The king steps out to a carefully chosen vantage point on the city wall. Looking out over the wall, he can see the enemy army camped outside the city gates, their tents stretching off into the distance. They have been there for over a year now. Panic is setting in. People are hoarding food, distrusting their neighbors and even their family members, desperately fending for themselves as they try to stay alive. Everyone looks to the king for leadership, for salvation, but he knows he can offer them nothing. His soldiers are a sorry excuse for a military force, laughable when compared to the vast army outside the city. Nothing but a miracle can save them now.
He is only thirty-one years old, but the king feels like an old man. The pressures of leadership and the burden of his nation’s predicament leave his shoulders bowed. He once dreamed of grandeur, power, prestige. He saw himself as a great king, a savior, a hero. But no one is calling King Zedekiah a hero now. Some of his people are blaming the king for their predicament, and he can hardly blame them.
Ten years earlier, Zedekiah first felt the weight of the crown. It was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon who was responsible for placing that crown on Zedekiah’s head. Zedekiah’s nephew Jeconiah was king before him, but Babylon swept in and crushed the army of Judah, capturing King Jeconiah and dragging him and the rest of the Jewish nobility back to Babylon.
To appease the people, Nebuchadnezzar crowned young Zedekiah as the new king. It was a glorious day for the twenty-one-year-old. He basked in the honor of his new position, but all too quickly, he came to understand that he was merely a figure-head. He could wear the crown, but only as long as he promised to be a good boy and obey the true king, Nebuchadnezzar. As years pass, Zedekiah’s crown feels more and more like a toy.
At thirty, the king finally decides he has had enough. Zedekiah wants to be more than a puppet king. He wants to lead the people to glory. They deserve more, he tells himself, and he has the chance to be their hero. He may be the underdog, but Zedekiah is going to stand up to Babylon.
There are, of course, nay-sayers. But Zedekiah sweeps their warnings aside, including the prophecies of an obnoxious middle-aged man named Jeremiah. He keeps telling the king not to rebel, but to continue to submit to Babylonian rule.
“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.” (Jeremiah 27:12)
But meek submission, Zedekiah knows, is not the road to greatness. Rebellion is the way forward and Zedekiah has a plan. There is a nation that even Babylon has not managed to conquer – Egypt. Behind Nebuchadnezzar’s back, Zedekiah initiates talks with Egypt’s pharaoh and manages to broker a treaty, getting Egypt’s agreement to back him up if Babylon tries to attack. The support of such a powerful nation gives Zedekiah the confidence to rebel against Babylon. For the first time in nine years, he refuses to pay tribute and he declares himself the independent king of Judah. With shocking speed, the Babylonian army is outside the walls of Jerusalem. But though many inhabitants of the city throw up their hands in dismay, Zedekiah smiles.
One morning, a cloud of dust appears on the southern horizon. Soon Egyptian horsemen and chariots can be seen and heard thundering towards the city and before the Egyptians even reach Jerusalem’s gates, the Babylonians are nowhere to be found.
The mood in Jerusalem goes from somber resignation to jubilant triumph. Zedekiah is a hero! His masterful diplomacy has saved the day! The people of Jerusalem are free from their oppressors! The nation of Judah is once again an independent nation – and it’s all because of good King Zedekiah!
But even as the rest of the nation rejoices, that tiresome prophet Jeremiah pipes up once again, telling the king, “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.” (Jeremiah 37:7-8)
Zedekiah scoffs, but the prophet’s words prove true.
The Egyptians return to their land and the army of Babylon returns to Jerusalem. The city is once again under siege, and this time Zedekiah has no hope of salvation. As food begins to run out, and the situation in the city continues to deteriorate, Zedekiah is lost.
In desperation, he quietly turns to Jeremiah for counsel. He asks Jeremiah if the people of Judah can expect a miracle of deliverance from God. Jeremiah’s answer is clear. He tells Zedekiah that his message comes straight from God.
“I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people… into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.” (Jeremiah 21:5-7)
As if that weren’t enough, Jeremiah goes out and preaches to all the people, “Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.” (Jeremiah 21:8-9)
This is too much for King Zedekiah. He knows that Jeremiah always only preaches the truth, but this anti-national rhetoric cannot be permitted. He has Jeremiah arrested and imprisoned.
Even then, as the siege continues to grow worse, the king once again finds himself secretly meeting with Jeremiah, grasping for a glimmer of hope. Jeremiah tells him plainly, “If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.” (Jeremiah 38:17-18)
Jeremiah begs the king, “Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.” (Jeremiah 38:20)
But King Zedekiah simply cannot bring himself to admit defeat. His pride will not allow him to give up this opportunity to be a hero, so he ignores the clear word of God and hunkers down in the beleaguered city of Jerusalem, waiting for a miracle, hoping against hope for salvation from this withering siege.
Salvation never comes.
The food runs out, the will of the people breaks, and all efforts at defense are abandoned. Zedekiah tries to flee, but he is caught by Babylonian soldiers. Jeremiah’s words come true. Zedekiah’s family is executed before his eyes, his eyes are put out, and he is dragged in chains to Babylon to live out the rest of his dark, humiliated life in captivity.
Zedekiah’s is a sad story and a vivid warning. He was given the choice between being a hero and obeying the voice of God.
Zedekiah tried to be a hero.
In 1 Samuel 15, the Israelite King Saul decimates the Amalekite kingdom. Diplomatically, he spares the life of Amalek’s king and he spares much of the livestock. Keeping the king alive will allow Saul to parade him through the streets of Israel, reminding everyone of Israel’s superiority. Saul will use the livestock to offer a mammoth sacrifice to God, killing hundreds of sheep and oxen in a stunning religious spectacle. These acts, Saul knows, will serve to boost Israelite morale and cement Saul’s status as a powerful king and effective leader. But there is a problem. Sparing the life of the king and livestock was a direct violation of God’s command to “utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not”. (1 Samuel 15:3) God specifically told the king not to spare the life of a single person or animal.
When the prophet Samuel confronts Saul, Saul tries to justify his actions, but Samuel tells him, “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) God is more pleased with simple acts of obedience than with lavish displays of devotion. Samuel goes on to compare rebellion against God with witchcraft and idolatry. King Saul needs to understand that obedience is more important than strategic worship or dynamic leadership. It is more important that he simply obeys the commands of God than that he makes a name for himself.
In a status-driven society, we are constantly challenged to “Leave your mark on the world!” “Make a difference!” “Make the world a better place!” There seems to be no greater goal in life than to be recognized and remembered by others. But God doesn’t see it that way.
The servants of God don’t always toil namelessly in the dark. Sometimes, obedience to God means attempting what seems impossible. Sometimes, the servants of God achieve recognition, even fame, in their quest to follow God, but for the faithful, fame is never part of the goal. Any recognition they receive is just a byproduct of faithful obedience.
Do you remember that obnoxious prophet Jeremiah? Jeremiah was not popular in his day, but he persevered in faithfulness to God. Jeremiah got no applause, no awards for his ministry. To know that he was living in obedience to God had to be reward enough. Jeremiah had an assistant, a man named Baruch, who helped him in his thankless ministry. In Jeremiah 45, God uses Jeremiah to speak these words to Baruch:
“Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” (Jeremiah 45:5)
It is faithfulness, not fame, that God rewards.
We can foolishly seek greatness and recognition, even in our service for God, but God warns us not to pursue such empty goals. We need to let go of our obsession with being recognized, thinking that what we do is only significant if someone takes notice and applauds us for it.
Is it really worth it to spend your life pursuing greatness, pining for recognition, and chasing after fickle fame? To obey is better.
Ecclesiastes 12 tells us that the duty of man – the whole duty of man is to “Fear God, and keep his commandments”. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
That is all.
Obedience is not sensational, but it is essential. Daring feats and rebellious courage might get you recognized and applauded, but to obey is better.
Exempla 