MONDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2023
TEXT:
Jeremiah 51:41-65
41:
“How Sheshak will be captured, the boast of the whole earth seized! How
desolate Babylon will be among the nations!
42:
The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her.
43:
Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives,
through which no one travels.
44:
I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The
nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall.
45:
“Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the fierce anger of
the Lord.
46:
Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor
comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler
against ruler.
47:
For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her
whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
48:
Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north destroyers will attack her,” declares the Lord.
49:
“Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the
earth have fallen because of Babylon.
50:
You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the Lord in a
distant land, and call to mind Jerusalem.”
51:
“We are disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered the holy places of the Lord’s house.”
52:
“But days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish her idols, and
throughout her land the wounded will groan.
53:
Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I
will send destroyers against her,” declares the Lord.
54:
“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the
land of the Babylonians.
55:
The Lord will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves of enemies
will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound.
56:
A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their
bows will be broken. For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in
full.
57:
I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and
warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord Almighty.
58:
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled and
her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the
nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”
59:
This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son
of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of
Judah in the fourth year of his reign.
60:
Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon
Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon.
61:
He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words
aloud.
62:
Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither
people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate forever.’
63:
When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the
Euphrates.
64:
Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will
bring on her. And her people will fall.’” The words of Jeremiah end here.
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
GOD DOES NOT PRACTICE FAVOURITISM
John Miller is a clinical psychology professor
in a famous world class university. His penchant for hard work, productivity
and excellence is beyond question and everyone respects him for that.
If
a student misses one of his classes, they must repeat that course, no matter
who pleads on their behalf. But he has one moral weakness: he can excuse any
erring student that speaks his native language.
God
did not spare Israel's idolatry. He used Nebuchadnezzar to punish them for
seventy years. But the Babylonians themselves became idolatrous and arrogant,
believing that their idols were responsible for their victories. God has no
favourites. So He quickly sentenced the Babylonians.
As
leaders, parents, pastors, teachers, directors or even class representatives we
sometimes show preferential treatment on the basis of tribal or sectional
affinity. We are not being Christ-like when we do that.
QUESTION:
Do you promote ethnocentrism?
PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus, help me to bring about unity within my sphere of influence, in
Jesus name. Amen.
Remain
Blessed
No comments:
Post a Comment