A History Lesson
“It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the Lord, “until I have destroyed it by his hand.” Jeremiah 27:8 NASB
I will punish – Get ready! God is leaning toward the judgment seat. Did you imagine that you would be spared His destruction because you believe? Maimonides’ insight stands. When God cleanses, both the righteous and the wicked are swept away. If He does not spare Israel, why do you think He will spare you?
Lau observes that the telltale sign of impending doom is not lack of worship, disregard for sovereignty or self-interest. According to Jeremiah’s revelation, “. . . man’s service to God is measured by his social conduct.”[1] Care of widows, shelter of the homeless, compassion toward orphans, defense of those treated unjustly, benevolence toward strangers, upright negotiations, fair pay, uniform standards, moral leadership—these are the measures of service to God. And where they are lacking, God raises an army of extinction, a sweeping force to cleanse the earth. Bow to His servant coming in the name of a pagan empire, because God uses whomever He chooses to recompense for society’s disregard of those made in His image.
Jeremiah had the unfortunate task of telling the citizens of Israel that they would be spared death only if they gave up their freedom and surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan emperor exterminating everyone in his way. According to Jeremiah, this idolatrous king was God’s servant, and God would insure that those who resisted surrender would die! Imagine how Israel responded to this message. Well, you don’t have to imagine. History tells us that they considered Jeremiah a false prophet. How could anyone even imagine that God would not defend His chosen people! How could anyone be so brash (and so stupid) to suggest that God would use an idolatrous nation to punish His own? No, never! God is on our side. We are His chosen ones. He would never let this happen.
And the rest is history. “I will punish” (‘epqod) became present tense reality.
On any scale of social conduct, we who are followers are caught up in the maelstrom of a moral sewer. The end is coming. Perhaps not the end we think. Perhaps not the glorious return of the Messiah who shows everyone else (those wicked sinners) how right we were. Perhaps the end that comes first is the storm, sweeping away all regardless of the scorecard.
Topical Index: punish, end, judgment, Jeremiah 27:8, ‘epqod, paqad
[1] Binyamin Lau, Jeremiah: The fate of a Prophet (Maggid, n.d.), p 83.
Ouch and Amen.
If anyone still thinks this is truly a “godly nation” I would like to talk to them about a bridge I know about out in a certain midwestern state….
What does Babylon still represent as it needs to fall we can thing of the manifestation of the kingdom.
Babylon is the “mother of harlots”. What does a woman represent in typology? A spiritual body. Um, we would call that a “church”. The true Body in Revelation and numerous places in the OT is typified by a virtuous woman, true to her vows, and all false belief systems, which Babylon (in OT and New) is Biblically considered the originator of, are called whores. Israel, when it strayed, also got called a ‘ho’ too.
Today I think we can all agree that there is no formal belief system that is pure enough to be considered a home for us wanderers. The laments of that on this site are numerous. Therefore, all formal systems of thought or belief, including atheism (which I think has also been proven to be a belief system), humanism, and general consumerism (money being the developed world’s god) are all harlots, which are idolators. At some point, we are going to have leave where we are and start heading back to the Promised Land.
Including ho ho ho…
Mary the mother of Jesus, Jerusalem the spiritual mother of all.
Babylon seems then to be equivalent to the tree of knowledge of good and evil…
Well, Jerusalem is a place (unlike Israel – including adopted Israel, which would be us – which is mostly scattered far from Jerusalem), and Mary was just a human girl who was willing, but if Babylon represents false belief systems and practices, how does that correlate to the tree of knowledge of good and evil? I am an idolator if I subscribe to beliefs (trust and faith) and practices that are not true, but the tree reduced us to only learning by experience (knowledge). How would that correspond, to, say, animism or being a Muslim? We are ALL cursed now by that tree. Its already a done deal. I can choose a false god to put my trust in, but I cannot choose now to not learn by experience. No ‘enlightenment’ shortcuts for anybody, and no perfect births, either (aka a Dalai Lama). Post cross, we all have to go the adoption route, via Yeshua, to become a part of that virtuous woman, which is the true Body today.
Laurita,
Knowledge or experience is what makes us believe and trust in… rather forms convictions.
Let us assume money makes the world go round and a blessing from God. The more I am pleased by this the easier I live out and promote the idea and very soon my life is controlled by this god if you like…
The same goes for every other life experience that breeds satisfaction… The same with hope and belief in an unseen, the more it is reinforced the more the false reality is confirmed and our mind unfortunately also responds to what we feed it not by only the reality we experience…
>sigh< There goes the rapture theory.
I used to advise the brethren that met in my home to “be prepared to carry your faith into a future which does not conform to the narratives you have inherited.”