BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

Jeremiah 37:17

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The northern and southern kingdoms, Israel and Judah respectively, each had their share of kings. If you surveyed them (and you certainly can do that if you study the Books of 1 and 2 Kings or 1 and 2 Chronicles), you will find that the kings fell into one of two categories: good or bad.

The good kings were the ones who were obedient to God and ruled in a way that was pleasing in His sight. Accordingly, the people of God typically followed the lead of their king and also placed a premium in living as God commanded.

Conversely, the bad kings, more often referred to as evil in the Bible, were the ones who decided to disregard God in every way, reigning in a way where sin and wickedness were dominant. And under the leadership of these kings, the Israelites were also inclined to openly sin without reservation.

With this as a primer, we turn to our scripture passage for today and see right away that the king of Judah at this stage of Jeremiah’s service as God’s prophet was a man by the name of Zedekiah. The word of God does not tell us anything about Zedekiah except that he orders Jeremiah to be brought to him so he can pose an important question.

Before we get into that, there are three things we need to put in play:

1. Jeremiah has been arrested, beaten, and held captive, accused of trying to desert Jerusalem to join the Babylonians.

You’ll recall earlier in this chapter that the Babylonian army under the lead of King Nebuchadnezzar had withdrawn from attacking Jerusalem because of the sudden advanced of the Egyptian army under Pharaoh who were coming to support the Israelites. With the Babylonians pulling away, a window of opportunity was open for Jeremiah to go to the territory of Benjamin to get the share of his property in Anathoth that he had purchased from the son of his uncle. But as Jeremiah went to leave the city, he was stopped at the Benjamin Gate and arrested, accused of deserting to the Babylonians (Jeremiah 37:11-16). He was placed in a dungeon cell and there he stayed until he was summoned by Zedekiah in today’s passage.

2. Zedekiah was an evil king.

We know this because the scriptures tell us in 2 Kings:

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 2 Kings 24:18-19

The word of God is clear. When the Lord’s eyes were on Zedekiah, He witnessed evil actions in the way He lived and ruled Judah. Sin was his calling card and we know how God feels about sin.

3. Zedekiah had no regard for God and neither did the Israelites.

Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet. Jeremiah 37:2

God was speaking to His king and people through His chosen messenger, Jeremiah, but the king and people chose not to listen. They closed their hearts and minds to anything the Lord tried to say to them and they did it to their demise.

So given this, let’s now look to the question Zedekiah asked Jeremiah after taking him from prison to speak with him privately.

“Is there any word from the Lord?”

It was a gutsy inquiry. Here was a king who showed no interest in the words of the Lord up to this point and now all of a sudden wanted to know if God had anything to say to him.

All I can say is, “Be careful what you ask for.”

This is because God did have a word for Zedekiah and it wasn’t anything that would make him feel good. Words of judgment seldom are.

But this king who was so openly wicked before God deserved nothing but judgment. I’m sure Zedekiah thought that when the Babylonians retreated to face the Egyptians, he, Judah, and Jerusalem were somehow going to be spared. Perhaps he expected to hear Jeremiah tell him that God had changed His mind and called off His punishment. Imagine his expression when Jeremiah did give him the word of the Lord when he told Zedekiah:

“You will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

This meant two things:

1. The Babylonians would be back.

and

2. They would defeat the Israelites and take over, capturing all the land and the people. Zedekiah would no longer be in charge but rather would be delivered into the hands of the new king of Judah and Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar.

So what are we to take from this today? What lesson is the Lord bringing our way to apply to our faith walk?

Well, I think it really gets down to where we stand before God before we inquire about any word from Him to us.

If we are living in sin and wickedness, disregarding God’s word, will, and way, then we can expect to hear a word from Him that will condemn and speak of correction and discipline.

In other words, if we are living like Zedekiah and the Israelites under his rule, we should be careful what we ask for.

But if we choose to live in obedience to the Lord, receiving His word and complying with His commands, then we can expect to live in His favor, experiencing the fullness of His blessings. Our actions and words will be pleasing in His sight and we should be able to hear the Lord say these words to us:

“Well done good and faithful servant. With you I am well pleased.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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