“Responding to Babylon: Thoughts on Jeremiah 27” (Grace Note #93)

 

“Responding to Babylon: Thoughts on Jeremiah 27”

(Grace Note #93)

By Gary L. Clendenon, January 14, 2021

(Bible verses quoted from The Message Bible, unless noted otherwise)

Normally, the Bible is very Israel-focused and the messages of the prophets are for the leaders of Israel. Not so in Jeremiah 27! GOD comes to Jeremiah and gives him a message for other nations. GOD tells Jeremiah to give the message to the Ambassadors of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon so that they can get the message to their leaders back home. What’s the message?

I am the one who made the earth, man, and woman, and all the animals in the world. … I am giving your land over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. … All nations will be under him, then his son, then his grandson. Then his country’s time will be up and the tables will be turned. ...the nation that accepts the yoke of the king of Babylon and does what he says, I’ll let that nation stay right where it is, minding its own business. (Jeremiah 27: 5-8, 11)

Jeremiah then goes on: “Then I gave the same message to Zedekiah, king of Judah: ‘Harness yourself up to the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people. Live a long life’!” (Ibid, v. 12)

Amos 3:7 says “The Sovereign LORD never does anything without revealing his plans to his servants, the prophets.” (GNT) I love this, but what an even more amazing GOD that would also let the “enemies” of Israel—the “heathens”, the “unbelievers”, the “outsiders”—in on His plans! How does that not speak to the Universality of GOD and His care for all human life? He tips his hands—even to his “opponents”—so that they can choose what is best for them in the long run. How inclusive is our GOD? (“...so that whoever believes in Him will not perish…” John 3:16)

We live in “uncertain times” right now. Yet, we have a GOD who sees and knows everything that will happen and, as we’ve seen, has a history of revealing His plans to His people in advance. In these challenging times, we can remember that—in spite of how everything looks around us—that GOD is “for us” not “against us” (Romans 8:31).

Is this a time for us to submit to “Babylon”—knowing that GOD is in control of all outcomes in our country? Or, is it maybe time to, as it says in Revelation “Come out of Babylon”? I can’t answer that for you. You’ll have to trust whatever GOD’s Holy Spirit is telling you, but do know this: Something bigger than political parties or administrations is going on right now in the United States, and we need to be aware of this bigger picture as we pray for wisdom on what we can and cannot do. For, as Paul says in Ephesians 6:12: “...our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organisations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil.”  (Phillips)

What is out of our hands is in GOD’s hands, and that’s the best news of all.