He
was like a pestering mosquito, always buzzing around. At least that was the way King Zedekiah felt
at times. He came again and again,
saying the same old thing. All the other
prophets said that the city would not be taken.
They said that there would be peace, yet this guy kept saying that
everyone would be killed by sword, famine or pestilence. Well the Chaldeans broke off their siege and left
so that proves all the other prophets true.
The princes threw him into the dungeon so maybe he has changed his
tune. Maybe now he will give a good word
from the Lord.
“When Jeremiah had come into the
cells in the dungeon and had remained there many days,
Zedekiah the king sent and brought
him out; and the king asked him secretly in his hours. Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is! And he said also, You shall be delivered into
the hand of the king of Babylon.
Moreover, Jeremiah said to King
Zedekiah, In what have I sinned against you or against your servants or against
this people, that you have put me in prison?
Where not are your prophets who
prophesied to you, saying, the King of Babylon
shall not come against you or against this land?
Therefore hear now, I pray you, O my
lord and king, let my supplication, I pray you, come before you and be
acceptable, that you do not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the
scribe (literally
“the house of the cistern.” or dungeon) lest I die there.
Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and
they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard…so Jeremiah remained
(imprisoned) in the court of the guard.” Jeremiah 37:16-21 AMP
Maybe
it was on King Zedekiah’s mind that he better not harm the prophet, after all
he was supposed to be a spokesman for God.
It could be that since the siege of Jerusalem was over and the Chaldeans fled for
fear of Pharaoh’s approaching army Zedekiah was feeling generous. In any case, Zedekiah had mercy on Jeremiah
when he made his plea to not have to return to the dungeon. Yet he did not set Jeremiah free. He put him in the guard house (prison) and
basically gave him bread and water rations.
Zedekiah’s mercy was conditional.
It extended as far as his current resources, circumstances and opinions
of the princes under him.
Man’s
mercy is situational, therefore it is incomplete.
God’s
mercy is not situational; it is not dependant on the circumstances around us or
upon any effort we make but rather is given freely because of His great love
for us. Therefore it is complete,
enacted by the death and resurrection of Christ.
“But God—so rich is He in His mercy!
Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love
with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by [our own]
shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in
union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new
life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy
which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made
partakers of Christ’s salvation).” Ephesians 2:4-5 AMP
There
are no “half measures” with God. His
mercy is complete and nothing man does can affect it. Our sin does not negate His mercy. In fact because of His mercy sin no longer
has a hold on us:
“For sin shall not [any longer] exert
dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace
[as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].” Romans 6:14 AMP
How
complete IS God’s mercy? We received it
after we sinned (hurt and offended God by our sinful attitudes and actions) so
what should we do when we are hurt and offended by others? Jesus was very clear on this and shared a
parable to illustrate what we are to do (Matthew 18:23-35).
“And should you not have had pity and
mercy on your fellow attendant, as I had pity and mercy on you?” Matthew
18:33 AMP
When
we forgive those who hurt and offend us then we are showing God how much we
love Him, by extending the power of His mercy to others. This puts me in mind of the old saying, “You
can collect more flies with honey than vinegar.” What kind of witness would we be for the Lord
if we returned hurt for hurt? If you are
like me, you struggle with forgiving when someone hurts you. I found that I cannot forgive unless I tap
into that love God showed me when He forgave me. I pray something like this:
“Heavenly
Father, fill me with Your love for (put the name of the person who
hurt you here) and help me to
show that love to (_____) by forgiving him/her with the same mercy You forgave
me with. In Jesus’ Name I ask this,
Amen.”
In
this age of increasing lawlessness why not do what the world would not do,
forgive.
