Jeremiah 37 reminds me of how much easier it is to just say what people want to hear, rather than telling them the hard truth. No one wants to be Debbie Downer, the person that sees a rain cloud on every horizon. We would prefer to be the easy-going, live for the moment one. But isn’t it selfish not to warn friends and neighbors of real dangers? The chapter begins, “Zedekiah… was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon”. Remember the situation in the land by that time, according to 2 Kings 24, “Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple… and took away all the gold articles… Only the poorest people of the land were left”. The city was already an empty shell of its former glory, and now it had a weak puppet king installed by the enemy. The chapter continues, “Neither he… nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken”. Here is a Biblical truth, when people reject God they are vulnerable to Satan and they are always left empty. This hollow king demonstrated a common attribute of the spiritually destitute. He sent a message to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us”. In fear or in doubt, he asks someone else to intercede in the most general way possible. Prayer in vague generalities is just a wish. Faith asks, and faith is increased by specific prayer.
The chapter is chronologically not in sequence, it took place while, “Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison”. Perhaps the purpose is to remind us things are not always what they appear. The commentary explains that the Egyptian army began moving toward Jerusalem, “when the Babylonians… heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem”. It is likely the people of Israel concluded they would be safe, but God gave Jeremiah a word for the king, “Pharaoh’s army… will go back to its own land, to Egypt. Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down”. In case there was any uncertainty, He adds, “Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not!” Are you deceiving yourself?
During the temporary lull, “Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property”. Jeremiah was acting in faith, knowing that his family land would one day be restored. His action was completely misunderstood, “the captain of the guard… arrested him and said, ‘You are deserting to the Babylonians!’” Jeremiah saw things clearly, but others did not. The city officials “would not listen to him… They were angry… had him beaten and imprisoned… where he remained a long time”. He was left to die with plenty of time to think about how to answer tough questions. We read “King Zedekiah sent for him… he asked him privately… ‘Is there any word from the Lord?’” How tempting it must have been to just tell the king what he wanted to hear, instead, “Jeremiah replied, ‘you will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon’”. He even mocks the fortune cookie psychics and feel-good philosophers, “Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’?” Friend, are you empty? Here is the one and only antidote, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).