Jeremiah Reproves Israel
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soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou
shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of
Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the
Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape
out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am
afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver
me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall
not deliver thee. 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.”
Here was exhibited the long-suffering mercy of God. Even at that
late hour, if there were submission to His requirements, the lives of
the people would be spared and the city saved from conflagration. But
the king thought he had gone too far to retract. He was afraid of the
Jews, afraid of becoming a subject of ridicule, afraid for his life. It
was too humiliating, at that late day, to say to the people: “I accept the
word of the Lord as spoken through His prophet Jeremiah. I dare not
venture to war against the enemy in the face of all these warnings.”
With tears Jeremiah entreated the king to save himself and his
people. With anguish of spirit he assured him that he could not escape
with his life, and that all his possessions would fall to the king of
Babylon. He could save the city if he would. But he had started upon
the wrong track and would not retrace his steps. He decided to follow
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the counsel of false prophets and of men whom he really despised and
who ridiculed his weakness of character in yielding so readily to their
wishes. He yielded the noble freedom of his manhood to become a
cringing slave to public opinion. While he had no fixed purpose of
evil, he also had no resolution to stand boldly for the right. While he
was convicted of the truth as spoken by Jeremiah, he did not possess
the moral stamina to obey his counsel, but advanced steadily in the
wrong direction.
He was even too weak to be willing that his courtiers and people
should know that he had held a conference with the prophet, so far had
the fear of man taken possession of his soul. If this cowardly ruler had
stood bravely before his people and declared that he believed the words
of the prophet, already half-fulfilled, what desolation might have been
averted! He should have said: “I will obey the Lord and save the city
from utter ruin. I dare not disregard the commands of God for the
fear or favor of men. I love the truth, I hate sin, and I will follow the