Jeremiah 34-38
Fearing Man
is Fatal

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Psalm 89:1-52 Searching for the Davidic Covenant

I Will Sing of His Love Forever
1 A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
 with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
 in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”

3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
 I have sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
 and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
 your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
 Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
 and awesome above all who are around him?
8 O LORD God of hosts,
 who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
 with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
 when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
 you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
 the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12 The north and the south, you have created them;
 Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
 strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
 steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
 who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day
 and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
 by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the LORD,
 our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
 “I have granted help to one who is mighty;
 I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found David, my servant;
 with my holy oil I have anointed him,
21 so that my hand shall be established with him;
 my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
 the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
 and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
 and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea
 and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
 my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the firstborn,
 the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
 and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his offspring forever
 and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
 and do not walk according to my rules,
31 if they violate my statutes
 and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
 and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
 or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
 or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
 I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever,
 his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,
 a faithful witness in the skies.”

Selah

38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
 you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
 you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have breached all his walls;
 you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
 he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
 you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
 and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
 and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
 you have covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
 How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is!
 For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 What man can live and never see death?
 Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
 which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
 and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O LORD,
 with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

52 Blessed be the LORD forever!
 → Amen and Amen.

Application

In times of distress, call to mind what God has promised, and call out to Him on the basis of those promises.

Prayer

Awesome, exalted God, thanks for the rich promises of exaltation You've given Your people. May we experience Your blessing so You may exalt us, and we may praise You. Amen.

Proverbs 21:14-16 Preventative and Corrective Action

14 A gift in secret averts anger,
 and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.
15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
 but terror to evildoers.
16 One who wanders from the way of good sense
 will rest in the assembly of the dead.

Application

Taking preventative and corrective action results in rejoicing rather than ruin.

Prayer

Lord, guide me in the ways that lead to peace and prosperity, so I will have no fears for the future. Thanks. Amen.

Jeremiah 34-38 Fearing Man is Fatal

In these chapters Jeremiah encounters heightened opposition and persecution as the king and princes reject God's warnings and promises. Jeremiah is falsely accused, imprisoned, beaten, and thrown into a cistern to die. Yet God rescues him, and has him repeat His offer of grace to the king.

Jeremiah 34 Burning Incense or Jerusalem

A Prophecy against Zedekiah
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’
4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the LORD.”
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained.
Freedom for Hebrew Slaves
8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.
12 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 13 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, 14 ‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.
15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name, 16 but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.
17 “Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you.
22 Behold, I will command, declares the LORD, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”

Application

God requires sustained obedience to experience His protection and prosperity.

Prayer

Lord, guide me in being purposeful in my actions, knowing that I will reap what I sow, and may I have a bumper crop of faithfulness, righteousness and justice. Thanks. Amen.

Jeremiah 35 Obeying without Wining

The Obedience of the Rechabites
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.”
3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold.
5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.”
6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’
8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.”
Judah Rebuked
12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the LORD.
14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me.
15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.
17 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.”
18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”

Application

Obedience requires self-denial, but has its rewards.

Prayer

Lord, may I have the strength of character to obey You more than any earthly authority, and reap Your protection and blessings. Amen.

Jeremiah 36 A Burning Scroll

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him.
5 And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am banned from going to the house of the LORD, 6 so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the LORD's house you shall read the words of the LORD from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities.
7 It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the LORD, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”
8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD's house.
9 In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD. 10 Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD's house.
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace
11 When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, 12 he went down to the king's house, into the secretary's chamber, and all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. 13 And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people.
14 Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” 18 Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”
Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
20 So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23 As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot.
24 Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. 25 Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.
29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?”
30 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Application

Those who seek to silence God's words or servants will suffer an ignoble fate.

Prayer

Lord, I know that Your word endures forever; may I respect it, and respond to it accordingly. Amen.

Jeremiah 37 Injustice Turned to Gain

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah
1 Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the LORD our God.”
4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. 13 When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”
14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.
16 When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days,
17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.”
21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

Application

While God lets his servants experience pain, He can turn the pain into blessing if the servants speak and act wisely and faithfully.

Prayer

God, thanks for the example of Your servants like Joseph, Job, Jeremiah, and Daniel, who suffered to do Your will, and how in Your hesed You protected them and in Your justice You blessed them; by Your grace, may I never shrink from danger or pain to do Your will. Amen.

Jeremiah 38 Fearing Man is Fatal

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern
1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the LORD: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the LORD: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.”
4 Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.”
6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
7 When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate— 8 Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.”
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.”
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

 “‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
 and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
 they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

Application

Fearing man rather than God is always fatal spiritually, and frequently physically.

Prayer

God, may I only fear displeasing or disobeying You, and never man, especially in proclaiming Your truth. Amen.

Digging Deeper

God in a nutshell: God displays incredible grace in offering to protect and spare those whom He disciplines. God allows His choice servant to suffer unjustly, but eventually delivers Him, and promises to punish the wicked. He can turn evil into good to benefit His servants. He will reward those who fear Him more than man, and punish those who fear man more than they fear Him. God uses appeals to human authorities to protect and bless His servants.

Us in a nutshell: We can stubbornly refuse to hear and obey God, and reap His judgment rather than blessing. This should sound sadly familiar by now. If we fear God more than man, God will protect us. If not, we'll wind up getting punished by God and man.

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