A Fatal Mistake

Jeremiah 42:19-20  "O remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be sure of this: I warn you today
20  that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, 'Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.'

Why was it a fatal mistake for this remnant of Judah to have asked Jeremiah to pray for God’s will for them?

It’s easy to pray for God’s will.  It’s another thing to sincerely, truthfully, approach God with the desire to follow His will.  God doesn’t just honor the fact that we pray.  What He honors more is the desire of our hearts to know and obey His will.

The remnants of Judah who stayed after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem asked Jeremiah to pray for them, what God’s plans for them were.

Jeremiah 42:1-3  Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, "Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. 3  Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.

It sounded sincere, right?  They even assured Jeremiah of their intent to obey. 

Jeremiah 42:5-6  Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us.  Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God."

They “promised” that they would act in accordance to whatever the Lord told them, whether it was favorable or unfavorable.  In words they sounded right, sincere, willing to follow the Lord.  If you think about it this is the right approach, the right attitude of heart, when coming to the Lord seeking His will – we will act in accordance to what the Lord reveals, whether it is favorable or unfavorable for us.  It is the Lord’s will that counts, that matters, not what we feel is good for us – right?

Well, as they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”.  Did they really mean what they said?

Jeremiah 43:1-2  When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God--everything the LORD had sent him to tell them--
2  Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You must not go to Egypt to settle there.'

What Jeremiah revealed to them as God’s will was very unfavorable for them.  And because it was unfavorable, they automatically concluded that Jeremiah’s words were not God’s will.  So, they were not sincere after all.  They did not really mean it when they said they would act in accordance to what the Lord says, whether it be favorable or not.  This was their grave mistake – they came to the Lord with a deceitful heart.

Do we make the same mistake today when praying for God’s will?

Do we cry out to the Lord for His will for our lives, and yet have already made up our minds as to what or how we want Him to answer?

Are we coming to God with truly sincere hearts, with the utmost desire to obey the Lord according to what He reveals to us today in Scripture?  And are we willing to obey the Lord’s will whether it is favorable or unfavorable to us?

Many of our prayers are actually requests of God favoring what we want, rather than really coming to the Lord with a desire to know what His will is.  Many today look at God as someone we can “bribe” – through our prayers, offerings or service – so that He will answer our prayers, or bless us, with what is favorable for us.

God is God.  He is Sovereign.  He is King.  He is Lord.  He is the One to be obeyed.  He is the One we submit to.  Not the other way around.

Let’s make sure we do not commit the same fatal mistake as the remnants of Judah did with Jeremiah.  When we come to the Lord seeking His will let us come with a heart that is truly ready to obey His will, what is favorable to God.  And when God’s will revealed seems unfavorable to us, let us bow before our Master, our holy and righteous God, with complete trust, that His will, His wisdom, is also holy and right.  We need to die to our emotions, our dreams, our desires, and live according to how God desires.

2 Corinthians 5:15  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.