Fear God or man?

August 19, 2008

I hope all of my readers have been keeping up with the daily readings. Though I did not talk about it yesterday, there was an important event in the life of Zedekiah in yesterday's reading. He called Jeremiah to him and asked what would happen. Jeremiah told him what the future would hold if he did not repent and return to God. He would be personally be seized by the King of Judah. Zedekiah was afraid of those whom had already surrendered to the Babylonians. For that reason only he would not do as Jeremiah warned him.

2 Kings 25:1-7 GNB
(1) Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, and so Nebuchadnezzar came with all his army and attacked Jerusalem on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign. They set up camp outside the city, built siege walls around it,
(2) and kept it under siege until Zedekiah's eleventh year.
(3) On the ninth day of the fourth month of that same year, when the famine was so bad that the people had nothing left to eat,
(4) the city walls were broken through. Although the Babylonians were surrounding the city, all the soldiers escaped during the night. They left by way of the royal garden, went through the gateway connecting the two walls, and fled in the direction of the Jordan Valley.
(5) But the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah, captured him in the plains near Jericho, and all his soldiers deserted him.
(6) Zedekiah was taken to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the city of Riblah, and there Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him.
(7) While Zedekiah was looking on, his sons were put to death; then Nebuchadnezzar had Zedekiah's eyes put out, placed him in chains, and took him to Babylon.


When God speaks through a Holy man of God, the man had better listen. Zedekiah was not in a good position in either circumstance, but if had learned to fear God and not man, I am sure that his fate of having the last thing seen before his eyes were plucked out was seeing his children killed. Always remember it is better to fear (or respect) God more that it is man.

Read through the Bible in historical order
Today
2 Kings 24:1-25:30, 2 Chronicles 36:1-23
Tomorrow
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
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