WHICH KING ARE YOU?
Jeremiah 24
MESSAGE:
Then the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
v. 4
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU NEED TO MAKE A HARD DECISION and it seems that you don't really have a choice? If you choose option one, you will have to sacrifice and have a great loss. On the other hand, option two is risky and if you'll make one mistake you will lose just the same.
Two kings from the old testament can understand your predicament. They were given only two options and one end up being regarded as a bad fig while the other was as good fig.
What happened? Who are these kings? What are their options?
THE TWO KINGS:
- JEHOIACHIN, son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, became king at the age of eighteen and reigned in Jerusalem for three months. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father had done.
- ZEDEKIAH, Jehoiachin's uncle, was made to be king in place of Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar. He was twenty one years old when he became king and reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done.
THE TWO OPTIONS:
Because of the LORD's anger from their evil ways, the LORD sent Babylon against Judah and Jerusalem. Though they sinned against God, He still loves them and gave them a chance to live. He gave them two options.
In Jeremiah 21:8-9, the Lord says:
" See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives."
- Option1 : To stay in the city and die (the way of death).
- Option 2: To surrender to your enemy (Babylonians) and live (the way of life).
If you were in their shoes, what would you choose? If God has commanded you these things, what will your reactions be?
Imagine yourself to be either of these two kings. Your kingdom is being attacked by a great army of a powerful kingdom. You are given only two options. To surrender and live or to stay and die. You tried to consider both.
If you'll stay and fight, there's no guarantee you'll win. But if you'll win, you will be able to keep your position and possessions and you will also be regarded as a great king and a hero to your people. However, God already said that you will not win but will die. Will you accept and believe what God has said? Or will you think God is undermining your strength and power? Will you go continue to prepare for battle, count your fighting men and continue to believe that you have enough men to defeat the enemy?
Or maybe you believe and not doubt what God says. But are you willing to go out and leave your kingdom, your wealth, and position? Are you willing to give up everything you have and surrender to your enemy? Are you willing to accept defeat and lose your pride?
THE TWO BASKETS OF FIGS
Although both kings did evil in the eyes of the Lord and both deserves to die, one of them chose the way of life.
APPLICATION:
You see, God loves us so much that He has given us a warning so that what happened to Zedekiah and also to Jehoiachin and the entire Judah and Jerusalem will not happened to us.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
Zedekiah was captured and his sons were killed before his eyes. His eyes was put out and he was then taken to Babylon and was put in prison till the day of his death.
Jehoiachin was released from prison on the thirty-seventh year of the exile. He was treated kindly and was given a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings wo were with him in Babylon. He put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table (2 kings 25).
To the King of kings I lay down my crown and give glory!
Your sister through the blood of Christ,
Rizeru
Hello Rizeru,
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! And welcome to the world of blogging. Blogging will take you on a great adventure as you meet new Christians. There is a huge Christian blogging community. I'm having so much fun and learning alot about the Internet.
I love your post, how you weaved the lessons in the old testament to our lives in Christ. Thank you for such a thoughtful article. And thanks for becoming a follower of my blog. I also have a photography blog, where I often post photos with scripture on them at http://www.judysphotogallery.blogspot.com.
You may want to consider becoming a part of Spiritual Sundays, a wonderful blog whose sole purpose is to have Christian bloggers post their blog articles each week. It's a great way to meet new people and increase traffic to your blog. The URL is http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com. Well, take care. Hope to speak with you again soon.
Blessings,
Judy
Amen! I will lay down my life before my King. I want to follow what God says, even if it doesn't make sense to me. His ways are not my ways. Great post!
ReplyDeleteRizeru! I have a problem :(
ReplyDeleteIn order to find your blog, I gotta go through someone else's blog and then click on your name. I'm following your blog but for some reason, your blog will not appear on "blogs I'm following" on the dashboard. I have re-followed you to see if that'll work but it won't :( so in the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how I can follow your blog without having to go through someone else's page. Ugh. Just thought I'd let you know :(
Ummm... When I transferred my blog on another account, I changed it into To Draw Near God and its new url is http://todrawneargod.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI hope it will solve the problem... thanks for letting me know. Please update me about this.. thank you...
Hi Rizeru! Wonderful post. "Great minds think alike" LOL~ My Sunday School teacher taught something similar today. He brought up the fact that even though we do have A LOVING GOD, He also has a judging side. Even though He loves us, if we do not do as He asks us and teaches us, we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. That there is consequences to our choices. You essentially said the same thing with different scriptures.
ReplyDeleteI also want to thank you for your comment. I believe that when we have a burden to write these blogs in God's honor, we need to write what God puts on our heart. Too many churches to day tend to preach a "watered down" version of God's Word because they are afraid to "offend" anyone. I sincerely believe that God wants people to hear the truth. If we are doing something that God does not like, He wants us to know about it and stop. It is our responsibility as true Christians to carry out God's wishes. I am an Apostolic Christian who believes we should walk and talk our faith at all times, not just when we are around people with "like-minds". How else will people learn the truth? God Bless you for writing this blog and proclaiming God's Gospel.
Your Sister in Christ,
PJ
Hi Rizeru! Thank u for your comment and following my blog. I'm a Filipino too. It's so nice to meet you here in the blogging world. I'm going to follow your very nice blog. Thanks for making this blog and sharing about Jesus. :)
ReplyDelete