In Lamentations chapter
five, Jeremiah listed the people who were affected by the
overthrowing of the Babylonian army. Men, women, boys and girls,
young people, priests, princes and elders were among the devastated
group, and where there was once jubilant activities such as music and
dancing, there was now sorrow and mourning as those who attend a
funeral. In chapter five and verse eighteen of Lamentations Jeremiah
tells how the surrounding mountain of Zion was altered because of the
people's rebellion. We read:
Because of the mountain
of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
The
verse begins, “Because of the mountain of Zion, which is
desolate,...” Let us use our
imaginations for a moment and picture the “mountain of
Zion” or the “mountain of
Jerusalem” filled with activities. People were moving place to
place. Commerce was among them, and perhaps markets were filled, but
then, the place is abandoned. The mountain is “desolate”
which means “to
devastate, ravage, make desolated, to appall, show horror or be
astounded”, and enterprise once abundant vanished.
No one was around.
The
verse continues, “...the foxes walk upon it.” The
“mountain of Zion” which was vibrant and active at one
time became so vacant that “foxes” were walking upon it.
The “foxes” surrounding Jerusalem would normally stay away
from people and their daily commerce, but since the people were gone,
the “foxes” could run freely and without fear of being
caught.
As we
think through these words of Jeremiah our minds may rush to abandoned
buildings or cities we have seen that once were filled with
activities but now are empty, forsaken and deserted. There is
something ominous about knowing that these edifices or cities used to
have people who worked in them, but now they are nothing more than
structures for spiders, bird nests, and rodent quarters. Some lives
are like these. There was once a spark, and now there is emptiness.
There was was activity, and now there is lethargy. If we can relate
the desolate mountain of Zion where foxes roamed freely to our own
lives, perhaps it is time once again to visit the Savior Jesus and
allow Him to reproduce life in us, move away rodent foxes of apathy,
and bring vibrant living back to us again. May God Almighty hear our
prayers and execute that effect today.
Next
time we see begin to make his final declarations about the Lord, 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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