I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, "Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live." – Jeremiah 27:12

Today's Scripture Reading (May 26, 2020): Jeremiah 27

We don't surrender easily. There is something inside of us that says that we need to fight, even if the battle is against impossible odds. It is a facet of humanity that our fiction often tries to explore. In an episode "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," it is a reality that becomes all too real for the fictional Dr. Julian Bashir as he corroborates with some genetically enhanced social misfits. The group comes to the informed decision that the Federation (good guys) cannot win against the Dominion (bad guys). Bashir is given the task of taking the news to the Federation leaders, telling them if they will make peace now and serve the Dominion, countless lives will be saved. Of course, the powers that be thought that the fight was worth it, even if success was a long shot.

It is a situation that is mirrored in our history books. It is likely the way that the Allied Powers felt in the early days of World War II. It seemed inevitable that Germany would gain control of almost all of Europe, and winning against them was a long shot. And yet, as France and other European nations fell to the Axis Powers, Winston Churchill announced his resolve.

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Even if we fail, we will fight. We will not let evil win this war. And we believe that somehow, at some point, if we are persistent, we will win. Things might look desperate now, but in the future, right will win over wrong.

I can't imagine what it felt like for Jeremiah to walk into the presence of the King and tell him that it was time to surrender, especially because when Jeremiah made his pronouncement, it seemed that Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians might be vulnerable. Jeremiah's words did not seem to match the outward reality of the situation.

But the core part of Jeremiah's message was simple; God had stopped fighting for Israel and had now taken a stand against Zedekiah and his nation. It didn't matter if Zedekiah had an overwhelming military advantage, which he did not. God had begun to fight on the other side, and until the nation could come to a sincere repentance and a commitment to follow God, there was no use in taking up the fight against their enemies. The God of Israel had to be made the priority of the nation, and everything else had to be a distant second.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 28