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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.
“Because you rejoice and are glad, you
who pillage My inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and
neigh like stallions, your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who gave you
birth will be disgraced. She will be the least of the nations—a wilderness, a
dry land, a desert. Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited but
will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be appalled; they will
scoff because of all her wounds.”
“Take up your positions around Babylon, all
you who draw the bow. Shoot at her! Spare no arrows, for she has sinned against
the Lord. Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her
walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the Lord, take vengeance on
her; do to her as she has done to others. Cut off from Babylon the sower, and
the reaper with his sickle at harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let
everyone return to their own people, let everyone flee to their own land.”
“Attack
the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely
destroy them,”
declares the Lord. Do everything I have commanded you. Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the Lord our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple.”
declares the Lord. Do everything I have commanded you. Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the Lord our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple.”
Jeremiah 50:11-16, 21, 28
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
If you know the Bible, and particularly the Old Testament
history of the Israelites then you know all about the nation of Babylon and the
role they played in exacting God’s judgment on His people.
Through our study of Jeremiah, a study that began back in
August 2015, we know that the Israelites had decided to worship false gods and
do so unapologetically. They knew all about the commandments God had pronounced
to their ancestors, commandments which included an order to worship no other gods
outside of God Himself. They also knew that those ancestors suffered
consequences from God when they willingly and willfully decided to disobey Him.
And yet, with all that knowledge in hand, the Israelites in
Jeremiah’s time decided to repeat the mistakes of the past and rebel against
God and all He expected. Their own desires completely trumped God’s word, will,
and way. And no matter how much the prophets warned God’s people, they let the
warnings fall on deaf ears.
So God decided to do something about it and brought
vengeance upon His people.
The people of the northern kingdom of Israel were attacked
by the Assyrians, the land destroyed and the people hauled away, never to
return again to their homeland.
The people of the southern kingdom of Judah, which included
the beloved, holy city of Jerusalem, found themselves invaded and assaulted by
the Babylonians under the leadership of King Nebuchadnezzar. The forces of
Babylon leveled the southern kingdom and left everything in ruins before taking
the people away into a seventy year exile. The Israelites had chosen to abandon
God and so they got a taste of what it would feel like to be abandoned, a taste
that lasted seventy long years.
Yes, Babylon had been the avenger, used by God to bring
judgment on His people, but as we see in today’s scripture passage from
Jeremiah 50, the vengeance of God was now going to fall on them. Look these
words from the Lord:
“Because
you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage My inheritance, because you frolic
like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions, your mother will be
greatly ashamed; she who gave you birth will be disgraced. She will be the
least of the nations—a wilderness, a dry land, a desert. Because of the Lord’s
anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass
Babylon will be appalled; they will scoff because of all her wounds.”
“Take
up your positions around Babylon, all you who draw the bow. Shoot at her! Spare
no arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord. Shout against her on every
side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is
the vengeance of the Lord, take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done to
others. Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the reaper with his sickle at
harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to their own
people, let everyone flee to their own land.”
“Attack the land of Merathaim and those
who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely destroy them,” declares the Lord.
Do everything I have commanded you. Listen to the fugitives and refugees from
Babylon declaring in Zion how the Lord our God has taken vengeance, vengeance
for his temple.”
Jeremiah
50:11-16, 21, 28
The main reason why God used Babylon to not only bring His
punishment on Judah but also other surrounding nations was because those
nations had decided to sin against Him. All of them had decided to bow down and
give their devotion to idols and Babylon was no different, worshiping many,
many different gods. They rejoiced and were glad in the way they lived,
especially taking delight in pillaging and plundering the land God had given to
His people to include His holy temple In Jerusalem.
It’s obvious that the Lord did not take any delight in their
life attitude, especially since the Babylonians gave no tribute or honor to God
for how He had blessed them to become a powerful empire. Instead of turning
toward God and His righteousness, the Babylonians became consumed by their
power and attributed all they accomplished to their own doing, almost becoming
gods unto themselves in a way.
They were about to see how everything can change in a moment
when the vengeance of the Lord comes. For the once mighty kingdom was about to
come crashing down to become the least of the nations, a nation of shame which
would leave others appalled, a wilderness which would include dry land and
deserts. The attack on the Babylonians by the Persians and other nations would
be relentless and many would perish either by the sword or the bow. In fact,
the word of God tells us that the empire would become so desolate that no one
would live there because God had given the order to kill and completely
annihilate the Babylonian populace.
It isn’t a pretty picture is it. It never is when the Lord’s
vengeance comes.
And yet, so many nations today could be substituted for the
Babylonians of Jeremiah’s day because they carry themselves in much the same
manner, flaunting their power without giving an ounce of respect or regard to
God. They worship other material items or themselves before they will bring
worship to the God who blessed them with the power and renown they enjoy. And so
don’t be surprised my friends when we see the vengeance of the Lord on full
display again here in the 21st century.
We had all better be praying that it isn’t our nation who
receives it.
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
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