Tag Archives: government

Day 122: Praying for the Peace of Babylon

Jeremiah 29:1-7

Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, (after Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem), by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). It said:

Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and dwell in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and father sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there, and don’t be diminished. Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”

One thing that we get to enjoy in the Bible is the ability to read other people’s mail. This is one of those letters. This doesn’t mean that reading other people’s mail is a virtue. It’s OK to do here because it’s an “open letter” that God wanted everyone to see. In this case, it’s the letter that Jeremiah sent to the captives that had already been taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. It’s a letter that was meant to be spread around to all of them. This is the very same way that much of the New Testament was written. Many of those books are simply letters that were intended to be read by many people. Perhaps this letter was a pattern for the ones to come.

Jeremiah’s letter is actually very comforting. Not only does it give the people specific instructions from God, those instructions are that they should settle down and start building families in Babylon. He told them to go ahead and plant gardens and eat the fruit of the land. Not only were they to live in peace, God told them to seek the peace of the city. In fact, God bound the two together. Their peace would now depend on the peace of Babylon.

Right before I started writing this today, I listened to a message that stated that America is a secular government and it has become increasingly anti-Christian. In a way, America is one of the last parts of “western society” to become anti-Christian. Beside the fact that “secular government” is wrong and should never have been celebrated, what should our response be as Christians to the situation that we now find ourselves in?

Some have decided to protest. Others have become more politically active. This radio program suggested that the Gospel needed to be preached. All of these things sound good to me, but how do any of those things solve the identity problem America has. If we are secular, we can’t be “under God.” The two don’t go together because God clearly says that there should be no other gods before Him. If America is a secular nation, what should a Christian do about it? If we are to hate the world, should we fight against America? I would suggest that since God has not given us any other option, that we follow God’s word that Jeremiah gave to the captives. Let’s pray for the peace of America. That doesn’t mean that we accept secularism. Peace can’t come from secularism. It can only come from Christianity. When we pray for the peace of our nation, we are also praying for the Gospel and that America will become a nation that is under God, because without Jesus there can be no peace. When America is truly at peace, we will also be at peace.

Day 117: God Chooses King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

Jeremiah 27:1-7

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, Yahweh says to me: “Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck. Then send them to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the children of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a command to their masters, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “You shall tell your masters: ‘I have made the earth, the men, and the animals that are on the surface of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm. I give it to whom it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant. I have also given the animals of the field to him to serve him. All the nations will serve him, his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings will make him their bondservant.

No one should ever accuse God of failing to communicate. God is the very best communicator and this book of Jeremiah is a great example. God has been speaking much the same message over and over in various ways to various people on earth through Jeremiah. Here, God chooses to send an illustration out with messengers to the nations in the middle east. He has Jeremiah make bonds and bars and then makes him wear them. Then, he gets messengers and sends these bonds and bars to five nations. You can imagine how getting a bond or a bar in the mail would get your attention. If the messenger was then to tell you that Jeremiah, a prophet in Israel, wore these and took them off to have me bring them to you. Then he would tell them that Jeremiah said that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon is going to take over your land and all of the land in the area because Israel’s God, the One who made it all, has decided. That would communicate don’t you think?

God is also communicating to us right now through this message. He’s reminding us that He “made the earth, the men, and the animals that are on the surface of the earth” by His power. It reminds us that He is the One who is in complete control of all of the leadership on the face of the earth. Notice that eventually, even Nebuchadnezzar’s time of judgment was to come and at that time, the land was to be taken from him. I’m not sure that Nebuchadnezzar was willing to admit that He was God’s servant at first, yet, that’s what God called him. The Bible tells us that God calls all who have positions of authority, His servants. God even chose us to be parents or older siblings or aunts and uncles. We were given authority by our birth order not by our power. God has and always will control the governments of the world and we have nothing to worry about. Our job is to depend on God’s good purposes and obey His word.

Day 116: God’s Power and Good Leadership

Jeremiah 26:17-24

Then certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, “Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says:
“ ‘Zion will be plowed as a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps,
and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? We would commit great evil against our own souls that way!”

There was also a man who prophesied in Yahweh’s name, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. When Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt. Then Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt; and they fetched Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they didn’t give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

It’s interesting that the Bible doesn’t say that the majority of the leaders got together and took a vote as to whether or not to kill Jeremiah. All it says is that “certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke.” In fact, God also tells us here that if it wasn’t for “the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan,” Jeremiah would have been given “into the hand of the people to put him to death.”

This demonstrates the power of a few wise leaders. Even if the majority is wrong, a single wise leader can change the course of history. God didn’t use a vote to change the direction of the people. He used the wise words of what appears to be a small minority. This demonstrates that righteousness doesn’t come from voting, but from those who understand the truth of the situation.

In this case, the wise leaders reminded the people of their own history. It would be wrong to kill someone for prophesying against Jerusalem and Israel because good prophets had said things like this before. Hezekiah was one of the greatest kings in Judah and he didn’t kill the prophet Micah when he warned them about the same thing. Instead, the king humbled himself and prayed that God would change His mind. It appears that the second argument was that another prophet had already prophesied the very same thing. His name was Uriah and he had already been killed by the king. Jews know that the word of two witnesses establishes a fact and Jeremiah was the second witness. This was a very serious warning and it appears to have affected the people enough to stop their plans to kill Jeremiah.

These events remind us of some encouraging things. You don’t have to be in the majority to be right and to change public opinion. It also shows us that God is capable of saving us from something horrible even when it doesn’t look possible.

Day 115: The Priests, the Prophets, the Princes and the People

Jeremiah 26:10-16

When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to Yahweh’s house; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Yahweh’s house. Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, “Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey Yahweh your God’s voice; then Yahweh will relent from the evil that he has pronounced against you. But as for me, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me what is good and right in your eyes. Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for in truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: “This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.”

This was a horrible set of events for an innocent prophet that merely chose to obey God’s command, but it is a facinating study of God’s design of goverernment. The priests and prophets appear to have convinced the people that Jeremiah should be killed and when the princes came to investigate the issue, it appears that the people switched sides and with the princes determined that Jeremiah wasn’t doing anything wrong.

It’s wonderful to see Jeremiah stand strong in the face of opposition. He even said that they should decide for themselves what to do with him, but he made it clear that he was innocent because God had told him to say these words. Notice how his honest speaking to the government officials helped to convince them to do things differently. This appears to be an illustration of a proverb. Let’s look at that:

Proverbs 12:6

The words of the wicked are about lying in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.

Can you imagine what would have happened had the priest, prophet and prince been the same person? It seems quite likely that Jeremiah would have been killed, but because the government was divided into different branches, the princes were able to hear what Jeremiah said and decide for themselves. The people actually changed sides as a result. This idea of going back and reconsidering things is also in proverbs.

Proverbs 18:17

He who pleads his cause first seems right;
until another comes and questions him.

Even as far as Judah had deteriorated as a nation, God still had powerful traditions built in that He could use to protect Jeremiah. It may seem like everything is lost, but only God can see everything. It may very well be that God is preparing to bring salvation anyway. This is also evidence that religion can go very bad and actually be used to kill the innocent. The prophets and the priests were clearly the ones who were wrong here. The wicked princes were still used by God to stop the false prophets and priests from doing harm.

Day 97: God Directly Confronts the Government Officials

Jeremiah 22:1-5

Yahweh said, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak this word, there: ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you, your servants, and your people who enter in by these gates. Yahweh says: “Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong. Do no violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place. For if you do this thing indeed, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter in by the gates of this house, riding in chariots and on horses, he, his servants, and his people. But if you will not hear these words, I swear by myself,” says Yahweh, “that this house will become a desolation.” ’ ”

When we read passages like these, we get to hear some of the specific duties that government officials have been assigned by God. With passages like these available, it’s impossible to say that we don’t know what God’s will is for a government. By giving us this historic documentation, we know what God expected of Israel and since Israel is an example for other nations, we know what God expects of our nation’s leaders as well.

God expected the leadership to “execute justice and righteousness”, “deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor”, “do no wrong”, “do no violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow”, and “Don’t shed innocent blood.” God said that a failure to follow these rules would result in the government becoming “a desolation.”

Notice that God made this clear by sending a messenger directly to the government to speak on His behalf. Just in case the word of Jeremiah’s speaking out at Gehenna and in the temple courts didn’t make its way to the king, God sends Jeremiah directly to him. I believe that God sends messengers directly to government leaders today too. These leaders have a responsibility to listen to the will of God when they lead. They are not supposed to be mistreating Christians when they have not done anything wrong. They are not supposed to be promoting those who do evil because of their bribes or because they are afraid of them. They are not supposed to be permitting and encouraging abortion which is the shedding of innocent blood. Government leaders are supposed to be representatives of God Himself on earth. They aren’t supposed to be doing anything He wouldn’t do. To suggest that the Bible teaches that there should be a separation of God and state, is absurd. God obviously expects government leaders to be in tune with Him as they make every decision because the God of Israel is the ultimate authority over the earth. Let’s not allow the tricky comments of modern leaders to deceive us on this issue.

Day 96
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Day 98

Day 96: How God Deals with a Misbehaving Government

Jeremiah 21:11-14

“Concerning the house of the king of Judah, hear Yahweh’s word: House of David, Yahweh says,
‘Execute justice in the morning,
and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath go out like fire,
and burn so that no one can quench it,
because of the evil of your doings.
Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
and of the rock of the plain,’ says Yahweh.
‘You that say, “Who would come down against us?”
or “Who would enter into our homes?”
I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says Yahweh;
and I will kindle a fire in her forest,
and it will devour all that is around her.’ ”

It’s not unusual for sinners to become so comfortable with God’s patience that they start to believe that they are immune from any trouble. David’s family was blessed by God, but they were never immune from God’s wrath. God said that if his family were to ever stray from His law, they would be severely punished and that’s exactly what was about to happen to them.

If you were to hear a word from the Lord, you wouldn’t ever want it to be like this one. God’s word to His people was one of great judgment. I have heard people act as if we shouldn’t preach to people about God’s judgment as a means to get them to consider salvation. I definitely don’t agree with that suggestion. It is true that it is God’s goodness that leads us to salvation, but how would we ever understand God’s goodness unless we are told about our impending judgment? God’s goodness comes from the fact that the judgment that we should have received was taken away.

Another thing to pay attention to is what God tells them that they should be doing. The House of David was the house of kings. God was making a political statement here. Once again we see that politics are a large part of God’s message in the Bible and what we read here reminds us of the legitimate function of a good government. God clearly tells us that the work of a government is to “execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor…” God’s comment to His government comes with a severe warning. As to the consequences of not doing what they are supposed to do, God says: “lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.” So when you hear government officials talking about doing something that goes against what God says in the Bible, you know what God thinks about it and what will eventually be done to them. If God didn’t spare David’s family, He definitely won’t spare our leaders.

Day 95
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Day 97

A Covid Connection to Bible Prophesy

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Even though the Bible doesn’t say anything directly about viruses and vaccines, it does predict lockdowns. The Bible warns us that someday, a wicked leader will succeed at controlling the whole world, not even allowing them to buy or sell anything without his “mark.” Could this kind of control be the intention that these leaders have had all along in regard to Covid-19? Is it their intent to bring all of humanity under control using the fear of a virus as the agent of change?

Quite some time ago I had heard about “The Great Reset” and the plans that global elites had to drastically change our lives. I admit that I didn’t see a solid Biblical connection until recently, even though I believe I have a very good understanding of what the Bible says about these things.

I knew that something wasn’t right with the Covid story, though. I think we all realized that they kept extending the dates. The “15 days to slow the spread” turned into “two months to flatten the curve” which somehow turned into a “casedemic” even after deaths were greatly reduced. Then we had the second and third “waves” of the casedemic, all the while being subjected to ridiculous health mandates and lockdowns as we waited for the vaccine.

I could see that our leaders were trying to force us to do things, and even forcing businesses to close and people to die. I could see that they were doing these evil things but I couldn’t understand why. I though I had the answer in the money and dependency promoted by vaccines, but then the vaccines came out and things changed again.

It became obvious that they wanted everyone to take one of these experimental Covid vaccines. It was reasonable to assume that this was an effort to put everyone onto a system that would create repeat customers in the medical industry. They even called President Trump in for an interview and used air time to ask him whether or not he thought his followers should take the vaccine and he agreed, but then Dr. Fauci started discussing the plan to vaccinate children. At about that time I started realizing that this must be more than just getting people vaccinated. Why would you need to vaccinate children who have almost no risk from Covid-19? To add to that, the medical establishment was even pressuring people who already had a natural immunity to take the vaccine!

Masks were also still being enforced. Why would those who have had the virus or who had the vaccine need to be masked? They were clearly pushing everyone to be vaccinated whether they needed it or not. This is not only wrong it is ridiculous. They even attempted to change the meaning of the words “vaccine” and “herd immunity” in order to promote vaccination. What would cause a person to risk their professional reputations to do this?

Finally, the governor of New York, held on for dear life as he was being asked to resign over accusations of misconduct. On April 2nd, he implemented New York’s Vaccine Passport. These passports would allow people to go back to normal. This is a system that allows you to conduct business, as long as you have permission from the government. Finally, I realized what I should have seen earlier. This was an attempt to get every single person into a system. This system would control who can buy, sell or travel and where. That was an exact match to what the Bible said was coming.

Let’s look at what the Bible says so you can see it for yourself.

Revelation 13:16-18

He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads;  and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.

The “he” being discussed in this passage, is an evil man who takes over the world in an attempt to supplant Jesus Christ, often called “the anti-Christ.” You might want to read all of Revelation 13. This should concern people. It is clearly possible to use an app and a QR code or some other method of scanning that is imprinted on a person to buy and sell things. Added to that, it is clearly the will of many mysterious leaders to use “passports” to limit one’s ability to buy and sell things.

When I was born, people were quite curious as to how a world leader would be able to control what people buy and sell. It was also strange to think of how a mark on a person’s body would be used in the process, but now it’s all right here in front of us.