We hope you enjoy this re-post from December 30, 2013. Be blessed! The Today’s Quote From God Team

…Obey, I beg of you, the voice of the Lord, Who speaks to you through me. Then it will be well with you, and you will live. – Jeremiah 38:20, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Why did King Zedekiah choose not to obey God’s warnings? Why did he persist along a path that both Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied would lead to his destruction, the destruction of his family, and the burning of Jerusalem? The answer is clear: Zedekiah feared man rather than God.

After God (through Jeremiah) instructed Zedekiah to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar in order to avoid destruction, Zedekiah raised the following objection:

…I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest the enemy deliver me into their [these former subjects’] hands and they mock me and abuse me. – Jeremiah 38:19 (AMP)

God (through Jeremiah) immediately refuted this objection, promising that Zedekiah would not be delivered into their hands. But, rather than boldly following God’s orders, Zedekiah shifted his fear from the deserting Jews to the Jewish princes remaining in Jerusalem. Worried about what the princes would do if they learned of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Zedekiah instructed Jeremiah to keep quiet regarding the matter. Then, Zedekiah conveniently ignored God’s warnings, followed the advice of his friends, and paid a heavy price for fearing man rather than God.

Many times when we face difficult choices, the path we choose is dictated by what we fear the most. If we fear what other people will think or do more than what God will think or do, then we will make the wrong decision every time. If, however, we fear God rather than man, we will make the right decision every time. The fear of people may seem more urgent because the objects of our fear are standing right in front of us; we can see them, touch them, and hear them. But do not be deceived; there is no one more real than God. And, as Christ taught us in Matthew 10:28 (AMP), it makes a whole lot more sense to fear the Being who can destroy both body and soul forever than the beings who can only destroy the body here and now.