Jeremiah chapter 38: 17-20 (NIV)
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them.’ “King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will ill-treat me.” “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared.”
Jeremiah chapter 39 verses 4-5 (NIV)
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him.
God was offering King Zedekiah safety and security, but the king would have to trust God. But Zedekiah was more afraid of the people than he was of God. In spite of the assurance he had received through Jeremiah, not only for him, but also his whole family, he could not put his fear of people aside. Sadly, for him, all that Jeremiah had prophesied would happen in the event of Zedekiah’s disobedience came to pass. His sons were put to death in front of him, before he himself was blinded and put in chains.
Sometimes when we are in a difficult situation, God asks us to trust Him, and that might mean doing something that we find really hard to do. That’s where the trust comes in.
But we also have to remember that the decisions and choices we make, for good or ill, don’t always just have an impact on us, but also others too – perhaps family, friends or colleagues. King Zedekiah thought only of his own fears, and not about the implications that his disobedience would mean, not just for his family but for the whole city of Jerusalem. Perhaps looking at that would have helped him overcome his fear and trust God, if not for himself but for them.
Sometimes we need to take our eyes off ourselves and think of the greater good when God calls us to do something we find difficult. We can trust Him, because we see in this sad account that His word is true and if He says something will come to pass it does. But that also means that if He says all will be well if you are obedient, then it will.
Dear Lord,
Help me to put aside my own fears in favour of obedience to You, confident that You will undertake as You promise. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.