This World is Bound for Judgment, Let it Go

Jeremiah 21:1–2 (ESV) This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

Despite all the hatred Jeremiah faced from his contemporary culture when the trouble started, they looked to him. Nebuchadnezzar was marching in; it would be trouble for generations. The Lord's prescription of judgment was coming. What does the king do? He summons Jeremiah for a friendly word from God. They think there may still be some great miraculous salvation in His back pocket. But they were misled. The judgment was to begin. 

Jeremiah minces no words in this regard:
Jeremiah 21:4–6 (ESV) ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence.

The worthless kings of Judah would pay for their sins, the Lord Himself, according to the covenant stipulations in Deuteronomy 28 would fight against Israel and hand her over to her enemies. This was the result of centuries of disobedience. 

In verse 8, Jeremiah addresses the people. 
Jeremiah 21:8–9 (ESV) “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.

God made a distinction between the king and the people. He held the king accountable for the sins of the nation, but He made an offer to the common man. Surrender to the army God is using to judge this city or stay in this city of judgment and die. This offer provides us a picture of our current situation. An invading army is coming to this Earth. The Lord Jesus will come to conquer, rule, and reign. He comes with a sword in His mouth and a robe drenched in blood (Revelation 19). 

We have a choice. Try to hold on to this world and stay committed to the current rebellion against God, or surrender and find our lives in Him. To live, we must let go of what hold this world may have on us. 

The hard part is that this world regularly seeks to convince us that all of this is untrue. 

For Israel, they felt their city was impregnable and undefeatable. The natural landscape of Jerusalem offered powerful protection from invading armies. But God was well able to hand her over to Babylon. 

Jeremiah 21:13–14 (ESV) “Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, declares the LORD; you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter our habitations?’ 14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.”

You can feel like this life is all there is at times. That we must hold on to what we have now. But I assure you that history will repeat. As happened to Jerusalem, it will happen to the powerful kingdoms today. Only those awakened to that reality will escape death and enter the prize of eternal life.

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