A MESSAGE TO EGYPT: NO HEALING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt. But you try many medicines in vain; there is no healing for you. The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together.”

Jeremiah 46:11-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we found the Lord offering a sobering warning to the army of Egypt’s king, Pharaoh Necho. For the Babylonian forces were coming and no matter how much Egypt’s fighting forces prepared, they would suffer defeat on a day that would belong to the Lord, a day that would bring severe judgment.

Today, we find the Lord continuing to send His message of warning to the Egyptians, words that would continue to assert one reality of what was about to come: there would be no hope of escaping the judgment the Lord was sending. Look at today’s verses:

“Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt. But you try many medicines in vain; there is no healing for you. The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together.”  Jeremiah 46:11-12

The nation of Egypt was renowned for its worshipping of many different gods. They had no time for the true God of Israel, which was one of the main reasons why they were going to experience God’s punishment to start with.

Why is this important to keep in mind?

Because when the Lord’s judgment would come upon them, the Egyptians would look for any other source of healing and restoration than the Lord God Almighty. You wouldn’t find the Egyptians repenting of their sins and crying out to God for grace and mercy, pledging their sole allegiance to Him and Him alone. No, the Egyptians would try and manufacture their own healing. They would try and avoid defeat by way of their own devices.

Note here the Lord referring to Gilead which was a mountainous region located in what is present day Jordan. The land, which had been divided between the Israelite tribes of Gad and Manasseh, was famous for its production of balms used for treating wounds, the balm coming from the resin of Gilead’s trees. But even if the Egyptians traveled to Gilead for the balm to place on their injuries, no healing would come to them. In fact, no medicines would cure the damage brought on by the Babylonians assault.

Rather, Egypt would fall and fall hard. All the nations would hear of their shame and take note that no one came to the aid of the Egyptians when they were besieged. Any cry for help from the one mighty country would fall on deaf ears as, one by one, their warriors were vanquished until there was no one left to fight. And when the war ended, all that would remain would be the evidence of complete and utter annihilation.

This is what the outcome of choosing to oppose God looks like. And yet, so many people today still choose to do so. They think they have the place to make a mockery out of God, His Son He sent to save them, and all those who place their belief and trust in both of them.

How very bold! How very gutsy!

How very foolish!

For we had better believe that God still sends His judgment on the earth and targets those who choose to oppose Him, His Son, or those who go forth to serve Him, following His will and way. He will not be disrespected, disregarded, or dishonored today anymore than He did in the Old Testament times we are studying from.

And rest assured that when Hid judgment comes, it will come swiftly and harshly to send a message that He will not tolerate anyone choosing to come against Him, His Son, or His followers.

Trust me when I say, this is something no one should want. For when God’s judgment comes, there is a very good chance that there will be no chance for healing or reconciliation with God.

Just ask the Egyptians of Jeremiah’s day if you don’t believe that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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A MESSAGE TO EGYPT: A DAY BELONGING TO THE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:

Concerning Egypt:

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor! What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side,” declares the Lord.

“The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.”

“Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people.’ Charge, you horses! Drive furiously, you charioteers! March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow. But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.”

Jeremiah 46:1-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today marks a run toward the end of the Book of Jeremiah as we see a series of words sent from the Lord through His prophet Jeremiah for ten specific nations before we see the fall of the holy city of Jerusalem, the culminating event of the book. We will look at each nation and what the Lord had to say toward it, starting with Egypt, the focal point of Jeremiah 46. Look again at today’s scripture passage:

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:

Concerning Egypt:

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor! What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side,” declares the Lord.

“The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.”

“Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people.’ Charge, you horses! Drive furiously, you charioteers! March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow. But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.”  Jeremiah 46:1-10

As we read the message of the Lord directed toward for the “army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt,” we find an imagery that is nothing short of terrifying. For no matter how well the army prepares for the Babylonian forces that the Lord is bringing against them, it will be to no avail.

For a day belonging to the Lord was coming, a day when it would not matter what anyone did for the Lord would have His way.

Indeed, the Lord challenges the Pharaoh’s forces to prepare their shields, harness and mount their horses, don their armor and assume fighting positions, and “march out for battle”. They could charge ahead with swords and bows drawn, riding their steeds and driving their chariots with purpose. They could be as ready as they could be, having all kinds of visions of victory but they would only be left horrified, running in retreat but finding no place to hide. Terror would be seen “on every side” and no one would be swift or strong enough to get away from the judgment that the Lord was sending on the day belonging to Him, a day of vengeance on His foes.

The Egyptians would experience defeat and the Babylonian army, the instrument of judgment used by the Lord, would use the sword to devour them. Much blood would be shed and Egypt would become a land of death.

If only the nation had placed their faith in God instead of the false gods they chose to worship and revere.

Fast forward to today. For there is another day belonging to the Lord that will settle things once and for all forever. And it won’t be just one nation being judged but every nation and all the people residing therein. No one will be spared from being assessed with one of two outcomes from that assessment:

Either a person will live eternally or a person will be destroyed and completely obliterated, vanquished into the lake of fire never to live again.  

The coming day which will belong to the Lord will happen when Jesus Christ leaves the right hand of God the Father and returns to judge everyone in creation, the dead and those alive. The scriptures assure us there will be a sorting on that day with those who placed their belief and trust in Jesus on the right (those in this number referred to as sheep) and those who chose to reject Him on the left (the goats). The sheep, those who placed their hope in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will be a part of His eternal flock. The goats on the other hand would be wiped out into extinction, the penalty and punishment for their blatant refusal to acknowledge and accept God’s salvation offer (Matthew 25:31-46).

The good news in all this is that we have a choice to make.

We can opt to receive Jesus as our Savior and secure our future with Him and God forever

or

We can decide we will live without Jesus and forfeit any future beyond the worldly life we now have.

The Egyptians did the latter and paid the price on the day belonging to the Lord.

Do we really want to repeat the mistakes of the past?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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BLESSED ASSURANCE

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Baruch, son of Neriah, wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch:

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”

Jeremiah 45

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You may recall the relationship that the prophet Jeremiah had with a man named Baruch. It was a special relationship as Baruch was a member of Jeremiah’s inner circle, a trusted confidant and friend, a servant of the Lord.

As Jeremiah’s right hand man, the scriptures highlight several key actions he performed for God’s prophet:

1. When Jeremiah purchased a field in Anathoth within his home territory of Benjamin, Baruch was involved in handling the deed for the land, following Jeremiah’s order to place the important documents in a clay jar so that they might be preserved. Baruch did just as Jeremiah had told him to do.

2. Sometime later, Baruch was enlisted by Jeremiah to first write down all the words that the Lord had given His prophet on a scroll before going to the temple and reading the scroll to the worshippers there. The king’s officials were so frightened and concerned when they heard what Baruch read that they told him to flee with Jeremiah and hide, being careful to reveal to no one in regard to where they were going. The officials took the scroll to King Jehoiakim who proceeded to burn it, such was his disregard for God. So Jeremiah dictated to Baruch who produced a replacement scroll containing the words of Lord.

Indeed, Baruch had stuck with Jeremiah through thick and thin, in good times and bad. He had experienced the joys of success along with the prophet and he suffered through the persecution and spiritual attacks as well. We find all this and more as we look at the 45th chapter of Jeremiah and find the Lord giving Baruch a blessed assurance:

When Baruch, son of Neriah, wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch:

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”  Jeremiah 45

Baruch had endured a lot along with Jeremiah. It wasn’t easy and the words of the prophet’s scribe reflected that. There was a lot of emotional pain that came with persecution for standing up for the God against those who had chosen to live in sin. By his own admission, Baruch was worn out and in dire need of rest. Such is the case when we labor for the name of the Lord even today in the 21st century. If you don’t believe that, then you haven’t been paying attention to what has been happening around you as Christians seem to be coming under attack more and more. In fact, it has become a matter of life and death in many parts of the world we live in.

Note that the Lord is not going to tolerate the blatant sinfulness that existed in Jeremiah’s time and He is not going to accept it today either. Ditto for any time in the future. For the scriptures make it clear that judgment was coming on Judah and its holy city of Jerusalem. The Lord was bringing “disaster on all people” except for Baruch.

That was the blessed assurance God gave His faithful servant. He would be spared when punishment fell upon his fellow Israelites and escape with his life.

Today, God has given His people all a chance to have a blessed assurance as well, one that is even better than the one Baruch received.

For anyone who places their faith and hope in God’s only Son, Jesus, as their Savior will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Thus, when the final judgment falls at Christ’s return, all those who believed in Him will escape with their lives, lives that will be full of light and love and peace, free from all the afflictions of the world.

What do the words of the classic hymn proclaim?

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels, descending, bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

HERE'S YOUR SIGN

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“‘This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ This is what the Lord says: ‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.’”

Jeremiah 44:29-30

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Several years ago, a comedian by the name of Bill Engvall added something to his comedy routine that turned out to become a signature trademark for him. The addition, a series of jokes with the punch line, “Here’s Your Sign”, centered on the dumb questions that people ask sometimes, obvious questions that Engvall would give sarcastic answers to. Here are a few of the ones he would use:

A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads, "Low Bridge Ahead." Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. And so, cars are backed up for miles before a police car arrives. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?" The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas."

Of course, this was followed by “Here’s Your Sign”.

On another instance, Engvall was sitting on a plane that was traveling towards Seattle. The guy next to him turned and said, "Hey, you going to Seattle?". To which Engvall replied, "Nope, going to San Francisco. I'll be parachuting off the plane in about an hour."

Then he would say, “Here's your sign!”

Well, as we return to the study of Jeremiah after more than a week looking at the Passion Week and Jesus arrival in Jerusalem, His death, and His resurrection, we find God telling the Jewish remnant that He would give them a sign but what He spoke of was far from a laughing matter, unlike the humor of Bill Engvall. Let’s quickly review the situation at hand to refresh our memories on where things stand as Jeremiah 44 ends:

We go back to when the Babylonians had destroyed the kingdom of Judah and its holy city of Jerusalem. Nearly all the Israelites were taken away into a seventy year captivity period in Babylon, God’s penalty for their blatant sinfulness, done unapologetically in His sight. I say nearly all the Israelites because there was a remnant of God’s poorest people who were left behind to tend the land and produce wine, summer fruit, and olive oil. This Jewish remnant was in an area called Mizpah and they were placed under the rule of a Jewish governor by the name of Gedaliah.

Well, Gedaliah didn’t stay in power long because the scriptures tell of us that a man named Ismael, assassinated the governor and Babylonian soldiers who were supposed to serve as security. After that killing, Ishmael wasn’t satisfied as he slaughtered nearly 80 other people before taking the remainder of the Jews prisoner, leading them to the land of the Ammonites before Johanan, army officers, and some soldiers showed up to save the Jewish remnant. Ishmael fled to Ammon and the remnant started for Egypt, afraid to return to Mizpah because they believed the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, would seek repercussions against them.

As they headed to Egypt, they asked Jeremiah to pray to God for them, asking Him to give them specific guidance as to where to go and what to do when they got there. You will recall they backed up this request by promising obedience to whatever God told them, no matter what. God honored their request by telling them to remain in Judah and settle down there. He promised they would not be endangered by Nebuchadnezzar and thus had no reason to fear. God then warned the remnant of the consequences they would face if they rejected His guidance and went onto Egypt anyways.

So what did the people do?

We know they chose to do what they wanted to do, disregarding God’s call for them to remain in Judah and going on to Egypt. In response, God gave them the assurance that He would carry through with what He said He would do. None of the Jews in the remnant would ever get to come out of Egypt to Judah again. Instead, they would perish in Egypt either by sword, famine, or plague.

With this review complete, we now look to our scripture passage today as God tells His people of the sign they will receive to confirm He would send His judgment upon them where they were in Egypt. Read again these words of the Lord:

“‘This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ This is what the Lord says: ‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.’”  Jeremiah 44:29-30

Indeed, God was sending His people a sign but note the sign had nothing to do with any of them but rather the ruler of Egypt, the Pharaoh Hophra. God was going to deliver Egypt’s king into the hands of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, who desired to kill the Pharaoh. After that, the Jewish remnant could expect that there time would come.

But only after God showed them their sign.

Friends, God is not someone to play with when it comes to the matter of obedience. He expects us to uncompromisingly comply with His word, will, and way. There is no other option.

When we do, then we can expect to be living in His favor because our actions are pleasing in His sight. The sign of His satisfaction with us will come in His blessings He will send.

However, when we opt to deny God and choose blatant disrespect, disregard, and dishonor over righteousness, then we can expect that He will respond with judgment, our sign that we are going in the wrong direction and have incited His anger and wrath.

Take a look at your life today and see what signs God might be giving you, then examine your faith life and see if what you are experiencing isn’t self imposed, much like the Jewish remnant of Mizpah.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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