the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 3 of 5
Jeremiah 37:1-21
Ch. 37 takes us back to the time of Zedekiah. Not as evil as, but weaker than his predecessor, this king also turns a deaf ear to the words of the LORD. That does not stop him, as in Jeremiah 21:1-14, from consulting Jeremiah and calling on him for help. Very often we are more inclined to make demands of the Lord than to listen to what He wants to say to us. But if we want Him to answer our prayers let us start by obeying Him! (John 15:7).
Events appear for a moment to contradict what the prophet has declared. Instead of taking Jerusalem, the Chaldeans, under threat from the Egyptian army, have lifted the siege and gone away. The city seems to be safe. The LORD reminds Jeremiah that this is purely a short-term situation! Jeremiah thinks to benefit from this by leaving the condemned city, but he is recognised, brought before the princes and charged with treason. At the time of Jehoiakim, the princes seemed to be more sympathetic than the king (Jeremiah 36:19). Under Zedekiah it is the opposite. When Jeremiah has been beaten and imprisoned by the princes, the king arranges a secret meeting with him and then improves the conditions of his captivity.
