Now, God is Important
Book of Jeremiah • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsOnly when their back was against the wall, did Israel want to cry out to God, and even then it was not in repentance but in desperation for His help.
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Introduction
Too often, we as Christians, only acknowledge God when it is in a crisis decision and we need His help. God will call us over and over to repentance and faithfulness in Him and we choose to ignore His call. Then when we see His judgment upon us, we cry out to Him. At the point, it is too late to seek forgiveness. It is in that moment that we must endure God’s judgment seeking His grace and mercy in the process.
Focus Passage
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Inquire, [I pray thee,] of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [maketh war] against us; [if so be] that the Lord will deal with us according to all his [wondrous works,] that he may [go up] from us. 3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will [turn back] the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and [such as are left] in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither [have pity,] nor [have mercy.] 8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that [goeth out,] and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be [unto him] for a prey. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
Outline
When we come to this portion of our text, it is good to know what has transpired. King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon has besieged and conquered Judah. He has removed Jehoiachin from his office of king and has placed his uncle, Mattaniah, as king over Judah. He has changed his name from Mattaniah to Zedekiah. We find the following text in 2 Kings as a perpetual testimony of King Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah [of Libnah.] 19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
Within the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign, Egypt’s Pharoah Hophra has promised to help King Zedekiah fight against Nebuchadnezzar.
5 Then Pharaoh’s army was [come forth] [out of Egypt:] and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
With this false hope he begins to rebel and fights for the next two years in vain against King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire.
1 And [it came to pass] in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it [round about.]
It is within this setting that we find King Zedekiah, who has not acknowledged Jeremiah or his prophecies, and who is under seige, now wanting to have God on his side.
Now, God is important (vv.1-2)
Now, God is important (vv.1-2)
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Inquire, [I pray thee,] of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [maketh war] against us; [if so be] that the Lord will deal with us according to all his [wondrous works,] that he may [go up] from us.
King Zedekiah has his back against the wall. He’s ignored God’s man, he’s ignored God’s word, and in that ignored God. He felt that he could do as he pleased and that God would be okay with that. Many within the church have this same issue. I do not address this with the lost, because they are lost. However, we are not speaking or reading of those outside of God’s covenant people. We are reading testimony of a king of God’s covenant people, the Israelites. He was king of Judah. In a time of judgment and desperation, he cries out to the Lord expecting him to answer. He and the people remembered all that God had done in the past and they, despite their rebellion, expected God to do as He always had done, deliver them. God’s love is unconditional, but His forgiveness is not. God will judge sin so long as their is no repentance. Truly, there was no repentance within the heart of King Zedekiah or the people of Judah.
1. Finally wanting God…to hear you
King Zedekiah sent two messengers to seek the help of Jeremiah. One of the messengers was a political leader, who was an enemy of Jeremiah, Pashur the son of Melchiah (He is not the same Pashur of chapter 20). The other messenger was a religious leader, Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and was 2nd only to the high priest. Is it not amazing that the government wants nothing to do with God and even many of the religious leaders of today, want nothing to do with God unless it benefits them and or is in a time of desperation. It was no different now. They ignored God, His word, His warnings, His man, and now , God is important.
2. Finally coming to God…out of desperation
They go to Jeremiah, an enemy of theirs, but a faithful man of the God whom they now seek for deliverance, and say, plea to Him for help, I pray thee, of the Lord for us. They were not crying out in remorse for their sin or even out of brokenness and repentance. They were simply wanting God to deliver them from the judgment that they were warned of and ignored, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us. They were wanting God to be an ATM and answer their call when they wanted His help, but they were not willing to head his warnings which brought about this judgment.
3. Finally coming to God…to reap the benefits without the responsibility of faithfulness
Truly, they wanted the benefits of a relationship with God without the responsibility that comes with a relationship with God, if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. King Zedekiah and the people remembered how God had delivered them in the past and now they wanted God do that all over again. They held on to the word of the Psalmist, For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone (Psalm 86:10). The only problem was, that they were not willing to head the warnings of God and the call of repentance. They ignored God. They ignored God’s man until they had no choice but to acknowledge his word. Now, God was important to them, but it was too late.
God’s judgment rather than favor (vv.3-6)
God’s judgment rather than favor (vv.3-6)
3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will [turn back] the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
Jeremiah had a word from the Lord God, the same God of miracles that they had called upon, Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: Thus saith the LORD God of Israel. However, the word that Jeremiah was going to bring to King Zedekiah was not the word and favor that he wished to hear, it was the same message had been hearing from Jeremiah...
Judgment pronounced rather than favor - ‘Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls’
The arm that protected in the past judges now - ‘And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm’
The judgment of God to be executed was described in three ways: great passion (anger); intense heat (fury); and deep bitterness (great wrath)
The judgment of God would be inescapable - ‘And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence’
God’s personal message (v.7)
God’s personal message (v.7)
7 And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and [such as are left] in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither [have pity,] nor [have mercy.]
God had a personal message for Zedekiah, his leadership, and those that continued to fight against the hand of God, And afterwards, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people. If king Zedekiah, his leadership, and the those resisting against God’s judgement thought it was a message in their favor, they were sadly mistaken.
God’s personal message of Zedekiah, his leadership, and those that continued to fight against the hand of God, was a message of deliverance, but deliverance unto death not life - ‘I will deliver…into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smith them with the edge of the sword’
God’s personal message to Zedekiah, his leadership, and those that continued to fight against the hand of God, was not debatable and very certain - ‘he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy’
God always provides options to his people (vv.8-10)
God always provides options to his people (vv.8-10)
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that [goeth out,] and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be [unto him] for a prey. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
God always provides options to his people. God continuously and throughout Scripture offers mercy and grace to those whom He loves. He loved His people then and continues to love His people even today, despite their rebellion. He continuously shows restraint in his judgment for His people. While God showed no restraint to Zedekiah, his leadership, nor the people that continued to fight, He does show restraint to those that were not in leadership. They were not judged as harshly and we find that God, while not giving the leadership an option, does give the people options.
God provides two options to the people of Judah - ‘And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you...
God gave them option of life - ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life’
God gave them option of death - ‘and the way of death’
As I read this text, I was reminded of Moses’ farewell address to the people of Israel as he surrendered his leadership to Joshua.
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
Neither option seemed favorable, but God was not concerned with their opinion
To live, the people of Judah would have to surrendered their lives as spoils of war - ‘but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him a for a prey’
To fight the judgment of God, would be certain death - ‘He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence’
God’s judgment was certain and the people had no other option than to choose - ‘For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire’
With these options placed before them, the people of Judah could choose personal surrender of freedom and live, or fight for their freedom and die. Neither option was appealing. One in the flesh would say, if I’m going to lose my freedom, I’m going to at least die fighting for it. It would make no since to just lay down and take it. However, God’s way is not always our way. God’s way often does not make since to us. It was in this case. You would have thought the life of those that went into slavery and Babylonian captivity would have been worse off than those that stayed in Jerusalem, but ultimately, they would die by famine and pestilence and have a very miserable life in their sin and rebellion as they faced God’s judgment. For those that surrendered to God’s will and judgment, they would find themselves being taken care of provided for, even if it was an enemy God chose to provide through.
Conclusion
God does not negotiable or make deals. He provides opportunities to repent. He provides options in His judgment. He showers us with grace and mercy throughout the whole process. When he told Judah that he was going to judge them through anger, fury, and great wrath, it was not just a moment of anger that he reacted in. God had for years called his people to repentance. God had sent prophet after prophet calling them to repentance. Yet His people rejected this call.
God is doing the same for His church today. He is calling His people to repentance. He is calling us, His people, to choose Him and repentance before it is too late. Are we going to respond? Are we truly going to fall on our knees with broken and contrite hearts and seek God’s face before His judgment is unavoidable? Let us be faithful to repent. Let us be faithful to trust God. Let us be faithful.