The Helpless King

Proposition: Why was Zedekiah helpless?

Introduction

Zedekiah let the rulers throw Jeremiah in to the pit. They were going to leave him there to die. Water was flowing around Jeremiah’s head and he thought he was going to die, but the Lord heard his prayer and he was rescued from the mud. That would be a terrifying feeling to be in a pit stuck in the mud and no way to get out. I have come close to being stuck in the mud. I was duck hunting with my dad in a marsh. I had my waders on and there were only a few inches of water, but there were several feet of gooey mud. I went to retrieve a duck. The water was to the top of my waders and I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of the mud. My dad thought he might have to get a rope and pull me out. One friend of mine was hunting ducks and he got stuck in the mud and he couldn’t get out. They had to get a boat and pull him out of the mud. Jeremiah was stuck in the mud. Jeremiah seemed to be the helpless one but Zedekiah was the helpless one in this situation.

I. He was a coward

II. He didn’t listen to God’s prophet

III. He hesitated between two opinions

I. He was a coward (Why was he a coward?)

A. He wouldn’t protect the innocent

1. Ebed-melech did protect the innocent

2. Ebed-melech wasn’t a coward. He risked his own life and honor to help Jeremiah.

B. He was afraid to go over to the Babylonians

1. Jeremiah 38:17-18

2. Zedekiah was the one who rebelled. He was the one Nebuchadnezzar wanted. When President Bush sent troops to Iraq if Saddam Hussein would have surrendered himself to President Bush and let him take control of the government there wouldn’t have been much of a war if any war. Saddam could have saved his life and spared his country and the lives of his people., but he was stubborn and he tried to run and hide from the U.S. troops. The same situation in Afghanistan the U.S. wanted Osama bin Laden. for being responsible for organizing the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

3. Zedekiah didn’t want to surrender. He didn’t want anyone to think he was a coward and he didn’t want the Jews who had surrendered to mock him.

C. He wouldn’t give his life to save his city or his people

1. He thought he would get more honor by staying and fighting.

2. It takes courage and humility to surrender

3. You have to admit your opponent coming against you is superior to you and place yourself in his hands. That is more scary than fighting to the death.

4. When Jesus was taken to be crucified, He gave himself so that the apostles could live.

5. John 18:1-9

6. Jesus didn’t run from the soldiers. He asked, “Whom do you seek?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said, “ I am He. If you seek me let these go their way.”

7. Jesus gave himself and spared the lives of his apostles. Peter was ready to fight and so were some of the others.

8. Luke 22:36-38 and 49-51 They were ready to fight.

9. If Jesus were just a man he would have let his apostles die fighting for Him, like Zedekiah, Saddam and Osama let many people die for them.

D. Jeremiah was not a coward

1. He spoke the message of truth even when he depended on the king for bread.

2. Revelation 21:8

3. Cowardly is the first one in the list. When we don’t do what is right because we are afraid of what people will think of us or what will happen to us we are cowardly.

4. Sometimes doing what is right will cost you your life. Sometimes nations are corrupt like Judah. They like corrupt rulers. The Roman Emperor Commodus was as corrupt as they come. He fought as a gladiator. He killed several senators. He had 300 concubines and as many young boys. He cared nothing about ruling the empire. He only cared about enjoying its pleasures. He spent heavily and taxed heavily. Finally, his favorite concubine, his chamberlain, and his Praetorian prefect killed him. A man named Pertinax succeeded him. Pertinax didn’t want to be emperor. He knew it would be very difficult to correct the corruption in the government. He ruled justly. He got rid of corrupt rulers. The Praetorian Guard wanted a corrupt ruler like Commodus. Eighty-six days into Pertinax’s reign they killed him and put the emperor ship up for auction to the highest bidder.

5. A prophet has to speak the truth whether or not the people like it or not

6. A king, president or any leader has to govern right even if he knows the people will hate him for it.

7. A husband has to do what is right even if he knows his wife will be mad at him.

8. A father has to do what is right even if he knows his children will be mad at him.

II. He wouldn’t listen to the prophet of God (Why does this make him helpless?) Jeremiah 38:15

A. God can’t help those who won’t listen to wise council

1. Proverbs 1:22-30

2. Zedekiah wouldn’t listen to Jeremiah. He told Zedekiah to go over to the Chaldeans, and if he would his life would be saved and the city wouldn’t be burned with fire.

3. If he didn’t surrender he wouldn’t escape and the city would be burned with fire.

4. Would you rather have God laugh at you or would you rather have people laugh at you?

5. That is the question we have to ask ourselves sometimes. If people are laughing at us, we can get over it, but if God is laughing at us because we didn’t listen to his council, we are in a bad situation.

B. If God is against who can be for you

1. Romans 8:31

2. If God is on your side is doesn’t matter who is against you. God was with Jeremiah. When Jeremiah called out to God while he was in the miry pit. God heard him.

3. Lamentations 3:52-58

4. God sent Ebed-melech to get him out of the pit.

5. When Zedekiah asked for help he didn’t get any.

a. Jeremiah 21:1-7

b. God was against him.

C. Zedekiah suffered for doing what was wrong.

1. Ezekiel 17:12-16

2. He broke the covenant he had with Nebuchadnezzar. He didn’t stop the men from putting Jeremiah in the cistern.

3. Zedekiah deserved everything he got.

4. I Peter 3:8-17

5. Jeremiah suffered for doing what was right. He was compassionate. He shed tears over his people. He loved his people. He was courteous. He didn’t insult the king for letting the men put him in the miry pit. He was falsely accused.

III. He hesitated between two opinions (Why did this make him helpless?)

A. It is hard to help someone who won’t make up their mind.

1. I Kings 18:21

2. Zedekiah asked the same thing 3 times.

a. Jeremiah 21:1-2

b. Jeremiah 37: 17

c. Jeremiah 38:14

d. Jeremiah gave him the same answer three times.

e. Part of Zedekiah wanted to do what was right and part of him didn’t. He wanted to please the people and please God. He couldn’t do both so he chose to try to please the people. That is a mistake. Many people hesitate between two opinions.

f. John 6:15, here the people want Jesus for their king. Two years later they were saying, “We have no king, but Caesar. Crucify Him.”

g. A leader has to do what is pleasing to God and if that also pleases the people that is good. If it doesn’t he will have to trust in the Lord to get him through the rough times like Jeremiah did.

h. If he hesitates between two opinions he won’t get anywhere.

i. Neither will anybody else if they hesitate between two opinions.

B. Be hot or cold not lukewarm

1. Revelation 3:14-19

2. The church at Laodicea couldn’t make up their mind they wanted to be in between. They weren’t hot and they weren’t cold.

3. We don’t like warm ice cream. We don’t like room temperature oatmeal. We want our food hot or cold not in between.

4. God isn’t pleased with us either if we are lukewarm. He will spit us out of his mouth because it tastes bad.

Conclusion

Being helpless like Zedekiah is a bad place to be in. He had power, but he didn’t use it. He would rather let a man drown in mud and starve than to do what was right and save Jeremiah from the princes who didn’t like his message.

He was a coward

He wouldn’t listen to God

He hesitated between two opinions.

We will be helpless if we do the same. If we are like Jeremiah and speak the truth no matter what happens to us or who opposes us we will be strong because God is on our side. He will lift us up out of the miry clay.