Coffee & Devotions

Jeremiah 34:1-7

Jeremiah 34:1-7

With Bryan Schneider · Sharon RP Church

Published September 26, 2025

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Prepare

Opening Prayer

Father, thank you for this day, time together, and your Word. By your Spirit teach us, give us hope, and show us how to live in that hope, through Jesus. Amen.

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Scripture Passage

Zedekiah Warned by God

34 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace; as in the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they shall burn incense for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the Lord.’ ”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7 when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jeremiah 34:1-7.

A — About

What Is This Passage About?

Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that Babylon will capture and burn Jerusalem and take the king, yet Zedekiah himself will not die by the sword. He will die in peace and receive the customary mourning of a king.

B — Best Verse

Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?

Jeremiah 34:3-5

you shall not die by the sword

A child focuses on verse 4, while Bryan explicitly expands the choice to verses 3–5 because the capture, peaceful death, and mourning together convey the full message.

C — Called or Christ

C — Christ Connection

Trust God, who knows the end from the beginning, even when persecution or enemies frighten you. Jesus too was handed to enemies and mourned, yet God brought saving good through his death.

Additional Notes

Discover Jeremiah 34:1–7 as we explore God’s word to King Zedekiah. Though judgment falls on Jerusalem, God shows His sovereignty and mercy. Learn how this passage points us to trust in Christ, who brings true hope and peace.

Devotional Study

Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.

Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. This morning we're at Jeremiah 34. Got find out what the king's got or what God's got to say to the king. So, let's have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into God's word. >> Oo, that's just the best Jeremiah field. >> Jeremiah 34. Yep. Right. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for the blessing it is that we get to spend time together. We get to be in your word. We pray that your Holy Spirit would please teach us. Give us hope, Lord, and teach us how we should live in that hope. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen. Here we go. Jeremiah 34. We just got seven verses this morning. So the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people fought against Jerusalem and its cities, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, go and speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him, thus says the Lord, behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from his hand, but you shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand. Your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon. He shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. Thus says the Lord, concerning you. You shall not die by the sword. You shall die in peace as in the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you. So they shall burn incense for you and lament for you, saying, "Alas, Lord, for I have pronounced the word, says the Lord." >> Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Jerusalem. when the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem and the all the cities of Judah that were left against Lakish and Azeka for only these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah. >> All right. So A B C A, what is this about? B, what's the best versus some racist? And C, what are we called to do? Just before we got on here, Deborah said, "Did you get enough sleep, Dad?" because she said when I get tired apparently I start singing weird. So anyways uh a what is it about? >> Zedekiah listen up. >> Okay Zedekiah needs to listen up. The Lord's got a word for him. And it's interesting what's what's the Lord telling >> Zed >> what's the Lord saying about Zedekiah? >> Uh you're gonna die in peace. >> Mhm. Basically that's it. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> People are going to lament for you. You're not going to die in the war. Weird, huh? Really odd. >> So it's not really warning him kind of. >> Well, it's just kind of telling him, isn't it? >> Yeah. Yeah. They're going to they're going to weep for you. They're going to mourn for you. Yeah. >> So that means Zedekiah is like dying. He's like, "Prepare for war." >> Yeah. Right. So he knows that death is going to come >> and then death is going to come. >> Yeah. But also that it's also telling him what about the city. >> They're going to die. >> Yeah. Right. The city's going to be taken over. And sure enough, the king and he's got this big huge army. They're taking stuff over, aren't they? Yep. So, uh, so that's what this is about. What do you think is the best verse to summarize this? >> Um, four, >> verse four. Yeah, I think right that's the actual message that uh that's given to it. So, >> but you could even only have the first half of verse four. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. >> No, >> no, >> no. I would so have you shall not die by the sword. >> Uh I might do 3, four, and five because that's the best verse. Three, four, and five. >> No giggle, no nothing. Just just whatever, Dad. Just shut up. >> I never said that. >> I could tell it by your face. All right. So, yeah. All right. So, let's go ahead and talk about see calling. What are we called to do? What our call to action? Or how does this point us to Jesus Christ? >> Um even though you might die in peace, there's no there's peace isn't like uh your actions might um hurt other people even after you've died. Okay. Yeah. Uh I was thinking about how this could be terrifying to Zedekiah, right? Knowing that he's he's going to be captured by the Babylonians. Um and yet for Christians, is it a scary thing even if we should fall into uh persecution or we should fall into our enemy's hands? >> Nope. >> I mean, humanly speaking, it might be. But we're able to trust the Lord, right? He knows the beginning from the end. He knows what he's doing. He knows why he's doing it. >> So, we can trust him. >> So, that's one of the things I picked up from here is that even though he was given over to his captives of his enemies, there was still going to be lamenting and mourning. And that's where it reminds me of Jesus because what happens to Jesus? >> He dies. >> He's given over to his enemies captive, isn't he? And yet is there a horrible, horrible end to that? Or did people still mourn and weep for him? >> Mourn and weep. >> Yeah. And did God do something good even through that? >> Yep. >> Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. God can make miracles out of messes. So, you ready to pray? >> Yep. >> Can you say anything other than Yep. >> Nope. >> Lord, we thank you so much for the hope that you have given us in you. And Father, we pray that as we have the blessing of getting to hear about you and even know that you know the beginning from the end. You knew when Zedekiah's last day was going to be. And Lord, you know our last day. So, Father, please teach us to number our days and yet not live in abject fear, but know that you work all things for your good and your glory. Father, we thank you for sending us your son. We pray this in Jesus's name. Amen. >> Amen. >> Well, may God bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ. And we'll see you next time. Bye >> bye.

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