The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Jeremiah 34:22,
"I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them [the Babylonians] back to this city [Jerusalem]. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there."
The Lord tells Jeremiah that he is going to bring the Babylonians back against the city and overtake it. As he gives the message to Jeremiah to give to the residents of Jerusalem, I note the Lord says, "I am going to give the order..."
Perhaps it is an obvious thing that the Lord gives the order when he brings destruction to those who have brought themselves into the cross-hairs of his judgment, but I am reminded it is a personal decision by God when he judges, and that he communicates what he wants done by giving orders. I am assuming there are heavenly beings he instructs to effect Babylon's return to Jerusalem to destroy it, rather than him doing it directly himself. He certainly could have destroyed Jerusalem directly, but used intermediaries, as is often the case.
As God reveals himself in the Scriptures, we often finds he does things in his interactions with mankind, through intermediaries, angels and the like. Jesus acknowledged this when a Roman centurion observed the workings of the Son of God, "But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, 'Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'" Matthew 8:8-10.
The faith of this centurion appears to be manifested in two ways: first, the centurion had no doubt Jesus could heal his servant. The second is that the faith of this centurion revealed he had an understanding of the workings of God, that there is a chain of command that is followed when God expresses his wishes, gives a command or makes a proclamation of one sort or another.
"I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them [the Babylonians] back to this city [Jerusalem]. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there."
The Lord tells Jeremiah that he is going to bring the Babylonians back against the city and overtake it. As he gives the message to Jeremiah to give to the residents of Jerusalem, I note the Lord says, "I am going to give the order..."
Perhaps it is an obvious thing that the Lord gives the order when he brings destruction to those who have brought themselves into the cross-hairs of his judgment, but I am reminded it is a personal decision by God when he judges, and that he communicates what he wants done by giving orders. I am assuming there are heavenly beings he instructs to effect Babylon's return to Jerusalem to destroy it, rather than him doing it directly himself. He certainly could have destroyed Jerusalem directly, but used intermediaries, as is often the case.
As God reveals himself in the Scriptures, we often finds he does things in his interactions with mankind, through intermediaries, angels and the like. Jesus acknowledged this when a Roman centurion observed the workings of the Son of God, "But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, 'Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'" Matthew 8:8-10.
The faith of this centurion appears to be manifested in two ways: first, the centurion had no doubt Jesus could heal his servant. The second is that the faith of this centurion revealed he had an understanding of the workings of God, that there is a chain of command that is followed when God expresses his wishes, gives a command or makes a proclamation of one sort or another.
Far from fanciful stories, God is real and he operates in his own ways to accomplish those things he desires. As we note the hints given us as to how God works, we begin to gain an understanding of his workings, and certainly a great appreciation of them.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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