I find it interesting the persecution that the prophet Jeremiah went through... yet if he had been heeded, how different things might have gone for Israel.
Even the King, Zedekiah took counsel of the prophet, but he was too weak and afraid of public opinion to follow that counsel. And here's what Ellen White writes about this:
Choices and Consequences:
With tears Jeremiah entreated Zedekiah to save himself and his people. With anguish of spirit he assured him that unless he should heed the counsel of God, he could not escape with his life, and all his possessions would fall to the Babylonians. But the king had started on the wrong course, and he would not retrace his steps. He decided to follow the counsel of the false prophets, and of the men whom he really despised, and who ridiculed his weakness in yielding so readily to their wishes. He sacrificed the noble freedom of his manhood and became a cringing slave to public opinion. With no fixed purpose to do evil, he was also without resolution to stand boldly for the right. Convicted though he was of the value of the counsel given by Jeremiah, he had not the moral stamina to obey; and as a consequence he advanced steadily in the wrong direction.
The king was even too weak to be willing that his courtiers and people should know that he had held a conference with Jeremiah, so fully had the fear of man taken possession of his soul. If Zedekiah had stood up bravely and declared that he believed the words of the prophet, already half fulfilled, what desolation might have been averted! He should have said, I will obey the Lord, and save the city from utter ruin. I dare not disregard the commands of God because of the fear or favor of man. I love the truth, I hate sin, and I will follow the counsel of the Mighty One of Israel.
Then the people would have respected his courageous spirit, and those who were wavering between faith and unbelief would have taken a firm stand for the right. The very fearlessness and justice of this course would have inspired his subjects with admiration and loyalty. He would have had ample support, and Judah would have been spared the untold woe of carnage and famine and fire. (From Prophets and Kings, p. 457-458)What lesson can we learn from today's story? I think 2 Chronicles 20:20 sums things up for us: "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper."
It's because we have lost our belief in "His Prophets" that I think we are in the mess that we are in today as a church... We have lost our belief... and we criticize the prophets.
Tomorrow's Reading: Jer. 40-41 and John 15
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