Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: A Time Of Need

How to Die a Horrible Death and Destroy Others

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name: JW01746 🔗

Date: 2024-04-27

Synopsis: John Weaver uses the account of King Zedekiah's rebellion and its devastating consequences to illustrate the principle that rejecting God's word leads to personal and national destruction. He draws parallels to modern leaders and nations, emphasizing the need to submit to God and trust in Christ to avoid a horrible death.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah chapter 52 and we're going to read a few verses. Jeremiah chapter 52 and we'll begin reading there with verse one. Look at this. Jeremiah chapter 52 verse one. The title of the message is how to die a horrible death and destroy others. So look at it, Jeremiah 52 verse 1. Zedekiah was 1 and 20 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamuto, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libba.

[John Weaver] And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, Till he had cast them out from his presence that zedekiah rebelled against the king of babylon They came to pass in the ninth year of his reign in the tenth month in the tenth day of the month the nebuchadnezzar King of babylon came in all of his army against jerusalem and pitched against it and built forts against it round about So the city was besieged until the 11th year of King Zedekiah. And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

[John Weaver] Then the city was broken up and all the men of war fled and went forth by out of the city by night, by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king's garden. Now, the Chaldeans were by the city roundabout and they went by the way of the plane. So let me ask a question. Who wishes to die an extremely horrible and agonizing death? Who wishes to die in anguish? Who would like to not only die in anguish, but be responsible for the deaths of others? In fact, I would say not only the death of your own family, the death of your friends, but the death of a multitude as well. Who would also not only like to die such a death and destroy all of the family and friends, but you also destroy your own country. And you also destroy your own place of worship.

[John Weaver] Are there any volunteers for that? And of course, you and I would say no. But the truth of the matter is, there are not only incidents like this in the Bible, there are incidents like this in history. And I would say that there are incidents like this today as well. It has been aptly pointed out by others that one thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history. Hence we got the old adage that history repeats itself. The truth of the matter is history does not repeat itself. Men just continue to repeat the same sins and are involved in the same rebellion and wickedness that others have, and God judges us exactly the same. So it's not history repeating itself, it's just man repeating age-old sins and rebellion, and receiving the same just and equitable punishments from God as well. Because God is immutable, He does not change, and neither do His judgments.

[John Weaver] Now, I've pointed this out previously, I believe, in many times, and all you have to do to understand this is to read and grasp Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy 28, because those passages teach undeniably that curses follow disobedience and blessings follow obedience. When you get to Jeremiah chapter 52, this is a summation of the destruction of Jerusalem. It is also a summation of the capture and, of course, the destruction of King Zedekiah, his sons, and the carrying away of captives into Babylon. Now you will find the entire story in 2 Kings chapter 24, 2 Chronicles 36, and of course, Jeremiah chapters 21 through 39. And so you would find it in detail there. Until then, of course, this is merely a summation. So if you'll look in Jeremiah 52 in verse 9, the Bible tells us about how Zedekiah was captured. In fact, we'll read verses 8 and 9. Verse 8, But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

[John Weaver] And they took the king and carried him up into the king of Babylon to Riblah, the land of Amoth, where he gave judgment upon him. Matthew Henry said concerning verse 9 that the king, of course, Babylon gave judgment upon the king of Judah and Jerusalem. He said, quote, one cannot think of it without the utmost vexation and regret that a king, a king of Judah, a king of the house of David, should be arraigned as a criminal at the bar of his heathen king. But the truth of the matter was, Zedekiah was indeed a criminal.

[John Weaver] The Bible does say in the book of Proverbs, chapter 25 and verse 26, a righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain and as a corrupt spring. But the truth of the matter is, Zedekiah was not a righteous man. He was a wicked, vile man as well. In fact, if you go back and look at Jeremiah 52 and verse two, here's what the scripture says concerning Zedekiah.

[John Weaver] And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. Now, Zedekiah is being compared to Jehoiakim. If you want to know something about Jehoiakim, and I want you to look very quickly, we're going to look, first of all, at 2 Chronicles chapter 36 and verse 5. Second Chronicles 36 in verse five. And here's what the Bible says concerning Jehoiakim, King Jehoiakim. Look at this. Second Chronicles chapter 36 and verse five. The word of God declares, Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.

[John Weaver] Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters to carry him away to Babylon. Now, wait a minute. The Bible says that he was 25 years old when he began to reign. He reigned 11 years and he did that, which was evil.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back just another book or two to the book of Second Kings, chapter 24, because we're not finished with Joachim. since Zedekiah has been compared to him. So you'll find this in 2nd Kings chapter 24 and verse 1. In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up and Jehoiakim, look at this now, became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. So Jehoiakim then was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and he actually became the servant of Nebuchadnezzar. So the evil then that Zedekiah has committed is committed or is connected then to the evil that Jehoiakim has committed. So Jehoiakim and Zedekiah were both very evil and wicked men.

[John Weaver] Now Zedekiah died, which I'm going to show you, a very horrible death, and I would say a death of anguish. And he was also the cause of the deaths of many more people. Do not simply think of men like Stalin, Pol Pot, and any other men when we think of mass murderers. You will remember it was Stalin who starved to death 20 million Ukrainians. So Stalin was not only responsible for their deaths, but these individuals have been responsible for a lot of deaths. But not only think about them think if you would please, about our current administration in Washington, DC, and the elites in this world, that plan and profit from war. You can also think of all the murders that are committed by the illegals in this country because our own government allows them to run rampant and simply do not judge them at all. And here's the truth. God is ultimately going to hold all of these people personally responsible and personally accountable. They will give judgment He will give judgment upon them, and they will give an answer to God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 52, and I want you to look, please, at verse 8 again. Look at this. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all of his army was scattered from him. Then they took the king and carry him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath where he gave judgment upon him. Ah, let's see what this judgment was. Look at it. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. He had to watch all of his sons murdered, killed, No, he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. So these were friends of Zedekiah.

[John Weaver] They were in his cabinet, so to speak, in his administration. Look in verse 11. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and the king of Babylon bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon and put him in prison till the day of his death. So Zedekiah, before his eyes were gouged out, he saw his own sons killed, slain, murdered. He saw his princes killed and slain. Now his eyes are gouged out, which undoubtedly had to be awful and an anguish in and of itself. But now he's taken blind and in chains and thrown into prison where he is very helpless and cannot see or do anything except suffer. It has to be, to me, I think, extremely awful to remember the very last thing that you saw And that would be the death of your family and the death of your friends.

[John Weaver] Now you're going to ask, or at least you should ask, how in the world did such a devastating incident come to pass? How could all of this tremendous suffering and anguish come upon individuals? Well, let me tell you, first of all, God had given all of these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar. Although Nebuchadnezzar was called a heathen, and was a heathen, God was going to use Nebuchadnezzar to chastise and to whip other evil people. People would rebellion against him. Just like he used the Assyrians against the Northern Kingdom, Israel, so now he's going to use the Babylonians against the Southern Kingdom and all of those other wicked that happen to be around there.

[John Weaver] But I want you to note, if you will turn in your Bibles, first of all, the Jeremiah chapter 29. I'm going to show you several passages here. Jeremiah 25 it is, and look at verse 9, Jeremiah 25 and verse 9. And here's what God says. Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, said the Lord. And Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, look at this, my servant.

[John Weaver] And we'll bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof, against all these nations round about, and we'll destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing and a perpetual desolation. So God said, I'm going to take Nebuchadnezzar. He's a heathen king, but he's my servant, and I'm going to use him to chastise all of these nations. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 27 and verse 6, you will read this again. Look what God says. In fact, let's begin with verse five.

[John Weaver] God said, I, I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground by my great power and by my outstretched arm and have given it unto whom it seemed need him to me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. And the beast of the field have I given him also to serve him. So twice now, Nebuchadnezzar has been called the servant of God.

[John Weaver] Then if you look in Jeremiah chapter 43 and verse 10, Jeremiah 43 and verse 10. And now God is speaking through Jeremiah concerning these people who have fled into Egypt, contrary to the will and the word of God, verse 10. And say to them, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hidden, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. So three times now, Nebuchadnezzar has been called God's servant. Now, God has said in his words that he has given all of these nations into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Now, Jeremiah said to these people, if you want to live, you just simply submit to King Nebuchadnezzar. If you would have your city spared, you just simply submit to King Nebuchadnezzar. Now, Zedekiah was told this truth personally by Jeremiah. Now, the interesting thing is after the Babylonians had actually attacked and were threatening the city, the Zedekiah warned Jeremiah to pray that the Lord would turn Nebuchadnezzar back.

[John Weaver] So if you look in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 37, and you will see the answer that Jeremiah gave from God We give you a Jeremiah chapter 37 beginning there with verse 1. And King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah. I want you to pay attention to that. Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had made king in the land of Judah. but neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah. And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucho, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Manasseh, the priest of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us.

[John Weaver] Boy, that sounds spiritual, doesn't it? Sounds like he's really interested in wanting God's blessing and help.

[John Weaver] Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, for they had not put him in prison, that is, as yet. Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. Then came the word of the Lord unto Prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel. Thus shall you say to the king of Judah that sent you unto me to inquire of me. Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come forth to help you, shall return into Egypt to their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come and fight against this city and take it and burn it with fire. Thus saith the Lord, Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us. For they shall not depart. For though you had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remain but wounded men among you, yet should they rise up every man in his tent and burn this city with fire."

[John Weaver] In other words, They're not leaving. They may have left temporarily when they heard the Egyptians were coming, but the Egyptians weren't going to do anything. And he said, look, they are not going to turn away. They're not going to turn back. They are ultimately going to destroy this city. They're going to burn this city with fire.

[John Weaver] Now, Jeremiah was thrown into prison. So I want you to look in Jeremiah, chapter 37, beginning there with verse 17. Look at this. Well, let's read verse 15. Wherefore, the princes were wroth with Jeremiah and smote him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. And the king asked him secretly in his house and said, Is there any word from the Lord? Now note, if you would, the king asked him secretly, is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, there is. For said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. Moreover, Jeremiah said to the king, Zedekiah, what am I offended against thee or against thy servants or against his people that you put me in prison? Where are now your prophets which prophesied of you saying the king of Babylon shall not come against you nor against this land?

[John Weaver] Therefore here now I pray thee, O Lord my King, let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted for thee, that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan's scribe, lest I die there. Look at this. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the baker's street until all the bread of the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Now, Notice if you would, Zedekiah again, he said, is there any word from the Lord? Yep. Jeremiah said, there he is. You're going to be delivered to the king of Babylon. Yep, you're going to be delivered to the king of Babylon. Moreover, Jeremiah said, and I'm sure he could not refrain himself from taking a jab at the false prophets. Where are now all of your prophets, it said? Nebuchadnezzar is not going to come against this land. Jeremiah was saying, look, can you not see with whom the word of the Lord really is?

[John Weaver] Obviously, it's not with the false prophets because they've lied to you and they are not. Truthful, because Nebuchadnezzar is here now and Jeremiah, of course, laid it out plainly. So turn to Jeremiah chapter 38 and look if you would please at verse 14 because Zedekiah over and over now he's asking to pray. Is there any word for the Lord? Now look in Jeremiah chapter 38 beginning there verse 14. Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him unto the third entry that is in the house of the Lord. And the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing, hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, look, what's this? If I declare it unto thee, will thou not surely put me to death? And if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? He said, you're asking me something, and you're not going to like my answer. So I'm going to ask you, if I tell you the truth, are you going to put me to death?

[John Weaver] And if you do not put me to death, here's my second question. Are you going to listen to me? Watch this. Verse 16. So Zedekiah the king swears secretly under Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death. Neither will I give thee in the hand of these men that seek thy life. Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus said the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel.

[John Weaver] Now look, look how plain, how simple this is. Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, thus said the Lord to God of hosts, the God of Israel, if thou will 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 I will not go forth under the king of Babylon's princess, then shall this city be given to the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire. And thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

[John Weaver] Now, to me, this is very cut and dry. He said, King Zedekiah, you have a choice. You can go and submit to Nebuchadnezzar and you're going to live. Your family is going to live. Your princes are going to live. This city is not going to be burned with fire. All you have to do is go out and submit. Here's a question. Why was it a kind of unwilling? You go and submit to the king of Babylon. Why was he unwilling to just take his family and go out to Nebuchadnezzar and say, we want to live. And we want this city spared. Why?

[John Weaver] Why would he not do that? When you stop and think it was the logical thing to do. It was the easy thing to do. It was the right thing to do. Why would he not do it? Ah, there's an answer. Look, if you would, at verse 19. Jeremiah 38, verse 19. And Zedekiah the King said unto Jeremiah, I'm afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand and they mock me. Wow. Now, the word. Is the Hebrew word Allah, and it means to mock. And to be made a fool of, in other words, Zedekiah was afraid of being teased, criticized, made fun of, and counted as a fool by those who were already in captivity and those who had already been captured by Nebuchadnezzar.

[John Weaver] I don't know about you, but I'd be more afraid of having my eyes gouged out. I'd be more afraid of being murdered and having my family murdered, but he was afraid of being mocked and teased. I hope you can see the truth now of Proverbs chapter 29 in verse 25 where the Bible says, the fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. So instead of putting his trust in the Lord, Zedekiah then fell to the pride of of his own heart. Now, so Zedekiah was a proud, arrogant man. Secondly, you remember now how that Zedekiah was compared to Jehoiakim. I don't know if you remember this or not, but in 2nd Kings chapter 24, verse 1, we looked at it. The Bible says in his days, talking about Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years and then he rebelled against him. So Jehoiakim then is an individual that was an oath breaker. He was an individual who had promised his allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and then turned against his oath.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Kings chapter 24. 2 Kings chapter 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 17. 2 Kings 24 and verse 17.

[John Weaver] Look at this. And the king of Babylon, that would be Nebuchadnezzar. And the king of Babylon made Matanai, his father, father's brother, king instead and changed his name to Zedekiah. Now, who made Zedekiah king? Nebuchadnezzar. Watch this. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned in he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Amuto, the daughter of Jeremiah of Lebanon.

[John Weaver] And he did that, which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Joachim had done. Hang on. For through the anger of the Lord, it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah until he cast them out of his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. You remember Jehoiakim had rebelled. Now he has rebelled. Now, I want you to see the evilness of Zedekiah.

[John Weaver] So if you would turn over now to Second Chronicles, Chapter 36, Second Chronicles, Chapter 36. And look, if you would, please, at verse 13.

[John Weaver] Now you're going to say, well, you know, Zedekiah He gave his word to a heathen king and you know, I Understand how he wants to rebel against a heathen king who is a tyrant? Well, there's a little more detail than that Because in 2nd Chronicles chapter 36 if you look at verse 13 Look what is said here and he that is Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear by God and But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning to the Lord God of Israel. What? It was not just that he gave his word to Nebuchadnezzar. He gave an oath before God. He swore by God that he would serve him. So he has now not only violated his oath to Nebuchadnezzar, he has violated his vow before God.

[John Weaver] Now we might think that is a light thing, but God does not consider it light at all. I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 17. You will see what God thinks of what he did. Ezekiel chapter 17. And I want to begin reading with verse 11. Ezekiel chapter 17 Look if you would please at verse 11 Moreover the word of the Lord came into me saying so we're talking about Ezekiel Say now to the rebellious house. We're talking about Judah Jerusalem Say now to the rebellious house.

[John Weaver] No, you know what these things mean Tell them Behold, the king of Babylon has come to Jerusalem, hath taken the king thereof and the princes thereof and led them with him to Babylon, and hath taken of the king's seed and made a covenant with them, hath taken an oath of him. He hath also taken the mighty of the land, that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift up itself. But that by keeping of his covenant it might stand So he's made zedekiah king. He's you remember he'd already taken some folks into captivity So he's made zedekiah king. He's made him swear by god And he's trying to keep the kingdom base that is down so there will not be any more rebellions But look at this, but he That is Zedekiah now rebelled against him and sending his ambassadors into Egypt that they might give him horses and much people. Now look what God asked through the prophet Ezekiel. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape and do with such things? Or shall he break the covenant and be delivered?

[John Weaver] As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth, that made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he break, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Now look what he said, even in the midst of Babylon, he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war by casting up mounts and building forts to cut off many persons. Now hang on, seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant when, lo, he had given his hand and had done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the Lord God as I live Pay close attention now as I live surely Mine oath that he hath despised and my covenant that he is broken Even it will I recompense upon his own head and I will spread my net upon him and he shall be taken in my snare and I will bring him to Babylon and will plead with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me."

[John Weaver] Wow. I hope you see an interesting truth. When Zedekiah, who was a wicked man, took an oath before God and gave his word to Nebuchadnezzar, which was another wicked man. God still expected Zedekiah to keep his word. He expected him to honor his oath. Do you remember that passage in Psalm 15 in verse 4 where the Bible is describing a godly man? When you get to verse 4 of Psalm 15, a godly man is one that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. Sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not.

[John Weaver] So if I slipped up and was not thinking, or if I did a wrong estimate and I told Gary that I would sell him my vehicle for $6,000, And it turns out the vehicles were 10,000 bucks. Well, I've already given him my word. And the Bible said the godly man swear to his own word and change his thought. Gary, you can have it for six. That's what he's saying. And so Zedekiah had given his word. So If the unbelievers, and remember now, Zedekiah, he may have been a wicked man, but he was still in the lineage of David. If wicked men perceive that those who are supposed to be righteous men and Christian men, if they perceive that we are liars and do not keep our word and do not honor our oaths or our vows, the question is, the question is, Are they going to listen to us on anything else? And what's the answer? And the answer would be absolutely not.

[John Weaver] So I'm just simply pointing out the fact it is not, it is not good that he violated his oath. The third, the real reason that Zedekiah died such a horrible death and caused horrible deaths in the lives of others is very simple. This is a truth that has been repeated many times over and over, not only down through history, but also in scripture as well. It's being repeated today. You may not have to have your eyes gouged out and be captured in travel and chains and thrown into a dungeon to die a horrible death, but there are other ways to die extremely horrible deaths as well.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn back in your Bibles, if you would please, to second 2nd Chronicles chapter 36 2nd Chronicles chapter 36 Look at this 2nd Chronicles chapter 36 Notice if you would please verse 11 2nd Chronicles 36 and verse 11 Here it is we read this but I'm gonna read more now watch carefully 2nd Chronicles 36 verse 11 and Zedekiah was 1 in 20 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. Hold on. Verse 13 says, And he also rebelled against the king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God, But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Now watch this. The Bible says in verse 12, and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord is God and humbled not himself before Jeremiah, the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. Wow.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that is exactly what is happening today? Not just in the nations all around the world. It's happening in America today. The Hebrew word for humble there is the word Kana. And it means to humble, to be humbled, to be subdued, to be brought down, to be brought low, to be brought under subjection or to be brought into subjection. And so what is happening today when the word of God is being preached to all of the rulers and all the leaders? They're not humbling themselves. They're not listening to the word of God. They are refusing to bow to the sovereignty of God. They're refusing to bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. And you look, if you would, please, at all of the elites and all of these rulers who are so wicked and so foul. And they are thinking right now, it's party time. And we're having the time of our lives and we're doing exactly what we want to do. But hang on. God will send them a Nebuchadnezzar. God will send them.

[John Weaver] Someone to gouge out their eyes and put them in chains and lead them into the dungeon. It may not work out just exactly like that, but it's going to be just as bad because they're refusing to hear the word of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. So now we're reading about Zedekiah. We're reading about the rebellion of this man and his wickedness.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look, if you would, please be getting there. And let's continue to read it at verse 14. Look at this. Moreover, all the chief of the priests and the people transgress very much after all the abominations of the heathen. and polluted the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. Now look at this. But they mocked the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his prophets. until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

[John Weaver] Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword, and the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young men or maiden, old men or him that stooped for age. He gave them all into his hand, and all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these He brought into Babylon look at it and they burnt the house of God and break down the wall of Jerusalem and burn all the palaces thereof with fire and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof and them that had escaped from the sword carried away to Babylon where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia all of this Because they would not listen to the Word of God being preached by Jeremiah. Wow. Look in verse 21. To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths or as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill three score and ten In other words, folks, God brought all of this upon these wicked, wicked people and upon Zedekiah, who was an

[John Weaver] extremely vile and wicked ruler, because they refused to listen to Jeremiah, the man of God, who was speaking the word of God. Isn't that amazing? Can you not see the very same thing is happening in America? The very same thing is happening in Germany. The very same thing is happening in England. All of these countries that are supposed to be Christian countries, they're all refusing to listen to the Word of God, to hear the Word of God, and submit to the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something else out by way of application. First of all, If you've been paying attention to all of these scriptures that I've been reading, the ones who were destroying Judah and Jerusalem, and the ones who had destroyed Israel in the Northern Kingdom, were the rulers. They were the ones who were refusing to bow to God. Yes, There were wicked people in those lands. We just read about them.

[John Weaver] They, too, committed the same sins of the heathen. They, too, refused to listen to God, but it was the rulers who were the main ones who were leading the people into destruction. So let's ask a question. Who is destroying America today? It's true. We have wicked people in this country. That is very, very true. But it's our leaders. It's our supposed rulers who are doing everything they can to destroy Christianity and install what you and I would call communism. They're trying to transform a Christianized law into pagan law or Islamic law or whatever they want other than the word of God. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 94. I've given you this passage before, but I want you to see it in light of this message that I've just brought to you from Zedekiah. I want you to see this. Look at this in light of the context of the message today. Psalm 94 verse 20. I'm just going to review it for you. You should know it. The question is, shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by law?

[John Weaver] So a throne speaks of rulership. It's a throne of iniquity, which means it is a wicked rule. It is a wicked authority. So shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, that is with God, when that wicked civil government frameth mischief by law. I told you before that mischief is another word for sin in the Bible. So actually, the question is this, shall the throne of iniquity Shall the wicked civil government have fellowship with God when that wicked civil government makes sin legal?

[John Weaver] And the answer is obviously no. But look at verse 21. They, who is the they? It's those who are in the throne of iniquity. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood. Wow. However, you have to realize what is going on in this country is the fact that our own government is seeking to destroy it. I guess you just read or heard how now a great grandmother has been arrested by the FBI by our own government for the awful horrible, terrible sin of praying at the Capitol.

[John Weaver] Yeah, she was there on January 6th. All she did was pray. And now she's arrested. The point I'm trying to make is, verse 21, they gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood. I guess you read for the illegal immigrants that they found with guns, knives, drugs, and a little girl being held captive or arrested. But then they were released without bail. What is going on?

[John Weaver] The Zedekiah refused to submit to God. He refused to hear the word of God. And he brought death and destruction only upon himself, but his own family, his own princes, he was responsible for the deaths of his family, the death of his princess, the death of thousands upon thousands. He was responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem. He was responsible for the destruction of the temple. He was responsible for the loss of all the items in the temple because he refused to go out, as Jeremiah said, from the mouth of God and submit to Nebuchadnezzar. Wow.

[John Weaver] So here's my second application. If you wish to die a horrible death and be filled with anguish and terror, all you need to do is to reject and die without the Lord Jesus Christ. Your wish will be fulfilled. You will die in great anguish horror, and terror. And you may use Zedekiah as your example. Because our Lord said, and John 8 in verse 24, I say unto you, you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. I surely do not want to die without the Lord Jesus Christ. But likewise, I do not want to live without the Lord Jesus Christ. It is undoubtedly an extremely horrible death to face a holy, righteous God with whom you have sinned and thrown your rebellion into his face. You may think it's party time now. but wait until then. I've seen bumper stickers. Everybody thinks it's funny. What's it say? Heaven doesn't want me and hell is afraid of me. I don't think so. I don't think so.

[John Weaver] to die a horrible death, you just have to die without Jesus Christ, which I pray that you will not. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Lord, what an example Zedekiah is. May we not follow him. May we not emulate Him. And may, Father, we turn the opposite way and submit to Thee. Believe Thy Word and obey Thy Word. Give us Your grace and mercy, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

[John Weaver] ♪