Day 654: Mercy in days of anger - Jeremiah 34 vs 1 - 11

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities:  2-5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord:  Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’  Yet hear the word of the  Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword.  You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”

6-7 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem,  when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained. 8-10 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterwards they turned round and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. Jeremiah 34:1-11 English Standard Version

An Old Testament prophet named Habakkuk foresaw the terrible situation Jeremiah described (in vs 1) when the ruthless Babylonians would invade Jerusalem. Habakkuk understood that the Israelites deserved the judgement coming upon them because they had so turned against God, but he was puzzled that God was using people even more wicked than the Jews to be His rod. And in Habakkuk 3:2 we read the lovely prayer he offered up for the nation. He prayed: “Lord, I have heard all about you. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.”

Can you see from what God said to Jeremiah in vs 2-5 how that prayer of Habakkuk could be applied to King Zedekiah?

When Jerusalem was finally overthrown by the Babylonians, Zedekiah's life would be spared and he would be exiled to Babylon where he would die in peace, and with the honour shown to a king. He was shown mercy in the day of God's anger with the nation. I wonder if it was partly because Zedekiah had shown a measure of respect for God's prophet. Not like another king who had cut up and burned all the written prophecies of Jeremiah. But perhaps it was also because of what Zedekiah caused to be done in vs 8-10.

Many years earlier God had told of the sort of humbling of heart and fasting that He looked for. He said: “The kind of fasting I want is to remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and to let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and don't refuse to help your own relatives. Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed.” (Isaiah 58:6-8)

Zedekiah was on the right track to find mercy in a time of God's anger. It's something that nations today, as well as we ourselves, should take to heart. Sadly, vs 11 describes how the people did not follow through the covenant Zedekiah made with them. May we rather be those who strive to keep commitments we have made to the Lord Jesus Christ.