A True Patriot

[Jeremiah 37:1-21]

GRACE!

According the dictionary a patriot is “a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country with devotion.” The opposite of a patriot is a traitor.

In chapter 37 of Jeremiah, who is the patriot and who is the traitor? Is Zedekiah the the true patriot or is Jeremiah? Well, I think the answer depends upon which country we’re talking about. Are we talking about the nation of Israel, the kingdom of God, or both?

So let’s look at Zedekiah’s patriotism.

Zedekiah

First of all, Zedekiah was not even the true king. According to verse 1, he had been made a puppet king by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

So Zedekiah’s loyalty was supposed to be with Nebuchadnezzar, but he didn’t do that very well, which is why Jerusalem got attacked. Zedekiah went against the arrangement he had with Nebuchadnezzar probably out of patriotism for his country. No doubt he thought he was doing the right thing and all but God had specifically told him to surrender and his decision needlessly cost many, many lives.

So, Zedekiah in reality was a traitor to his own people, but more importantly, he was a traitor to God. The main reason is:

He didn’t listen to God’s word.

Jeremiah 37:2 CSB

He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

Do you see the progression? Zedekiah…his officers…the people. Zedekiah’s lack of obedience God spread to everyone, not unlike how it does today.

We talk about holding our leaders accountable but the reality is we tend to become like them.

Now I know what I’m about to say is controversial and will be labeled as “political” by some meaning I shouldn’t be talking about these things.

But if I can’t talk about the people and the ideas influencing the church right now then I don’t feel like I’m fulfilling my calling.

I’m not trying to be partisan but when politics intersects with the word of God I feel I have a responsibility to tell you about it.

In the last election white evangelicals were in near unanimous agreement about what the next President should be like.

And what was that? Evangelicals wanted someone who got things done. They wanted someone who would fight for them and not back down to those they perceived were destroying our country.

So fear was a big reason so many voted for Trump. First it was fear of Hillary Clinton, then it was fear of Joe Biden. So when 22 allegations of sexual assault came up, many of which were just as verifiable as those against Bill Clinton, Christians looked away and supported him anyway.

Now I’m not trying to tell you how to vote. Sometimes it’s easier than others to know who to vote for. But in hindsight I think we can see that the effect that this pattern of thinking is having on the evangelical church.

What do men like Jerry Fallwell Jr., Mark Driscoll, Bill Gothard, Doug Phillips, Joshua Duggar, and Ravi Zacharias all have in common?

Their ministries have all been discredited by their abuses of power and sexually inappropriate relationships that occured while those who were supposed to be holding them accountable looked the other way.

I’ll spare you the details but the details are well documented and very disturbing.

But the most disturbing thing is that while these abuses were going on, their boards were looking the other way. For years, their leadership heard the allegations and the rumors but did nothing about them. Why? Because these men got things done. They made money. They drew big crowds. They wrote national bestsellers.

In context with today’s passage, we could say they were the real traitors to the kingdom of God. They used and preached God’s word but they didn’t live it. And God’s people approved because they they got results and were afraid of what would happen to their organizations if they exposed them.

In other words, they cared more about their organizations than to the word of God.

Zedekiah was a traitor to the word of God, too, even though he made a false show of listening.

Jeremiah 37:17 (CSB)

King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord?”

Yes, there was, but Zedekiah didn’t really want to hear it. God’s word to him was repent or your going to be handed over to the king of Babylon.

But God’s warning went in one ear and out the other. And the one time Zedekiah did obey God when he freed the Hebrew slaves, he changed his mind a few days later (Jer 34:8-11) because he cared more more about his own comfort, and the comfort of his supporter, than about being obedient.

Notice that when Zedekiah went back on his word and put the slaves back in captivity there weren’t any protests from the people, they went along with him.

Those that build their ministries up, or their political parties up, through unbiblical means are not patriots, they are traitors.

Maybe they are genuine Christians, but when it comes to repenting and displaying the fruits of the spirit their is an obvious disconnect and the church shouldn’t just look the other way.

In fact, one thing that is very telling about how far we have strayed from the word of God is our view of the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, and all the other fruits, are not viewed as desirable in our leaders, they are viewed as weakness.

We don’t want leaders who are loving, we want leaders who are going to “kick some A.” Patient? No way. We want leaders who are going to come in with guns blazing, like John Wayne, and clean up the town.

Where do we get these false ideas of what it means to follow Christ? Not from the Bible. Some of us may be American Patriots but we are not God’s patriots. God’s true patriots read and believe the Word of God. And they obey it.

Another thing Zedekiah didn’t do was pray.

He didn’t pray.

Zedekiah believed in the power of prayer, and wanted others to pray for him, but he didn’t pray himself.

Jeremiah 37:3–4 (CSB)

Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf!”

Of course, it’s good to have others pray for us, but if that’s all we do it’s a sign of great spiritual weakness.

Almost anyone, even many atheists, will accept prayer when in a crisis. But if we find we can’t or won’t go to God in prayer on our own on a regular basis then we have a serious relationship problem with God.

Not praying when we have direct access to God is a traitorous action. If the General asks us to report in and we run and hide, that’s grounds for a court marshal.

Some of us pray all the time, which is good, but I’d like to caution us against becoming too content. What are we praying for? Are we praying for the things God tells us too?

In addition to praying for the sick, the Bible tells us to pray for God’s will in his kingdom to be done. He tells us to pray for our enemies. He says to pray not just for the peace of Jerusalem but also the peace of Babylon. We’re told to pray for all leaders in authority, not just those in our own nation.

When we kneel down to pray for the safety of our troops do we also pray for the safety of our enemies? What about fellow Christians who are in the armies of our nation’s enemies? Do we pray for them?

See, which kingdom are we true patriots of? Are we “loving, supporting, and defending” our heavenly kingdom through prayer as a true patriots should?

Jeremiah - A True Patriot

Jeremiah was a true patriot in God’s eyes but not in the eyes of his countrymen.

Jeremiah was known for criticizing the political leaders for their lack of obedience to God’s word and their many moral failings. While the rest of the nation looked the other way, Jeremiah spoke boldly.

He criticized their reliance on alliances with foreigners. He criticized their lack of concern for the poor and needy. He called out their whoredom, and abuses of power.

For Jeremiah, it didn’t matter whether the things the leader did “worked” or not from a human point of view. If what they did was against God’s word, it was wrong. Period.

Remember the story of Moses striking the rock in the wilderness? The Israelites were thirsty and Moses was upset with them so out of anger, instead of faithful obedience, he struck the rock so water would come out.

What happened? Water came out. Moses’ rebellious actions “worked.” But that didn’t mean God approved. Even though God was merciful to his people, Moses wasn’t allowed into the promised land as a result of his traitorous action.

So just because a leader “gets results” doesn’t mean we should condone their methods. The ends to not justify the means and we will be held accountable.

Jeremiah, the only true patriot in chapter 37, was accused of being sympathetic with the enemy. It’s easy to see why. After all he had told the leaders that they should surrender to the Babylonians. That certainly sounds treasonous but he was just being faithful to God’s word.

Finally, Jeremiah’s faithfulness caught up with him.

Jeremiah 37:11-13

Jeremiah 37:11–13 CSB

When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people. But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”

We aren’t told exactly where Jeremiah was going or why, but he was no traitor. He loved his people as much as any other Israelite, but he loved his God’s kingdom more.

So he was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned

Jeremiah 37:15–16 CSB

The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah suffered because he faithfully preached God’s word. He was a true patriot because he rose above all the partisan politics and focused his attention on what matters most.

In this way, Jeremiah was a type of Christ.

Jesus - The Truest Patriot

There has never been a truer patriot than Jesus Christ. Jesus loved his fellow countrymen but he greatly disappointed them.

The Jews wanted him unveil all the evil ways of the Romans. They wanted him to make it plain to everyone “what was really going on” in the world by pointing out their lack of morality and corruption. They were ready to follow him into battle to in order to “take their country back.”

Instead, Jesus pointed out their own sinfulness and they killed him. They saw him as a traitor to his own people. He had the power to get rid of the Romans but didn’t use it.

But from God’s point of view, Jesus is the greatest patriot of all. He was not only willing to defend his country, he was willing to suffer and die for his people so they might be eternally saved in the end.

And, like Jesus, all true patriots will be saved in the end.

Zedekiah wasn’t saved.

Zedekiah thought he was saved. Pharaoh’s army had come to save them and the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem, had withdrawn.

He thought his plan was working but it was only temporary. In the end he wasn’t saved (Jeremiah 37:6-10).

Since Zedekiah wasn’t trusting in God’s word nor would he humble himself and call out for help, there was no hope for him or for the people who went along with him.

But Jeremiah was saved in the end. By God’s grace Jeremiah’s request to be released from prison was granted. Jeremiah eventually died, as all people do, but in the end Jeremiah was saved and is now with his father in heaven.

So are we patriots in the eyes of our country or of God? Can we be both? Perhaps, but usually, as we see so often when christians get overly involved in politics, we sacrifice one for the other. Let’s not make that mistake.