Ouch!! That's Gotta Hurt! (Devo on Jeremiah 42-43)

Zedekiah is chained and brought before Nebuchadnezzar, from Petrus Comestor's "Bible Historiale," 1670.

"The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah (king of Judah) at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon.  The Babylonians burned the king's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.  Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city...[and] left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time."  Jeremiah 39:6-10 

Why did all this happen? 
It happened because the people of Judah consistently and persistently rejected God and his word.  They lived idolatrous, sinful lives in total rebellion against God.  God warned the people over and over,  telling them to repent, but His warnings went unheeded.  Finally, God disciplined them using the Babylonians, just like He told them He would if they did not listen.
Does God do the same thing in our lives?  Does He get our attention through discipline and difficulty?

What happened to the poor people left behind?  As you can imagine they were very afraid.  Think of what they had just witnessed.  They said in Jeremiah 42:2-3 to the prophet Jeremiah, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant- because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us - that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do."  Basically they asked for prayer and they asked, "What do we do?"
What do you do when you are in a situation of great fear?  How do you deal with your fears? Do you go to God asking, "What do I do?"

What was God's answer?  God's answer is "Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid." v. 11  Easier said then done right?  Yet, God offers a great promise.  "Do not fear him...for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.  I will...let you remain in your own land." v.12.  Can you imagine what a relief that would be to hear?
All over the Bible we find this same phrase, "Do not fear for I am with you."(some examples: Gen 15:1, 26:24, Is 41:1, 10, Is 43:5, Jer 46:28)  Do you believe it? 

So what happens if we ignore God's directions?  Jeremiah tells them that if they ignore God and go to Egypt to seek shelter and safety from the king of Babylon, thinking that in Egypt they'll find peace, comfort, and satisfaction, then just the opposite will happen.  God says, "If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die." v. 16  God is saying that if they disobey then the things they fear will indeed happen to them, whereas if they obey and trust God then God will shield and protect and provide for them.
So what is the right decision here?  No brainer right?  STAY!!!

What about what I want?  This is essentially what the people of Judah say in the face of God's warnings.  At the end of v. 22 we are told that the people desire to go to live in Egypt, that's what they want.  But "the LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt'." v.19  God even gave them the reasons not to go.  "Know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence." v. 22 
Do you find yourself saying as I do, "Listen to Him, Listen to Him. Don't go, don't go! Who cares about what you want, do what is best, right, and good."

So what is their final decision?  "So Johanan...and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD to remain in the land of Judah...and they came into the land of Egypt." Jer. 43:4,7

This is us, we do the very same thing.  We are guilty of looking at what God says straight in the face and completely ignoring it even though we know the consequences.  Can you think of an example in your own life?

Why not have faith instead of giving in to fear? The issue for the people of Judah was that they gave into their fear instead of believing and trusting God.  We do this all the time.  For example how many of us know that seeking the approval of our peers is not healthy.  We fear what they will think of us if we don't go along with them and do the things they tempt us to do. We also know that following them will end ultimately in hurting our relationships with God and with our parents.  We know that the only reason they want us to go along with them is to justify their own behavior.  We know they don't truly love us and have our best in mind.  We know that following them will be destructive to our lives.  But, it's what we want.  It's what we think will bring us peace, comfort, and satisfaction.  So we ignore God.  We ignore the fact that He promises us true love, true peace, and real joy.  Instead of faith we give in to fear, and just like the people of Judah, the things we fear are exactly what happens to us.  As you make decisions perhaps one of the best questions you can ask yourself is this:  "Am I making this decision out of fear or out of faith?"  Ask the LORD what you should do, just like the Judeans did.  Then don't do as the Judeans did.  Instead, obey whatever the LORD says.