Jeremiah 37:1-21

People will believe what they want to believe even if it is a lie.  Jeremiah has been telling the truth, but nobody wants to hear his message of destruction and captivity.  The “good news” of the false prophets is much more attractive to the people and the leaders so they do all they can to shut Jeremiah up.  Easy lies are generally much more popular than hard truths.  It is important that we base what we believe on the Word of God and not on what we want to believe. 

JEREMIAH IS INSISTENT: King Zedekiah comes to Jeremiah to hear a Word from the Lord, but he is not pleased with Jeremiah’s honest response.  Nebuchadnezzar has been besieging the nation but has temporarily withdrawn at the approach of the Egyptian army.  The nation of Judah hopes the Egyptians will defeat the Chaldeans and rescue them from the impending destruction but Jeremiah is insistent that the king of Babylon will be back and that the city of Jerusalem will be burned.  Even if the entire army is injured and cannot leave its tent; Jeremiah insists that the army of Babylon will burn the city of Jerusalem.  This is obviously not a popular message but it is the truth.  God calls us to believe and proclaim the truth and not wishful thinking.


JEREMIAH IS IMPRISONED: Jeremiah’s message was being contradicted by false prophets so the people and the officials were much more likely to believe the lie.  In an attempt to change Jeremiah’s message or at least shut him up they lock Jeremiah up in a make shift prison where they barely give him enough food to stay alive.  Once again Zedekiah calls for Jeremiah to see if there is any Word from God.  Jeremiah assures him that the Word of God has not changed and destruction is still on the way.  However, Jeremiah does request his freedom.  King Zedekiah does not send him back to the prison but keeps him under guard in the palace chambers and provides him with food as long as there was food available in Jerusalem.  When we proclaim the truth we can expect circumstances that are not to our liking.

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