Tag: Babylon exile

Where is your citizenship?

Old Testament: 2 Kings 23-25

Poetry: Ps. 138

New Testament: Philippians 3

The place where we live is so central to who we are as people. It truly is one of the most important parts of our identity. It changes everything: from the foods we like, the music we listen to, the political parties we vote for, our priorities… basically everything. I’m from the south, and I remember going to our national church camp, FUEL, in the summer and being teased for the way we talk, the types of drinks we like (Who doesn’t like sweet tea? Oh right, all you northerners.), and the music we listen to. Before going to these camps, none of those things even struck me as weird. It was just the way everyone around me lived. Where we live can define us. But, we have a more important citizenship – a more important place of belonging – than just our physical address. 

Today, we read about the final demise of the Israelite nation. From the beginning, when God called Abraham out of the future land of Babylon and into the promised land of Canaan – the future land of Israel, there was a beacon of hope and assurance that God was for the Israelite people and would come to their aid. They were his people. 

Even though Josiah instituted reforms to bring his people back to God, the evil the people of Judah had done was so great that God promised, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there” (2 Kings 23: 27). The devastating consequence of sin is the removal of belonging with God. This meant that the people of Judah – the last remnant of the Israelites who had settled in Canaan – could no longer find their citizenship in the Promised Land. Instead, they were taken captive by the Babylonians and returned to the land that God had called them out of. This is a harsh statement of rejection of the Israelite people. The one whom God had said, ‘I called you out of Egypt to be my chosen possession’ had been returned to the places of captivity. 

Citizenship, rejection. Freedom, captivity. These opposite poles of human existence that the Israelites could choose based on how obedient they were to God’s commands. Because they rejected God’s commands, he rejected them. The freedom they would have in submitting to God and setting boundaries on their freedom based on his law became captivity under other rulers due to their desire to do whatever they pleased.

We have the same promise and warning today. The same choice is set before us. We can choose for our citizenship – our place of belonging – to be in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21) or to be enemies of Christ (v. 18). Phil. 3:19 describes these enemies in the following way: “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame.” This statement could have been written for the people in Judah and Israel. And it could be written to those today who choose to do whatever is right in their eyes rather than follow God’s word. 

To be citizens of heaven, we must follow Paul’s example. I “press on to make it [the resurrection of the dead, aka the Kingdom Life we are promised] my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v. 12-14). Hold fast to God, and obey his commands! Choose to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom! 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Reflection Questions: 

  1. How does the place where you live affect who you are as a person?   
  2. How would a citizen of the Kingdom act differently than those of the world? Where do you find your citizenship?   
  3. There’s a glimmer of hope in 2 Kings 25:27-30. Jehoiachin is able to “put off his prison garments. Every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table.” How do you put off your prison garments of sin and dine at the table of the King in your everyday life?   

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Why are You Destroying Yourself?

Jeremiah 41-45

Jeremiah 44_71 NLT sgl

Life is often not what we expect.  The last few days we have read about the Jews who went into exile to Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar.  This was punishment from God for turning their backs on Him and following after their own selfish interests – false gods.  No doubt it would be very difficult to be uprooted from your homeland and all you have ever known to be taken to a foreign land – with a strange new language, foods, neighbors, rulers, homes and customs.  It would be easy to think that the ones left behind to stay in Judah were the lucky ones.  But, that would depend on how they acted.  After having just witnessed their brothers’ and sisters’ tragic deportation, you would have thought they may have learned their lesson and stuck a bit closer to God’s guidelines.  But….then you would read today’s Bible reading (Jeremiah 41-45) and find out mankind doesn’t always do the wise thing.

When Babylon invaded Jerusalem the foreign commanding officer released Jeremiah from prison and gave him the option of going to Babylon and being well cared for in a foreign land, or staying with those left behind.  He (or God) chose for him to stay behind – perhaps knowing how much the people still needed a word from the Lord – if they would listen.  Before the Babylonians left town with their captives they set up Gedaliah as governor of the land.  But just 3 months later he is assassinated by Ishmael who also kills several Babylonian soldiers, some Judeans who were loyal to Gedaliah, as well as 70 travelers who had come to worship at the burned down temple.  Next, Ishmael kidnaps the king’s daughters and others that had been under Gedaliah’s care.  Violence, treachery and strife are still rampant in the land.

It seems like a bright new start when Johanan saves the day and Ishmael runs away and the people ask Jeremiah to ask God what they should do.  The people want to head to Egypt as they are scared Babylon will hear that the governor they left was killed and come to punish the whole tribe.  But they sound so brave and upright when they say, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.  Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 42:5,6).   

Ten days later, Jeremiah tells them God says stay and He will protect you.  It should have been good news, and not too hard to follow.  But, suddenly their eloquent words mean nothing.  Because they were really hoping and thinking God would say to go.  That’s what they wanted to do – so that’s what they would do – regardless of a good speech about following God.  Suddenly, it was more convenient to call Jeremiah the liar and continue packing their bags in defiance of all God said, thus shattering the promise they had just made.

Jeremiah tells them that war, strife, famine, persecution and death will follow them to Egypt.  There is not a safe place to go to disobey God.  But off they go.  Totally disregarding God, they turned again to their false gods that would give them the answers they wanted to hear and let them go where they wanted to go and let them do what they wanted to do.

They thought they had won.  But they were actually destroying themselves (Jeremiah 44:7a NLT).  Just as Jeremiah foretold, Egypt was not a safe place.

It still happens today.  People who commit to follow God anywhere – until they decide they would rather make the rules and the map.  And, if you listen carefully to God and His Word, you can still hear Him say, “Why are you destroying yourselves?”.    Examine yourself and see if there are any ways you are breaking your commitment to God, and thus destroying yourself.  He has offered protection and hope for those who rely on Him and follow Him with their whole life.

 

Marcia Railton

 

Today’s Bible reading passage can be read or listened to at Jeremiah 41-45.

Tomorrow’s reading will be Jeremiah 46-48 as we continue on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan