How many of us can really rely on our leaders or even kings and royalty in our country? If there is trouble and our country is on the verge of being overrun or conquered by enemy forces, would our leaders, kings or royalty be willing to stick with us and defend our country to the very end? Quite likely, our leaders, kings or royalty would flee, leaving others to defend our country as best we can. It seems as though one’s own survival and personal interest takes precedence over the interest of the country, as far as some leaders, kings or royalty are concerned.
In today’s reading, we see an example of a king who took more interest in his own survival, and not so much on the interest of the kingdom. In the reading: “…the king made his escape under cover of dark, with all the fighting men, by way of the gate between the two walls, which is near the king’s garden – the Chaldaeans had surrounded the city – and made his way towards the Arabah. The Chaldaean troops pursued the king and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, where all his troops deserted. The Chaldaeans captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him. He had the sons of Zedekiah slaughtered before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes and, loading him with chains, carried him off to Babylon.”
From the reading, we see two examples where one’s personal interest takes precedence. Firstly, King Zedekiah was not bothered about the city and more concerned about his own survival, and he made his escape with his fighting men. Then when the Chaldaen troops caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, his own troops deserted him, leaving him to his fate. This shows that at the end of the day, not everyone who claims to be our leaders have the interest of our city or country at heart, since at times, personal interest takes precedence. However, we do have a leader or king who would not desert or abandon us. That King is our loving God. Shouldn’t we then pay more attention and hope on our loving God, knowing that He would protect and care for us, and not abandon us?