Jeremiah 21:8-10
“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’”
Salvation through surrender! Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We see a picture of how surrender to Christ will save us. The Israelites here had been living in sin, idolatry, adultery, and just outright defiance to the Lord. So, He sent a king and his army against them, and only those who humbled themselves, listened to the Lord, and surrendered to the king would be saved.
Christ has come against the sin and shame in our lives, and His righteousness has exposed our weakness and our desperate need for Him, but will we leave the cities of sin we have built and go out and surrender to Him? Or will we stay in what’s comfortable to us and die? The Lord didn’t give them some great task to complete to be saved, and He doesn’t do that to us either. It’s just listen, believe, and surrender to the King of kings! He sets before them the way of life and the way of death, and He does the same for us through our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God!
The second thing that the Holy Spirit showed me is that sometimes, God’s plan and our plan don’t line up. I’m sure that these people would have much rather not gone into exile for 70 years, but God had a purpose and a plan, and nothing can thwart our God. How merciful He is to give them the details and not leave them in the dark. They had been in constant rebellion against Him for many years, yet He shows compassion, mercy, and love to His people! What a God we serve! Let us remember that our frail and feeble path doesn’t always line up with God’s perfect and profound path, but we can rest in the fact that He knows what He is doing, and the end results are always glory for His name and salvation for His people!
The Kingdom of God is filled with redemption stories. Will you add yours to the list?
Ephesians 1:7-10 - In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
God bless! I love you all! Glory, Honor, and Praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit!
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