DAY 235 Read Jeremiah 37:16 through chapter 39.
Today's reading: Weak-kneed King Zedekiah knew what he should do, but he feared the wicked nobles--he just couldn't make a stand for the right. But Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, acted to rescue Jeremiah.
Memory gem: "But Jeremiah said,...Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live" (Jeremiah 38:20).
Thought for today:
"Even to the last hour, God made plain His willingness to show mercy to those who should choose to submit to His just requirements. Had the king chosen to obey, the lives of the people might have been spared, and the city saved from conflagration; but he thought he had gone too far to retrace his steps. He was afraid of the Jews, afraid of ridicule, afraid for his life. After years of rebellion against God, Zedekiah thought it too humiliating to say to his people, I accept the word of the Lord, as spoken through the prophet Jeremiah; I dare not venture to war against the enemy in the face of all these warnings.
"With tears Jeremiah entreated Zedekiah to save himself and his people. With anguish of spirit he assured him that unless he should heed the counsel of God, he could not escape with his life, and all his possessions would fall to the Babylonians. But the king had started on the wrong course, and he would not retrace his steps. He decided to follow the counsel of the false prophets, and of men whom he really despised, and who ridiculed his weakness in yielding so readily to their wishes. He sacrificed the noble freedom of his manhood, and became a cringing slave to public opinion. With no fixed purpose to do evil, he was also without resolution to stand boldly for the right. Convicted though he was of the value of the counsel given by Jeremiah, he had not the moral stamina to obey; and as a consequence he advanced steadily in the wrong direction."--Prophets and Kings, pp. 457, 458.
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Difficult or obscure words:
Jeremiah 38:6. "Dungeon"--literally "pit" or "cistern."
Jeremiah 38:11. "Clouts"--an old English word for "rags."
Today's reading: Weak-kneed King Zedekiah knew what he should do, but he feared the wicked nobles--he just couldn't make a stand for the right. But Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, acted to rescue Jeremiah.
Memory gem: "But Jeremiah said,...Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live" (Jeremiah 38:20).
Thought for today:
"Even to the last hour, God made plain His willingness to show mercy to those who should choose to submit to His just requirements. Had the king chosen to obey, the lives of the people might have been spared, and the city saved from conflagration; but he thought he had gone too far to retrace his steps. He was afraid of the Jews, afraid of ridicule, afraid for his life. After years of rebellion against God, Zedekiah thought it too humiliating to say to his people, I accept the word of the Lord, as spoken through the prophet Jeremiah; I dare not venture to war against the enemy in the face of all these warnings.
"With tears Jeremiah entreated Zedekiah to save himself and his people. With anguish of spirit he assured him that unless he should heed the counsel of God, he could not escape with his life, and all his possessions would fall to the Babylonians. But the king had started on the wrong course, and he would not retrace his steps. He decided to follow the counsel of the false prophets, and of men whom he really despised, and who ridiculed his weakness in yielding so readily to their wishes. He sacrificed the noble freedom of his manhood, and became a cringing slave to public opinion. With no fixed purpose to do evil, he was also without resolution to stand boldly for the right. Convicted though he was of the value of the counsel given by Jeremiah, he had not the moral stamina to obey; and as a consequence he advanced steadily in the wrong direction."--Prophets and Kings, pp. 457, 458.
----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
Jeremiah 38:6. "Dungeon"--literally "pit" or "cistern."
Jeremiah 38:11. "Clouts"--an old English word for "rags."
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