[:en]SCRIPTURE: JEREMIAH 37
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.’ “This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down” (Jeremiah 37:7-10)
JEREMIAH IN PRISON
Zedekiah, son of Josiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He reigned in place of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim (v. 1)
Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt. When the Babylonians heard it, they withdrew to Jerusalem. The king of Judah sent men to Jeremiah asking him to pray to the Lord and inquire from him what the Lord said. Jeremiah told him that the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem. They will capture it and burn it down.
Jeremiah left the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of property among the people there. When he reached Benjamin Gate, Irijah, the captain of the guard arrested him and accused him of deserting to the Babylonians. He was brought to the officials and the officials beat and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan, the secretary. He was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time.
Then, king Zedekiah sent for him to ask him any word from the Lord. Jeremiah told him that he will be handover to the king of Babylon. Jeremiah requested the king not to bring him back to the house of Jonathan. Instead, he was placed in the courtyard of the guard.
As a faithful servant of God, Jeremiah encountered many experiences.
- People did not listen to him.
- He was being accused of deserting to the Babylonians.
- He was being arrested and imprisoned illegally.
When you are doing God’s will, expect to be ignored, misunderstood and persecuted. However, the Lord promise to care for his servants as he took care of Jeremiah.[:]