Good morning, and welcome back. Today we’re reading Jeremiah chapters 37–40, a section filled with tension, desperation, and glimpses of spiritual awakening.
I’ve known many people who say they’re not atheists, but also not religious. They live without faith—until crisis hits. When a loved one suffers injury, a marriage dissolves, or someone loses a job, they seek their Christian friends and ask for prayer.
As one of those friends, I’m always grateful for the opportunity to intercede. But I also ask: Would you like to know God yourself—so you don’t need a middleman?
Desperate Plea
That’s what we see in Jeremiah 37. King Zedekiah, who once burned Jeremiah’s scroll (Jeremiah 36:23), now sends a message:
“Please pray to the Lord our God for us.” — Jeremiah 37:3 (NIV)
For over two decades, he ignored the prophet’s warnings (Jeremiah 37:1). But now, with Babylon at the gates, he’s desperate. Pharaoh’s army distracts Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 37:5), but God tells Jeremiah that even if the Babylonians suffered wounds and retreated, they would still rise and burn the city (Jeremiah 37:10).
Therefore, Jesus didn’t just tell the paralyzed man to walk in Luke 5:17–26—He first said, “Your sins are forgiven.” Zedekiah needed faith, not just relief.
In the Mud
Jeremiah is called the “weeping prophet” for good reason. His suffering rivals that of Paul (see 2 Corinthians 11:23–28). He’s beaten, imprisoned, confined to a courtyard, and now thrown into a cistern:
“So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern… There was no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.” — Jeremiah 38:6 (NIV)
I’ve never been inside a cistern, but I’ve been stuck in mud. While duck hunting, I once buried my truck in deep mud. Even with four-wheel drive, the tires just spun. We needed someone with a winch to pull us out.
Jeremiah must have felt the same: all his efforts to reach Zedekiah seemed useless. The king wouldn’t listen. But then, something shifts.
A Crack
Zedekiah learns what someone has done to Jeremiah and orders his rescue. The men fashion a sling to lift him gently from the mire (Jeremiah 38:12). Afterward, Zedekiah confides in Jeremiah, fearing for his life and promising protection (Jeremiah 38:16).
These are the desperate actions we take when we know we’ve angered the Lord and judgment is near. As Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law.” [1]
And in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards put it this way:
“The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string… and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God… that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.” [2]
From Relief to Repentance
It’s easy to want release when the world presses in. But without repentance and faith, we’re just lost souls floating at sea—too far from shore to make it on our own.
We need to stop looking for treatments and realize there’s a cure: faith in the blood of Jesus.
When my truck was stuck, I always thought, “When I get out of this mess, I’m buying a winch.” But once I was free, I’d forget. We do the same spiritually. We ask for prayer, recover, and return to our old habits.
Our attitude shifts from “I don’t believe in God” to “I guess God helps sometimes.” But we still think it’s our effort—with a little divine boost.
The Truth About Salvation
We don’t realize that our only contribution is getting ourselves into trouble. It’s the Lord alone who gets us out.
As Jonathan Edwards also said:
“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” [3]
Before you need someone to pull you out of another cistern, why not place your faith in Jesus today—so He can keep you from falling in at all?
Tomorrow, we will read Jeremiah 41-44.
Bibliography
Spurgeon, Charles. All of Grace. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1886.
Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. 1741. In The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2. Banner of Truth, 1974.
Edwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2. Banner of Truth, 1974.