Jeremiah 37, 38
Jeremiah escapes death
At this time, Jerusalem is experiencing a short break in the siege from Babylon because they temporarily left to fight Egypt's army. The Israelites must have felt so relieved to see the Babylonians leave! But Jeremiah was there to warn the people that the peace would not last long. He warned them that the enemies would return and all who resist will be killed. They could only save their lives by surrendering to the Babylonians. The officials to king Zedekiah did not want to hear what Jeremiah had to say. They thought he was needlessly discouraging the soldiers, so they threw him into a cistern (a holding tank usually used to collect rainwater) without food or water. Thankfully the king, who normally clashed with Jeremiah, ordered him to be pulled out of the cistern.
Its hard to hear bad news. Its definitely understandable that the Israelites didn't like the news that Jeremiah brought. No one would like to be told that the only way to survive is by surrendering to an enemy. It was their reaction that was way off base. Instead of taking the warning to heart and using the information to prepare, they choose to ignore it and get rid of the messenger. Ignoring a problem does not make it go away. When God is trying to tell His people something, it will do them a lot of good to LISTEN!
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