wrong doing… even actual wrong doing let us not be found as a prison of the accountant denying people their portion

I want everyone to receive their portion and not miss out.

Jeremiah was at Benjamin Gate to get his portion (what the Lord had apportioned him) when he was seized by a baal (sentry) who denied him his portioned as he passed himself off as God. This baal becomes his accuser and turns him over to be beat and placed in a prison where everything was being documented and a record was being made to use it later against him. he could no longer do anything