Monday, August 23, 2021
Obeying Babylon
In Jeremiah 27 we find an odd command from God: obey Babylon or perish. This may puzzle us until we look more closely for deeper meaning.
Now I have given all of these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; even the beasts of the field I have given him for his use.
This may seem odd to us. The Lord speaks through Jeremiah, telling the faithful that a foreign king will now have control of the kingdom they struggled so mightily to pull together. Corruption had allowed it to split in two, Israel to the North and Judah to the south, and now was the hour of the conqueror. The people of David’s Kingdom have strayed too far from the Sinai Covenant.
You must not listen to your prophets, to your diviners and dreamers, to your soothsayers and sorcerers, who say to you, “You need not serve the king of Babylon”. They prophesy lies to you in order to drive you far from your land.
This may also seem an unusual message from the Living God until we consider the considerable exploitation that the priests had used in their sacred work. These elect had taken advantage of those with no recourse and now they have lost credibility with God.
To Zedekiah, king of Judah, I spoke the same words: Submit your necks to the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, so that you may live.
Even to the King, Yahweh has spoken. Even the king will be forced to submit to circumstances of the ruling class’s making. This too, may seem odd, until we reflect on the deterioration in leadership that had taken place in recent centuries.
To Babylon they shall be brought, and there they shall remain, until the day I look for them, says the Lord; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.
Despite the deception and deceit, Yahweh remains. Through exile and captivity, Yahweh abides. During turmoil and frustration, Yahweh continues to shepherd the remnant. For now . . . during exile . . . the faithful must do the unthinkable . . . and obey Babylon.
Enter the word Babylon into the blog search bar and spend time reflecting on her role in our Judeo-Christian history.
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