Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to
OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:
This is what the Lord says:
“See how the waters are rising in the
north; they will become an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and
everything in it, the towns and those who live in them. The people will cry
out; all who dwell in the land will wail at the sound of the hooves of
galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children; their hands will hang limp.”
“For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to remove all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor. Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. You remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?”
“‘Alas, sword of the Lord, how long till
you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still.’ But how can it rest when
the Lord has commanded it, when He has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the
coast?”
Jeremiah 47
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Jeremiah 47, we find the Lord continuing to send messages
to nations, warning them of the judgment He is sending upon them for their
sinfulness. This time, we find Him speaking to the Philistines through His
trusted prophet Jeremiah. Look again at His words here:
This
is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the
Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:
This
is what the Lord says:
“See
how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an overflowing
torrent. They will overflow the land and everything in it, the towns and those
who live in them. The people will cry out; all who dwell in the land will wail at
the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and
the rumble of their wheels. Parents will not turn to help their children; their
hands will hang limp.”
“For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to remove all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor. Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. You remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?”
“‘Alas,
sword of the Lord, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be
still.’ But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when He has ordered
it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?” Jeremiah 47
Of importance, the Philistines had a lot more to be worried
about than the pending assault of the Babylonians (more on that in a minute).
This is because Egypt would make the first attack on the nation that was such
an enemy of the Israelites throughout their history, an attack on Gaza which
occurred at the time the Babylonians were laying siege to the holy city of
Jerusalem in Judah.
The Gaza onslaught was only an appetizer on the menu of God’s
judgment. The main course would come in the way of the marauding Babylonians
who the scriptures referred to as waters which were “rising in the south”,
waters that would “become an overflowing torrent” and “overflow the land and
everything in it”. The event would be terrifying for all the nation’s residents
as complete destruction was coming and nothing would be able to stop it.
In fact, look once more at the closing words of this
chapter, words that speak of lamenting under the judgment of God:
“‘Alas,
sword of the Lord, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be
still.’ But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when He has ordered
it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”
Indeed, this is the message of the Lord God Almighty today,
a message that comes to us in the form of a question. It is the message to the
Philistines and it is the message to us here in the 21st century.
How can rest happen if the Lord commanded otherwise?
The Philistines would be crying out for the swords of the
Babylonians to be relaxed, terrified by the brutal bloodshed those swords
brought. But how could those swords rest when the Lord had commanded them to
come against the Philistines until the nation was destroyed?
The answer was easy. The swords would not rest until they
had accomplished what God wanted done.
Friends, this goes for anything God has commanded He would
do. He will always see that what He command is carried out and He always does
what He promises to do.
This goes for when we sin against Him today and He chooses
to send judgment upon us. Whoever carries out that judgment will not rest until
the judgment is complete, just like the Babylonians did.
But don’t see God’s message for today as being one filled
with just gloom and doom. For when we look at this matter in its opposite
sense, we see positive outcomes within the promises the Lord has given us.
Consider these examples:
When we place our hope and trust in Jesus, God has promised that
we will not perish but rather have experience everlasting life. He commanded it
to be so and again, He never fails in keeping His promises. He has given us the
assurance through His Son that He desires to be with us forever. He will never
rest in seeking and finding all those who have yet to come to Him.
And as Christians, we have an important part to play in this
because we were called to make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching other to know all that the
Lord has commanded. We are not to rest when it comes to our efforts in carrying
out this order, an order we know as the Great Commission.
So what’s it going to be for you in life? You have a
decision to make after knowing the following truths:
1. God is not going to rest in pursuing us to come to Him
and be the people He wants us to be.
2. Likewise, He isn’t going to rest if He decides we warrant
His judgment for choosing to sin against Him.
3. And finally, we are not to rest in carrying out what He
has commanded us to do, to work alongside Him in helping others find their way
to salvation.
Will you choose to oppose God or will you opt to partner
with Him?
If the Philistines could come back and advise you, they
would tell you to do the latter.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment