It pays to pray
Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:
What did I like about today’s passage?
There’s been a lot of talking in this book so far. Lots of people with weighty words: pleas, persuasion, poetry, prophecy and power. But now, it’s action time!
God’s word gets seen to be true as Babylon smashes Jerusalem’s defences, Zedekiah is forced to watch his sons murdered as the last thing he sees before being led off in chains and shame, and then the whole episode with Ishmael and his crazy double dealing and death pit of doom… this is NOT nice Sunday School, bedtime story material. It’s horror.
Was any of it avoidable? Is there a lesson to be learned here? I’m struck by two things.
One is how God’s big lesson, told through his big story, is knowable even outside of God’s people themselves. I love how clearly the writer gives credit to Nebuzaradan, commander of Babylon’s imperial guard, for knowing and summarising it to Jeremiah! It’s not complicated – “all this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.” Notice the “you” here – this isn’t one of God’s people, but he can see God at work. Ouch.
The other thing which strikes me is that if outsiders can see where God’s people went wrong, how tragic it is that God’s people can still make fatal mistakes by not consulting God. Gedaliah sounds like a promising leader. He’s entrusted to govern, inspired many to join him and live peacefully, enjoying blessing and prosperity despite foreign rule. He even got a warning to be careful and guard his own life against a particular, named threat. He had a prophet who could reliably hear God, but chose his own counsel instead, inviting his assassins in for dinner. (It’s like no-one in this story has seen Game Of Thrones!)
Good job his successors learned from this and asked Jeremiah for guidance. That all sounds like it’s going to go great. I’ll just come back to this on Monday and expect it to be glorious.
What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
God guides but does not just talk. God acts and knows what people will do too. In a difficult world, it makes perfect sense to seek God’s guidance. When failing to do so leads to pain, we can maybe start to appreciate God’s frustration with people for not seeking him.
What am I going to do differently as a result?
This makes Proverbs 3:5-6 come to mind: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” It’s such a spiritual basic. Even people who don’t do this, including neighbours who don’t yet believe in God, know that we’re supposed to do it. I need to do it more.
Who am I going to share this with?
People I pray with, to share examples of what we are seeking and finding from God, and I think there might be some not-yet-believing neighbours who want to hear about this too.