No One Expects the Fire

Passage: Jeremiah 21:1-10

On September 29 Gene Cranick watched firefighters stand by and let his house burn to the ground. Cranick, and his fellow residents of Obion County, Tennessee, are required to pay a $75.00 annual fee if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. Year after year Cranick has refused to pay. When his home caught fire, he called 911. Firefighters showed up, but only to prevent his fire from spreading to his neighbor’s property – his neighbor who faithfully paid the annual fee. As his house burned, Cranick offered to pay the firefighters anything to get them to extinguish the blaze. “Sorry,” they said, “just following orders.” On one hand their behavior sounds cruel. On the other, Cranick knew the rules ahead of time. He gambled. And lost.

King Zedekiah knew the rules ahead of time. He’d heard it from Jeremiah. His father and grandfather had heard it from Isaiah. “Repent,” the prophets said. “Return to God and his rules, and God will intervene when trouble befalls you. Return to God and he will provide for you and your people. Reject God, and he will stand by and let you suffer the consequences.” Like his predecessors, Zedekiah has chosen to disregard the rules.

Lo and behold, Jeremiah gets a panicked call from Zedekiah. “Uh, we have a problem. The Babylonians are here, and they say they’re going to destroy the city. We could use a little help. Do you think you could put in a good word with God for me?”
“Sorry,” says Jeremiah. “You know the rules.” It seems cruel. But Zedekiah had his chance. God’s people had their chance. They took their chances. And they lost.
How about you? How bad will it have to get before you appeal to God? Don’t take your chances.