One of the interesting
aspects to the Bible is that it holds back no punches when declaring
the troubles and difficulties of people. The people of Jerusalem and
Judah rejected God and His commands, and Jeremiah wrote about the
suffering they endured because of it. The horrors were so terrific
that mothers were eating their premature babies just to stay alive.
In chapter two and verse twenty-one Jeremiah shares about more of
those who suffered and who was the ultimate cause for their grief. We
read:
The
young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my
young men are fallen by the sword; you have slain them in
the day of your anger; you have killed, and not pitied.
The
verse begins, “The young and the old lie on the ground in the
streets:” As Jeremiah continued looking around the city of
Jerusalem he saw young people and old people lying on the ground.
There was no distinguishing of generations. The destruction carried
no age limits, and it was across the board. Where these young people
used to play in the streets, they were now only corpses lying there.
Where the older people would converse and be busy about their days,
they were now lying dead upon the ground.
The
verse goes on to say, “my virgins and my young men are fallen by
the sword;” Even the teenagers were killed “by the sword”
and there was no barriers to the potential these virgins and young
men might have enjoyed. The sword came, and it disqualified no one
from complete destruction.
Finally the verse says, “you have slain them in
the day of your anger; you have killed, and not
pitied.” Once again Jeremiah turns his attention toward the
true source of this judgment. He uses “you” to refer to
the Almighty and tells of three parts to the retribution at hand –
“slain them, killed, and not pitied”. Notice too that
Jeremiah says God did so “in the day of your anger”. God is very
patient and long-suffering, however, there is a point in which He
turns His countenance against His people and they suffer the
consequences. When that time comes, death can easily transcend age
brackets, potential, and any reference to longevity. Pity is gone,
and no one escapes from His wrath.
We
currently live in what is known as the “Dispensation of Grace”.
This basically means that God is extending His “unmerited favor”
toward all who will believe in, trust in, rely upon and cling to Him.
This dispensation, however, will end some day, and His judgment will
fall. Basically the time to turn from wicked ways and receive Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord is now before God's judgment is poured out
upon the entire Earth. When that day of judgment comes, as it was in
Jeremiah's day, so will it be then. There will be no discrimination
for age, potential, or longevity. All ages will suffer needlessly
because they could have received the only one who gave give Salvation
to their souls – Jesus Christ. May all who read these words receive
His gift of grace today.
Next
time we see how no one escaped the devastation in Jerusalem, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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