Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20040808.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSING IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part LXIV: Blessing By Consistently Heeding Scripture
(2 Kings 24:8, 17-25:10; 2 Chronicles 36:11-21; Jeremiah 34; 37-39)
  1. Introduction
    1. At Nepaug Bible Church, we believe in heeding Scripture for God's blessing in our lives.
    2. Yet, we must heed it CONSISTENTLY as 2 Timothy 4:2b shows is needed in order to be blessed of God!
    3. This lesson is illustrated from the life of Zedekiah, Judah's last king (as follows):
  2. Blessing By Consistently Heeding Scripture, 2 Kings 24:8, 17-25:10; 2 Chr. 36:11-21; Jer. 34, 37-39.
    1. When the Babylon king captured Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:12), he made his uncle, Mattaniah king and changed his name to Zedekiah to show his dominance over him, 2 Kings 24:17; B.K.C., O.T., p. 585, 586.
    2. Zedekiah did evil in God's eyes (2 Kings 24:18-19 with 2 Kings 23:36-37); also, out of fear and possibly other motives, he was ERRATIC in his attempts to heed God, so he was judged to suffer a tragic end:
      1. Zedekiah failed to humble himself to heed the words of God's prophet, Jeremiah, 2 Chr. 36:11-12.
      2. Jeremiah 37, 38 and 34 describe in detail how Zedekiah thus failed in vascillating between acting like he intended to heed God's Word only repeatedly to fail to carry through with it (as follows):
        1. Though he did not heed Jeremiah's word, Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to pray to God and for a word from God on how to handle an initial Babylonian seige against Jerusalem that had come in response to his turning to Egypt for help against Babylon, Jer. 37:1-2, 3; Ibid., p. 586 and 2 Kings 24:20.
        2. Jeremiah predicted the Egyptians who had come to help Judah would flee before the returning Babylonians, that Babylon would then destroy Jerusalem, Jeremiah 37:6-10. This prediction was one of judgment, for, while under this first seige, in an effort to get God to help them, Zedekiah and Judah had covenanted to release their Hebrew slaves held longer than God's allowed 7 years only to reverse this stand once Babylon retreated, Jer. 34:8-11; Ibid., p. 1178. Jeremiah thus predicted their holding these slaves in violation of God's Law (Jer. 34:13-16; Ex. 21:2) would be met with divine judgment, the judgment of being killed by the coming invasion of the Babylonians, Jer. 34:17-22.
        3. When Egypt then withdrew before the returning Babylonians, Jeremiah left the city to do business in the nearby Benjamin only to be captured and charged for trying to travel to Babylon, Jer. 37:11-14.
        4. Though Jeremiah denied this false charge, he was beaten and imprisoned, but Zedekiah secretly used this contact with him to ask Jeremiah if there was any word from God for him, Jer. 37:15-17b!
        5. Jeremiah responded that Zedekiah would be taken captive and die in Babylon, and Zedekiah moved Jeremiah into a decent court where he could be protected from the other officials, Jer. 37:17c-21.
        6. Yet, the other princes despised Jeremiah's continued call to surrender to Babylon to escape death, so they asked Zedekiah for permission to kill him, Jer. 38:1-4. Fearing these princes might otherwise kill him, Zedekiah let them put Jeremiah into a dungeon where he nearly died, Jer. 38:5-6, 9. Only at the urging of Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch did Zedekiah order Jeremiah released, 38:7-13.
        7. Then, after rescuing Jeremiah at Ebed-melech's request, Zedekiah again asked Jeremiah for God's word on what would happen; Jeremiah responded to say that Zedekiah would be saved if he surrendered to Babylon; if he did not, he would be mistreated and Jerusalem destroyed, 38:14-18.
      3. In the end, Zedekiah chose not to heed Jeremiah's bidding to surrender to Babylon: he fled from the Babylonian army, was subsequently captured, and saw his sons slain before him before his eyes were put out and he was taken off to Babylon to die a crushed, defeated man, 2 Kings 25:1-7.
    3. However, for heeding God's Word consistently, opposite Zedekiah's fate, Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian eunuch of king Zedekiah and God's prophet, Jeremiah experienced no harm in the Babylonian invasion:
      1. Ebed-melech was unharmed for his trust in God as seen in his call for Jeremiah's release, Jer. 39:15-18.
      2. For doing God's will, Jeremiah was not only unharmed, but released to go where he wished, 39:11-14.
Lesson: For only TOYING with heeding the Word of God only eventually NOT to do so, Zedekiah was destined for a tragic end; in CONTRAST, for CONSISTENTLY heeding the Lord's Word, the Ethiopian eunuch, Ebed-melech and Jeremiah enjoyed safety from harm in the Babylonian invasion.

Application: May we not DABBLE or TOY with heeding Scripture as did the hapless Zedekiah, but CONSISTENTLY obey the Lord with a whole-heart that we might enjoy His blessing, cf. Joshua 1:6-7.