It has been a few days since I have posted. Whether God was giving me a rest or I was neglecting God for other duties, I’m not sure?
Interesting that this morning, as I picked up the local newspaper, I viewed a picture of the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar’s Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel, along with a caption citing attempts by the late Saddam Hussein at rebuilding this ancient Babylon. Using modern yellow brick, this despot had only marred the ruins; then this “wonder of the world” was damaged further yet by a US base housed nearby during our most recent war.
Why write about all this?
My curiosity peaked this morning when I picked up my Bible, after a couple days respite from reading, having participated in an early morning and then noon gathering of the now hotly contested National Day of Prayer. My last reading was marked at Jeremiah 50. The subheading in my Bible read, “A Message for Babylon”. Was God setting me up in my down time?
Verses 50:18-19a (NIV): “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the King of Assyria. But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture…”
Israel, one of the least of all lands and now one of the most hated, (some of its policies even causing me pause at times, in the light of Christ) still stands as a bastion of religion in 2010, while Babylon struggles once more for reform and restoration.
These moments cause me to reflect on the veracity of the Bible, often ignored by our nation’s leadership, even though our land is now debt ridden, teetering on bankruptcy due our greed and addiction to materialism. Our nation’s spiritual, economic and industrial light seems almost to have gone out; even our technology is supported more often by scholars from India and the Far East, than by those parented in America. Is our only remaining contribution to the globe the protection of Israel?
I know I am moving too far to the right in my writings this a.m. but, just reflecting on the teachings of the prophets, given the day in which we find ourselves, now smitten by woes spiritually, socially and even environmentally.
Who would have thought that one day, the communist regime of Red China (their human rights when pressed still atrocious) would become our largest creditor. This once recluse but developing nation, is now a thriving economic power, while she and others demand from us huge sums to the International Monetary Fund, 17+% of IMF (actually debt as well if you consider that we borrow 42 cents on every dollar and mostly from China) , while China contributes only 3%.
Meanwhile, they have more children in their well funded gifted programs than we have in our public schools! Shall we hope in China after we have abandoned our hope in God? I’ve got to stop, for I hear my mayoral vote count plummeting!
Maybe at this point we should look further at the warnings of John in his Revelation, a great army from the East that will have its path suddenly opened, crossing the Euphrates into Israel, the beginning of Armageddon. Now I am again sounding more prophet than politician…when will I learn that the two don’t mix? It’s just that I don’t hear much of this from our pulpits!
Could this moment possibly happen or is the Bible no more than ancient folklore?
Was our country sovereign, established to guard Israel, forestalling the prophecy that sin surely secures? Is our country swift becoming the new Babylon discussed in Revelation chapter 18 (KJV)? This new Babylon, unlike the one pictured in the morning news, once held “the light of a candle,” emitting a message of hope amidst its great economic capacity. Yet when suddenly attacked, the prophet goes on to describe how those who destroyed her sat off her coast and wailed, for they never thought this could happen in one hour!
Could this be America, and could 9/11 have been our warning?
We recover so quickly and forget too soon!
Maranatha!
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