July 18, 2020

Today we are going to focus on the first 10 verses of Jeremiah 37. It paints a picture for us that, more often than we want to admit, we relate to. 

We see King Zedekiah rule in the land of Judah (v.1). But He is an evil king… “neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord.” (v.2). He knew that God had said, through Jeremiah, that Babylon was going to come and capture them. So, he went to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for them about this.

But he had no intention of repenting and loving God. He just wanted God to fix something for him.

But Jeremiah responded to him what God said…

“9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”

King Zedekiah did something that, sadly, we do so often. He wanted to change the will of God from something that He did not like to something that he did. He went to God but not for worship but for what God could do for him. That was as far as his interest with God went. 

So often we go to God for what He can do for us instead of to worship Him. He wants us to love Him. We cannot forget the ultimate command of God for us in Deuteronomy 6 and Matthew 22:37-40!

“37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

1) Where is your life not adding up to what God commanded?

2) How can you love God more this week? Running to Him in worship instead of running to Him to just fix things?

By: Nick Parsons — Pastoral Ministry Associate – College