시드기야의 우유부단(優柔不斷)과 화(禍)
2026.3.4
(렘38:14-28)
14 Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the LORD. "I am going to ask you something," the king said to Jeremiah. "Do not hide anything from me." 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me." 16 But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who are seeking your life." 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from their hands.'" 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me." 20 "They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me: 22 All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you: "'They misled you and overcame you--those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.' 23 "All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down." 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die. 25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,' 26 then tell them, 'I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'" 27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king. 28 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
왕이 된다는 것
왕 답게 산다는 것
그것은 일신(一身)의 안위(安慰)를 포기(抛棄)
대의(大義)를 위해서 일사각오(一死覺悟)와 과단성(果斷性)을 지닌다는 의미(意味)
이것이 결여(缺如)되어 있을 때
왕(王)은 백성들의 원망(怨望)이 되고
자신에게 속한 모든 백성들을 도탄에 빠뜨리고
나아가 참혹한 종말을 맞게 할 수 있음을 오늘의 본문은 보여준다
아마도 시드기야는
자신과 자신의 나라 종말에 대해서
매우 심각한 위기에 직면하였다는 사실을
느꼈는가 보다
시드기야는 은밀하게 예레미야를 만나
하나님의 진실
자신과 나라의 미래에 대해서 묻는다
혹시나... 하는 마음을 가지고...
예레미야는 항복(降伏)할 것
항복해야 모두가 살 수 있게 되고
예루살렘성 전소(全燒)도 면(免)할 수 있게 된다...는
하나님의 뜻을 전달(傳達)한다
그러나
그런 결정을 내렸다가는
백성들에게 외면 당할 것이고
결국 자신의 생명안전을 보장할 수 없다는 대답을 한다
하나님은 예레미야를 통해서
결코 죽지 않을 것이라는 말씀을 하지만
하나님의 통치권(統治權) 섭리권(攝理權)을 믿지 못하는 시드기야는
불순종의 결과에 대한 하나님의 약속을 따른 최악의 불나방이 되고 만다
끝까지 신뢰의 끈을 놓지 말아야 하는데...
주님을 향한 신앙고백(信仰告白) 변함이 없어야 하는데...
시드기야처럼 우유부단(優柔不斷)이 아닌 단호(斷乎)한 과단성(果斷性) 인생을 살아야 하는데...
여기서 역시 성령의 도우심을 또다시 구하게 된다