04/02/2012 - THE PRICE OF DISOBEDIENCE

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So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain.

Jeremiah 39:4

King Zedekiah liked to hear the Lord’s Word through prophet Jeremiah. If you also like to hear the Gospel and believe that the Good News is from God, but you have not yet given your heart over to Him, then you are far from the protection and salvation of the divine power. If this goes on, hell may lash out against your life at any time and you will not have the Almighty protecting you – which, by the way, has been the case of thousands of people around the world.

The faith that the king had did not go much further than that, so then there was no operation of the One who can save by many or by few (I Samuel 14.6b). We cannot despise what the Lord gives us; after all, whenever we hear His Word the will of God is revealed to us. Such revelation may come as a rebuke, a promise or a statement of a fact. The important thing, in all situations, is to take possession of what we are told. Our God does not utter words at random; He always tells us what is to happen (Amos 3:7).

So, without fully believing in the Word spoken by the man of God, Zedekiah and the men of war that were with him found a \”way out\”: they fled when they saw the princes of the king of Babylon in Jerusalem sitting by the Middle Gate. Well, this is something that a man of God should never do. The Lord\’s servant must always walk with Him and follow the directions given by the Heavens. If you resist, it will be the enemy who will flee (James 4:7)!

How shameful that king’s attitude was! Had he abided by the message given by the prophet, he would have been spared, but by acting as he saw fit, he decided to take advantage of the darkness of the night to try to save his life and his family’s. My brother, never forget the words spoken by Jesus: if we walk in the darkness, we will stumble (John 12:35-36). Zedekiah did that and consequently fell into the hands of the king of Babylon, who arrested him, blinded him and killed his children and the princes of Judah. He also set the town ablaze, burnt down the houses of the people and broke down the famous walls of Jerusalem.

The facts were fulfilled according to what Jeremiah had prophesied. However, if Zedekiah had heeded the words of that man of God, he would not have been arrested or humiliated. Watch out! Many will go through a horrible suffering due to not believing in what the Lord says to them! In fact, those who despise the word of God will perish, but he who heeds what the Lord speaks will be protected. Without a doubt, what the Lord has said to you will be fulfilled. Therefore, believe, confess your sins and obtain the grace of God!

In Christ with love, 

R. R. Soares