Jeremiah 38:14 says, Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. Zedekiah once more sent for Jeremiah and told him that he would ask him one thing. He met Jeremiah in what Matthew Henry said would have been the main entrance to the house of the LORD. Verse fifteen asks, Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? Jeremiah asked if he told Zedekiah what God had to say would Zedekiah not then kill him. Jeremiah did not say that he would change what God had to say though. Even if we were to knew that the outcome was to be death, we cannot change the word of God simply to avoid it. Verse sixteen states, So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: Zedekiah took an oath to God that he would not kill Jeremiah nor give him over to those who sought to kill him. Verse seventeen declares, Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: Jeremiah told Zedekiah that if he would surrender to the princes of Babylon that his life would be spared and the city of Jerusalem would not be burned. I believe this would have required a lot of humility on the part of Zedekiah, and we today as followers of Christ will have to swallow our self pride in order to be saved. We cannot save ourselves, but can only be saved by surrendering to Jesus Christ by faith. Verse eighteen adds, But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. Jeremiah told Zedekiah that if he did not surrender then the city would be burned and he would not escape from the Babylonians. Likewise, if a person continues to refuse to surrender to God today, he or she will not escape everlasting punishment. Verse nineteen says, And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. Zedekiah said that he was afraid of the Jews that had already been taken captive by the Chaldeans and that they would ridicule him. He was more concerned about how he would appear to others than he was about how he appeared to God. Many people today are reluctant to come to Christ because of how they think others will view them. Verse twenty states, But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. Jeremiah told Zedekiah to not worry about being delivered up by others, but instead to listen to the word of God so that things would be well with him and he should live. This is the choice every person faces today, whether we will listen to the world or to God. Verse twenty-one adds, But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath showed me: There was a warning to Zedekiah if he did not obey God, just as there is a warning to those today who will not accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Verse twenty-two declares, And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. Jeremiah said that if the king did not listen to God, then even the women would blame him for the captivity and destruction. Verse twenty-three adds, So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. Jeremiah told Zedekiah if he didn't surrender that all the women and children would be taken captive and the city would be burned. Zedekiah had a choice of listening to God or facing defeat and destruction for the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Verse twenty four states, Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. Zedekiah then told Jeremiah to not tell anyone what they had discussed and what God had said and then he would not die. Verse twenty-five adds, But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: Verse twenty-six continues, Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there. Zedekiah told Jeremiah that if the princes questioned him to tell them that he had come to the king asking Zedekiah to not return Jeremiah to the Jonathan's house to die. It would seem that the king was more worried about the princes, who should have been under his authority, than he was about God. We should never let the fear of what others may do or say keep us from believing. obeying and proclaiming God's word. Verse twenty-seven says, Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. When the princes came and asked Jeremiah what Zedekiah and he had talked about, he told them what the king had asked him to say. Matthew Henry says that this was not a lie, but that it wasn't telling the whole reason that Jeremiah was there. Verse twenty-eight declares, So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken. Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until Jerusalem fell. It was a better place than he had been recently. We may not always escape being punished by the powers of the world, but if we are followers of Christ we know that ultimately we will be set free.
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