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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 3: In our last story, we witnessed the brutal downfall of Judah.
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  Speaker 3: King Nebuchadnezzar, armed with the entire Chaldean army, obliterated Judah
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  Speaker 3: and its defenses. Homes burned, captives were taken. and the
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  Speaker 3: temple was lost. The only glimmer of hope was in
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  Speaker 3: the words of Jeremiah from the Lord. God promised them
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  Speaker 3: a future and a hope in him. He promised that
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  Speaker 3: when the time came, he would rescue them. In this story,
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  Speaker 3: we learn about Jeremiah's interaction with King Zedekiah before the
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  Speaker 3: Chaldean onslaught. King Zedekiah held on to the vain hope
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  Speaker 3: that Judah could rise against King Nebuchadnezzar and his army's However,
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah assured him that it was the Lord's will that
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  Speaker 3: Judah fall, inspired by the books of Jeremiah, 2 Chronicles,
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  Speaker 3: and 2 Kings.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. Thank you so very much for
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  Speaker 4: joining us. In our previous episode, we heard how Judah
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  Speaker 4: was overtaken by the mighty Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. Despite
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  Speaker 4: warning after warning and calls to return to God, the
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  Speaker 4: people refused, so God sent the Babylonians in and they
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  Speaker 4: pillaged the nation, killing so many men and women and
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  Speaker 4: children and taking captive God's people. But God sent a
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  Speaker 4: word of hope, reminding them of his undying faithfulness and
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  Speaker 4: plans for them in the future. In today's reading, we
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  Speaker 4: go back a bit in time before the fall of
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  Speaker 4: Judah when Zedekiah ruled. The Chaldeans were coming, and Judah
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  Speaker 4: would soon be devastated. Zedekiah held out hope for victory,
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  Speaker 4: but as Jeremiah revealed to him, God's will was being done,
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  Speaker 4: and nothing could prevent it. Let's hear now from God's Word.
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  Speaker 3: King Nebuchadnezzar was breathing down the back of Jerusalem. The
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  Speaker 3: first raid on the temple was nothing compared to what
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  Speaker 3: was about to come. King Jehoiakim was taken to reside
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  Speaker 3: in Babylon and sit under the rule of the tyrant king.
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  Speaker 3: Pleased with the chaos, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah, the son
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  Speaker 3: of Josiah, as king over Judah. The king of Babylon
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  Speaker 3: had already begun his tirade against Judah. It would not
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  Speaker 3: stand much longer. However, Nebuchadnezzar desired for the kingdom to
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  Speaker 3: remain standing a little longer while he warred against Egypt
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  Speaker 3: and Assyria. Although Zedekiah bore the name of his father,
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  Speaker 3: he was nothing like him. He was prideful and filled
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  Speaker 3: with blind rage. He watched as King Nebuchadnezzar burned down homes, farms,
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  Speaker 3: and temples. He hated Nebuchadnezzar, yet felt powerless against him.
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  Speaker 3: Holding on to hope that Judah may be saved, Zedekiah
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  Speaker 3: sent word to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Please pray to
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  Speaker 3: God for our deliverance from Babylon. Jeremiah was among the people,
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  Speaker 3: doing his best to aid with medical attention and counsel.
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  Speaker 3: The first Babylonian raid was brutal, but nothing compared to
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  Speaker 3: what was to come. Jeremiah did his best to prepare
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  Speaker 3: the people for what was going to take place. He
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  Speaker 3: preached in the streets, helped men and women protect their children,
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  Speaker 3: and waited on the Lord. When the word from the
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  Speaker 3: king came, Jeremiah sought God's wisdom. The Lord spoke clearly
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  Speaker 3: and matter-of-factly. The Chaldeans are approaching and they will lay
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  Speaker 3: waste to the entire country. They will capture Jerusalem and
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  Speaker 3: it will erupt in flames. Do not give yourself false hope.
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  Speaker 3: You may think you can fight against them and win.
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  Speaker 3: You are wrong. To fight them would be grasping at air.
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  Speaker 3: Even if you slay them, the wounded will rise up
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  Speaker 3: and lay waste to the entire city. The word of
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  Speaker 3: God was sent as a response to King Zedekiah. They
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  Speaker 3: stung the king. They also stung Jeremiah, who did not
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  Speaker 3: want to see his city burn. However, he knew that
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  Speaker 3: this was the refining work of God. Zedekiah continued to
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  Speaker 3: rage against King Nebuchadnezzar. The Chaldeans were approaching, but were
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  Speaker 3: thwarted for a moment by the Egyptian army on the border.
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  Speaker 3: Judah held on to hope that Egypt may act as
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  Speaker 3: a wall between them and the massive army. As this
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  Speaker 3: was taking place, Jeremiah traveled down to the land of Benjamin.
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  Speaker 3: When he was at the gate, the sentry named Erijah
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  Speaker 3: stopped him.' Halt!' he yelled. The guard peered down at Jeremiah.
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  Speaker 3: His face was hard as stone. You are clearly going
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  Speaker 3: down to join the Chaldean army, he accused. Jeremiah scoffed
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  Speaker 3: at the notion. Of course not. What a stupid lie.
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  Speaker 3: Erijah's fist hooked upward and landed directly in Jeremiah's belly.
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  Speaker 3: He fell to the ground, gasping for air. The stone-like
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  Speaker 3: guard took ropes and bound Jeremiah. He brought him to
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  Speaker 3: his feet and escorted him to the palace officials. In
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  Speaker 3: the palace courtroom, Jeremiah was berated by the judges and
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  Speaker 3: sentenced to a beating and imprisonment. Large men approached him.
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  Speaker 3: With his hands still behind his back, Jeremiah received the
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  Speaker 3: countless blows from the palace guards. His ribs cracked and
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  Speaker 3: his face swelled from the impact of clubs. After a
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  Speaker 3: barrage of punches, the prophet was thrown into a prison cell.
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  Speaker 3: There he lay on the cold, damp floor, praying to God.
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  Speaker 3: He could not see from the swelling, and it hurt
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  Speaker 3: to breathe. Yet he knew that this was still nothing
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  Speaker 3: compared to what was about to come. Many days had passed.
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  Speaker 3: and Jeremiah was regaining use of his eyes and body.
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  Speaker 3: One morning, Jeremiah's cell door opened. A bright light shone through.
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  Speaker 3: It was blinding. For a moment, he thought it might
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  Speaker 3: be an angel of the Lord to rescue him. Upon
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  Speaker 3: further inspection, it was just a palace guard coming to
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  Speaker 3: fetch him. Jeremiah had not seen daylight in a very
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  Speaker 3: long time. The prophet was escorted into the throne room
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  Speaker 3: of King Zedekiah. Jeremiah inspected the king's eyes. They were
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  Speaker 3: weary from battling against the Chaldeans and Babylonians. Jeremiah could
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  Speaker 3: sense the growing rage inside him. Is there a word
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  Speaker 3: from the Lord regarding the future of Judah? the king
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  Speaker 3: asked impassively. There was a pause as Jeremiah scanned the room.
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  Speaker 3: Guards surrounded him, clubs in hand. He knew they would
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  Speaker 3: be angry at a bad word. There is, Jeremiah replied.
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  Speaker 3: You and the entire country will be delivered into the
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  Speaker 3: hand of King Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah rose from his throne with
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  Speaker 3: force and stormed towards Jeremiah, yet he continued to speak.
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  Speaker 3: What crime have I committed to be put in your dungeon?
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  Speaker 3: Jeremiah yelled. Was it a good report you wanted? You
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  Speaker 3: are surrounded by false prophets tickling your ears with good news.
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  Speaker 3: I simply tell the truth. Now please, do not send
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  Speaker 3: me back into that prison. I will surely die if
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  Speaker 3: you do. The king ceased his attack against Jeremiah. He
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  Speaker 3: relented and had the guards escort him to the courthouse.
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  Speaker 3: He remained under careful watch by the guards. No more
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  Speaker 3: beatings were given to him, and he was allotted one
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  Speaker 3: loaf of bread a day. However, the bread would soon
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  Speaker 3: run out, for all of Judah was going to be
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  Speaker 3: ripped out from its foundation and taken by the forceful
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  Speaker 3: hand of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 5: Today's reading begins after the first attack of the Babylonians
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  Speaker 5: against Judah.
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  Speaker 4: The nation had already fallen to the foreign conqueror Nebuchadnezzar,
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  Speaker 4: and Jehoiakim had been sent away into exile into Babylon.
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  Speaker 4: Devastation and death came upon Judah as God's hand of
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  Speaker 4: judgment finally came down on the people. but things were
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  Speaker 4: going to get much worse. Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah, the nephew
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  Speaker 4: of Jehoiakim, in the position of ruler. Zedekiah was not
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  Speaker 4: righteous like Josiah had been. Still, God continued to speak
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  Speaker 4: through Jeremiah, calling the people and the king to repent
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  Speaker 4: and to return. Jeremiah 37.2 reveals Zedekiah's response. Neither he,
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  Speaker 4: nor his servants, nor the people of the land listened
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  Speaker 4: to the words of the Lord that he spoke through
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  Speaker 4: Jeremiah the prophet. Zedekiah hated Nebuchadnezzar and what Babylon was
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  Speaker 4: doing to Judah. But this was not righteous anger. It
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  Speaker 4: wasn't zeal for the Lord that made Zedekiah so indignant.
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  Speaker 4: It was his pride, the sense of being put to
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  Speaker 4: shame by the enemy. Yet despite all his rage, he
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  Speaker 4: knew he had no power to fight back. So he
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  Speaker 4: summoned Jeremiah and asked him to contend for Judah with God.
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  Speaker 4: This was not a matter of Zedekiah honoring God. He
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  Speaker 4: was only looking for someone to grant his desires, to
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  Speaker 4: give him what he wanted. As absurd as this attitude seems,
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  Speaker 4: how often are our prayers selfish? We want God to
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  Speaker 4: do what we want him to do. But prayer is
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  Speaker 4: not changing God's mind. Prayer is finding God's mind. When
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  Speaker 4: our motives are not right, our hearts are misguided, and
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  Speaker 4: we are self-seeking, God will not answer those prayers. Such
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  Speaker 4: was the case with Zedekiah. But God had a purpose,
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  Speaker 4: and it wasn't to appease the ego of this stubborn king.
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  Speaker 4: When the king's request came to Jeremiah, he went to God,
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  Speaker 4: likely knowing the answer would not be favorable. And it wasn't.
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  Speaker 4: God told Jeremiah that the Chaldeans were coming. The onslaught
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  Speaker 4: of their army would set the city ablaze. They were
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  Speaker 4: a force that would not, could not be stopped. This
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  Speaker 4: is not, of course, what Zedekiah wanted to hear. He
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  Speaker 4: wanted happy news, better news. He wanted to hear that
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  Speaker 4: Judah stood a chance, that they could fight off the
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  Speaker 4: enemy and emerge victorious. But victory was not to come.
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  Speaker 4: The Chaldeans were, and they would bring disaster, pain, and
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  Speaker 4: suffering to Judah. The news gave Jeremiah no joy, but
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  Speaker 4: he understood that this was how God was going to
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  Speaker 4: refine his people. In the end, The pain would be
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  Speaker 4: worth it if God brought his people back to himself.
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  Speaker 4: So Jeremiah continued his ministry. As he traveled to Benjamin,
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  Speaker 4: Jeremiah was accused of trying to desert to the enemy's side.
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  Speaker 4: It was an absurd accusation, but still it landed him
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  Speaker 4: in prison where he received beatings after beatings until one
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  Speaker 4: day Zedekiah summoned him again. The king wanted good news,
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  Speaker 4: but still Jeremiah had no good news. How could there
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  Speaker 4: be good news if the people refused to repent? So
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  Speaker 4: once more, Jeremiah spoke God's words, this time telling the
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  Speaker 4: king the entire nation would fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 4: The truth is, there's no stopping the will of God,
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  Speaker 4: nor the judgment of God when it comes. Jeremiah knew this,
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  Speaker 4: and finally Zedekiah seemed to resign himself to this as well.
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  Speaker 4: The immediate future was grim for Judah. But as Jeremiah
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  Speaker 4: would later remind the people in exile, God's plans were
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  Speaker 4: to give his people a hope and a future. That's
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  Speaker 4: Jeremiah 29 and verse 11. Jeremiah continued to serve the
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  Speaker 4: Lord with courage and conviction. And though he wasn't immune
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  Speaker 4: from suffering or pain or many tears, God would protect
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  Speaker 4: him for his own purposes. And the next time, we'll
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  Speaker 4: hear how God once more protected his prophet. Dear God,
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  Speaker 4: we know that you are an awesome and mighty God,
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  Speaker 4: that your plans and purposes are always fulfilled. So may
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  Speaker 4: we in our prayers and in our purposes align ourselves
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  Speaker 4: with you. May we commit ourselves to knowing and doing
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  Speaker 4: what you want and not just what we want to hear.
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  Speaker 4: May we be courageous always and speak your word and
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  Speaker 4: speak your truth and live bravely in our world, whatever
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  Speaker 4: the cost.
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  Speaker 3: Amen.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the
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  Speaker 4: people's lives. And let me encourage you, if you want
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  Speaker 4: to know more about God's power and how to live
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  Speaker 4: the Christian life, how to know God's Word, visit me
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  Speaker 4: at jackgram.org. jackgram.org for resources as to how you can
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  Speaker 4: live a victorious Christian life. God bless you.