WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW THE LORD

Jeremiah 22:10-23 / Keywords 22:16

He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.

 

22:10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss;

    rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,

because he will never return

    nor see his native land again.

11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[a] son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”

13 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,

    his upper rooms by injustice,

making his own people work for nothing,

    not paying them for their labor.

14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace

    with spacious upper rooms.’

So he makes large windows in it,

    panels it with cedar

    and decorates it in red.

15 “Does it make you a king

    to have more and more cedar?

Did not your father have food and drink?

    He did what was right and just,

    so all went well with him.

16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,

    and so all went well.

Is that not what it means to know me?”

    declares the Lord.

17 “But your eyes and your heart

    are set only on dishonest gain,

on shedding innocent blood

    and on oppression and extortion.”

18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

“They will not mourn for him:

    ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’

They will not mourn for him:

    ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’

19 He will have the burial of a donkey—

    dragged away and thrown

    outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,

    let your voice be heard in Bashan,

cry out from Abarim,

    for all your allies are crushed.

21 I warned you when you felt secure,

    but you said, ‘I will not listen!’

This has been your way from your youth;

    you have not obeyed me.

22 The wind will drive all your shepherds away,

    and your allies will go into exile.

Then you will be ashamed and disgraced

    because of all your wickedness.

23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[b]’

    who are nestled in cedar buildings,

how you will groan when pangs come upon you,

    pain like that of a woman in labor!

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz

b. Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)

1. Zedekiah was made a puppet king of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord (2Ki 17:24). He was preceded by three other kings, all of whom also did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Shallum (Jehoahaz) was taken into Egypt by Pharaoh Necho and he died there. Next, Shallum’s son, Jehoiakim, also did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He refused to recognize the Lord; nor did he heed the warnings of what happened to his father. He died in Jerusalem during the Babylonian invasion. No one mourned him when he died. His son, Jehoiachin, also did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He was carried off to Babylon and died there.

 

2. King Zedekiah had ample warning. He had the examples of his predecessors. He had been warned by Jeremiah to “do what is right.” He was to turn away from unrighteousness and injustice. He was to do what was right and just—to defend the cause of the poor and needy, just as King David had done. We learn that is what it means to know God. Instead, Zedekiah was only set on dishonest gain, bloodshed, oppression and extortion.

 

Prayer Father, it is so easy to chase after the things in this life. May I not forget about you, and may I do what is just and right, defending the cause of the poor and needy. In this, may I come to know you.

One Word Do what is just and right; come to know God