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Jeremiah 34 (ESV)

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”

REFLECTION:

This chapter describes the fulfillment of many of Jeremiah’s prophecies. In the Book of Jeremiah, many prophecies were soon fulfilled. God used Jeremiah’s mouth to warn Zedekiah, king of Judah, that even if the outcome was miserable, he must “hear the word of the Lord” (v4). Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the whole city was in danger. Finally, Zedekiah, who was disobedient, finally decided to obey Jeremiah and calm God’s anger. He liberated slaves, thinking that by doing good deeds, he could please God, but in fact what he really needed was sincere repentance, which would bring about a change and renewal of life. The people of Judah did not abide by God’s law from the beginning. When the disaster of the siege was temporarily eased, the people returned to their previous behaviour, and even worsened and committed blatant crimes, as did Zedekiah himself. If there is no real renewal of the soul, and only hurriedly call upon God in danger, it seems to have obeyed God’s words, in fact, there is no real repentance, and defeat cannot be saved. Today, do we rush to pray to God only when we are at a critical juncture or desperate?

PRAYER:

Pray for God to enable you to learn from the defeat of Zedekiah, to be vigilant every day, and to walk with God at all times, so that you will not be far away from God in normal days, but only pray to God in times of trouble. Ask God to enlighten you so that you have a deeper understanding of your sins and a more thorough repentance, which will bring transformation and renewal in your life.

HYMN:

Renew My Life Lord Jesus – youtu.be/2RGPePnJe0k