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Word of the Day: Jeremiah 38:20

Word of the Day

"Please obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live." Jeremiah 38:20

King Zedekiah came to Jeremiah inquiring what the Lord's message was for him. He asked Jeremiah not to hold anything back. The issue at hand was whether the Babylonian king was going to wipe out him and his people. Jeremiah told him that the Lord said the only way to keep that from happening was for King Zedekiah to surrender to the king of Babylon. If he didn't surrender Jeremiah told King Zedekiah, "this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand." Jeremiah begged the king to obey the Lord (Jer 38:20), but chapter 39 reveals that the king chose not to obey and as a result there was total destruction. The obvious response should have been for him to obey the Lord, which would have avoided a total wipe out.

For me the question is do I listen and obey the Lord when He speaks clearly. An example, would be when He tells me to love my wife "just as Christ also loved the church" (Eph 5:25), will I chose to listen or not listen? When He tells me to "show her honor " (I Peter 3:7), will I chose to listen or not listen? It's easy to look at the life of others (i.e. King Zedekiah) and think they should be listening and obey the Lord. It's so obvious! What about me? Am I listening and obeying the Lord?

Dedicated to Prayer
Dave
Heb 4:16