Year of Exposure Day 25: Prayers won’t save from destruction those who dishonor God’s word.

“Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim as the king of Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the Lord said through Jeremiah. Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.””

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Prayer is not a substitute for obedience.

Think of it, how could we even expect that if we are walking in continued disobedience to what God has said, and/or are ignoring His warnings to us, that we would be spared from destruction?

We have been considering how God‘s people’s rejection of the warnings of God through Jeremiah led to their destruction.

Today we consider that prayer will not prevent destruction for those who refuse to hear and obey God’s word.

Interestingly, the Lord instructed Jeremiah on three occasions that he should not pray for the people; specifically, he should not pray for them to be delivered out of destruction.

““Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. Don’t you see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭7‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In this first in instance, the Lord is telling Jeremiah that because of the people‘s idolatry, praying for them would be futile.

““Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress. “What right do my beloved people have to come to my Temple, when they have done so many immoral things? Can their vows and sacrifices prevent their destruction? They actually rejoice in doing evil!”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭11‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In this second instance of the Lord instructing Jeremiah not to pray for the people because of their wickedness, the Lord also declared that even their sacrifices will not deliver them from destruction.

“So this is what the Lord says to his people: “You love to wander far from me and do not restrain yourselves. Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my people. Now I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins.” Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore. When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.””

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭14‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We see in this third instance of the Lord instructing Jeremiah not to pray for the people, that He will not listen because they have done everything they thought to do, not considering what God had said.

Some hundred years before Jeremiah, Isaiah would convey a similar message to God’s people:

“When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In this case, the Lord made this declaration within the context of the fact that the people were not seeing to it that there was justice in their midst. They abused the weak and were entirely consumed with their own desires.

In our opening scripture we see that Zedekiah sent some officials to ask Jeremiah to pray for the people. You see, Zedekiah was afraid of what was going to happen to him; but as we know, Zedekiah, and the people over whom he ruled, were not obedient to the Lord‘s instruction. And as such, the Lord was not going to hear their prayers. In fact, as we have seen, the Lord had instructed Jeremiah NOT to pray for their good.

The Lord makes a very shocking and sobering statement to Jeremiah:

“Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬ NLT

Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, received a very similar message from the Lord:

“Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, says the Sovereign Lord.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ NLT

Indeed, the Lord went on to repeat this same message to Ezekiel, three more times. Then the Lord made clear that He had said it four times because it referenced the four types of judgments he would send on the rebellious people.

““Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How terrible it will be when all four of these dreadful punishments fall upon Jerusalem—war, famine, wild animals, and disease—destroying all her people and animals.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭14‬:‭21‬ NLT

Child of God obedience is better than sacrifice, even if that sacrifice, is our prayer.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!