Verse of the Week: V10 “And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.”
1. Sins Affects The Children (V1-11)
V2 “And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.”
King Zedekiah sinned against God and reaped the consequences that he could never have imagined. Before the king of Babylon plucked out his eyes, he witnessed the king killing all his children. When you sin against God, not only do you reap the consequences of your sins but your children will also suffer for it. Just like in the case of a divorce, children suffer the most when they witness the separation of their beloved parents.
V10 “And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.”
2. Sins Affects The Church (V12-23)
V13 “And burned the house of the LORD, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:”
Not only was the children of King Zedekiah affected, even the house of the LORD was affected when it was completely burnt down. When you sin against God, the testimony of the church as well as the Lord’s name will be adversely affected. If you desire the Lord to bless you and the church, then you should live to His praise and glory, and flee from sins.
V14 “And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.”
3. Sins Affects The Community (V24-34)
V27 “And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.”
Sins also affected the entire community of Judah as Babylon defeated Judah and brought the people of Judah to Babylon to be their slaves. The people of Judah were supposed to be the people of God sharing the glory of God but instead they brought shame to God. In spite of the sins of the King of Judah and his people, the gracious God allowed the king of Babylon to release the king of Judah, Jehoiachin, out of prison and set him above the throne of his kings and even provided great food for him until his death.
V34 “And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to flee from sins.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:34 am
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V53 “Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.”
1. Wealth Cannot Win God (V1-29)
V11 “Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of His temple.”
Some of the philosophy of the world is that money can solve every problem and can even buy marriage and friendship. This philosophy is nothing new as the Babylonians had the same philosophy. They thought that they had abundant treasures and wealth and no one, not even the LORD Himself, could touch and destroy them. However, the LORD had been preparing the kings of the Medes to eventually attack and destroy them because of their pride and wickedness.
V13 “O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.”
2. Might Cannot Win God (V30-52)
V30 “The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.”
The LORD sent the Medes to attack Babylon and there was fear in the hearts of the wealthy and mighty Babylonians. They soon discovered that wealth and might were from God and they would be utterly and completely destroyed because of their sins and pride.
3. Nothing Can Win God (V53-64)
V53 “Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.”
The Babylonians would not give up trying to attack the LORD. They even had the audacity and pride to mount up to heaven to attack the home of the LORD. Subsequently, the LORD sank the entire Babylon to ground zero and till today Babylon (modern Iraq) had never truly recovered from God’s judgment and destruction.
V64 “And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to submit to You as You win all the time.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:31 am
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V34 “Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is His name: He shall throughly plead their cause, that He may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.”
1. The Sins And Judgment Of Israel (V1-16)
V6 “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.”
Babylon declared itself as the strongest in the world as they defeated Israel, the nation of God. It was a sad day for Israel as God had chosen them to be His people, yet they sinned and rebelled against God and became the lost sheep that scattered everywhere on the face of the earth. In fact, Babylon almost wiped out Israel if not for God’s protection and preservation of His chosen people.
2. The Stubbornness and Pride Of Babylon (V17-32)
V9 “For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.”
It was judgment day for the world’s strongest nation as Babylon had become most proud, and God had to humble them by sending the Medo-Persians to attack and destroy them. Until today, Babylon, which is today’s Iraq, is still suffering from God’s judgment.
V31 “Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.”
3. The Strength And Power Of God (V33-46)
V34 “Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is His name: He shall throughly plead their cause, that He may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.”
At the end of the day, every man shall bow their knees and confess with their tongues that they are weak, and God their Redeemer is strong and He shall reign in heaven forever and ever.
Philippians 2:10-11
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to depend on You, my strong Redeemer.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 06:10 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V34 “The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,"
1. Ammon Failed (V1-6)
V1 “Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? Hath he no heir? Why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?”
The Ammonites who were enemies of Israel constantly provoked and attacked Israel but one day God would judge them for their sins because God was with Israel.
2. Edom Failed (V7-22)
V7 “Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?”
The Edomites who were the enemies of Israel were wise but proud people and they constantly attacked Israel but one day God would judge them for their sins and pride.
3. Damascus Failed (V23-27)
V23 “Concerning Damascus, Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.”
Damascus or Syria who was the enemy of Israel constantly attacked Israel but one day God would judge them for their sins.
4. Kedar And Hazor Failed (V28-33)
V28 “Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.”
Both Kedar and Hazor who were enemies of Israel constantly attacked Israel but one day God sent the mighty Babylonians to attack and destroy them.
5. Elam Failed (V34-39)
V34 “The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,”
The mighty Elam or Persia (modern day Iran) could not defeat Israel and to date no nation has ever completely defeat or destroy Israel because Israel is God’s chosen nation. Today Christians are His chosen people and no one shall harm us as we trust in Him.
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, thank You that I am Your child and no one will harm me.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:50 am
| Permalink
| Email
