Jeremiah 37:1-5: a reflection

1Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, listened to the LORD’s words, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 3Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to the LORD our God for us.” 4Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, for they had not put him into prison. 5Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

There is a telling contradiction at the start of this chapter. Neither King Zedekiah nor his officials nor the people listened to the words of the LORD that Jeremiah spoke, the text says plainly. And yet, in the very next breath, Zedekiah sends messengers to Jeremiah asking, please pray to the LORD our God for us. They will not heed God's word through the prophet, but they want the prophet's prayers.

Notice the incoherence, because it is a familiar one. Zedekiah wants God's help without God's rule. He is glad to have Jeremiah pray for him, to seek the benefit of God's intervention, while ignoring the message God has actually been sending. He wants the blessing and declines the obedience, as if the two could be separated.

It is worth examining whether we do the same. It is easy to ask God for help in our troubles, to want his rescue and his blessing, while quietly setting aside the things his word has already told us to do or to stop. We say pray for us and do not listen. But God is not a resource to be tapped while his word is ignored. If there is something God has already made clear to you that you have been declining to obey, that is the place to start, not with more requests for help, but with listening. Do not only ask God to pray over your situation; heed what he has already said.

Lord, keep me from the incoherence of wanting your help while ignoring your word. Where you have already made something clear that I have declined to obey, give me a listening, obedient heart, so that I seek not only your blessing but your rule.