A MESSAGE TO BABYLON: A PROMISE FULFILLED

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In Christ, Mark

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

“‘The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’”

“Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because His purpose is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush!”

“The Lord will carry out his purpose, His decree against the people of Babylon. You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed.”

Jeremiah 51:10-13

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

Here’s a truth we can always hold onto.

God always fulfills His promises. He always does.

As we have seen in our study of the Old Testament, God’s promises are always intended to lead us to good. He never ceases to give us direction so we know what He expects from us and as long as we remain obedient to doing all He calls us to do, we can remain in His favor and experience the richness of His blessings. However, if we fail to do what He wants us to do, we have seen God send warnings through His prophets which are nothing more than promises of punishment if His people choose to not repent of their sins and continue to disobey His commands.

In today’s scripture passage from Jeremiah 51, we find snapshots of three promises of God that were fulfilled.

First, we need to remember what got the Israelites to a point of vindication.

The people of Israel and Judah had sinned against God and continued to do so despite the warnings He sent regarding judgment. It got to the point where God became fed up with His people and so He brought the Babylonian forces upon them, destroying their land and leaving everything in ruins before taking the Israelites away into a seventy year exile.

God had promised judgment and judgment is what His people received because God always fulfills His promises.

Second, we read that the people of Israel were vindicated by God.

“‘The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’”

Once the Israelites had paid the penalty God imposed, we know that the Babylonians were overthrown by the Persians who promptly allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland and return they did, rejoicing in an opportunity to rebuild their homes, their lives, and their relationship with God.

God had promised vindication and redemption and this is what the Israelites received because God always fulfills His promises.

Finally, the Babylonians had sinned against God and although they were used by Him as an instrument of His judgment, this did not excuse them from experiencing it themselves. For God promised judgment on anyone who would choose to worship false gods and idols, commanding that there be no other gods before Him. He made it clear that He was a jealous God and would bring punishment on anyone who disregarded, disrespected, and dishonored Him through the way they worshiped.

The Israelites had violated this and experienced God’s judgment. Ditto for the Babylonians who found their once mighty empire destroyed. In both instances, we find that God indeed fulfills His promises.

And that brings us to today and the most important promise God has ever given His people. It reads like this:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

How simple is the Gospel?

As simple as these promises:

If you believe in Jesus, you will not perish but have eternal life.

If you choose to reject Jesus, you will perish and be gone forever.

God is going to fulfill one of these two promises in your lifetime.

Which one is it going to be for you?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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A MESSAGE TO BABYLON: NO HEALING

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** 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

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

“Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.”

“‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’”

Jeremiah 51:8-9

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

When you get injured and suffer pain, when you suffer from some form of affliction, or when you experience emotional brokenness, what do you yearn for more than anything?

Isn’t it healing?

We all want recovery from the things we are going through.

Recently, my mother broke a bone in her back after a hard fall. For days and days, the pain was so intense that she couldn’t eat anything because she would just get sick and lose everything she had eaten. She then not only dealt with pain but the weakness that came from not being able to eat. We prayed and prayed for healing, for the broken bone to begin to mend, for the pain to subside, and for her nausea to depart so she would have an appetite to eat again.

Thankfully, our prayers have been answered and each day, she recovers a little more as the Lord, our Great Physician, heals her from the inside out.

My mother was fortunate. Healing happened for her. But what if a person or people found themselves in a position where healing was not going to be possible. Can you imagine how hard that might be, to live with no hope of recovery?

As we see in today’s scripture passage from Jeremiah 51, part of the judgment God would place on the Babylonians involved the removal of their healing. Look again at these words:

“Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.”

“‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’” Jeremiah 51:8-9

The mighty Babylonian empire was about to fall and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Such is what happens when anybody chooses to oppose God. He will triumph every single time, no matter how powerful an entity might become in the world.

And in the case of the Babylonians, their punishment went beyond just being destroyed. For they would not recover from the annihilation God was bringing. Babylon would never be healed.

This would be evident to Babylon but it would also be clear to other nations who might want to come to assist. For look again at the words of those who may have wanted to help:

“‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’”

The judgment of Babylon was more than anyone on earth could handle. This is because the judgment came with a power that was not of the earth but rather the heavens where the Lord God Almighty rules with full authority over His creation. The once seemingly insurmountable empire would be reduced to ruins and would remain that way.

It was the ultimate bad news.

So how in the world could we ever glean anything positive out of this today? How can we possibly glean good news from the bad?

Well believe it or not, there is a powerful takeaway for us all.

For in the midst of a life situation where none of us can be healed because of our sinfulness, God, not wishing for any of us to perish, sent His one and only Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins and offer us the opportunity to experience healing, not just in the here and now but forever. Thus, there is one way to true healing and that way is through placing your faith and trust in Jesus as Savior. For when we do, the words of the scriptures come to life:

He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Have you found your way to true healing today?

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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A MESSAGE TO BABYLON: A GOLD CUP IN GOD’S HAND

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In Christ, Mark

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

This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets.”

“Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.”

Jeremiah 51:1-4, 7

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

As Jeremiah 51 opens, we find the Lord continuing to address the mighty Babylon, an empire once used by Him as an instrument of judgment on other nations but now would see that same judgment come back upon them by way of the Persians and other nations who would bring a merciless assault that would bring the Babylonians down. We see all of this come to life in the following verses:

This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets.”

“Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.”  Jeremiah 51:1-4, 7

First of all, I want you to note that the Babylonians were once a “gold cup in the Lord’s hand” as He used their mighty fighting forces to punish nations who had opposed Him to include His beloved Israelites in the southern kingdom of Judah and its holy city, Jerusalem. It wasn’t that the Babylonians were so much better than the countries they destroyed. They weren’t. Not by a long shot.

You see, that’s what got them in the same mess as those nations they attacked and decimated. For the Babylonians worshiped false gods and idols, even when they were being used by the one true God, the one and only God to fulfill His purposes. There was no move toward repentance by the people of Babylon, no attempt to realize the wrongs of their ways and give their full attention, affection, and devotion to the Lord who saw them as His gold cup.

Instead, they reveled in the great power and success they achieved, never once acknowledging the might and authority of the God who granted it to them. In other words, their life attitude and relationship with the Lord was anything but gold standard.

Well, how does the old saying go?

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away – and the Babylonians were about to see the saying play out in its fullest meaning.

For bad times were coming for the great Babylonian empire. The Lord Himself promised so when He said the following:

“See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets.”

Ouch.

Not a pretty picture, is it?

And who would have thought this would come?

After all, by the Lord’s own admission, Babylon had been the gold cup He held in His hand. It’s the place where anyone should want to be, a place of honor, a place where someone can say the Lord used them to fulfill His purposes.

Babylon had it all going for themselves and they let it slip away because they forgot to respect and revere the One who had blessed them with the chance to serve Him. Through choosing sin over righteousness, they gave up their place of favor with the Lord and instead fell into His judgment, allowing the gold cup to pass to the Persians

Friends, the word of the Lord is speaking powerfully to us today and telling us that we all should aspire to be in a place where we are the gold cup the Lord holds in His hand, seen by Him as having the desire and skills He needs to achieve His desires within His kingdom here on earth. He wants to use all of us to achieve glorious things, things that might involve becoming an instrument of His discipline on another but it may also include being a blessing to someone as the Lord pours us out of His gold cup to make a difference in the life of another person or persons. Perhaps we can see no greater example of this than in Jesus, God’s only Son who was poured out as a sin sacrifice so we might be saved.

So in closing, some questions for you to consider:

Won’t you allow the Lord to use you in some way this week that brings Him honor and glory?

Won’t you acknowledge that you have no power to achieve anything truly good without the power of the Lord’s Spirit within you, a Spirit who will always guide you onto the path of righteousness and thus right living?

Won’t you commit yourself to be more and more like Jesus until every fiber of your body and soul models His?

and finally,

Won’t you allow yourself to be the gold cup the Lord holds in His hand, submitting yourself to faithfully fulfill His word, will, and way?

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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A MESSAGE TO BABYLON: THE COST OF IDOLATRY

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** 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

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

“A drought on her waters! They will dry up.”

“For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror.”

“So desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation. As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighboring towns,” declares the Lord, “so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it.”

“Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Babylon.”

“The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor. Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?”

“Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon, what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians:”

‘The young of the flock will be dragged away; their pasture will be appalled at their fate. At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble; its cry will resound among the nations.”

Jeremiah 50:38-46

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

What do you idolize in life?

Recent deaths in the movie and music industry have prompted responses that are almost worship-like in nature, as if the person passing was some kind of god unto themselves. In our humanity, it seems like we have an inner drive to give our heart’s desire to something and there is any number of offerings to choose from. We even have had a television show that has lasted for more than 14 years and was a major part of pop culture.

What was the name of the show?

American Idol, which premiered in 2002 and didn’t look back.

Yes, we are a people who opt to idolize any number of things and that’s a major problem when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. Because any time we focus our adoration on the things of the world, it can subtract from the full adoration He deserves.

Am I saying that we can’t give our admiration and adulation to others?

No, not at all.

But what I am saying is that the Lord deserves our first and fullest esteem, appreciation, and expression of awe and then He can dictate who we give our love to in our lives.

You see, when we place the Lord first and make Him our primary object of worship, we can ensure that we don’t fall into the idolatry trap that the Babylonians (and many other nations including Israel and Judah) fell into. Look at today’s devotion to see the cost that Babylon specifically paid for choosing worthless idols over a priceless God:

“A drought on her waters! They will dry up.”

“For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror.”

“So desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation. As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighboring towns,” declares the Lord, “so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it.”

“Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Babylon.”

“The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor. Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?”

“Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon, what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians:”

‘The young of the flock will be dragged away; their pasture will be appalled at their fate. At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble; its cry will resound among the nations.”  Jeremiah 50:38-46

The Babylonians had turned their backs on God and placed their trust in idols. Their faith was at rock bottom and bone dry so it’s little wonder that God would send a drought upon the land.

How bad would it get?

So bad that the once powerful and thriving nation would basically become uninhabitable expect for animals who liked the desert conditions, animals like hyenas, owls, and other creatures. God would leave the empire in ruins just as He did the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The work of the Lord’s judgment would range far beyond a drought. Just as God had used the Babylonians as instruments of His judgment, so too would He do likewise against Babylon bringing a cruel and merciless army from the north comprised of the Persians and several other nations who joined forces with them. In the end, Babylon’s army, which used to have its way with anyone it fought against, would be defeated soundly and captured. The bold, arrogant confidence that once defined Babylon would be replaced by terror, fear, anguish, and pain and surrounding nations would be left appalled when they saw the cost of idolatry first-hand.

And so that leads to us here in the 21st century and back to my original question:

What do you idolize in life?

If it’s anything outside of the Lord, I would recommend reassessing where your faith and loyalty lie for God expects that it be fully directed to Him, that He receive the fullest measure of our worship and praise, now and forever.

There is a cost attached for doing otherwise.

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