Study 8: Shame & Fear

Passage: Zedekiah, in Jeremiah 37:11-21; 38:14-28

1. Why is Zedekiah afraid?

• Babylon is coming
• Afraid of being captured
• Afraid of being mocked
• Fear of man
  

2. How does misplaced fear and/or anxiety manifest itself in your life? How does misplaced fear affect your view of God, self, and others?

• Putting trust in men rather than God
• Lack of proper fear of God (perfect love casts out fear)
  
• Anxiety: not so much what we are feeling, but what we are not feeling. (suppression of feelings)
• Taking short-cuts
• Fear of man (people-pleasing) -- focus of self/people cycle
• Fear of being out of control
• Misplaced fear of God: not trusting/believing Him (which often leads to depression/despair)
• Fears that may not see "normal"
• Fear of the future
• Fear of things that don't involve us but are out of control (i.e. human trafficking)
• Fear of things not going as planned
• Fear of being alone
  

3. Does misplaced fear lead to misplaced shame?

• Zedekiah wants no one to know what he and Jeremiah have discussed -- he is ashamed and hiding
• Keep misplaced fears secret because you are ashamed of them
• Shame for not meeting standards that we're afraid to meet
• Asking for help can become comparative
  

4. Does misplaced shame lead to misplaced fear?

• Misplaced shame about sin issues may make us afraid about God's judgment, or God's goodness/grace, or even afraid of displeasing Him
  

5. Is there any well-placed shame surrounding fear?

• Time leading to confession can feel like fear
• "Fear of God" is well-placed fear --- and can give light to the "well-placed" nature of well-placed shame
• Well-placed shame occurs when fear gets misplaced
• Link to humility & shame??
  

6. What is Jeremiah’s response to Zedekiah?

• Urges proper fear of God and for him to not fear man
  

7. How does “perfect love cast out fear”? (1 John 4:18)

• Love is the antidote for fear
• There is punishment in love
  
• Perfect love casts out misplaced fear
• Won't have misplaced fear in heaven
  

8. How do we break out of the misplaced shame that surrounds misplaced fear?

• Present requests to God
• Contemplate God
• Remember God's sovereignty -- God is not limited by me
  
• Identify the fears, and don't try to get rid of fear
  
• Talk to someone (make it known and be humbled)
• Open up to others' help
  
• Take action
• Do what you fear
• Decide to go another way (Deuteronomy 30:14)
  

For some info about Zedekiah...

Zedekiah:
righteousness of Jehovah. (1.) The last king of Judah. He was the third son of Josiah, and his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, and hence he was the brother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; 24:17, 18). His original name was Mattaniah; but when Nebuchadnezzar placed him on the throne as the successor to Jehoiachin he changed his name to Zedekiah. The prophet Jeremiah was his counsellor, yet "he did evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 24:19, 20; Jer. 52:2, 3). He ascended the throne at the age of twenty-one years. The kingdom was at that time tributary to Nebuchadnezzar; but, despite the strong remonstrances of Jeremiah and others, as well as the example of Jehoiachin, he threw off the yoke of Babylon, and entered into an alliance with Hophra, king of Egypt. This brought up Nebuchadnezzar, "with all his host" (2 King 25:1), against Jerusalem. During this siege, which lasted about eighteen months, "every worst woe befell the devoted city, which drank the cup of God's fury to the dregs" (2 Kings 25:3; Lam. 4:4, 5, 10). The city was plundered and laid in ruins. Zedekiah and his followers, attempting to escape, were made captive and taken to Riblah. There, after seeing his own children put to death, his own eyes were put out, and, being loaded with chains, he was carried captive (B.C. 588) to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-7; 2 Chr. 36:12; Jer. 32:4,5; 34:2, 3; 39:1-7; 52:4-11; Ezek. 12:12), where he remained a prisoner, how long is unknown, to the day of his death.


CH Spurgeon
“Trust in God and you have trusted in the true King, “the King immortal, invisible.” Trust in the Christ of God and you have trusted in the only Prince who can never falter, fail, or forget. I think that is clearly a lesson of the text. We all know someone who, to us, is as a prince—let us not rest too much on a wealthy uncle, or a generous friend, or a capable patron—but let our trust be in the Lord, alone. Had Jeremiah been trusting in Zedekiah, he would have been sorrowfully deceived.”


Brennan Manning, Freedom from Fear (The Ragamuffin Gospel)
“In Christ Jesus freedom from fear empowers us to let go of the desire to appear good, so that we can move freely in the mystery of who we really are. Preoccupation with projecting the ‘nice guy’ image, impressing newcomers with or experience, and relying heavily on the regard of others leads to self-consciousness, sticky pedestal behavior, and unfreedom in the iron grip of human respect. Unconsciously, we may clothe the Pharisee’s prayer in the publican’s formula. For most of us it takes a long time for the Spirit of freedom to cleanse us of the subtle urges to be admired for our studied goodness. It requires a strong sense of our redeemed selves to pass up the opportunity to appear graceful and good to other persons.”