Jeremiah 21

So, the time had come. The Israelites had heeded none of the warnings sent through the prophet Jeremiah regarding their impending doom at the hands of the Babylonians. They went along their merry (and wicked) way until the Babylonians were on their doorstep, and then the king sent an envoy to Jeremiah, saying, “Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.” (vs 2)

To me, this simply reveals that, by this time, the Israelites thought of God as just another god. I think they lumped Him right in with the rest of their loser gods they sacrificed to—Molech, Baal, Marduk, et al—and when it seemed convenient, they added Him back into the sacrificial lineup. Can’t you just hear their thoughts? Hmmm… we’re surrounded by the Babylonians. Who was that god who got our ancestors out of so many tight jams in the past? Yahweh, that’s it. Yahweh. Let’s take Him a sacrifice and see what He’ll do for us.

Really, God must get awfully tired of being treated like a cosmic vending machine.

But, though He wasn’t going to rescue the Israelites from the Babylonians, I just had to admire God all over again, for in this chapter, we see Him still doing what He can for His people. Check out these verses again: “This is what 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. I have determined to do this city harm and not good,’ declares the Lord. ‘It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’” (vs 8-10)

God is so into freedom, and it seems to me that He is always looking for opportunities to give us choices. That struck me here, because this wording is so similar to the choice God gave the fledgling nation of Israel in Deuteronomy: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers.” (Deut 30:19-20)

The “life and death” choice God gave the Israelites through Jeremiah was very different than the one He gave them through Moses. When Moses told them to choose between life and death, the choice was to live as a nation under the blessing and favor of God. But by this time, the Israelites had already made that choice, and unfortunately, they had chosen sin and death instead of life.

How easy it would have been for God to point His finger in their face and say, “I told you so. You made the wrong decision, and now you’re just gonna have to deal with it.” He didn’t ever have to say another word to them.

Instead, here He is, still giving them choices. Here He is, saying, “Okay, we bombed out on that first choice. Let me now show you the best way to go in your current situation. The Babylonians are coming in. This choice will lead to life, and this choice will lead to death. Choose life!”

Incredibly, the Israelites continued to ignore God. Instead of listening to God’s advice, King Zedekiah dug in his heels and didn’t surrender. He chose the way of death, and Nebuchadnezzar was a merciless executioner. He killed all of Zedekiah’s sons right in front of him, then put out his eyes—so that the death of his sons would be the last thing he ever saw. (2 Kgs 25) How sad that Zedekiah didn’t take God’s advice!

God always gives us choices. And if we make wrong choices that land us in bad circumstances, God doesn’t give up on us. He is always working to reveal new choices to us, giving us new opportunities to reverse our previous course and follow His way of life.

Hopefully, even if we aren’t willing to listen to God at first, it won’t take us long to learn that He has our best interests at heart and truly does know the way of life. At the very least, let’s learn a little faster than Zedekiah!