Day 294

Jeremiah 37:1–38:28; 1 Timothy 6:1-21; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 25:28

IN OUR READING from Jeremiah today, circumstances had gotten extremely dire in Jerusalem. They had also gotten very ominous for Jeremiah personally, as factions developed in the mayhem of a city being strangled by the Babylonian blockade. Only a wall protected Jerusalem from being overrun by the invading army, but within the walls, society was breaking down due to lack of food.

The prophets who foretold that calamity would never happen were obviously wrong. Jeremiah told King Zedekiah, “Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!” (Jeremiah 37:10).

In the deteriorating conditions within Jerusalem, fear and panic undermined power structures. For many, Jeremiah’s message of surrender made him a traitor. When Jeremiah attempted to leave the city, he was arrested and thrown into a dungeon. After King Zedekiah freed him, Jeremiah was held under house arrest in a courtyard —but was soon thrown into an empty well to die. Thankfully, Jeremiah was rescued from the well, and later, Zedekiah had a covert meeting with the prophet in the Temple, asking Jeremiah to give him the straight, unfiltered truth about their predicament.

Jeremiah responded, “If I tell you the truth, you will kill me. And if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway” (Jeremiah 38:15). In many ways, that statement is reflective of Jeremiah’s struggle as a prophet.

We can read stories like this and be intrigued by the history or appalled at the tragedy, but none of it had to happen. Jeremiah had been giving warnings for two decades, but no one listened. Their defenses fell when the wall came tumbling down, and one can only imagine the chaos and devastation as people tried to flee the storm of swinging swords.

All of this becomes personal when we consider our reading from Proverbs today: “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28).

According to the voice of wisdom, we are defenseless when we lose control of ourselves. If we needed a picture, we’ve seen it in Jeremiah. But, truth be told, we probably already know. Chaos, fear, panic, loss, and a host of other enemies come rushing through the breach with deadly intent when we lose self-control. It may look a little different for us than it did in the book of Jeremiah, but it is no less real.

Ironically, Jeremiah’s message of surrender still rings true. We may not be surrendering to the Babylonians, but we certainly must surrender to God. And when we do, the fruit of the Spirit begins to grow within us. One of those fruits is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Bible certainly reveals the outcomes of the paths we choose, and we see this in today’s reading. Fundamentally, the choice is between order and chaos, with self-control casting the deciding vote. Which path will you choose today?

MEDITATION:

Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.