Neville Goddard on Jeremiah 38:14-23 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Jeremiah 38 in context

Scripture Focus

14Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

15Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?

16So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

17Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

18But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

19And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

20But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

21But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:

22And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

23So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Jeremiah 38:14-23

Biblical Context

Zedekiah seeks Jeremiah’s counsel. Jeremiah presents a stark choice: surrender to Babylon’s princes to save life and city, or resist and invite destruction, with fear of the people complicating obedience.

Neville's Inner Vision

Beloved, see in this scripture the drama of your own inner life. Zedekiah represents the outer state clinging to fear, Jeremiah the inner voice that speaks the LORD’s counsel. The line If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned, is the law of assumption: when you align with the inner authority (the I AM) and move decisively toward the imagined outcome, you keep your life intact and your world intact. To refuse is to entertain the nightmare of destruction; the fear that the crowd will mock you is but a misperception of your own consciousness. The deliverance does not come from others but from obedience to the inner word. Therefore, revise the scene in your mind: you have already gone forth in response to the inner call, your fear dissolves, and the 'city'—your circumstances—remains as you wish. The heart that obeys the LORD within is the heart that lives; the city is saved by the faithful act of turning toward the truth you already possess within.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: In the next minute, close your eyes and imagine you have already answered the inner counsel, stepping forth to the 'king's princes' with certainty. Feel the relief and life flow through you, and declare 'My soul lives because I obey the I AM within'.