Jeremiah 21:8-14: a reflection

8“You shall say to this people, ‘The LORD says: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he will live, and he will escape with his life. 10For I have set my face on this city for evil, and not for good,” says the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’ 11“Concerning the house of the king of Judah, hear the LORD’s word: 12House of David, the LORD says, ‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 13Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, and of the rock of the plain,’ says the LORD. ‘You that say, “Who would come down against us?” or, “Who would enter into our homes?” 14I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all that is around her.’”

To a Jerusalem under siege, God through Jeremiah sets a stark choice: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. But the ways are not what the people expect. The way of life, in that moment, meant surrendering to the besieging Babylonians, humbling themselves and accepting exile; the way of death meant staying to defend the city in proud resistance. The path of life looked like defeat and humiliation; the path of death looked like courageous defense. God's way of life ran through the humbler, harder, less glorious road.

Notice how the ways of life and death can be counterintuitive. The proud course, defending the city, looked strong and honorable; the humble course, surrender, looked like defeat. Yet God named the humble path the way of life and the proud one the way of death. What looked like the stronger, more honorable choice led to destruction; what looked like humiliating defeat was the way to live. God's way of life is not always the one that looks strong or glorious.

That holds a hard wisdom for us. God's way of life sometimes runs through what looks like defeat, humbling, surrender, the path our pride resists, while the way that looks strong and self-assertive may be the way of death. The choice between life and death is not always between obvious good and evil, but sometimes between humble obedience that looks like loss and proud resistance that looks like strength. When God's way of life looks like the humbler, harder, less glorious road, do not despise it for the prouder path that looks stronger. Choose the way of life, even when it looks like surrender, trusting that God's path, however humbling, leads to life.

Lord, to besieged Jerusalem you set the way of life and the way of death, but the way of life ran through humble surrender, while the proud path of resistance led to destruction. Give me discernment when your way of life looks like the humbler, harder, less glorious road. Keep me from despising the path of humble obedience for a prouder one that merely looks stronger. Help me choose the way of life even when it looks like surrender or loss, trusting that your path, however humbling, leads to life. Let me not be deceived by what looks strong, but follow you into life by the road you set before me.