Jeremiah 38:25 Sermons: But if the officials hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, 'Declare to us now what you have said to the king; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also what the king said to you':

Bible > Jeremiah > Chapter 38 > Verse 25

◄ Jeremiah 38:25 ►

If the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come and demand of you, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what he said to you; do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,'

Sermons

The Unkingly Position of a King

D. Young

Jeremiah 38:24-28

Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

Trying To Serve Two Masters

Jeremiah 38:24

S. Conway

Zedekiah was seeking to do this. He wanted to be on the prophet's side, and yet not to break with the princes who were the prophet's foes. We see the shifts to which he was driven, and we know the miserable outcome of his impossible attempt. We learn from it -

I. How DESPICABLE SUCH ATTEMPTS MAKE A MAN IN HIS OWN EYES.

"To thine own self be true,
And it shall follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man." But how far from this conscious rectitude he must be who seeks to serve two masters, who acts as Zedekiah did!

II. HOW OTHER MEN DESPISE THEM.

III. HOW GOD CONDEMNS THEM. How do the instances of Balaam, Pilate, Judas, and others shine out as warning beacons!

IV. HOW USELESS, AFTER ALL, SUCH ATTEMPTS ARE. No more miserable fate could have befallen a man than that which came upon King Zedekiah. And in the highest matter of all, what are they who say, "Lord, Lord," but do not the things the Lord commands - what are they but would be servers of two masters? And to them the Lord will say, "I never knew you; depart," etc.

V. HOW MUCH FULL DECISION FOR GOD IS NEEDED. This alone will keep us from such sad endeavour; but this will. Therefore seek grace from God to make and abide by this choice; and bring yourselves under the blessed attraction of Christ; so shall you be drawn to him more and more, and made to abide in him. - C.

Biblical Illustrator

I am afraid of the Jews.

Jeremiah 38:19, 20

Fatal timidity

T. Spurgeon.

I remember very well, when I first went out to Australia, that one fine evening a little bird was seen to be following the ship, evidently a land-bird driven out to sea. When the little thing got tired it tried to alight on some portion of the rigging, though it seemed afraid to do so. On one occasion the captain stretched forth his hand and tried to take hold of the little bird, but it eluded his grasp and went back far away into the darkness of the night, falling upon the waves without the hope of rescue.

(T. Spurgeon.)

Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord

Obedience

F. B. Meyer, B. A.

I remember, years ago, entering the bed-chamber of an eminent saint, one autumn morning, whose diminishing candles told how long he had been feeding on the Word of God. I asked him what had been the subject of his study. He said he had been engaged since four o'clock in discovering all the Lord's positive commandments, that he might be sure that he was not wittingly neglecting any one of them. It is very sad to find how many in the present day are neglecting to observe to do the Lord's precepts — concerning His ordinances, concerning the laying-up of money, the evangelisation of the world, and the manifestation of perfect love. They know the Lord's will, and do it not. They appear to think that they are absolved from that "observing to do," which was so characteristic of Deuteronomy. As though love were not more inexorable than law!

(F. B. Meyer, B. A.).

People

Babylonians, Benjamin, Ebedmelech, Gedaliah, Hammelech, Jehucal, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Jucal, Malchiah, Malchijah, Mattan, Pashur, Shelemiah, Shephatiah, Zedekiah

Places

Babylon, Benjamin Gate, Jerusalem

Topics

Death, Declare, Ears, Hast, Heads, Hide, Keeping, Kill, Nothing, Officials, Princes, Rulers, Spake, Speak, Spoken, Talked, Talking

Outline

1. Jeremiah, by a false suggestion, is put into the dungeon of Malchiah.
7. Ebed-Melech, by suit, gets him some enlargement.
14. Upon secret conference, he counsels the king by yielding to save his life.
24. By the king's instructions he conceals the conference from the princes.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Jeremiah 38:22

8354 trustworthiness

Library

The Life of Mr. James Mitchel.
Mr. James Mitchel[152] was educated at the university of Edinburgh, and was, with some other of his fellow-students, made master of arts anno 1656. Mr. Robert Leighton (afterwards bishop Leighton), being then principal of that college, before the degree was conferred upon them, tendered to them the national and solemn league and covenant; which covenants, upon mature deliberation, he took, finding nothing in them but a short compend of the moral law, binding to our duty towards God and towards …
John Howie—Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies)

Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links

Jeremiah 38:25 NIV
Jeremiah 38:25 NLT
Jeremiah 38:25 ESV
Jeremiah 38:25 NASB
Jeremiah 38:25 KJV

Jeremiah 38:25 Bible Apps
Jeremiah 38:25 Parallel
Jeremiah 38:25 Biblia Paralela
Jeremiah 38:25 Chinese Bible
Jeremiah 38:25 French Bible
Jeremiah 38:25 German Bible

Jeremiah 38:25 Commentaries

Bible Hub