Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD, when they shall no longer say, "As the LORD lives, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt"; but rather, "As the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north"– and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land. (Jeremiah 23:5-8)
Jeremiah lived sometime in the years around 600 B.C. He lived through one of the most troubled periods of the ancient Near East. He witnessed the fall of a great empire and the rising of one even greater. He was prophet to Judah and the nations in the midst of political convulsions. His ministry lasted about 40 years. The last period of his life ran from the first downfall of Jerusalem (597) to his death in Egypt soon after the destruction of Judah (587).
According to our Bible: (begin) Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, fell in 612 B.C., preparing the way for the new colossus, Babylon, which was soon to put an end to the independence of Judah.
The prophet supported the reform of King Josiah (2 Kings 22–23), but after the death of Josiah the old idolatry returned. Jeremiah opposed this as well as royal policy toward Babylon. Arrest, imprisonment, and public disgrace were his lot. In the nation’s apostasy Jeremiah saw the sealing of its doom. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem (598 B.C.) and carried King Jehoiachin into exile (Jeremiah 22:24) (end).
It seems that Israel needs another Jeremiah-like prophet. Prophets tell people what they don’t want to hear. It appears Israel needs to raise up a righteous shoot to David who shall reign and govern wisely and shall do what is just and right in the land. That reign and leadership appear absent.
The war against Hamas is understandable yet the casualties of innocent Palestinian men, women, and children is appalling as is their flight to the southern border with Egypt where they face and experience starvation, disease, and death. Israelites and Palestinians are living through another of the most troubled periods of the Near East.
The Israeli government is bringing the children of Gaza near the land of Egypt. They are being banished and shall never again live on their own land, so it seems. I cannot predict the future, but a new Jeremiah might say to Israeli leaders: “Do what is just and right in the land! For Israel to dwell in security slaughtering the innocent is not the way.”
Deacon David Pierce
Comments
Post a Comment
Please THINK before you write!