Fear and Its Consequences

For those of you who are visiting, my name is Sean, and I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.

And I'm actually going to be preaching from 37 through 39, three chapters, but we just had asked Will to read 38,

because it's a very long passage to read all together.

So turn with me to chapter 37, and we'll start there.

And all of us have dealt with peer pressure to varying degrees.

We have experienced the perceived need to please others so that they think highly of us,

and so that their opinion of us can bolster our self-esteem.

Some of us are always dealing with over-commitment.

We promise more than we can deliver because we fear disappointing people.

All these are manifestations of what the Bible simply calls the fear of men.

We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us, because they can reject and ridicule us,

and because they can attack and harm us.

And according to God's assessment throughout the book of Jeremiah,

the primary reason for the people's idolatry and unfaithfulness to God is the fact that they fear men or fear the idols,

but the fear of God is not in them, says in Jeremiah 2.19, 3.8, 5.22, and so on.

At the end of even chapter 36 from last week,

we saw the height of Judah's disobedience and defiance that affected even their king, Jehoiakim.

And after the judgments of God that were written on the scroll of Jeremiah was read out loud,

Jehoiakim the king cut up the scroll with a knife and burned it in the fire pot section by section.

And he said in chapter 36, verse 24,

Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid,

nor did they tear their garments.

That's the problem.

They should have feared.

They should have had the fear of God instilled in them.

They should have trembled at the announcement of God's judgment, but they did not.

In this passage, we see Zedekiah, another king, who is controlled by this fear of man.

And he is contrasted in turn with two other men who are controlled instead by the fear of God,

Jeremiah and Abed-Melech.

And the contrasting outcomes for these men after the Jerusalem,

after the fall of Jerusalem teaches us the main point of this passage,

is that those who fear the Lord rather than men will be vindicated by God's judgment.

Those who fear the Lord rather than men will be vindicated by God's judgment.

So in a few strokes, verses 1 to 5 of chapter 37,

paint a fairly comprehensive picture of the historical context of the events.

So verse 1 tells us, read with me,

that Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah,

reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim.

So during the first Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, King Jehoiakim died,

and his son Coniah, also known as Jeconiah, took over and reigned as king of Judah,

but only for three months.

Because Babylon defeated Judah, and Nebuchadnezzar sent Coniah into exile,

and put Zedekiah, his uncle, on the throne to rule Judah under his supervision.

So understandably, Zedekiah was not a popular king among the people of Judah.

Even though he was from the royal line, he was seen as an appointee of a foreign intruder.

And then verse 2 tells us that neither he nor his servants,

neither he nor his servants, nor the people of the land,

listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

From top to bottom, the entire nation of Judah was disobedient to God and spurned the prophecies.

But despite their disobedience, Zedekiah and his servants still shamelessly

sought out Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

Please pray for us to the Lord our God.

Even though they refused to worship and serve God,

even though they were going after other idols and praying to them also,

when faced with a crisis, they still wanted God to come to their aid.

And so verse 4, it says,

Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people,

for he had not yet been put in prison.

So we know that Jeremiah was banned from visiting the temple precincts during Jehoiakim's reign.

It seems that after Jehoiakim died, he was not free to roam again,

at least until he became imprisoned, as we'll see.

And then verse 5 tells us an important contextual information.

It says,

The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt,

and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them,

they withdrew from Jerusalem.

So after Zedekiah, even though he was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar,

he failed to pay tribute to Babylon.

And because of that, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem again,

about 10 years after the first invasion.

And this siege upon Jerusalem was temporarily lifted

when Egypt's, Judah's ally, came to attack the Babylonian army.

And so this is taking place during that brief reprieve.

And during that time, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet.

Read verses 7 to 10 with me.

This is what the Lord said to him.

Thus says the Lord God of Israel,

Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me,

Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you

is about to return to Egypt to its own land.

And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against the city.

They shall capture it and burn it with fire.

Thus says the Lord,

Do not deceive yourselves, saying,

The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,

for they will not go away.

For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans

who are fighting against you,

and there remained of them only wounded men,

every man in his tent,

they would rise up and burn the city with fire.

So that's a hyperbole.

An army of wounded Babylonians could not defeat Judah and destroy Jerusalem.

But Jeremiah is using rhetorical exaggeration

to convey the inevitability of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Even if only wounded men,

only all the men of Babylon were wounded,

and they were fighting against you,

you would still be defeated,

and Jerusalem will be set on fire.

The people of Judah were starting to get their hopes up

because the Babylonians had withdrawn to ward off the Egyptians,

but their hopes are all dashed by Jeremiah.

He's devastating their morale.

And you could see,

after you hear what kind of message Jeremiah was bringing to the people,

why people were up in arms and opposing Jeremiah

and seeing him as a traitor and a threat.

Now,

when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem

at the approach of Pharaoh's army,

Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin

to receive his portion there among the people.

So,

yeah,

this is kind of good here.

Yeah,

try that.

Huh.

Excuse me,

again.

What was that?

So,

verses 11 to 15.

So,

when,

so Jeremiah,

we don't know.

I feel like I can't move.

Maybe the connection's not secure.

So,

when,

when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem

at the approach of Pharaoh's army,

Jeremiah went to Benjamin to receive his portion among the people.

We don't know what's going on exactly there.

It could be that a relative of his from the land of Benjamin has died

and he needs to go and redeem the land.

It could be related to what we saw earlier in chapter 32,

where his cousin,

Hanamel,

comes to settle an account about the land,

right?

So,

it could be that that's what he was trying to do,

but he couldn't accomplish that at this time

because when he's about to do his,

run his errand,

it says in verses 13 to 15,

when he was at the Benjamin gate,

a century there named Ereja,

the son of Shalamiah,

son of Hananiah,

sees Jeremiah the prophet saying,

you are deserting to the Chaldeans.

And Jeremiah said,

it is a lie.

I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.

But Ereja would not listen to him

and sees Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

And then the officials were enraged at Jeremiah

and they beat him and imprisoned him

in the house of Jonathan,

the secretary,

for it had been made a prison.

An officer of the guard falsely accuses Jeremiah

of deserting to the Babylonians

and has them arrested.

But Jeremiah had previously urged the people of Judah

to desert to the Babylonians,

prophesying that only those who do that

will be spared

and will be able to stay in the land.

So Ereja's accusation is not totally unfounded.

But he's still wrong about Jeremiah

because he wasn't planning on deserting himself.

He believed that he needed to stay

to proclaim God's word

and warn God's people.

So verse 7 tells us that

after Jeremiah had spent many days

in the dungeon cells,

King Zedekiah sent for him and received him.

And the king questioned him secretly in his house

and said,

Is there any word from the Lord?

Jeremiah said,

There is.

And he said,

You shall be delivered

into the hand of the king of Babylon.

The fact that Zedekiah questioned Jeremiah secretly

in the privacy of his own house

reveals something of Zedekiah's character.

Even though he was the king,

he feared the state officials

who despised Jeremiah,

so he consulted Jeremiah secretly.

Jeremiah, on the other hand,

is a study in contrast, isn't he?

Even after he has spent many days

in the dungeon cells,

where, according to verse 20,

he thought he would die

because of the poor conditions,

he is resolute in his proclamation

of God's word.

Changing his tune

and prophesying some more positive things

about Judah and the king

would likely have drastically improved

the state officials' treatment of him.

But Jeremiah only knows one message

because it's the only one

God had told him to preach.

He says to Zedekiah,

You shall be delivered

into the hand of the king of Babylon.

But Jeremiah is also shrewd,

and he takes advantage of his audience

with the king

and makes a request

in verses 18 to 20.

What wrong have I done to you

or your servants

or this people

that you have put me in prison?

Where are your prophets

who prophesied to you,

saying the king of Babylon

will not come against you

and against this land?

Not here, please,

O my lord the king.

Let my humble plea come before you

and do not send me back

to the house of Jonathan the secretary,

lest I die there.

The false prophets

who had falsely prophesied peace

certainly didn't have

the best interest of Judah in mind.

But they, however,

even though it was clearly proven

that they were wrong

and they were prophesying falsely,

they were roaming freely,

yet Jeremiah,

the only prophet

who prophesied truly,

is in prison.

And so he's asking,

What gives?

What have I done?

What have I done to deserve this?

And he doesn't care

what he said.

He just doesn't want to go back

to the dungeon cells

at the house of Jonathan the secretary.

The conditions must have been

quite bad there.

And at this point,

Zedekiah really should have

freed Jeremiah.

He's been confronted

by the prophet of the Lord.

He knows that he's in the wrong

to have him in prison.

But he doesn't quite have

the courage to do that.

He can't risk the outrage

of the state officials

who imprisoned Jeremiah

in the first place.

So Zedekiah commits Jeremiah

to the court of the guard.

So he's still under house arrest,

but under more favorable circumstances.

Now, if Jeremiah were trying

to look out for himself only,

he would have stayed low,

kept a low profile,

kept quiet in the court of the guard.

But we find out in chapter 38

that this was not

what Jeremiah was doing.

Turn to chapter 38,

verses 1 to 3 with me.

It says,

Now,

Shephetiah,

the son of Matan,

Gedaliah,

the son of Pashor,

Juchal,

the son of Shalamiah,

and Pashor,

the son of Malchiah,

heard the words that Jeremiah

was saying to all the people.

Thus says the Lord,

He who stays in this city

shall die by the sword,

by famine,

and by pestilence.

But he who goes out

to the Chaldeans

shall live.

He shall have his life

as a prize of war

and live.

Thus says the Lord,

This city shall surely

be given into the hand

of the army

of the king of Babylon

and be taken.

He had been arrested

earlier under the pretext

that he was deserting

to the Babylonians.

And here's Jeremiah

telling the people of Judah

to desert to the Babylonians.

Jeremiah was clearly

not deterred

by the persecution

he experienced.

And this is a fulfillment

of what God had promised him

when he first called him

and commissioned him

for this task

in chapter 1.

In chapter 1,

verses 7 to 8,

God said to him,

Do not say,

I am only a youth.

For to all to whom

I send you,

you shall go.

And whatever I command you,

you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them.

For I am with you

to deliver you,

declares the Lord.

We see this command

being fulfilled

throughout the book

of Jeremiah.

And Jeremiah overcomes

his fear of men

to declare the word

of the Lord,

trusting that God

will be with him

to deliver him.

And the result

of Jeremiah's preaching

is even worse

now than what we saw

in chapter 37.

Read verses 46 with me.

Then the official

said to the king,

Let this man

be put to death,

for he is weakening

the hands of the soldiers

who are left in this city

and the hands

of all the people

by speaking such words

to them.

For this man

is not seeking

the welfare of this people

but their harm.

King Zedekiah said,

Behold,

he is in your hands

for the king

can do nothing

against you.

So they took Jeremiah

and cast him

into the cistern

of Malachiah,

the king's son,

which was in the

court of the guard,

letting Jeremiah

down by ropes.

And there was no water

in the cistern

but only mud

and Jeremiah sank

in the mud.

This time,

instead of merely

seeking Jeremiah's

imprisonment,

the state officials

are seeking his death.

And King Zedekiah

appears to be a king

in name only,

doesn't he?

He lacks the courage

and the power

to oppose the officials

so he simply concedes,

Behold,

he is in your hands

for the king

can do nothing

against you.

Not wanting innocent blood

in his own hands,

he doesn't command

the execution

of Jeremiah himself.

He simply defers

to his officials

who want to kill him.

And the officials

want to kill Jeremiah

but they probably

don't want innocent blood

on their own hands either.

They don't want to get

their own hands dirty

so they decide

instead to just dump him

into a cistern

at the court of the guard.

There was no water

in the cistern at the time

but only mud

and Jeremiah sank

in the mud

which seems even worse

than the dungeon cells

that he was in before.

So it's like what

Joseph's brothers did

in Genesis, right?

They dump him

into a pit

and expect him

to die there

and that's what

the state officials

did to Jeremiah.

And God delivered

Jeremiah in the past

and God will deliver him

again and this time

it's through

an Ethiopian eunuch

named Ebedmelech.

Eunuchs were royal officials

in the name

Ebedmelech literally

means slave of the king.

Read verses 7 to 13

with me.

When Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,

a eunuch who was

in the king's house,

heard that they had

put Jeremiah

into the cistern,

the king was sitting

in the Benjamin gate.

Ebedmelech went

from the king's house

and said to the king,

My lord the king,

these men have done evil

in all that they did

to Jeremiah the prophet

by casting him

into the cistern

and he will die there

of hunger

for there is no bread

in the city.

Then the king

commanded Ebedmelech

the Ethiopian,

take 30 men

with you from here

and lift Jeremiah the prophet

out of cistern

before he dies.

So Ebedmelech

took the men with him

and went to the house

of the king

to a wardrobe

in the storehouse

and took from their

old rags

and worn out clothes

which he let down

to Jeremiah

in the cistern

by ropes.

Then Ebedmelech

the Ethiopian

said to Jeremiah,

Put the rags and clothes

between your armpits

and the ropes.

Jeremiah did so.

Then they drew Jeremiah

up with ropes

and lifted him

out of the cistern

and Jeremiah remained

in the court

of the guard.

King Zedekiah

was unwilling

to confront

the officials himself

because he feared them

but his servant

Ebedmelech

calls them out

and says,

These men have done evil

in all that they did

to Jeremiah the prophet.

And not only is

Ebedmelech

more courageous

than Zedekiah,

he's also resourceful.

He takes all dirty laundry

from the storehouse

and uses them

to pad Jeremiah

so that he can come up

without pain

on the ropes

out of the cistern.

So the slave

of the king

accomplishes here

what the king

himself was powerless

to do.

After this,

Zedekiah conducts

one last interview

with Jeremiah.

It almost seems like

this is the second interview

that he has with Jeremiah.

It almost seems like

he feels as though

he has done Jeremiah

a favor

and perhaps he hopes

that Jeremiah

will give him

some more favorable word

as if the word of God

can be changed.

So he summons Jeremiah

and says,

I will ask you a question,

hide nothing from me.

But Jeremiah already

knows Zedekiah's character.

He knows that he will

not obey the word

of the Lord.

So he responds

in verse 15,

If I tell you,

will you not surely

put me to death?

You had just commanded

these officials

to put me into the cistern

to die.

Will you not put me

to death

if I told you the truth?

And he said,

If I give you counsel,

you will not listen to me.

But Zedekiah,

once again,

afraid of the officials

who might overhear him,

he swears secretly

to Jeremiah,

As the Lord lives

who made our souls,

I will not put you

to death

or deliver you

into the hand

of these men

who seek your life.

Can't make that promise

in public,

does it secretly

to Jeremiah.

And upon Zedekiah's

insistence,

Jeremiah does prophesy

again in verses 17 to 18,

but the message

hasn't changed.

Thus says the Lord,

the God of hosts,

the God of Israel,

If you will surrender

to the officials

of the king of Babylon,

then your life

shall be spared

and this city

shall not be burned

with fire

and you and your house

shall live.

But if you do not surrender

to the officials

of the king of Babylon,

then this city

shall be given

into the hand

of the Chaldeans

and they shall burn it

with fire

and you shall not

escape from their hand.

Zedekiah's response

is predictable.

He says in verse 19,

I am afraid

of the Judeans

who have deserted

to the Chaldeans

lest I be handed over

to them

and they deal

cruelly with me.

So not only

is Zedekiah afraid

of his state officials,

he is also afraid

of the civilians

who have already

deserted to Babylon.

He fears that

if he also hands himself

over to Babylon,

his former subjects

who have deserted

to Babylon

will now mistreat him.

And for that reason,

even though he knew

what was the right

thing to do,

even though he knew

what the Lord

required of him,

he fails to act.

And Jeremiah

assures him,

verse 20,

you shall not

be given to them.

Obey now

the voice of the Lord

in what I say to you

and he shall be

well with you

and your life

shall be spared.

But he also warns him

sternly in verse 21

to 23,

but if you refuse

to surrender,

this is the vision

which the Lord

has shown to me.

Behold,

all the women

left in the house

of the king of Judah

were being led out

to the officials

of the king of Babylon

and were saying,

your trusted friends

have deceived you

and prevailed against you.

Now that your feet

are sunk in the mud,

they turn away from you.

All your wives

and your sons

shall be led out

to the Chaldeans

and you yourself

shall not escape

from their hand

but shall be seized

by the king of Babylon

and the city

shall be burned

with fire.

As a warning

to Zedekiah,

Jeremiah shares

a vision that the Lord

has shown him

of what would happen

if Zedekiah refused

to surrender

to Nebuchadnezzar

and all the women

and children

of the king

will be led out

as prisoners of war

to the officials

of the king of Babylon.

Lord knows

what they would do

and then they would say

of Zedekiah,

your trusted friends

have deceived you

and prevailed against you.

Now that your feet

are sunk in the mud,

they turn away

from you.

Remember earlier

in chapter 38

verse 5

when the officials

suggested first

putting Jeremiah

to death

to Zedekiah,

Zedekiah responded,

Behold,

he is in your hands

for the king

can do nothing

against you.

A more literal

translation of that

would be

the king cannot

prevail against you

at all.

So the word prevail

that's used there

in chapter 38

is the same word

that's used here.

Your trusted friends

have deceived you

and prevailed

against you.

So these trusted friends

is a reference

to the officials.

He thought that

he could entrust himself

to them.

He thought that

if he had their favor

and they were on their side

he would be okay.

He would be better.

He would be better off

in their hands

than in the hands

of Nebuchadnezzar.

But instead

he would be deceived

by them.

They would prevail

against him.

And before

it was Jeremiah's feet

that were literally

sinking in the mud.

Now metaphorically

it's Zedekiah's feet

that would be sinking

in the mud.

It's a picture

of inescapable suffering.

So Jeremiah's vision

predicts that

essentially

Zedekiah will

switch places

with Jeremiah.

Zedekiah who

for the fear

of the officials

did not save

Jeremiah from

sinking in the mud

will himself

be betrayed

by the very same officials

and find himself

sinking in the mud.

And you think

that Zedekiah

would respond

to such a stark

alarming vision

but he is still

a man governed

by the fear of men.

He says to Jeremiah

in verses 24 to 26

Let no one know

of these words

and you shall not die.

If the officials hear

that I've spoken with you

and come to you

and say to you

tell us what you said

to the king

and what the king

said to you

hide nothing from us

and we will not

put you to death

then you shall say

to them

I made a humble plea

to the king

that he would not

send me back

to the house

of Jonathan

to die there.

Rather than

obeying God's word

Zedekiah is concerned

with hiding God's words

he doesn't want

the officials

to find out

that he is

a closet Jeremiah

sympathizer

that is secretly

consulting him

he doesn't want

the officials

to find out

that Jeremiah

told him

to surrender

to Babylon

and in order

to get

the sniffing

officials

off his trail

Zedekiah orders

Jeremiah

to tell them

that he was

pleading with the king

not to send them

back to the jail

at the house

of Jonathan

and that's an easy

excuse to come up with

because that's a

conversation that they

have already had

earlier

during Jeremiah's

first imprisonment.

The officials

do interrogate

Jeremiah

but they are

satisfied with

Jeremiah's answer

because the conversation

had not been

overheard

and Jeremiah

remained in the

court of the guard

until the day

that Jerusalem

was taken.

That brings us

to chapter 39

where every step

every word

of the Lord

is step

by step

fulfilled

from chapters

37 to 38.

In chapter 37

verses 1 to 10

we were told

that Babylonians

had withdrawn

from Jerusalem

but that they

would return

and take

Jerusalem.

That prophecy

is fulfilled

in chapter 39

verses 1 to 2

where it says

that they did

return

in camp

against Jerusalem

and

in the ninth

day of the month

a breach

was made

in the city

in the ninth

day of the fourth month.

In chapter 37

11 to 21

Jeremiah prophesied

that Zedekiah

will be delivered

into the hand

of the king

of Babylon

and in chapter 39

verses 4 to 10

though he attempts

to flee

Zedekiah is captured

and brought

to Nebuchadnezzar

who then passes

sentence on him.

Look at

Nebuchadnezzar's

sentence in

verses 6 to 8.

The king

of Babylon

slaughtered

the sons

of Zedekiah

and Riblah

before his eyes

and the king

of Babylon

slaughtered

all the nobles

of Judah.

He put out

the eyes

of Zedekiah

and bound him

in chains

to take him

to Babylon.

The Chaldeans

burned the king's

house and the

house of the people

and broke down

the walls

of Jerusalem.

Notice the cruelty

with which

Babylon punishes

his rebellious

subject

Zedekiah.

He slaughters

all of his sons

before Zedekiah's

very eyes

and then

gouges out

the eyes

of Zedekiah

so that the

last image

he ever sees

is seared

indelibly

into his

memory

of his

sons being

slaughtered.

Zedekiah

feared

his own

officials

and thought

that he

would be

better off

by currying

favor with

them

but the

word of

the Lord

proves true

and Zedekiah

is far worse

off for his

disobedience

because instead

of fearing God

he chose to

fear men.

and then

in chapters

38

verses 1

to 28

we

saw

Jeremiah

put on

trial

by the

officials

of Judah

and Zedekiah

was powerless

to stop

them from

harming

Jeremiah

and after

doing his

stints in

the dungeon

cells

and the

cistern

Jeremiah

was left

in the

court of

the guards

now in

chapter 39

11 to

14

exact opposite

of that

happens

by the

Babylonian

officials

so these

Jerusalem

officials

tried to

put him

to death

and imprison

them

the Babylonian

officials

put him

to trial

put Jeremiah

to trial

in chapter

39

11 to

14

but unlike

Zedekiah

who is

powerless

to protect

Jeremiah

from his

own

officials

Nebuchadnezzar

orders his

officials

to do

Jeremiah

no harm

Nebuchadnezzar

on the

other hand

a pagan

king

has the

authority

over his

subjects

to protect

Jeremiah

and instead

of keeping

Jeremiah

under custody

at the

court of

the guards

Jeremiah

is taken

from the

court of

the guards

and

free to

live

among

the

people

right

this

narrative

of

Nebuchadnezzar

and his

officials

treatment

of

Jeremiah

is

intentionally

contrasted

with the

way

Zedekiah

and his

Judean

officials

treated

Jeremiah

and it

serves

to condemn

Zedekiah

and the

Judean

officials

that they

did not

act as

they should

have

with regard

to

Jeremiah

God's

prophet

but those

who fear

the Lord

rather than

men

are vindicated

by God's

judgment

so Jeremiah

is delivered

and we

find out

that

Abedmelech

the Ethiopian

eunuch

who rescued

Jeremiah

from the

cistern

too will be

delivered according

to verses

16 to 18

he will not die

he will be

spared

there were times

of course

throughout

Jeremiah's

ministry

when the word

of the Lord

that Jeremiah

preached

seemed very

far-fetched

the invasion

from the north

will the

Babylonians

really come

will they

really come

back after

facing the

Egyptians

the word

of the Lord

in Jeremiah's

day was

never popular

or well

received

and obeying

the word

of the Lord

came at

great personal

cost and

sacrifice

loss of

reputation

ridicule

but this

passage teaches

us that

those who

fear the

Lord rather

than men

will be

vindicated

by God's

judgment

and today

as it was

in Jeremiah's

day

the word

of the Lord

is despised

and is

rejected in

many parts

of this

world

if you're

not yet

a follower

of Jesus

Christ

then let

me ask

you

whose

side

are you

on

whom do

you stand

for

whose word

will you

believe

because the

cultural trends

and the

wind of

history

the spirit

of the

time

they might

all be

against

God's

word

but those

who side

with God

will find

themselves

ultimately

on the

right side

of history

because those

who fear

the Lord

rather than

men

will be

vindicated

by God's

judgment

and the

judgment

that Judah

faced

points to

the final

judgment

that we

will all

face

as humanity

after our

death

and God's

verdict will

then decide

our eternal

fates

have you

aligned

yourself

with God's

purposes

and priorities

for those

of you

already

followers

of Christ

in what

ways

is the

fear

of man

controlling

you

and making

you unfaithful

to God

do you

fear

people's

judgment

and hesitate

to share

the good

news of

Jesus

Christ

with them

when God's

truth is

maligned

in the

classroom

do you

refuse to

speak up

out of

fear

at a

work

social

do you

accept

the third

or fourth

drink that

you should

have turned

down

out of

fear

of what

your peers

might think

when a

glaring

sin

in a

brother

or sister

must be

addressed

do you

ignore it

out of

fear

of

rejection

because

you fear

them

more than

you love

them

because

you fear

their

verdict

more than

God's

verdict

when the

path of

obedience

is clear

do you

fail to

obey

because

you fear

the personal

consequences

as

Zedekiah

did

because

you're not

willing to

give up

something

your pride

your

preference

because

you trust

the words

of man

more than

the word

of God

the problem

of course

is that

we've all

done that

none of

us fear

God

perfectly

and all

of us

fear

people

though the

way that

manifests

itself

might look

different

for all

of us

what then

will be

the

consequences

what will

be our

final verdict

when God's

judgment

comes

Romans

623

teaches

us

that the

wages

of sin

is

death

that's

what we

deserve

physical

death

a permanent

one from

which there

is no

return

and

spiritual

death

an eternal

separation

from God

the judgment

of the

Judeans

in this

passage

point to

God's

ultimate

judgment

and this

passage

should make

us wonder

who then

can deliver

us

Jeremiah

could not

deliver his

people

the people

of Judah

he could not

pay the

penalty

of death

on behalf

of the

people of

Judah

notice

that there's

a constant

threat of

death

looming

over

Jeremiah

in chapter

38

4

the Judean

officials

say to

Zedekiah

let Jeremiah

be put

to death

for he

is weakening

the hands

of the

soldiers

who are

left

in this

city

and in

chapter

38

15

to 16

Jeremiah

says to

Zedekiah

if I

tell you

will you

not

surely

put me

to death

then again

chapter

38

verse

25

Zedekiah

anticipates

what the

officials

will say

hide

nothing

from us

and we

will not

put you

to death

throughout

these few

chapters

Jeremiah

has constantly

been under

the threat

of death

but he

is delivered

from each

threat

because

of what God

had promised

to do

for his

servant

though Jeremiah

is obedient

to God

and spared

on that

merit

he cannot

save

anyone else

the rest

of Judah

still falls

under judgment

that means

guilty sinners

like us

we need

another

savior

we need

a better

Jeremiah

and God

did send

us such a

savior

in Jesus

Christ

and there

are intriguing

parallels

between

Jeremiah's

trial

before

Zedekiah

in chapter

38

and that

of Jesus

trial

before

Pilate

in the

gospels

just as

Jeremiah

was brought

to trial

by the

leaders

of his

nation

who are

seeking

his

death

Jesus

too

is brought

to trial

by the

leaders

of his

own

nation

and even

though he

knew that

Jeremiah

was innocent

fearing the

backlash from

the people

Zedekiah

said

behold he

is in

your hands

for the

king can

do nothing

against

you

and

likewise

Pilate

though he

found

Jesus

to be

guiltless

in his

own

words

brought him

out to the

people

after flogging

him and he

said behold

the man

John 19

5-6

and according

to Mark

15-15

he wishing

to satisfy

the crowd

he delivered

Jesus over

to their

will

this was

all according

to God's

sovereign

salvation

plan

the

blameless

son of

God

was

declared

guilty

so that

the

sinful

children

of

man

might

be

declared

righteous

Jeremiah

could not

and did

not

die to

save

us

but

Jesus

is the

new

and better

Jeremiah

who was

crucified

on the

cross

to pay

the penalty

for our

sins

and he

was raised

from the

dead

for our

vindication

and if

you would

only confess

your sins

acknowledge

that you

are a

sinner

who cannot

save

yourself

and profess

Jesus Christ

believe that

he is the

son of

God

who died

and rose

again to

save you

that instead

of the

defeat

and death

of sin

you can

partake in

the victory

and eternal

life

of Jesus

Christ

it is

only when we

believe

in this

good news

of Jesus

Christ

that we

can be

transformed

into

people

who fear

the Lord

rather than

fear men

and by

the way

by fear

of God

I'm not

trying to

teach you

to be

terrified

of God

the Bible

used the

word fear

in relation

to God

in two

different

senses

you can

see that

in Exodus

20

20

says

God says

to them

after he

appears

to his

people

do not

fear

well this

is Moses

telling them

after God's

appeared

do not

fear

for God

has come

to test

you

that the

fear

of him

may be

before you

that you

may not

sin

it sounds

contradictory

doesn't it

don't fear

that God's

here

because God

has come

to instill

fear in

you

it's because

the word

has two

different

senses

it's being

used in

different

ways

in each

context

the first

fear

that God's

people

were not

to feel

is the

terror

of God

feeling

threatened

by God's

judgment

that leads

us to

hide

from him

that's

the first

kind of

fear

the second

fear

that God's

people

are to

have

is the

reverential

awe

that we've

been singing

about this

morning

that awe

the fear

of God

that leads

to humble

submission

and obedience

when we

see God's

unwavering

commitment

to his

holiness

and justice

displayed

in all

their power

and glory

on the

cross

when we

see Jesus

crushed under

the weight

of our

own sins

then we

see his

holiness

and justice

displayed

and when we

see God's

unwavering

commitment

to his

people

to show

grace

and mercy

to them

when we

see Jesus

Christ

dying on

the cross

for us

in our

place

that's

when we

are filled

with the