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Jeremiah 50 (ESV)

¹⁷ “Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. ¹⁸ Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. ²⁰ In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

 

REFLECTION:

In its heyday, the Babylonian Empire was so majestic that it seemed unshakable. However, after this empire achieved God’s purpose of judging Judah’s sins, it was also punished by God for its own sins and was destroyed by Medes-Persia in 539 BC. God will punish Babylon for Israel, just as it punishes Assyria before. Assyria once ruled Babylon, but was later destroyed by Babylon; Babylon also ruled Medes-Persia for a time, and was later defeated by Medes-Persia. This passage typifies the rebuilding of Israel when Messiah is in power. At that time, all those who seek God will be forgiven, and Israel will be cleansed from sin. The Holy Spirit often uses Babylon as a symbol of sin, and God destroys Babylon, a sign that God will execute a great and righteous judgment in the last days and completely eliminate all sins in the world. If we feel that this world is as sinful as a mountain that cannot be shaken for a while, we should live out God’s holiness in the filth with firm faith, and look forward to the day when God seeks vengeance and repays. It is also the day when the righteous followers of God receive rewards and be with God in eternal glory.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to enlighten you and make you understand that God is always with you when you are sad and weak; pray that God will give you beautiful hope and make you understand that God has prepared a better home for you in heaven, where there is no pain, tears, crying, and death of God, God’s love will last forever; ask God to transform the hope in your heart into the courage in your life, and inspire you to sail against the current and bear a beautiful testimony for God in the world.

 

HYMN:

Turn Your Eyes – youtu.be/ZJDELcuYX3g

 

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Jeremiah 49 (ESV)

¹ Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
² Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause the battle cry to be heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.

³ “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For Milcom shall go into exile,
with his priests and his officials.
⁴ Why do you boast of your valleys,
O faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
⁵ Behold, I will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.

⁶ “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”

 

REFLECTION:

Similar to the Moabites, the Ammonites were descended from the incest between Lot and his younger daughter. The Moabites were judged because they occupied the land of the tribe of Gad, the people of God, worshipped the idol Moro, and offered their children as burnt offering. Both Rabbah and Heshbon were originally the prosperous metropolis of the Ammonites. Under the judgment of God, they eventually became a wasteland. Today, we are often attracted by the prosperity of the world, taking worldly wealth as our support. From the historical outcome of the Ammonites, we should have spiritual insights to understand that God is in power throughout human history, and the entire world has been under God’s judgment from ancient times to the present. No matter how dazzling the vanity and treasure of the world may seem, the glitz of seduction is just like dew on the grass, and the sun evaporates it without a trace. We should follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus, lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, set our minds on things that are above, and have an inheritance that is imperishable.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to give you spiritual eyesight, not to be obscured by the vanity of the world, to see through everything in the world is nothing but vanity; only seeking God and living in God’s truth is the true purpose of life. Pray for God to lead you, Increase your inner strength, and make you a person who rely on God and is blessed by God throughout your life.

 

HYMN:

All I Once Held Dear – youtu.be/oxpPIa-BskY

 

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Jeremiah 48 (ESV)

¹ Concerning Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!
Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken down;
²     the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’
You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.

³ “A voice! A cry from Horonaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
⁴ Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
⁵ For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
for at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
⁶ Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like a juniper in the desert!…

⁴⁵ “In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
the crown of the sons of tumult.
⁴⁶ Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
⁴⁷ Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

 

REFLECTION:

This chapter predicts the punishment of Moab. The Moabites were the descendants of the incest between Lot and his eldest daughter (cf. Gen. 19:30-37). They tempted the Israelites to worship idols (cf. Num. 25:1-3) and joined Nebuchadnezzar’s army in attacking Judah in 602 BC, but in the end Moab was destroyed by Babylon. Chemosh (v46) is a false god worshipped by the Moabites, and the most important part of its worship ceremony is the sacrifice of children as a burnt offering. This evil act aroused God’s fierce anger and incurred severe punishment from God. We should understand that our God is a jealous God. The first commandment in the Ten Commandments is not to worship other gods. The sin of idolatry is a blasphemy against the true God and the sin that offends God the most. We should be vigilant in this world filled with all kinds of tangible and intangible idols, we must not be tempted to follow the world in idol worship and evil deeds in the process of idolatry, and otherwise we will incur severe punishment from God.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to enlighten you and enable you to examine all aspects of your life and your thoughts to see if there are any tangible or intangible idols that are injuring your life; pray that God will remove these idols and cleanse you, and heal the injury caused by the idols; ask God to help  you live a holy life, to be a good witness for Him, so that your friends and relatives who are still worshipping idols will realize the great harm of idols, and you can bring them to God.

 

HYMN:

God and God Alone – youtu.be/plxNqgvbg74

 

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Jeremiah 47 (ESV)

¹ The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.

² “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, waters are rising out of the north,
and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
³ At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers look not back to their children,
so feeble are their hands,
⁴ because of the day that is coming to destroy
all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
⁵ Baldness has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
how long will you gash yourselves?
⁶ Ah, sword of the Lord!
How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
rest and be still!
⁷ How can it be quiet
when the Lord has given it a charge?
Against Ashkelon and against the seashore
he has appointed it.”

 

REFLECTION:

Philistia was located in the plains along the coast of Judah. ​​It had always been a strong enemy of Israel, and there were constant wars between the two countries. The Philistines were an idolatry nation, did not know the true God, and were cruel and fornicating. They had always harboured hatred against God’s people, and would not be satisfied until Israel was destroyed. The Philistines were so strong that the Israelites were frightened and felt powerless against them. However, it is not possible with humans, but everything is possible with God. This passage foretold that God would remove the Philistines, protect His people, and give them peace. Those who try to destroy the people of God will eventually be destroyed by God. Today, we live in an environment where there is no war and live a rich and comfortable life, but we also face powerful enemies. A wide variety of worldly values ​​permeates our society. As the people of God, we are experiencing a difficult spiritual battle. The power of darkness is the “Philistines” we face today. Sometimes its powerful forces often make us feel powerless and even fearful. However, let us not forget that God will protect us. The devil’s defeat is set, and its ultimate end is to be wiped out by the Lord like the Philistines at that time, and fall into the bottomless pit forever. Therefore, we should be brave and fearless, victorious by the Lord, and strive to live a holy life in the filth and darkness.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for the Lord to strengthen your heart, give you courage and strength, so that you can stand firm in the turbid currents of the world; pray for the Lord to walk with you, so that you can always look to Him in your daily life, gain strength from God to overcome sin, and live a holy life that bear a beautiful witness for the Lord.

 

HYMN:

Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor – youtu.be/WDsh4sqRXOA