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Day 21 Jeremiah 21 21:1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon makes war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. 3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus says the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, says the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. 8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus says the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abides in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goes out, and falls to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, says the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD; 12 O house of David, thus says the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, says the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter into our habitations? 14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it. No one wants bad things to happen in their lives. They want their lives to be filled with only pleasant circumstances. Yet, life shows us it isn’t that way. We have the good and the bad in our lives, and sometimes more bad than good. God was getting ready to send Judah into exile. King Zedekiah went to Jeremiah to ask God not to bring the trouble on them he told them was coming. Instead, Jeremiah told him, God was going to come against Jerusalem, and everyone in the city would die by sword, pestilence, and famine. However, those who leave the city would live, but be exiled to Babylon. Not exactly what Zedekiah wanted to hear. He was hoping God would defend them, and destroy their enemies, not destroy them. However, when you are continually evil against God, disobedient in every way, God has no choice but to bring about trouble for you. As Christians, you know the trouble coming from God is what he allows Satan to bring against you for your disobedience to him. Consider Job. Satan went before God to bring trouble on Job. God told him no matter what trouble he allowed, Job would never turn his back on God. If you remember the story of Job, God told Satan he could not take his life. God sets boundaries for the trouble we have. God told Jeremiah, he would destroy the city by sword, pestilence, and famine. However, he would spare all those who left the city. They would go into exile. If you lived in that time, faced by those choices, what would you choose? I think it’s obvious you would choose to leave the city and live. Those who don’t believe God will follow through with his promises will do nothing and suffer the consequences. God loves you, and will fight for you, defending you against all your enemies. However, when you live your life, your way, trusting in you, not God, he has no choice but to allow trouble to come your way, giving Satan free rein in your life. If you have strayed from God and Jesus your Savior, there is only one option for you, confess your sin, repent of your infidelity to God, and return to him. God will then forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, bringing you back into right fellowship with him. Nobody likes bad things happening in their lives. You have a choice – trust God and allow him to be your God and Jesus your Savior, or you can keep going the way you are and suffer the consequences. Let’s pray: Father, your way is the only way for me. I know I’m a sinner, and occasionally I stray from your side, believing I can do it myself, but I know I can’t, Father. I need your help every day, in everything I do. Be with me, helping me, teaching me, and guiding me in the path I must go. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 9 November 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay