Jeremiah 46:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
Tag: God Controls the Nations
Jeremiah is stating, in the above verses, the destruction of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon. Jeremiah had warned the remnant in Judah, that was not taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, that if they went to Egypt for safety, instead of remaining in the land, God would also destroy Egypt. In the above chapter he states that is exactly what God did. The nation of Israel, once again, disobeyed God and went down to Egypt for their salvation. That, again, was a rejection of God. So, God kept His promise and destroyed Egypt, as well. This is the principle that God’s people must learn: Our disobedience can be at the cost of others. Egypt did not want the remnant from Judah. They were happy and content people. But, the disobedience of Judah brought condemnation onto the Egyptians people. The same is true today. We can’t expect that our disobedience to God will not impact others. When the church at Corinth had sin in their midst and they refused to deal with it, here is what the Apostle Paul stated to them in his letter to them:
1 Corinthians 5:6 (ESV Strong's)
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
They had in their midst a young man that was sinning and they refused to do anything about it. Paul uses a word picture from the kitchen and tells them that if they leave the sin in their midst it would impact the entire church. Or, how about the sin of Achan in the story of Joshua, Jericho and hidden jewels. When the nation of Israel defeated Jericho, they were instructed to destroy everything and not take anything. However, Achan took some jewels and hid them in his tent. During the next warring campaign Israel suffered great defeat at the hands of a little city called Ai. Here is what God told a weeping Joshua:
Joshua 7:10-11 (ESV Strong's)
The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings.
Our individual sin will impact those around us. When we choose to disobey God we don’t just separate ourselves from the fellowship we have with God, but we impact others. Sin impacts the world and when we sin we impact the world closest to us. In the above case, Jeremiah tells us that God uses one nation to destroy another nation due to the sin of His people. God uses nations to do His will. He is in control of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment