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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.
“A sword against the Babylonians!” declares the Lord—“against
those who live in Babylon and against her officials and wise men! A sword
against her false prophets! They will become fools. A sword against her
warriors! They will be filled with terror. A sword against her horses and
chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks! They will become weaklings. A
sword against her treasures! They will be plundered.”
Jeremiah 50:35-37
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In today’s devotion as we continue to look at the message
the Lord had for the Babylonians, we find the Lord calling for a sword to be
brought against Babylon in many different ways. It should be remembered that
the sword was used as a weapon with the intent of conquering another and/or defending
oneself, even to the death if necessary, against an enemy. Of interest here is
the fact that the Babylonians had been used by the Lord as His sword against
other nations and cities who had fallen out of favor with Him, even though they
were just as guilty in the way they sinned against Him.
But now the tables were being turned and it was Babylon who
would have the sword of the Lord brought against them. Look at today’s verses
as we further look at Jeremiah 50:
“A sword against the Babylonians!” declares the Lord—“against
those who live in Babylon and against her officials and wise men! A sword
against her false prophets! They will become fools. A sword against her
warriors! They will be filled with terror. A sword against her horses and
chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks! They will become weaklings. A
sword against her treasures! They will be plundered.” Jeremiah 50:35-37
Note the almost surgical nature of the sword of the Lord,
used with intent to strike Babylon in many different places such as:
1. Against the officials and wise men.
“A sword against the
Babylonians!” declares the Lord—“against those who live in Babylon and against
her officials and wise men!
2. Against the false prophets.
“A sword against her
false prophets! They will become fools.”
3. Against the nation’s warriors.
“A sword against her
warriors! They will be filled with terror.”
4. Against Babylon’s horses
and chariots.
“A sword against her
horses and chariots.”
5. Against any foreigners within the ranks of the
Babylonians.
“A sword against…all
the foreigners in her ranks! They will become weaklings.”
6. Against Babylon’s treasures and wealth.
“A sword against her
treasures! They will be plundered.”
What are we to take from this?
We’re to remember that the Lord can raise a sword against
anything and use it with precision to achieve His purposes. As He trimmed
things away from Babylon, He weakened the once mighty empire to the point where
it finally fell into ruin and destruction, a message to other nations who might
consider opposing the Lord in the way they conducted themselves.
Now consider this:
The sword of the Lord can be used to help you in life as well,
to help you from falling into destruction from sin. For through wielding His
weapon with unrivaled skill and accuracy, the Lord can dissect things out of your
life that are keeping you from having a full relationship with Him. He is
willing to slay any sin that plagues you, sin that Satan the enemy is always
trying to use against us.
So how does the Lord’s sword work?
First, let’s look at one other question: What is the sword
of the Lord as it applies to our lives today?
We find the answer in Paul’s letter to Ephesus, a passage
that calls for us to don the full armor of God, going into great detail in
regard to each piece and what it represents. When we get to the verse
concerning the weapon we are to carry. Scripture tells us this:
“Take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians
6:17
No real soldier would ever consider going onto the
battlefield without their weapon and essentially, God’s word is telling us that
we are to carry the sword of the Spirit (or sword of the Lord) with us into
battle and that sword if the word of God.
Want an example as to how to use your sword?
We need only look to Jesus, as we are to do in all aspects
of trying to live the Christian life. Look at the way He demonstrated how to
wield the sword of the Lord when we come under spiritual attack:
Then Jesus was led by
the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty
days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If you
are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It
is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took Him
to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you
are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command His
angels concerning you, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You
will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It
is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took
Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and
their splendor. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and
worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away
from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him
only.’”
Then the devil left Him,
and angels came and attended Him.
Matthew 4:1-11
Satan tried to assault Jesus three times and convince Him to
sin. Three times Jesus rebutted Him by using His sword, the word of God, with
perfect skill. After the third attempt, Satan just flat out gave up. He was
defeated and vanquished through the sword Jesus wielded and the good news is
that we can do the same thing because the word of God is just as accessible to
us today as it was in Jesus’ time. Frankly, I believe it’s even more so. We
just need to use it and use it the right way.
When we do, we, like Jesus, will experience first-hand the
power found in the sword of the Lord and how it can ward off Satan, our enemy,
when He chooses to attack.
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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