Surrender

 

 

I was studying Deuteronomy and Jeremiah this morning, which led me to Matthew. Deuteronomy 8 was titled with a warning – “Do Not Forget Yahweh Your God.” Jeremiah was a warning as well – Surrender or die. Those two pointed me to Matthew, and the passage I sought out was a warning about two choices.

The Linchpin

These warnings were so powerful, and as I considered them, I realized the significance of Deuteronomy 8. In verses 11-16, God reminds them of all he has done.

Deuteronomy 8:11-16 (LSB)

11 “Beware lest you forget Yahweh your God by not keeping His commandments and His judgments and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 lest you eat and are satisfied and build good houses and live in them, 13 and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 and your heart becomes lifted up and you forget Yahweh your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15 He led you through the great and fearsome wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. 16 In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end,

Then God points out what forgetting looks like and the results.

Deuteronomy 8:17-19 (LSB)

17 lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18 But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

19 Now it will be, if you ever forget Yahweh your God and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.

That gave me pause. Failure had a price, but it only came IF the Israelites became prideful and decided they were responsible for their wealth. Jeremiah is similar because it is pride that hinders surrender.

The First Surrender

In chapter 38, Jeremiah professes Israel’s fall to the Babylonians. It was so bad that they had Jeremiah thrown into a cistern. He was sharing God’s offer to spare their lives.

Jeremiah 38:2 (LSB Strong’s)

2 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as spoil and stay alive.’

It is so simple, but no one wants to hear it. Many wanted to kill Jeremiah, but instead, they pitched him into the cistern. Eventually, they did pull him out, and King Zedekiah sent for him.

The Kings Request

Zedekiah had a question. He called Jeremiah to come and meet with him in private. He did not ask immediately; Jerimiah did not give him a chance. He had just been pulled out of a cistern and wouldn’t talk to Zedekiah without some assurance that he would not be killed if the King didn’t like the answer. So, in secret, he swore no harm would come to him regardless of all that the King asked the question.

Jeremiah 38:19 (LSB)

19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am anxious because of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they give me over into their hand and they deal severely with me.”

Self-preservation was high on the King’s list.

 

Jeremiah’s Response

Jerimiah was pretty concise… unlike me…

Jeremiah 38:20-23 (LSB Strong’s)

20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please listen to the voice of Yahweh in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which Yahweh has shown me: 22 ‘And behold, all of the women who have remained in the house of the King of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the King of Babylon; and behold, those women will say,

“Your close friends

Have misled and overpowered you;

While your feet were sunk in the mud,

They turned back.”

23 And they will also bring out all your wives and your sons to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the King of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire.'”

It is interesting to read what Jeremiah pleaded with the King: “Please listen to the voice of Yahweh in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you, and you may live.” In all these things, Jeremiah said, if you surrender, you will live, but it will not go well with you if you don’t.

You know the King would not listen. He swore Jerimiah to a lie… all under the cloak of secrecy. And it all ended badly for the King when Jerusalem fell and was burned. That all brought me to Matthew 16.

Another Surrender

In Matthew 16 Jesus went through a lot. The Sadducees tested Him; Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, and Jesus had to rebuke him because Peter would not accept Jesus dying.    But after all, Jesus said this.

Matthew 16:24-25 (LSB Strong’s)

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

That is a lot in that short passage. Jesus tells them to follow Him, but they must deny themselves and then take up their cross and follow him. Then he adds a bit more to clarify…

If you do not listen and try to save your own life like King Zedekiah chose to do, you will lose your life, but if you would lose your life for “My Sake,” you will find it.

Summary

I mulled over this for a bit, and in the end, here is where I found myself.

Ultimately, God desires us to remain in Him, and he knows if we forget him, there will be death. But the thing is… God does not leave it for us to figure out. He is clear.

He used Jeremiah to tell the King how to survive death, but it required the King to humble himself and surrender to God’s agent, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. These things were a foreshadow of Mathew 16:24-25.

In Matthew, Jesus said we must deny ourselves… set aside our power for His… Surrender. Then take up our cross and follow him. If we lose our life for his sake, we will live. If we chose as King Zedekiah did, we would die. He could not save himself, and neither could we. I like this passage.

Matthew 6:33 (LSB)

33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

It is pretty straightforward….

We fool ourselves if we live as if we have the power to save. Peter didn’t have it, and Jesus rebuked him for thinking he could save Jesus. (Mat 16:23)

Here is where I will stand.

 Proverbs 3:5-8 (LSB Strong’s)

5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear Yahweh and turn away from evil.

8 It will be healing to your body

And refreshment to your bones

Why would I choose any differently…