Day 222, or August 10. How many times do you need to hear? Our thoughts today are rooted
in Jeremiah chapter 38, verse 20. Jeremiah replied,
Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will
be spared.
First, the big picture surrounding this verse. Zedekiah decides the only way to silence the
voice of Jeremiah is to throw him into prison. He is given a sound beating before being thrown
into jail. Zedekiah has him released so he can hear what God has to say, and Jeremiah
is placed under house arrest at the guardhouse where he is fed and looked after. However,
he is then thrown into a cistern where he sinks into the mud at the bottom. Once again
the king has second thoughts about God's prophet, and Jeremiah is released to speak
to Zedekiah again. Despite all his conversations with Jeremiah, Zedekiah still comes to a sticky
end. An escape attempt by the king and his family results in them being captured, seeing
his sons killed, and then he is blinded and taken away to Babylon. His escape route is
still marked in the centre of Jerusalem today, where there is a cave entrance not far from
Damascus Gate. This is traditionally believed to have been used by Zedekiah. It's called
Zedekiah's Cave, or Solomon's Quarries.
And now today's action step. Zedekiah may not have followed his God, but that didn't
stop him wanting to know what God was saying. He has at least three conversations with Jeremiah,
but still decides to go his own way, and it ends disastrously. There are other examples
of individuals listening to God, but then deciding to reject him. In the New Testament
Governor Felix listens to Paul for two years, but never decides to believe. There are few
better tools for the devil than procrastination, or maybe dithering is a better word. You need
to listen to what God has to say, then you have to act. Don't be amongst those who hear
but don't do anything. Join the band of those who hear and then act today.