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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Jer. 39-40
It still amazes me that Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuzaradan acknowledged that God had both decreed and fulfilled their victory over Judah because of Judah’s faithlessness to Him. That’s more than the people of Judah, who supposedly served God, did. I guess it’s easier to acknowledge God’s hand when it works in your favor. The thing I don’t understand is how they could acknowledge this and still not really know who God is. It seems there are many who are willing to believe some things about God. However, believing some things just doesn’t cut it. God is an all or nothing deal. So we need to drop ALL our pride and accept that He alone is God.
2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chron. 36
Speaking of that very human tendency to believe and accept some things about God without recognizing Him as the one and only God, we continue to see it in God’s own people. Judah’s downfall was not a short process. Yet even as God’s decreed judgment played out, they refused to drop their pride. King Zedekiah in particular kept trying to get what he wanted out of God. We saw yesterday that he kept seeking a word from God but refused to listen to what he heard. And today we see that he swore allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar in God’s name, then failed to keep his oath. That wasn’t simply rebellion against the king of Babylon; it was rebellion against God.
I’ve got to admit – the hardness and waywardness of the human heart scares me. And I think it should. The power of pride is downright frightening. I think being aware of the human condition is perhaps the first step toward the fear of God, which is wisdom. Pride tells us that we don’t need God or that our ways are better. Wisdom tells us these are lies. Knowing how willing we are to turn from wisdom and believe the lies matters. In fact, we need to realize that we can’t do it on our own. Praise God that He is far greater than the power that grips us! Thankfully He made a way to break those chains. Gratefully, we no longer need to fear our nature, because He has made us new.