The Ammonite commanders spoke to their master Hanun. They said, “David has sent messengers to tell you he is sad. They say he wants to honor your father. But the real reason they’ve come is to look the city over. They want to destroy it.”
When you did these things, I kept silent. So you thought I was just like you. But now I’m going to bring you to court. I will bring charges against you.
But Zedekiah turned against him. He sent messengers to Egypt. They went there to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does things like that escape? Can he break the peace treaty and still escape?
Zedekiah didn’t keep his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his treaty. Zedekiah had made a firm promise to keep it. But he broke it anyway. So he will not escape.
“Do not be afraid,” he said. “You are highly respected. May peace be with you! Be strong now. Be strong.” When he spoke to me, I became stronger. I said, “Speak, my master. You have given me strength.”
They know that God’s commands are right. They know that those who do evil things should die. But they continue to do those very things. They also approve of others who do them.
If you judge someone else, you have no excuse for it. When you judge another person, you are judging yourself. You do the same things you blame others for doing.
But you are a mere human being. So who are you to talk back to God? Scripture says, “Can what is made say to the one who made it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9)
People will be saying that everything is peaceful and safe. Then suddenly they will be destroyed. It will happen like birth pains coming on a pregnant woman. None of the people will escape.
Be sure that you don’t say no to the one who speaks. People did not escape when they said no to the one who warned them on earth. And what if we turn away from the one who warns us from heaven? How much less will we escape!
Then how will we escape if we don’t pay attention to God’s great salvation? The Lord first announced this salvation. Those who heard him gave us the message about it.