Fri.’s Devo - The Turn of Events

Read: Jeremiah 39:1-41:18;2 Timothy 1:1-18; Psalms 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 26:1-2 In the ninth year of King Zedekiah, Babylon came and besieged Jerusalem. They worked for two and a half years before they broke through a section of the wall. The officers of the Babylonian army marched in the Middle Gate and set up their officers to guard it. King Zedekiah and his officers fled through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley. Just as Jeremiah had prophesied, they were caught and taken to Babylon. There Zedekiah met King Nebechadnezzar face to face and had to watch as they killed all his sons, then his eyes were gouged out and he was put in prison. They burned Jerusalem and many of the people were taken as exiles to Babylon. The poorest were left behind to care for the vineyards and the fields. The captain of the guard had been given strict orders to find Jeremiah and make sure he was not hurt. They took him out of prison and put him under the care of Gedaliah. Gedaliah had been a secretary under Josiah’s rule and was now set as the governor of the land. God told Jeremiah to tell Ebed-melech who had saved him from the cistern that he would be rescued and kept safe. God never forgets those who protect his prophets. The captain of the guard gave Jeremiah the choice of staying with the remnant left in Judah or to go to Babylon where he would be taken good care of. Jeremiah decided to stay in Judah with Gedaiah so the Babylonian gave Jeremiah food and money and set him free. The leaders of Zedekiah’s army all went to see Gedaliah for instructions. He told them not to be afraid to serve under Babylon. He was going to stay at Mizpah and represent them under the Babylonian rule. The people that had fled when the Babylonians came heard about what had happened and came out of hiding and came back to Judah. They stopped at Mizpah to meet Gedaliah, their new governor. A while later, some of the men from the army of Judah came to warn Gedaliah that Ishmael was coming to assassinate him but Gedaliah didn’t believe them. Johanan met with Gedaliah and offered to kill Ishmael secretly but Gedaliah still didn’t believe Ismael would kill him. Sure enough, Ishmeal did come to Mizpah with ten men to meet Gedaliah and while they were eating Ishmael and him men killed Gedaliah with their swords. They appointed Ishmael governor in his stead. The next day, 80 men arrived at Mizpah to celebrate to the Lord and offer sacrifices. They had not heard of Gedaliah’s death. Ishmael’s ten men killed them, all but ten. He let them go because they promised to bring him back the wheat, barley, olive oil and honey they had hidden away. Ishmael took the king’s daughters and the other people that had been put under Gedaliah’s care and took off to the land of Ammon. The other military officers found out what Ishmael had done and came after him. They caught up with him and released all the people. (Jeremiah would have been with the group they had taken.) Ishmael and eight of him men escaped into the land of Ammon. Johanan was the leader of the people now and his plan was to take everyone to Egypt because they were afraid of what Nebuchadnezzar would do if he found out the Gedaliah was dead. Paul wrote a second letter to Timothy to talk about the life God had promised to all who put their faith in Jesus. Paul reminisces about Timothy and his faith which he saw in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. He reminded Timothy to fan the flames of the fire inside him to keep his spiritual gift in operation. He reminded Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and a sound mind. Paul encouraged him not to ever be ashamed of the gospel or the fact that Paul was in prison for the truth. God chose that Paul would be a preacher of the gospel of Christ and prison was part of the plan which Paul embraced with grace and joy. Paul was honored to suffer for Christ and he is our example. Lord, may we grow under fire and persecution. May we fan the flames of the spiritual gift you have given us. May we never be ashamed of the truth of the Gospel of Christ.