From: andronicus451@gmail.com   
      
   Jeremiah Again Warns Zedekiah   
      
   Jeremiah 38   
      
   14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him   
   into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto   
   Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. 15 Then Jeremiah   
   said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to   
   death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So   
   Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth,   
   that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee   
   into   
   the hand of these men that seek thy life.   
      
   17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of   
   hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of   
   Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned   
   with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 But if thou refuse to go   
   forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:   
      
   22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall   
   be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say,   
   Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are   
   sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.   
      
   23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans:   
   and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand   
   of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.   
      
   24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and   
   thou shalt not die.   
      
   * * *   
      
   At one time, God had used His mighty hand, unleashed ten plagues   
   on the Egyptians and made the Red Sea split apart so the Hebrews   
   could pass and the Egyptian army drowned with the pharaoh.   
      
   Sometimes God the Creator had different plans with the believers:   
   in case of king Zedekiah, prophet Jeremiah warned him not to   
   fight in the military way against he incoming Babylon invasion.   
   Perhaps the Babylon military force was too great and Zedekiah was   
   not the righteous king who would appease God and cause His wrath   
   to subdue.   
      
   We see the same pattern in the New Testament: though there were   
   frequent rebellions of the Zealots in order that Jews would not serve   
   a divine heir of Jupiter - true God Creator did not support any of revolts   
   against Rome for centuries to pass, or not to victory.   
      
   Sometimes, God wants us to taste life in slavery and foreign   
   domination in order to produce a different quality in us. Sometimes,   
   God wants us not to be delivered from devouring fire, but to go through   
   the fire.   
      
   In this ultimate test of obedience to God against deceitful talk   
   of incoming liberties, it was Jeremiah who spoke what really   
   happened. All of the prophets of Zedekiah, just like the prophets   
   of king Ahab, were promising military and political victory without   
   a spiritual renewal and return to God. By maintaining the current   
   policy in charge, they were supposed to suddenly produce different,   
   victorious results.   
      
   But reading later chapters, we know that Ahab was wounded in battle   
   and died without victory. Dogs were licking his blood and harlots were   
   bathing in the water that washed his bloody chariot.   
      
   Zedekiah had to watch his sons slain before his eyes were plucked out,   
   so this death of all his sons was the last thing he had seen with his eyes.   
   So the prophets have written.   
      
   Zealots were also inspired by many false messiahs and many false   
   prophets in the time of Jesus Christ. But from historical books, we   
   know that the fall of the Roman Empire and the freedom of Biblical Israel   
   did not come by any of those revolts.   
      
   We can also live in a politically liberated country, but in slavery to   
   political   
   structures, our employers, our neighbours, our debts and our sins.   
      
   God's freedom in Jesus Christ appears to start in the very core: by   
   the salvation of the soul and the new Creature in Christ.   
      
   Jesus explained this as the need to be "born again" from the Holy Spirit   
   and water.   
      
   John 3   
   3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a   
   man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.   
   4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he   
   enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus   
   answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of   
   the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of   
   the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel   
   not   
   that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.   
      
   It is not profitable for a man to go to Hell pit after a life in freedom,   
   but in sinful living and debaucheries. Sinful living, debaucheries and   
   braking of the Commandments were the exact punishment for both   
   Ahab and Zedekiah. Zedekiah tried to organise defence against   
   the Babylonian army, but against the advice of Jeremiah. All his   
   people who followed him died in vain and the Biblical Israel went   
   to the Babylonian exile anyway - the military did not bring them freedom   
   from the punishment for sin and shedding the innocent blood.   
      
   As in the proverb: they brought a knife to a gunfight.   
      
   Don't get me wrong - I believe in Moses' account on exodus from   
   Egypt, and in Jesus' miracles. But after the God's Chosen people   
   shouted "Crucify! Crucify!" to the Man who just fed them, healed them,   
   restored the sight of the blind and resurrected dead ... it must have   
   been a blow.   
      
   But after the Gentiles (nations) persistently threw the first disciples   
   who performed miracles to lions in arenas while they were singing   
   Psalms ... Yeah, God forgives, but miracles somehow became less   
   frequent, the Holy Spirit became weary, despite all the grace of God.   
      
   And unless a man is secure in the miracle of God like Gideon was,   
   double checking and triple checking - he is better to make sure   
   if he can resist with ten thousand to the king coming with twenty   
   thousand, and seek peace if he finds he cannot.   
      
   Luke 14   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)