ESOCS Devotional 13 April 2024 – The Terror From The North
MEMORY VERSE: “This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.” Jeremiah 6:22-23
TEXT: JEREMIAH 6:22-END
Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, a people comes from the north country,
And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They will lay hold on bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”
24 We have heard the report of it;
Our hands grow feeble.
Anguish has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Do not go out into the field,
Nor walk by the way.
Because of the sword of the enemy,
Fear is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people,
Dress in sackcloth
And roll about in ashes!
Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation;
For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.
27 “I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people,
That you may know and test their way.
28 They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers.
They are bronze and iron,
They are all corrupters;
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
The smelter refines in vain,
For the wicked are not drawn off.
30 People will call them rejected silver,
Because the Lord has rejected them.”
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Long before this warning, Judah had been warned that if they rejected the Lord, He would raise up Babylon and use them to take Judah into captivity for seventy years – one year for every Sabbath Year they had refused to observe. God had warned Israel that He would use Assyria to judge them if they did not repent. They didn’t, and He did (in 722 B.C.). He warned Judah that He would break the power of Assyria and raise up Babylon to take them into Captivity if they did not follow Him. They didn’t, and He did.
The Lord revealed it before they experienced the cruelty of the Babylonian invaders: “Thus says the LORD, “Behold, a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion! We have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth” (6:22-23).
God warned Judah again that the Babylonians would come to be the messengers of God’s judgment against them. The coming Babylonian army would bring terrible misery, and Judah would react with anguish, pain, fear, and mourning: Judah was unequal to the encounter as a weak, defenceless woman in the pangs of childbirth before a powerful, fully equipped soldier. Dearly beloved, there are several warnings the Lord had sent to us. How well have we heeded to them?
The immediate fulfilment of this prophecy was the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar. The Jewish people were being judged by God for their collective sin and He used famine, plague and sword to destroy those who would not repent. The remnant was taken captive to Babylon for 70 years to cleanse the land from the sins of the Jewish people. Later God restored them to their promised land.
Keep your heart from idol worship and loving the things of the world. Instead, obey and love God. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” 1 John 2:15.
- It is better to obey God and continue to enjoy His goodness and blessings than to do things that would make Him punish you and restore you later. Don’t live a lifestyle that would bring you pain from God. It doesn’t make sense!
- Father, teach me to be true to you.
Further Reading: 1 Samuel 14:24-46; Matthew 17:1-13; Galatians 4:21- end; 5:1
ESOCS Devotional 13 April 2024
