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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 Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of
Judah:
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “See,
I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. I will bring against
Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; I will scatter them to
the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not go. I
will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who want to kill them; I will
bring disaster on them, even my fierce anger,” declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,” declares the Lord.
“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in
days to come,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 49:34-39
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
We’re nearly finished with the series of messages that God
sent to nations, cities, towns, and villages regarding the judgment that He
would bring on each of them. We have seen nations all around Israel singled out
and disciplined by God. Today we add one more, the nation of Elam.
To get an idea of the origin of Elam, you have to go all the
way back to the Book of Genesis and the tenth chapter. There, you will see a
list of offspring born the Noah’s sons with a boy named Elam born to Shem. That
boy Elam would become the progenitor for the nation of Elam, its people known
as the Elamites.
Elam was located in what is present day Iran and were
clearly an enemy of God’s people as they were mentioned as attackers in a
prophecy given by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 22:6). Known for their skilled
archers, we find the Lord using an analogy to speak of His coming judgment in
the closing verses of Jeremiah 49. Look again at these words:
This
is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,
early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah:
This
is what the Lord Almighty says: “See, I will break the bow of Elam, the
mainstay of their might. I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four
quarters of heaven; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not
be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not go. I will shatter Elam before their
foes, before those who want to kill them; I will bring disaster on them, even
my fierce anger,” declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,” declares the Lord.
“Yet
I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 49:34-39
As we have seen in the case of other nations receiving
messages from the Lord about His judgment, the might and power the nation
enjoyed would be taken away and in the case of Elam, God made it clear He was
breaking the bow of the Elamites, an act akin to breaking their will. God was
bringing disaster on Elam, shattering the nation before its foes while exiling
its inhabitants to other nations for they would no longer be allowed to live in
a land who would soon have a new king, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
We know this because God tells us He would dethrone the
leadership of Elam, destroying the nation’s king and officials before taking
their place. Since Elam’s leaders couldn’t lead their people to be partners and
servants of God and God alone, God would have to do it for them. He would come
to show them who is really in power and authority in creation.
Look around the world today and look at the number of
terrible leaders who are in charge of nations, many of which are large and
mighty. The rulers of these nations can be seen from the outside looking in as
very powerful people but the truth of the matter is that they pale in
comparison to the Lord God Almighty.
If rulers would humble themselves and submit the leadership
of their nation to the lead of the Lord, we would find those rulers and nations
flourishing because they would be conducting themselves in a way pleasing in
God’s sight.
Of course, they could also opt to be consumed by their
positions of power and operate separate from God, ruling and reigning without
Him. In these instances (and nations today had better pay attention), don’t be
surprised if the Lord doesn’t do what He did in the case of Elam, completely
casting out and dethroning the nation’s leaders and officials so that He can
take their place.
In either scenario, one way or another, God is going to have
His way. He always has and He always will.
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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