the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 3 of 5
Jeremiah 22:13-30
"Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah . . . thou, and thy servants, and thy people . . ." (v. 2). But in vain Jeremiah addressed this pressing invitation to Jehoiakim. From his youth, when everything was going well, this man had decided not to listen to the voice of the LORD (according to v. 21 which is applied also to all his people). Notice, too, all the evil fruits which are the result of this when he came to manhood: injustice, lack of uprightness, pride, dishonesty, tyranny and violence (vv. 13, 17 where Jeremiah does not hesitate to charge the king with being a murderer). Yet Jehoiakim had had before him the good example of his father Josiah and the happy results of his faithful way of life! (vv. 15, 16). Children of Christian parents, bear in mind the history of this king!
V. 14 also demands our close attention. The pursuit of luxury by the Christian contradicts his character as a stranger here, and his heavenly calling.
Then we have Coniah (Jehoiachin), a young man of 18, who reigned only three months before being transported to Babylon with his mother (2 Kings 24:8 . . .). In such events as these, God was then addressing the whole world (v. 29). This public chastisement showed that no one could defy His will with impunity.
