Secret Believers

Tuesday 8-25-15 (Home in Modesto)

Scripture reading:  Jer. 37 – 39     Psalm 79    2 John

S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer  SOAP for the soul.

S.  Jer 38:15-16  Jeremiah said, "If I tell you the truth, you will kill me. And if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway." So King Zedekiah secretly promised him, "As surely as the LORD our Creator lives, I will not kill you or hand you over to the men who want you dead.” NLT

O.  Jeremiah is taken to be a traitor because he warns the king, his leaders and the people of a terrible Babylonian invasion if they do not turn from their idolatry and sin and return the Lord.  King Zedekiah knows that Jeremiah is in contact with the true God.  He wants to know what God is saying and several times calls for Jeremiah’s “word from God,” but fears to take a stand to follow God’s instructions.  I see him as a “secret believer” who knows the truth, but due to his social position and pride, refuses to act on it.

A.  People of high social position often find themselves in this same situation.  They recognize that they are part of a false religious society, but due to social pressure, they fear to take a stand for the truth.  King Zedekiah could have saved his two eyes** and many lives including those of his sons.  But instead of humbling himself to do it God’s way, he attempted a panic escape through a secret door in Jerusalem’s wall and was captured along with his family and top leaders.  Centuries later King Herod, with his wife, Bernice, by his side, said, “Paul, almost you persuade me to be a Christian.”  “Almost” means “I know you are telling me the truth, but I cannot bring myself to act upon it.  Such action would jeopardize my social position.”  

P.  Lord, protect me from myself.  I, too, can imagine the reaction of the society and culture surrounding me and sense fear to take a stand for Your truth.  When my friend, Sam Balius, was in the service and surrounded by military men, he felt the pressure, but decided to make his commitment to Christ known from day one.  And You, Lord Jesus, often gave me the courage to stand up and preach in public places where some would scoff and even grab their children and rush them away.  Lord Jesus, please never let my pride overcome my zeal to get Your truth out there before the lost.  And please give lost hearers the courage to swallow their pride, take a social loss if necessary, and step out to follow You... the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Amen.

Ralph

**Jer 39:6-7  He made Zedekiah watch as they killed his sons and all the nobles of Judah.  Then he gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in chains, and sent him away to exile in Babylon.

Ezek 12:12-14  It is interesting that Ezekiel prophesied concerning King Zedekiah: I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. NIV