KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Chapters: Jeremiah 45-48
Message: Enduring The Worlds Judgments With Christ
Hello My Friend,
Judgment; The sentence of doom pronounced in any cause, civil or criminal, by the judge or court by which it is tried. Catastrophic events like storms get the worlds attention, they usually blame things like global warming for the cause, while events like terrorist attacks get blamed on gun control. To the Christian who faithfully reads and understands that all the Bible is true and to be used, these events are judgments from God, some are to straighten out that nation back to God, to show them God exists, and some a result of their treatment of Israel, which is why it is best that nations are allies with Israel and not enemies. God may chasten His people, but they are His, and no one messes with or mocks them. “But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” – Psalm 9:7-10.
When God chose the children of Israel (Jacob) to be His nation, He did not choose them based on their merits or faithfulness, He did it because He made a promise to one God fearing man, that through him, all nations would be blessed, and that man was Abraham. Now, while God has a soft spot for the children of Israel, it is not necessarily them that He is protecting when people attack Israel, it is His nation. All it took was one event, the revolt of the remnant of Jews fleeing to Egypt, to cause God to place judgment upon all nations that were against them to begin also. Fist, God begins with the one who started it all, Baruch.
“Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” – Jeremiah 45:2-5.
“And seekest thou great things for thyself?” Baruch’s intention in doing all this was so that he could become a great leader, he led them all right, right into a mess of trouble. We cannot excel in the world being like, or even worse than those who live in the world, we may have some success for a little while, but it will haunt us, the rest of his life he would be on the run, a prey for all would be after him. While judgment always begins at the house of God, it does not end there, through Jeremiah, God foretells of the judgment of the neighboring nations, beginning with Egypt. Most of them taken under the king of Babylon just like Judah, until Babylon itself will be judged also. A word of comfort is given to the Israel in the midst of the judgments.
“The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD. But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.” – Jeremiah 46:25-28.
“but correct thee in measure;”You see, judgment or chastening from God is used to correct us, while some people will heed the warning, many will not and rebel. God is letting both Jews and Gentiles know that while He will not repent of His judgment, He will make sure His people know that there is an expected end to it. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11.
The name Israel means, the prince that prevails with God, contrary to the assumption that Israel is referring to a specific race of people here, namely the Jews, it actually refers to a nation of people. A nation is a body of people living by the same beliefs regardless of where they live. Those who are saved, born again Christians are a body of people of Christ and our nation is the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, while we are in the flesh we cannot live in His Kingdom therefore, we are scattered all over the world. God will bring all His people together, but until then, we must do what we can to stay close to Jesus until He comes for us. Next, God’s judgment upon the Philistines, He did not have much to say to the Philistines except that it would be spoiled.
“At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands; Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.” – Jeremiah 47:3-7.
“O thou sword of the LORD,” Right now the Sword of the LORD is pretty quiet, the world has no idea what is coming to them. Spoil, To seize by violence or to take by force. When God allows the wicked to be destroyed there will no escape, and He will cut off every helper that tries to aid them in their escape as well. When Jesus returns all the world will be spoiled, along with every person who does not know Him as their Saviour. His sword, will not be weapons of any kind, He will simply speak with His voice. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” – Revelation 19:13-16.
Some nations are too wicked to even have one person saved and will be destroyed completely, others are warned to get to higher ground before the judgment comes. Next, God’s judgment upon Moab, foretelling the fate of Moab, descendants of Abraham’s nephew, Lot.
“Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.” – Jeremiah 48:6-7,10-13.
“For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures,” The world thinks they are safe by trusting in their works and possessions, but they will find out the hard way that they are not. Since God is not respecter of persons, every person born on the earth, and even the angles will face judgment, He does not limit salvation to a select race or family, and no matter what family we are born into, we all have a chance to become a part of the family of God. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” – Romans 3:10-12,22-24.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.” – Jeremiah 46:18.
Today’s Prayer: God, It is truly amazing the blessings You give us just by faith and obedience to You. Much more that having faith is trusting that You can provide us with everything we need and even our desires. Help us to look beyond what we see in front of us and trust that you are our sole provider. Never let us forget that we are Yours and You only want the best for us. Lord, thank You for all that You do and allow in our lives, for all that You have in store for us as we trust You completely, and live in obedience to Your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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