Articles
Why Will You Die?
There are times when it seems best to deal with the symptoms of our problems, rather than address the root cause. This has many long-lasting negative impacts on our lives, and oftentimes the problems persist and the symptoms continue. A spiritual impact of this behavior is that we sometimes want to fix the results of our sin, rather than the sin itself. We might try to deal exclusively with the consequences of what we do that violates God’s will, but we aren’t ready to submit to that will.
We can see a version of this in the actions of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar’s puppet king over Judah. We have an account of this king, who was established by Nebuchadnezzar “who had made him swear [allegiance] by God.” (II Chronicles 36:10-21) However, even though he had sworn, Zedekiah “rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar” because “he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to YHWH God of Israel.” Zedekiah thought that he could gain the assistance of Egypt and throw off the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian king was the vessel of God’s wrath that he was bringing on Judah due to their unfaithfulness, and in rebelling against that agent, Zedekiah was still being unfaithful.
God’s anger with Zedekiah was not just that Zedekiah rebelled, but that “despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he pledged his allegiance.” (Ezekiel 17:11-21) The result of that unfaithfulness meant that Zedekiah would die, and it was God who promised to bring about that result. Trying to deal with the consequences of sin, without fixing the problem of rebellion against God made things worse for the puppet king in Israel. When God brings about hardships due to our sin and rebellion, they are to bring about humility and obedience. We must accept God’s discipline and humble ourselves in His sight.
It is important to remember that Zedekiah was not acting in ignorance when he engaged in this rebellion. The Chronicles account is very clear in listing one of his sins as refusing to “humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for YHWH.” (II Chronicles 36:12) A significant part of Jeremiah’s ministry was continually warning Zedekiah against rebelling against God’s chosen vessel of wrath, and choosing to seek assistance from Egypt (which was against the Law from the beginning, see: Deuteronomy 17:16). Jeremiah repeatedly encouraged the king of Judah to “bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!” (Jeremiah 27:8-15; 34:1-22; 37:1-10; 38:17-28) However, Zedekiah chose to heed his retinue of false prophets, and was finally defeated and killed exactly as prophesied. (Jeremiah 39:1-10)
When we face the very real consequences of our sin, will we use that opportunity to be humbled, or will we continue to strive and rebel? Will we incur greater wrath from God as we attempt to gain dominance, or will we accept His discipline and learn faithfulness?
