Jeremiah 37:1-10

Hey, hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions this morning. We are at Jeremiah chapter 37 verses 1 through 10 We're gonna talk about well, we're gonna go back in time a little bit talk about Zedekiah This is Jehoiachin's brother who King Nebuchadnezzar has made as a vassal and well, he doesn't like what's going on maybe Stuff going on with the Egyptians. He was Jeremiah to pray for him. Let's find out what happens. Let's have some coffee.
We'll pray. I'm gonna get in the God's Word Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the blessing we have of getting to read your word. Father, we pray that as we read it, we would understand it. We pray that your Holy Spirit work in our hearts. that we would be able to understand the historical situation in which it was written, but also Lord, that we would be able to read the words and understand how they apply to us. And that's something that only your Holy Spirit can do. So Father, we pray that you would please help us, teach us Lord, and teach us to walk in your ways. In Jesus's name, Amen. Here we go, Jeremiah chapter 37, the first 10 verses.
Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. But neither he nor his servants nor his people of the land gave heed to the words of the Lord, which he had spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. All right, so we need to just stop here real quick. So now we're talking about King Zedekiah. King Zedekiah is the son of Jehoiakim.
He comes to power in about 595, I've got it written down here, 597. comes into power, and he is brought into power. He's the last Davidic ruler of Judah, and he is there because he's a vassal of King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar himself is the one who said, you're going to be the king.
So Kuniah is not the king. Kuniah, Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, there's different ways in which his name is given. But, so this is this vassal king. So, they're not listening to the word of the Lord. That comes from Jeremiah. And in verse 3, Then Pharaoh's army came up from Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem. Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thus says the Lord the God of Israel, Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come to help you, will return to Egypt, to their own land.
And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire. Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will surely depart from us. For they will not depart. For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.
So in verses three through five, what do we have? We have Zedekiah the king, and he's sending three different guys. So he sends Jehuchal, Zephaniah, and, well, two guys, sorry. Yeah, Jehuchal and Zephaniah. They go to Jeremiah, and they want him to pray. They're not listening to Jeremiah's words, and yet now they're asking Jeremiah to pray.
And it gives us a historical note, right? Verse four, he's not been put in prison yet. So we know this is a different timeframe than what we had looked at before, because he had been in prison there. But notice verse five, this gives us a historical point that's really important and historically verifiable as well.
Then Pharaoh's army came up from Egypt. Why does Pharaoh care in Egypt about what's going on in Jerusalem? Well, they're neighbors. And Nebuchadnezzar is swallowing up land and taking kingdoms. And it's a very real possibility that maybe he could even push into Egypt and take over Egypt as well. And so, this is Pharaoh, Pharaoh Hophra, and he's concerned about this. And so, yeah, he goes and he departs. And this is what the Lord says. He says, he's leaving and they're not gonna help you. And even if they did help you, and they kicked the snot out of the Chaldeans and the only Chaldeans that were left were a bunch of wounded, hobbling, wimpy guys who weren't any good, they would still burn this city to the ground.
That's what this section is about. They think that somehow by making this political alliance, this military alliance with Egypt, that broken reed, God says elsewhere in the Old Testament, that they're going to be able to thwart what God has said is going to happen with Nebuchadnezzar. And this isn't because somehow they repented and changed their ways. No, they're not listening to Jeremiah anyways. And the Lord says no. No, you don't get to politically scheme your way out of this.
So that's what's going on here. That's what this is about. What's the best verse to summarize this? Well, in my Bible, I have, let's see, that's the second half, verse eight. Trying to see where that starts here. 7 and 8, so it crosses the second half of 7 and through 8. Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt to their own land. The Chaldeans shall come back and fight against the city, and take it and burn it with fire. I think that's what this is, the heart of this, the best verse to summarize this. Maybe you want to underline verse 9 instead. I do have part of verse 9 underlined. Maybe verse 10. Maybe I have some of that underlined too.
But what are we, so now the hard thing, right? How do we move this out of its historical contextual situation and apply it to our lives? I can't scheme my way out from being underneath God's judgment. I can't do it. I can't make the right political allegiances. I can't do the right things. I can't heap up a bunch of good works.
No. The Lord has said that the wages of sin is death. The only hope that then we have is the way that he has said it. And what has he said? Our only hope is in the blood of Jesus Christ. That is our hope. Our only hope in life and death is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our propitiation. He is our atonement. He is our righteousness. He is our hope. He is our strength. He is our comfort. He is the one that has saved us. So my lips and yours must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We must believe in our heart that God has raised him up from the dead. That he has defeated death, conquered sin, and that it is in Jesus that we can have life.
I can't scheme my way out of that. I can't make the right political alliances. I can't do anything like that. Is that our hope? Will we listen? Or will we be like Zachariah, not Zachariah, sorry, Zedekiah, who, eh, I don't wanna listen. I don't wanna listen to what God has actually said, but I will pray to him and ask him to save me, but then refuse to listen to what he actually says. Do we trust him? Trust what he has done. Trust what he has said. Do we find our life hidden in Christ?
I hope you do. Let's pray. Father, we confess to you that we cannot scheme ourselves out of the trouble that we are in. And we need you. Lord, wars come, nations rise, and nations fall. Politicians politic. But Father, we desire to bow to you. And we pray that you would please work in your Holy Spirit, or work by your Holy Spirit in our lives, that we would surrender, that we would trust in you alone, for you are good and perfect. Help us to know you and to cling to you, for you are our only hope. In Jesus' name, amen. May the Lord bless you. May you cling to Jesus Christ. But may you know that He is the one who holds you and will never let you go if you are His. I'll see you next time. Bye.