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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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