A MESSAGE TO BABYLON: WHAT COMES AROUND, GOES AROUND

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In Christ, Mark

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

“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.

“See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.”

Jeremiah 50:29-32

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

Have you ever heard the expression, “What comes around, goes around”?

Essentially, it means that something a person might do, good or bad, will eventually result in something coming back to them, good or bad.

Perhaps someone does a good deed for someone like finds a wallet or purse that someone lost and ensures that item gets back to the rightful owner safely and without loss. Now imagine that the person who received their item of value back turns around and gives the person a gift to show their gratitude for what the person had done.

The good the person had done for another came back to them in a blessing from the person they helped. What goes around can come around like that.

Now consider a person wronging another and feeling like there will be no consequence for their actions but then they get wronged by another person. We sometimes see this in television shows or in movies where someone deceives another only to find themselves deceived by someone later. You might call that “getting a taste of your own medicine” but it could also fall under the category of “what comes around, goes around”.

With this as a backdrop, let’s look at the word of the Lord from Jeremiah as He continues to address the nation of Babylon and proclaim the coming judgment upon them:

“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the Lord.

“See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.”  Jeremiah 50:29-32

As we have already seen in prior devotions, the Babylonians were selected by God to be an instrument of His judgment against Judah, Jerusalem, and a host of other nations and cities. Don’t think Babylon was selected for their righteousness because they were just as sinful as the people and places they attacked and destroyed. Given this, it was just a matter of time where Babylon would experience their own judgment from God. They had been the assailant but soon they would be the ones assailed. Or in other words, what comes around, goes around.

We know from other scripture in Jeremiah 50 that the Babylonians had arrogantly and defiantly opposed God, choosing false gods and idols over Him. Now it was time for payback from the Lord and as He called the Persians and several other nations to carry out His punishment, the Lord’s order to those attacking forces was simple: “Do to her as she has done”.

What had Babylon done to other nations?

It had attacked and destroyed, leaving nations and cities desolate after eliminating or driving out the people who lived there.

Now their day had come to be punished and they would get what they had given others. All would be silenced on the day of God’s judgment and Babylon’s once mighty soldiers would perish at the hands of their enemies. A once mighty nation would stumble and fall with no one to come to their aid.

Sound familiar?

It’s what happened to every nation or city the Babylonians had attacked.

What comes around, goes around.

Friends, we had better understand that this principle of good or bad coming back on us depending on our actions is very real and valid, even today. With this, we had choose what we do carefully and understand that any sins we commit against someone could come back on us through someone else.

It would be far better to just dedicate ourselves to the Lord so that all that we are and all that we do is all that He is. Thus, the things we do unto others will be good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord, leading to His blessing instead of His judgment.

I don’t know about you but I would definitely like to experience good coming back around on me than any hint of penalty or punishment. Let’s learn from the Babylonians and not repeat their mistakes of the past.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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