Monday - Jeremiah 21 - Fight to Die, or Surrender to Live

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HERE is nothing complicated in Jeremiah 21. Zedekiah (the king of Jerusalem) sent to enquire from Jeremiah to see if God would help him against the Babylonian invasion. The answer was a curt negative. In fact, the prophet's message was just the opposite of that for which the king was searching. God told these Jews to go out and surrender to the Gentile invaders (Jeremiah 21:8-9). This must have sounded so very odd to those proud Jews. Not only did God tell them that if they fought then they would die at the hands of their enemies, He warned that if they fought then HE would fight against them (Jeremiah 21:5). To some degree, they held their fate in their own hands, but their options were certainly limited. They could determine their own course of action, but they could not determine the consequences of those actions.

It is ironic, I suppose, that the same man (Pashur) who had been hard on Jeremiah was at this point inquiring at Jeremiah's feet (Jeremiah 21:1-2). I'm guessing that he was a bit humiliated by his assignment. This false prophet having to ask for the opinion of a true prophet!  Surely, he was uncomfortable with that. Pashur had been previously uninterested in the wondrous words and works of God, but now (due to the looming danger) he had to listen meekly, although the message was still not at all palatable to him.