Grasping at Air - The Books of Jeremiah, 2 Chronicles, & 2 Kings

In this Bible Story, we learn about King Zedekiah’s stubbornness against the Babylonians. He fights against them despite Jeremiah’s warnings. Jeremiah continues to warn people that fighting against Babylon is a vain attempt - like grasping at air. This story is inspired by 2 Chronicles 36:10-16 & 2 Kings 24:18-25:2 & Jeremiah 37. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Jeremiah 37:17 from the King James Version.

Episode 158: Jeremiah, still captive in the courthouse of Judah, was praying to God when he received a Word from Him that Hanamel would soon be coming to sell him his land in Anathoth. But this was about more than relieving his uncle of a burden, it was God’s way of showing the people what He would do for them. So Jeremiah continued to preach the Word of God to the people and he continued to receive beatings from them. One day, he was summoned by King Zedekiah to give him the truth of the situation and though he spoke honestly to the King, he did not follow Jeremiah’s advice. Yet even as the gates of the courthouse were being broken down, God protected Jeremiah and gave him mercy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. Then Zedekiah the king sent and took
him out. And the king asked him secretly in his house,
and said, is there any word from the Lord? And
Jeremiah said there is, For he said, thou shalt be
delivered unto the hand of the King of Babylon. Jeremiah

(00:23):
thirty seven seventeen. When life deals me hard blows, then
I am left on my knees, gasping at air. Like Jeremiah,
I will remember your empowering words of wisdom found in
the Bible. In the face of adversity, I will not

(00:44):
relent so that I can appease the itching years of
those wanting me to cower underneath the weight of their criticism.
When these moments arise, I will hold my head up
and look up to the heavens, where my help comes from.
I will not place my hope in man. Instead, I

(01:08):
will put my trust in the creator of heaven and Earth.
Strengthen my stance season my words, Let my life serve
as a conduit for your glory. I will not back
down from doing and saying what is right, even if

(01:28):
it means I lose favor with others, because I'd rather
have the favor of God on and over my life
than the temporary favor of man in Jesus' name. Amen,
thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To

(01:50):
hear the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for the
Bible in a Year brought to you by Bible in
a Year dot.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Com grasping at air.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
In our last story, we witnessed the brutal downfall of Judah.
King Nebukaeser, armed with the entire Chaldean army, obliterated Judah
and its defenses. Homes burned, captives were taken, and the
temple was lost. The only glimmer of hope was in
the words of Jeremiah. From the Lord. God promised them

(02:32):
a future and a hope in him. He promised that
when the time came, he would rescue them, and this
story we learn about Jeremiah's interaction with King Zedekiah. Before
the Chaldean onslaught. King Zedekiah held on to the vain
hope that Judah could rise against King Nebuca Nezer and
his armies. However, Jeremiah assured him that it was the

(02:56):
Lord's will that Judah fall. Inspired by the Books of
Jeremiah Second Chronicles and Second Kings.

Speaker 4 (03:07):
Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in the Year. Thank you so very much for
joining us. In our previous episode, we heard how Judah
was overtaken by the mighty Babylonians and King Nevicanezer. Despite
warning after warning and calls to return to God, the
people refused. So God sent the Babylonians in and they

(03:28):
pillaged the nation, killing so many men and women and children,
and taking captive God's people. But God sent a word
of hope, reminding them of his undying faithfulness and plans
for them in the future. In today's reading, we go
back a bit in time before the fall of Judah,
when Zedekiah ruled. The Chaldeans were coming and Judah would

(03:51):
soon be devastated. Zedekiah held out hope for victory, but
as Jeremiah revealed to him, God's will was being done,
could prevent it. Less hear now from God's word.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
King Neberconzza was breathing down the back of Jerusalem. The
first raid on the temple was nothing compared to what
was about to come. King Jehoakim was taken to reside
in Babylon and sit under the rule of the tyrant king.
Pleased with the chaos, King Neberkonzza appointed Zedekiah, the son
of Josiah, as king over Judah. The King of Babylon

(04:27):
had already begun his tirade against Judah. It would not
stand much longer, However, Neberkonezza desired for the kingdom to
remain standing a little longer while he warred against Egypt
and Assyria. Although Zedekiah bore the name of his father,
he was nothing like him. He was prideful and filled
with blind rage. He watched as King Neberconezza burned down homes, farms,

(04:52):
and temples. He hated Neberkonezzer, yet felt powerless against him,
holding on to hope that Judah may be saved. Zedekiah
sent word to Jeremiah the Prophet, saying, please pray to
God for our deliverance from Babylon. Jeremiah was among the people,
doing his best to aid with medical attention and counsel.

(05:13):
The first Babylonian raid was brutal, but nothing compared to
what was to come. Jeremiah did his best to prepare
the people for what was going to take place. He
preached in the streets, helped men and women protect their children,
and waited on the Lord. When the word from the
king came, Jeremiah sought God's wisdom. The Lord spoke clearly

(05:33):
and matter of fact. They the Chaldeans are approaching, and
they will lay waste to the entire country. They will
capture Jerusalem and it will erupt in flames. Do not
give yourself false hope. You may think you can fight
against them and win.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
You are wrong.

Speaker 3 (05:50):
To fight them would be grasping at air. Even if
you slay them, the wounded will rise up and lay
waste to the entire city. The word of God was
as a response to King Zedekiah. They stung the king.
They also stung Jeremiah, who did not want to see
his city burn. However, he knew that this was the

(06:10):
refining work of God. Zedekiah continued to rage against King Nebuchonezzer.
The Chaldeans were approaching, but were thwarted for a moment
by the Egyptian army on the border. Judah held on
to hope that Egypt may act as a wall between
them and the massive army. As this was taking place,
Jeremiah traveled down to the land of Benjamin. When he

(06:32):
was at the gate, the sentry named Eurijah stopped him.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
Halt, he yelled.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
The guard peered down at Jeremiah. His face was hard
as stone. You are clearly going down to join the
Chaldean army, he accused. Jeremiah scoffed at the notion. Of course,
not what a stupid lie. Elijah's fist hooked upward and
landed directly in Jeremiah's belly. He fell to the ground,
gasping for air. The stone like God took ropes and

(06:58):
bound Jeremiah. He brought him to his feet and escorted
him to the palace officials. In the palace court room,
Jeremiah was berated by the judges and sentenced to a
beating and imprisonment. Large men approached him with his hand
still behind his back. Jeremiah received the countless blows from
the palace guards. His ribs cracked and his face swelled

(07:20):
from the impact of clubs. After a barrage of punches,
the prophet was thrown into a prison cell. There he
lay on the cold, damp floor, praying to God. He
could not see from the swelling, and it hurt to breathe.
Yet he knew that this was still nothing compared to
what was about to come. Many days had passed and
Jeremiah was regaining use of his eyes and body. One morning,

(07:44):
Jeremiah's cell door opened, a bright light shone through. It
was blinding. For a moment, he thought it might be
an angel of the Lord to rescue him. Upon further inspection,
it was just a palace guard coming to fetch him.
Jeremiah had not seen daylight in a very long time.
The prophet was escorted into the throne room of King Zedekiah.

(08:05):
Jeremiah inspected the king's eyes. They were weary from battling
against the Chaldeans and Babylonians. Jeremiah could sense the growing
rage in sight him. Is there a word from the
Lord regarding the future of Judah, the king asked impassively.
There was a pause as Jeremiah scanned the room. Guards
surrounded him clubs in hand. He knew they would be

(08:27):
angry at a bad word there is, Jeremiah replied, you
and the entire country will be delivered into the hand
of King nebuchon Nezzer. Zedekiah rose from his throne with
force and stormed towards Jeremiah. Yet he continued to speak,
What crime have I committed to be put in your dungeon?
Jeremiah yelled, Was it a good report you wanted? You

(08:50):
are surrounded by false prophets tickling your ears with good news.
I simply tell the truth. Now, Please do not send
me back into that prison. I will surely die if
you do. The king ceased his attack against Jeremiah. He
relented and had the guards escort him to the courthouse.
He remained under careful watch by the gods. No more

(09:11):
beatings were given to him, and he was allotted one
loaf of bread a day. However, the bread would soon
run out, for all of Judah was going to be
ripped out from its foundation and taken by the forceful
hand of King Nebuconezzar.

Speaker 4 (09:27):
Today's reading begins after the first attack of the Babylonians
against Judah. The nation had already fallen to the foreign
conqueror Nebican Nazar and Jehokam had been sent away into
exile into Babylon. Devastation and death came upon Judah as
God's hand of judgment finally came down on the people.
But things were going to get much worse. Never Caanazar

(09:50):
placed Zedekiah, the nephew of Jehokam, in the position of ruler.
Zedekiah was not righteous like Josiah had been. Still, God,
continue you to speak through Jeremiah, calling the people and
the king to repent us and to return. Jeremiah thirty
seven to iiO reveals Zedekiah's response, neither he nor his servants,

(10:12):
nor the people of the land listen to the words
of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
Zedekiah hated nebkan Azar and what Babylon was doing to Judah,
But this was not righteous anger. It wasn't zeal for
the Lord that made Zedekiah so indignant. It was his pride,
the sense of being put to shame by the enemy.

(10:34):
Yet despite all his rage, he knew he had no
power to fight back, so he summoned Jeremiah and ask
him to contend for Judah with God. This was not
a matter of Zedekiah honoring God. He was only looking
for someone to grant his desires, to give him what
he wanted. As absurd as this attitude seems, how often

(10:55):
are our prayers selfish? We want God to do what
we want him to do. But prayer is not changing
God's mind. Prayer is finding God's mind. And when our
motives are not right, our hearts are misguided and we
are self seeking, God will not answer those prayers. Such

(11:16):
was the case with Zedekiah. But God had a purpose,
and it wasn't to appease the ego of this stubborn king.
When the king's request came to Jeremiah, he went to God,
likely knowing the answer would not be favorable, and it wasn't.
God told Jeremiah that the Chaldeans were coming. The onslaught
of their army would set the city ablaze. They were

(11:39):
a force that would not could not be stopped. This
is not, of course, what Zedekiah wanted to hear. He
wanted happy news, better news. He wanted to hear that
Judah stood a chance that they could fight off the
enemy and emerge victorious. But victory was not to come.
The Chaldeans were and they would bring disaster, pain, and

(12:02):
suffering to Judah. The news gave Jeremiah no joy, but
he understood that this was how God was going to
refine his people. In the end, the pain would be
worth it if God brought his people back to himself,
so Jeremiah continued his ministry. As he traveled to Benjamin,
Jeremiah was accused of trying to desert to the enemy's side.

(12:24):
It was an absurd accusation, but still it landed him
in prison, where he received beatings after beatings, until one
day Zedekiah summoned him again. The king wanted good news,
but still Jeremiah had no good news. How could there
be good news if the people refused to repent. So
once more Jeremiah spoke God's words, this time telling the

(12:48):
king the entire nation would fall into the hands of Nevchanazar.
The truth is, there's no stopping the will of God
nor the judgment of God when it comes. Jeremiah knew this,
and finally his Sadekiah seemed to resign himself to this
as well. The immediate future was grim for Judah, but
as Jeremiah would later remind the people in exile, God's

(13:10):
plans were to give his people a hope and a future.
That's Jeremiah twenty nine and verse eleven. Jeremiah continued to
serve the Lord with courage and conviction, and though he
wasn't immune from suffering or pain, or many tears, God
would protect him for his own purposes. And the next
time we'll hear how God once more protected his prophet.

(13:34):
Dear God, we know that you are an awesome and
mighty God, that your plans and purposes are always fulfilled.
So may we, in our prayers and in our purposes,
align ourselves with you. May we commit ourselves to knowing
and doing what you want, and not just what we
want to hear. May we be courageous always and speak

(13:54):
your word and speak your truth, and live bravely in
our world whatever the cost. Amen, thank you for listening
to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham
from Dallas, Texas. You can download the pray dot com
app and make Bible study and prayer a priority in
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(14:15):
share it with someone you know and love, because sharing
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And let me encourage you. If you want to know
more about God's power and how to live the Christian life,
how to know God's word, visit me at Jack Graham
dot org. Jack Graham dot org for resources as to

(14:35):
how you can live a victorious Christian life. God bless you.