Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Gathering Up the Sheep

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

“The Israelites are like sheep that have been scattered by lions.  First the king of Assyria ate them up.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones.”  Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:   “Now I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.  And I will bring Israel home again to its own land, to feed in the fields of Carmel and Bashan, and to be satisfied once more in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.  In those days,” says the Lord, “no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah, for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.     Jeremiah 50:17-20

No matter how powerful both Assyria and Babylon were as dominant political and military powers in their days, they were no more than tools in the hand of God to straighten-out his unruly children in Zion.  Every despot who conquered Israel lived long enough to regret his actions.  God’s protection over his flock is never in question; neither is his retribution on those who want to mess with the apple of His eye.  One commentator expressed what it was like to be the King of Babylon when God’s hammer fell:

…when the cup of God’s fury went round the king of Sheshach, Babylon, drank last.[i]

Whether you drink last or first, the judgment of God for messing with God’s chosen is a bitter cup.
I think very often, and sometimes for long periods of time, about being born in a privileged land, a country with so many blessings from the hand of God.  I was privileged to be educated in wonderful schools, serve in our country’s military during Vietnam, raise a family, and serve as a pastor…all in freedom from oppressive dictators. 
These days I muse a good bit on my country’s place in the world as an economic and political force.  As a nation, America is powerful in commerce, military might, political stature, historic leadership, and the natural resources to back just about any mountain we choose to climb.  The pensiveness that rumbles around in my soul about all that blessing comes in a sense of questioning the purpose of all that blessing, as well as on which side of God’s plan and history we actually stand.  Is it true, as our currency proclaims, that we trust in God?  Or have we turned to trusting more in ourselves?  At the risk of being cynical, I must say I fear it’s the latter.  But, risk or not, here’s why I think that; it’s happened because we have trained our children to live by the mantra of personal choice over ethical and moral higher ground, or sacrificial living.  I hear it frequently, and, frankly, I said it to my children when they were young, you can be anything you want.  Now, when I said those words to my kids, I was thinking of that higher aspiration of children becoming wise, industrious, marvelous paragons of virtue, models of fearing God, and loving all people.  But, (can we talk here?), what do children hear when we say such things?  The immature mind of a child hears:  life is a platter at the buffet line, and I’m gonna grab whatever I want. 
Despite the best efforts of the likes of Hallmark and Dr. Seuss (and many others) to convince us that children are altruistic and idealistic by nature, and only learn war from adults…the fact is that human nature (possessed by every human child) is warlike and selfish, grabbing like Jacob gripped Esau’s heel coming out of the womb!  When children are in charge, so is selfishness, anger, hitting-back, prevarication, and churlish pouting when they don’t get their way.  If you doubt that, you’ve not watched our government at work.
For You Today
Well, really, for all of us today, it’s time to train our children, rather than turn them loose at the buffet line.  And the best training is for adults to BE adults, setting as the standards of our homes what God has laid out for all of us in His Word, to be the sheep of His pasture, His very special possession.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

Go to VIDEO


[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com  
             Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©


[i] Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Jeremiah 50

No comments:

Post a Comment