The Tribe of His Inheritance
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Jeremiah 51:10-19
10. The Lord has brought forth our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. 11. "Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple. 12. Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. 13. O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the thread of your life is cut. 14. The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. 15. "It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 16. When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 17. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. 18. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 19. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.
I didn’t really “get it” this morning when I was drawn to this scripture, so I did bit of research on the significance of these verses. There seems to be a contradiction at first glance: A few chapters back we are told how God uses Babylon to defeat another of Israel’s enemies! Now Babylon is the one about to be destroyed! Is God really that fickle? Is it really all for naught? Or is there a bigger plan here that we don’t always see or understand from our earthly, human perspective?
I think that’s the case. In earlier chapters Jeremiah urges his people to submit to Nebuchadnezzar and to pray for the prosperity of Babylon! But now judgment day has arrived! Jeremiah predicts the fall of Babylon and warns the Jewish exiles to flee before the destruction begins. They are destined to return to their own land—against all earthly odds and twists and turns in events—God’s plan ultimately wins out over mans’. Even the mighty army of Babylon, even the powerful king and ruler, could not defeat God!
The Babylonians are about to get what they deserve for worshipping false gods and treating the Jews harshly. Now God is going to treat them as they treated his chosen people. And it’s not going to be pretty! So the Jews must flee, and quickly, to be saved for the awful fate of the Babylonians. On any given day, I hope it’s not
that day that God will use as the basis for
my judgment!
I start out with good intentions—really I do! But inevitably, I fall short – in almost every way – of what and who I would like to be! Maybe not on the scale of the Babylonians, but certainly on some scale! And we all do. It’s so hard! There are so many influences competing for our minds and hearts and souls! And it’s almost impossible to shut them out! But if we expect to be judged kindly, fairly, compassionately, then we must strive to treat others in this crazy, mixed up world the same way. Even the people we don’t really like, or want to be around. Even the grumpy checker at the cash register, the snobby sales clerk at the mall, the homeless man with a sign at the intersection, and our own family.
If we fill our hearts with God’s loving kindness we are more likely to share that with others. If we succumb to the sinful ways of the world, we will return that to others. Good/evil, sin/salvation, love/hate, kindness/cruelty. Prejudice, greed, lust, idolatry, you can fill in the blanks that apply! When man fell from grace in the garden of Eden, we began a never-ending struggle to redeem ourselves! Even with Christ as our guidepost and our savior, we struggle. And we always will. But we do have Christ in our lives. He is not only the example and the guide for how to live our lives—but He is the “ammunition” and the fuel. The weapon against temptation and sin and the fuel for the fire that burns with us – the flame of the Holy Spirit – waiting to be unleashed into a fallen, sin-filled world.
I hope you spend today fanning the flame of good, kindness, love and gentleness; sharing God’s love and spreading the good news of the risen Christ to everyone you meet.
Mary
