C4

If you know anything about explosives, you know exactly what C4 is capable of doing. It is more powerful than TNT; and even in a small package, it can provide quite a punch. I chuckled as I reached Jeremiah 37 because its 21 verses pack a mighty punch.
I chose C4 as my title due to its explosive message as well as that my four main points begin with "C."

CRISIS
Israel is besieged by the Babylonians and Zedekiah is currently king. With the Egyptians on their way into the area, these Babylonians withdrew for a time; and I am quite sure the people of Jerusalem celebrated!! Jeremiah has prophesied these events, according to the word of God, for quite some time. Despite his constant warnings, his message has been ignored. Other prophets said that good would come to the land, so these soothing words were preferred to Jeremiah's harsh prophecy. The key underlying these exchanges is the refusal by Israel to recognize and repent of their sin, wherein, they replaced God with things.

CHOICE
Once again, Jeremiah is given the opportunity to inquire of the Lord. In other words, people gave him another chance to speak the words they wanted to hear. This was his chance to gain popularity and rejoice with others. Instead, he chose to stick by the truth and told Zedekiah that the Babylonians would again return, the city would be burned, and that the king would be taken away as a captive. He spoke this truth and the Scriptures do not relay to us the way the message was received. He had a choice to side with man, and gain popularity, or remain true to God, and be an outcast. He chose Providence, and we must follow his example.

CONSEQUENCES
Some time after speaking with the king, the Egyptians did cause the Babylonians to withdraw. Now that the city was freed from its siege, Jeremiah was headed to his tribe of Benjamin to claim his land (he bought a field, as directed by God, in chapter 32). As he was leaving, a guard seized him and accused him of fleeing to be with the Babylonians. He was taken before the princes who beat and imprisoned him. They knew of his prophecy, but now was their chance to exact revenge on him for not siding with them. He stood for the truth and it cost him comforts; however, had he compromised his ethics, it would have cost him far more.

CHANCE
The king comes to the prison and inquires of Jeremiah one more time. This appearance may have been after several days to allow Jeremiah to feel some pressure. The king asks, and, immediately, Jeremiah answers -- "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!" There was no hesitation in his remarks because he knew what was right. Did he get out of prison? No. Our choices must be based upon truth and not just a chance to improve our comforts in life. As a bit of vindication, he asked the king where were those prophets that proclaimed good and peace -- were they in jail? The answer was no; however, the king did slightly change his accommodations by providing some additional food for Jeremiah.


In reflecting on the chapter, it has several applications for us:
(1) Speaking truth may not be popular, but it is the right thing to do. God will provide for us through it all.
(2) Difficult circumstances cannot force us to compromise our ethics. Nothing forces an ethical compromise because it is a personal choice.
(3) God is always in control and we have to trust Him when we do not understand things. Jeremiah bought land without seeing it, and going to see that land caused him to end up in jail. God had been working through this all to provide him another chance to speak the truth to the king in Jerusalem.

To understand and enact those three applications, we must have complete and total trust in the Lord. Without our faith, we will falter. Even with our faith, we will fall; but the difference is that our firm foundation -- Jesus Christ -- is right there to carry us through it all.