Heralds Digest

“Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭39:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.39.9-10.nkjv In the world of competition and the parade of show, the lack of the material things of this world is distasteful. The worth of every man is mostly determined by the value of acquired material possessions. Even when a timer is set on the expiration of material wealth, having ‘nothing’ remains naughty to the pride of the flesh. The timer for king Zedekiah was set with several stages of reminder by prophet Jeremiah; but the thought of parting away with ‘something’, i.e., the tangible affluence of the palace, was unthinkable until the final alarm went off. Then, the stupi...

“Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’”” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭38:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.38.17-18.nkjv The dilemma of the soul of man has always been the destructive consequences of the pride of the flesh. Self consideration without soul concern will readily provide reasons to ignore the solemn call to salvation and separation from the consequences of sin. Otherwise, why would king Zedekiah requested to hear, over again, the same message or the call to surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes? The self in Zedekiah had the throne, the respect of the Jews, the parade of ...

““My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.” Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭38:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.38.9-10.nkjv The boldness of Ebed-Melech the eunuch of Ethiopia before king Zedekiah teaches that human position does not necessarily influence his conviction about the truth. Unfortunately, the misconception about political correctness has introduced the concept of relativism to the truth about evil in society. Prior to Jeremiah’s sentence to the dungeon, the opinion of the princes was superior in convicting Jeremiah to death. But later, the loner opinion of Ebed-Melech delivered Jeremiah from death. It just shows the confused state ...

“And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭37:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.37.11-12.nkjv One of the advantages of being a Lone Ranger is the simplicity with decision making in personal affairs. A Lone Ranger is good for being responsible for only himself, until his civic responsibilities are assumed compromised. Therefore, fulfilling the civic responsibilities is a stepup to personal affairs, which requires mostly an attribute beyond the attitude of a Lone Ranger. Political manoeuvring and social event organizing demand the engagement with the people for clearer understanding of both the state and sentiments of affairs. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for anyone to please both man and God at the same time. While the Loner Jeremiah was comfortable with his resolve to live to ple...

““Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭37:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.37.7.nkjv When the Psalmist cried ‘I will lift up my eyes unto the hill, from where comes my help’, he appeared to have acknowledged the significant difference between ‘Hill Helps’ and ‘Help Hill’. The likes of help from Pharaoh to Zedekiah fit into the category of Hill Helps. It comes at the season of help from little hills of this world. At other seasons, when there are conflict of interest, personal interest of the hills takes priority. Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel (and the only reliable Help Hill of all ages) had to warn Zedekiah “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land.” Unfortunately, the activities of little hills are mostly visible in times of diffi...

“Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭36:32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.36.32.nkjv Like the atmosphere created by Jehoakim’s insurrection, the word of God has experienced many foolish attempts from men of materials and positions at eradicating the influence of God in the affairs of His people. Different government establishments have previously developed a paradigm of policies against the written word, but later left the stage disappointed and disgraced. The truth remains unchangeable and unmovable, even while the knowledge about it develops. Since materials and positions came into existence by the pronouncement of the truth, it is unthinkable for materials and positions to destroy the originating truth. Therefore, the most honour...

“And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭36:23-24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.36.23-24.nkjv The statements of right or wrong are clearly written in the word of God for humble hearts. To these surrendered hearts, the word of God is sharper than two-edged sword for the destruction of evil vices and the construction of good ways. Whereas, hardened hearts are stony and stubborn. Instead of the words of God piercing through the heart of the king, the king’s heart pierced the scroll of God’s words to the fire on the hearth. Likewise, all hardened hearts are insensitive to all available warnings in the written words until they are totally consumed. In reality, the garm...