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Grasping at Air - The Books of Jeremiah, 2 Chronicles, & 2 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Then Zedekiah the king sent and took
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  Speaker 1: him out. And the king asked him secretly in his
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  Speaker 1: house and said, Is there any word from the Lord?
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  Speaker 1: And Jeremiah said, There is. For he said, Thou shalt
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  Speaker 1: be delivered unto the hand of the king of Babylon.
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  Speaker 1: Jeremiah 37.17 When life deals me hard blows, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: left on my knees gasping at air. Like Jeremiah, I
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  Speaker 1: will remember your empowering words of wisdom found in the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: In the face of adversity, I will not relent so
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  Speaker 1: that I can appease the itching ears of those wanting
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  Speaker 1: me to cower underneath the weight of their criticism. When
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  Speaker 1: these moments arise, I will hold my head up and
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  Speaker 1: look up to the heavens where my help comes from.
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  Speaker 1: I will not place my hope in man. Instead, I
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  Speaker 1: will put my trust in the Creator of heaven and earth.
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  Speaker 1: Strengthen my stance. Season my words. Let my life serve
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  Speaker 1: as a conduit for your glory. I will not back
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  Speaker 1: down from doing and saying what is right. even if
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  Speaker 1: it means I lose favor with others. Because I'd rather
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  Speaker 1: have the favor of God on and over my life
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  Speaker 1: than the temporary favor of man. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: GRASPING AT AIR In our last story, we witnessed the
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  Speaker 2: brutal downfall of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar, armed with the entire
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  Speaker 2: Chaldean army, obliterated Judah and its defenses. Homes burned, captives
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  Speaker 2: were taken, and the temple was lost. The only glimmer
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  Speaker 2: of hope was in the words of Jeremiah from the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: God promised them a future and a hope in him.
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  Speaker 2: He promised that when the time came, he would rescue them.
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  Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about Jeremiah's interaction with King
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  Speaker 2: Zedekiah before the Chaldean onslaught. King Zedekiah held on to
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  Speaker 2: the vain hope that Judah could rise against King Nebuchadnezzar
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  Speaker 2: and his armies. However, Jeremiah assured him that it was
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  Speaker 2: the Lord's will that Judah falls. Inspired by the books
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  Speaker 2: of Jeremiah, 2 Chronicles, and 2 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. Thank you so very much for
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  Speaker 3: joining us. In our previous episode, we heard how Judah
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  Speaker 3: was overtaken by the mighty Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. Despite
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  Speaker 3: warning after warning and calls to return to God, the
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  Speaker 3: people refused. So God sent the Babylonians in and they
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  Speaker 3: pillaged the nation, killing so many men and women and
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  Speaker 3: children and taking captive God's people. But God sent a
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  Speaker 3: word of hope, reminding them of his undying faithfulness and
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  Speaker 3: plans for them in the future. In today's reading, we
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  Speaker 3: go back a bit in time before the fall of
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  Speaker 3: Judah when Zedekiah ruled. The Chaldeans were coming and Judah
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  Speaker 3: would soon be devastated. Zedekiah held out hope for victory.
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  Speaker 3: But as Jeremiah revealed to him, God's will was being
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  Speaker 3: done and nothing could prevent it. Let's hear now from
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  Speaker 3: God's word.
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  Speaker 2: King Nebuchadnezzar was breathing down the back of Jerusalem. The
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  Speaker 2: first raid on the temple was nothing compared to what
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  Speaker 2: was about to come. King Jehoiakim was taken to reside
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  Speaker 2: in Babylon and sit under the rule of the tyrant king.
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  Speaker 2: Pleased with the chaos, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah, the son
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  Speaker 2: of Josiah, as king over Judah. The king of Babylon
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  Speaker 2: had already begun his tirade against Judah. It would not
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  Speaker 2: stand much longer. However, Nebuchadnezzar desired for the kingdom to
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  Speaker 2: remain standing a little longer while he warred against Egypt
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  Speaker 2: and Assyria. Although Zedekiah bore the name of his father,
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  Speaker 2: he was nothing like him. He was prideful and filled
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  Speaker 2: with blind rage. He watched as King Nebuchadnezzar burned down homes, farms,
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  Speaker 2: and temples. He hated Nebuchadnezzar, yet felt powerless against him.
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  Speaker 2: Holding on to hope that Judah may be saved, Zedekiah
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  Speaker 2: sent word to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Please pray to
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  Speaker 2: God for our deliverance from Babylon. Jeremiah was among the people,
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  Speaker 2: doing his best to aid with medical attention and counsel.
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  Speaker 2: The first Babylonian raid was brutal, but nothing compared to
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  Speaker 2: what was to come. Jeremiah did his best to prepare
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  Speaker 2: the people for what was going to take place. He
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  Speaker 2: preached in the streets, helped men and women protect their children,
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  Speaker 2: and waited on the Lord. When the word from the
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  Speaker 2: king came, Jeremiah sought God's wisdom. The Lord spoke clearly
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  Speaker 2: and matter-of-factly. The Chaldeans are approaching and they will lay
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  Speaker 2: waste to the entire country. They will capture Jerusalem and
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  Speaker 2: it will erupt in flames. Do not give yourself false hope.
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  Speaker 2: You may think you can fight against them and win.
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  Speaker 3: You are wrong.
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  Speaker 2: To fight them would be grasping at air. Even if
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  Speaker 2: you slay them, the wounded will rise up and lay
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  Speaker 2: waste to the entire city. The word of God was
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  Speaker 2: sent as a response to King Zedekiah. They stung the king.
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  Speaker 2: They also stung Jeremiah, who did not want to see
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  Speaker 2: his city burn. However, he knew that this was the
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  Speaker 2: refining work of God. Zedekiah continued to rage against King Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 2: The Chaldeans were approaching, but were thwarted for a moment
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  Speaker 2: by the Egyptian army on the border. Judah held on
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  Speaker 2: to hope that Egypt may act as a wall between
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  Speaker 2: them and the massive army. As this was taking place,
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah traveled down to the land of Benjamin. When he
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  Speaker 2: was at the gate, the sentry named Erijah stopped him.
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  Speaker 3: Halt!
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  Speaker 2: he yelled. The guard peered down at Jeremiah. His face
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  Speaker 2: was hard as stone. You are clearly going down to
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  Speaker 2: join the Chaldean army, he accused. Jeremiah scoffed at the notion.
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  Speaker 2: Of course not. What a stupid lie. Erijah's fist hooked
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  Speaker 2: upward and landed directly in Jeremiah's belly. He fell to
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  Speaker 2: the ground, gasping for air. The stone-like guard took ropes
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  Speaker 2: and bound Jeremiah. He brought him to his feet and
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  Speaker 2: escorted him to the palace officials. In the palace courtroom,
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah was berated by the judges and sentenced to a
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  Speaker 2: beating and imprisonment. Large men approached him. With his hand
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  Speaker 2: still behind his back, Jeremiah received the countless blows from
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  Speaker 2: the palace guards. His ribs cracked and his face swelled
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  Speaker 2: from the impact of clubs. After a barrage of punches,
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  Speaker 2: the prophet was thrown into a prison cell. There he
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  Speaker 2: lay on the cold, damp floor, praying to God. He
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  Speaker 2: could not see from the swelling, and it hurt to breathe.
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  Speaker 2: Yet he knew that this was still nothing compared to
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  Speaker 2: what was about to come. Many days had passed. and
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah was regaining use of his eyes and body. One morning,
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah's cell door opened. A bright light shone through. It
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  Speaker 2: was blinding. For a moment, he thought it might be
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  Speaker 2: an angel of the Lord to rescue him. Upon further inspection,
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  Speaker 2: it was just a palace guard coming to fetch him.
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah had not seen daylight in a very long time.
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  Speaker 2: The prophet was escorted into the throne room of King Zedekiah.
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah inspected the king's eyes. They were weary from battling
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  Speaker 2: against the Chaldeans and Babylonians. Jeremiah could sense the growing
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  Speaker 2: rage inside him. Is there a word from the Lord
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  Speaker 2: regarding the future of Judah? the king asked impassively. There
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  Speaker 2: was a pause as Jeremiah scanned the room. Guards surrounded him,
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  Speaker 2: clubs in hand. He knew they would be angry at
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  Speaker 2: a bad word. There is, Jeremiah replied. You and the
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  Speaker 2: entire country will be delivered into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 2: Zedekiah rose from his throne with force and stormed towards Jeremiah,
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  Speaker 2: yet he continued to speak. What crime have I committed
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  Speaker 2: to be put in your dungeon? Jeremiah yelled. Was it
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  Speaker 2: a good report you wanted? You are surrounded by false
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  Speaker 2: prophets tickling your ears with good news. I simply tell
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  Speaker 2: the truth. Now please, do not send me back into
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  Speaker 2: that prison. I will surely die if you do. The
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  Speaker 2: king ceased his attack against Jeremiah. He relented and had
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  Speaker 2: the guards escort him to the courthouse. He remained under
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  Speaker 2: careful watch by the guards. No more beatings were given
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  Speaker 2: to him, and he was allotted one loaf of bread
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  Speaker 2: a day. However, the bread would soon run out, for
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  Speaker 2: all of Judah was going to be ripped out from
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  Speaker 2: its foundation and taken by the forceful hand of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 3: Today's reading begins after the first attack of the Babylonians
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  Speaker 3: against Judah. The nation had already fallen to the foreign
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  Speaker 3: conqueror Nebuchadnezzar, and Jehoiakim had been sent away into exile
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  Speaker 3: into Babylon. Devastation and death came upon Judah as God's
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  Speaker 3: hand of judgment finally came down on the people. But
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  Speaker 3: things were going to get much worse. Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah,
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  Speaker 3: the nephew of Jehoiakim, in the position of ruler. Zedekiah
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  Speaker 3: was not righteous like Josiah had been. Still, God continued
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  Speaker 3: to speak through Jeremiah, calling the people and the king
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  Speaker 3: to repent and to return. Jeremiah 37.2 reveals Zedekiah's response.
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  Speaker 3: Neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the
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  Speaker 3: land listened to the words of the Lord that he
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  Speaker 3: spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. Zedekiah hated Nebuchadnezzar and what
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  Speaker 3: Babylon was doing to Judah. But this was not righteous anger.
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  Speaker 3: It wasn't zeal for the Lord that made Zedekiah so indignant.
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  Speaker 3: It was his pride, the sense of being put to
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  Speaker 3: shame by the enemy. Yet despite all his rage, he
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  Speaker 3: knew he had no power to fight back. So he
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  Speaker 3: summoned Jeremiah and asked him to contend for Judah with God.
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  Speaker 3: This was not a matter of Zedekiah honoring God. He
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  Speaker 3: was only looking for someone to grant his desires, to
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  Speaker 3: give him what he wanted. As absurd as this attitude seems,
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  Speaker 3: how often are our prayers selfish? We want God to
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  Speaker 3: do what we want him to do. But prayer is
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  Speaker 3: not changing God's mind. Prayer is finding God's mind. When
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  Speaker 3: our motives are not right, our hearts are misguided, and
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  Speaker 3: we are self-seeking, God will not answer those prayers. Such
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  Speaker 3: was the case with Zedekiah. But God had a purpose,
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  Speaker 3: and it wasn't to appease the ego of this stubborn king.
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  Speaker 3: When the king's request came to Jeremiah, he went to God,
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  Speaker 3: likely knowing the answer would not be favorable. And it wasn't.
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  Speaker 3: God told Jeremiah that the Chaldeans were coming. The onslaught
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  Speaker 3: of their army would set the city ablaze. They were
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  Speaker 3: a force that would not, could not be stopped. This
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  Speaker 3: is not, of course, what Zedekiah wanted to hear. He
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  Speaker 3: wanted happy news, better news. He wanted to hear that
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  Speaker 3: Judah stood a chance, that they could fight off the
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  Speaker 3: enemy and emerge victorious. But victory was not to come.
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  Speaker 3: The Chaldeans were, and they would bring disaster, pain, and
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  Speaker 3: suffering to Judah. The news gave Jeremiah no joy, but
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  Speaker 3: he understood that this was how God was going to
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  Speaker 3: refine his people. In the end, The pain would be
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  Speaker 3: worth it if God brought his people back to himself.
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  Speaker 3: So Jeremiah continued his ministry. As he traveled to Benjamin,
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah was accused of trying to desert to the enemy's side.
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  Speaker 3: It was an absurd accusation, but still it landed him
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  Speaker 3: in prison where he received beatings after beatings until one
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  Speaker 3: day Zedekiah summoned him again. The king wanted good news,
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  Speaker 3: but still Jeremiah had no good news. How could there
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  Speaker 3: be good news if the people refused to repent? So
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  Speaker 3: once more, Jeremiah spoke God's words, this time telling the
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  Speaker 3: king the entire nation would fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 3: The truth is, there's no stopping the will of God,
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  Speaker 3: nor the judgment of God when it comes. Jeremiah knew this,
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  Speaker 3: and finally Zedekiah seemed to resign himself to this as well.
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  Speaker 3: The immediate future was grim for Judah. But as Jeremiah
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  Speaker 3: would later remind the people in exile, God's plans were
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  Speaker 3: to give his people a hope and a future. That's
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah 29 and verse 11. Jeremiah continued to serve the
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  Speaker 3: Lord with courage and conviction. And though he wasn't immune
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  Speaker 3: from suffering or pain or many tears, God would protect
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  Speaker 3: him for his own purposes. And the next time, we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear how God once more protected his prophet. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: we know that you are an awesome and mighty God,
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  Speaker 3: that your plans and purposes are always fulfilled. So may
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  Speaker 3: we in our prayers and in our purposes align ourselves
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  Speaker 3: with you. May we commit ourselves to knowing and doing
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  Speaker 3: what you want and not just what we want to hear.
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  Speaker 3: May we be courageous always and speak your word and
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  Speaker 3: speak your truth and live bravely in our world, whatever
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  Speaker 3: the cost. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: and prayer a priority in your life. And if you
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  Speaker 3: know and love because sharing the Word of God makes
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  Speaker 3: a powerful difference in people's lives. And let me encourage you,
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  Speaker 3: if you want to know more about God's power and
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  Speaker 3: how to live the Christian life, how to know God's Word,
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  Speaker 3: visit me at jackgram.org. jackgram.org for resources as to how
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  Speaker 3: you can live a victorious Christian life. God bless you.