October 8, 2020: Day 47 – Jeremiah 47

A short word of the Lord that comes to Jeremiah which he then shares with us in a form of a prophecy.  He describes a scene of rising waters that are coming from the north (vs.2), which would be Babylon, which is geographically located in the north, coming to conquer Egypt and the surrounding nation states.  It is going to be so terrifying, says Jeremiah, that: “Parents do not turn back for their children.”  Can you imagine the fear that has to be produced in order for parents to leave their children behind as they flee the rising tide of people who have come to destroy them?  That is the picture that Jeremiah paints.  Pretty gruesome and tragic.

But that is the situation in which the people of  God have found themselves.  They have so clearly turned their backs on God that this is what is due to them.  There should be no pity shown to them.  There should be no cry for help on anyone’s behalf.  They are getting what they deserve simply because they did not turn to the Lord when they had the chance.  It is an incredibly clear warning to all of us that we ought not live in fear, but live in the very real potential that Christ could come back at any moment and if we find ourselves in a compromised position to our faith, then why would Christ take us up to him?  Don’t let this be an encouragement to live in fear nor that our faith ought to be based on a sense of guilt, but rather there is a reality out there that God is not pleased with our sin.  We ought to live to combat our sin and embrace the kingdom of God.