Jeremiah 37:1

Jeremiah 37:1 says, And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.  Zedekiah had become king in place of Coniah, whom Nebuchadrezzar had appointed king.  We aren't told how.  Verse two adds, But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.  We are told that Zedekiah nor any of the people of Judah listened to and obeyed the word of God given by Jeremiah.  No matter if all the people in charge refuse to listen to God, we must never stop doing so.  Verse threes states, And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.  Zedekiah sent some people, one the son of a priest, to Jeremiah and asked that Jeremiah pray to the LORD for them, even though thy were not willing to hear what God had already said to them through Jeremiah.  There is no sense in praying or asking anyone else to pray for something if we aren't willing to listen to God when He has already given us the answer.  The king was wanting Jeremiah to have God tell him what he wanted to hear.  Verse four declares, Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.  Jeremiah had been in prison for proclaiming God's word, but he was let out at least for this time.  The king had imprisoned Jeremiah for speaking God's truth, but now he freed him asking for a different answer.  Verse five states, Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.  During this time, the army of the Chaldeans left Jerusalem to go and meet the pharaoh of Egypt.  The people of Jerusalem may have felt that they were saved.  If we are delivered out of a bad situation today, especially one that is a result of disobedience to God, we can be certain that it is only a temporary deliverance, just as it was for Jerusalem.  Verse six declares, Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,  Verse seven adds, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.  God's word for Zedekiah was that Pharaoh's army. which Zedekiah thought was there to help him, would return to Egypt.  Zedekiah had called for Jeremiah to pray for the people of Judah that what God had said was going to happen might not, and it appeared that the people were going to be spared defeat, but God's message for them had not changed.  Verse eight continues, And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.  God told Jeremiah to tell the king that the Chaldeans would return again and burn the city of Jerusalem.  Even if lost people see what they think is success without God. God's word tells them that it is only temporary.  Verse nine declares, Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.  God said for Jeremiah to tell the people of Jerusalem to not be deceived by saying that the Chaldeans would depart, because they certainly would not.  People should not fool themselves today by thinking that God's judgment is not going to come, because it certainly will.  Verse ten adds, For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.  God said that even if the people of Judah were to have defeated all but a few of the army of the Chaldeans, that those who were left would rise up and defeat them.  We may think that we have defeated sin in our life today, but if we stray away from God and doing His will, then even the smallest sin will rise up again and defeat us.  Once more, this does not mean that we will lose our salvation, but we will certainly lose our effectiveness for God.