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Jeremiah 51 (ESV)
59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’”
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
REFLECTION:
Regardless of his situation, Jeremiah will bring God’s words to his fellow captives. Because he could not visit Babylon in person, Jeremiah entrusted Seraiah, the quartermaster, to bring his message to the place. Seraiah is probably Baruch’s brother. In Jeremiah’s last message, we once again see two major themes throughout the book: first, God has absolute sovereignty; second, God will impose a righteous judgment. Although God temporarily tolerated Babylon’s abuse of the people of Israel, He must judge its sins; God saves good people from their sins and must severely punish all evil ones. When we live in this generation, we will also face the oppression of various evil forces. Although the evil forces will triumph for a while, we must not give in because of its strength, nor should we be deceived by it, and go along with it, otherwise we will inevitably receive God’s judgment.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to enlighten you, so that you can know more clearly that He is your God, you are His people, He has absolute sovereignty over you, and absolute sovereignty over mankind; ask God to give you greater faith and strength, so that you will not succumb to the evil power in your life, and you will never go along with it, and hold on to your faith in all your encounters, good or bad.
HYMN:
He Will Hold Me Fast – youtu.be/936BapRFHaQ
