It is amazing how God took care of everything when King Zedekiah, a 'puppet king', didn't! The officials asked the king if they can kill Jeremiah, the king backed off and told them that they can do whatever they want. So they put Jeremiah into the cistern to leave Jeremiah sunking in the mud starving! But Ebed-melek the Ethiopian told the king that Jeremiah is starving, so the king ordered him to take the men to get Jeremiah out.
Well... which side is the king on? The king allowed the officials to destroy Jeremiah and then the king allowed the Ethiopian to save Jeremiah. Who is he? Obviously he doesn't know who he is. In fact, he said, "But I am afraid of the Judeans who have already deserted to the Chaldeans. If they get hold of me, they'll rough me up good." Dang! He is acting like a puppet king because he is afriad of his people! So, he obeyed their voices rather than obeying God's message through Jeremiah. Although King Zedekiah showed that he recognized that Jeremiah is a true prophet by asking him to tell him about God's message. As result, the king had seen the slaughter and then he was blinded as the king of Babylon put out his eyes and bounded him in chains to Babylon! King Zedekiah had seen the worst. I hate to say it that way, but imagine yourself seeing the worse as your last sights when your eyes are being removed after you had seen the worse! How those scenes may repeat in your mind as you were bounded in chains!
Now let's take a look at his people, the officials obviously had been killed in front of the kings or so. The Ethiopian had been set free as God had promised, "You'll walk out there safe and sound because you trusted me". Do we want to be like the officials and the king? Or do we want to be like Jeremiah and the Ethiopian? After the remainings were taken bounded to Babylon, the captain of the bodyguard set Jeremiah free with a choice to live. He could either come with them to Babylon or go free to live wherever he wish. So Jeremiah went back to his home, I assumed that he went back to the land that he had purchased from his uncle Hamanah, a crazy purchase! I don't know how long it had been since Jeremiah purchased the land, but God kept His promise and now he has returned! God's amazing!
Now let's step out of this story and get into the chapters of our lives. Are we a puppet? In another word, it is almost like a lukewarm... Are we looking for an approval from our people? That's what we call "Approval Addiction", if you are struggling with this addiction, maybe you should try Joyce Meyer's book. We got to conquer our fears and follow Him for our own safety!
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