It was because of the LORD’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. – Jeremiah 52:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 15, 2020): Jeremiah 52

Folk wisdom argues that how a man treats his mother will be reflected in how he treats his wife. Experts aren’t so sure. There is no doubt that our relationships with our parents have a significant influence on how we relate to each other. It is also true that opposite sex parent-child relationships are critical. A woman being brought home to meet a man’s mother is probably only succeeded in importance, and terror, by a woman taking a man home to meet her father. But it is doubtful that a man who has a strained relationship with his mother is destined to bad relationships in his romantic entanglements. It might be accurate, but we can overcome our upbringing.

But there is truth in a more general principle. How we react in one situation is likely to be the same in another. If we learn to lie in our business interactions, we will likely be untruthful with our social associations. People of character respond the same in good times and bad times, and they respond the same when they face minor struggles as they do when they face more significant difficulties.

And if we have a problem with authority in one area, we will likely struggle with authority in all circumstances. Zedekiah’s rule was marked by a difficulty with authority. He struggled with the priests who opposed him. He was opposed, most notably, by Jeremiah, and his struggle with Jeremiah was legendary. Zedekiah was a man who liked to be in control.

But there is also some evidence that Zedekiah was a man who was swayed by the people around him. He liked to be the one in control. Zedekiah believed that he had the right to have his opinions validated, but there were times when he didn’t want to be the one who made the decisions. At times, speaking with Zedekiah must have felt like you were talking to the last person that he had spoken with; the king was easily swayed by the arguments of people who supported him, as long as they deferred to him and allowed him to be king.

Since this is the way that Zedekiah led the nation, and this was the nature of his rebellion, not just against the prophets and priests, but against God, it is not surprising that eventually, Zedekiah would rebel against Nebuchadnezzar II and Babylon. Zedekiah could not be trusted by his God to follow his dictates and laws, so there was no way that Nebuchadnezzar could trust the King of Judah to do as he wished. Nebuchadnezzar probably realized that at some point, Zedekiah would rebel. And when that happened, Babylon would be ready to respond. And so, Zedekiah’s expected rebellion forced Babylon to make a move to defeat the nation of the Jews entirely.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 74