Opus 2026-431: The Long View

How is your day going?  That is a question that we often are asked by concerned friends or by people that are mouthing a platitude.  Our day can be going well, or be a disaster.  We need to understand neither one of them is the final word.

The Bible touches on this in several places, but the one that hit me recently was in Jeremiah chapter 39.  The king had a servant named Ebedmelech who was from Ethiopia.  The basic scenario was that he was most likely born there and was sold into slavery for some reason.  He was transported north until he entered service under King Zedekiah.  Was that good or bad? Without approving of slavery, we have to admit that there were many high-ranking officials in ancient times who were slaves, but still wheeled lots of power and influence.

Life started out as a disaster and was improved by what someone called chance and others providence.  It was also improved by his hard work, perseverance, and willingness to be loyal to the king.  Then Babylon arrived outside the gates of Jerusalem and things started looking down again.  We are at a period of time where there is little food left, the city is surrounded by the armies of Babylon, and we are just moments away from the gates being crashed and the city being ravaged.  Things were not looking good.

But then we come to the final chapter.  Previously, Ebedmelech had been helpful to the prophet Jeremiah.  He stood up to the nobles, appealed to the king, and rescued Jeremiah out of the pit.  Now as things are crashing down and he’s facing death or worse again, life changes.  God steps in and through the prophet Jeremiah tells him,

Jeremiah 39:18 (BES) (46:18) For I will surely save thee, and thou shalt by no means fall by the sword; and thou shalt find thy life, because thou didst trust in me, saith the Lord.

Notice the key to him being saved from the sword.  It wasn’t his DNA, he was not a Jew.  It wasn’t his obedience to the law.  It wasn’t his charming good looks.  It was because he had exercised his trust in Almighty God and been obedient to what God wanted him to do.  In short, because he feared God, he did the right thing.

We need to take a lesson from that for our lives.  We face uncertain times.  We see an elite class that wants to run the country into the ground and turn it into a social estate with them in charge and us living hand to mouth.  We see a religion of peace invading, and doing everything it can to make us into a battlefield.  We see the church permeated by insincere and heretical so-called brothers.  Things do not look promising.  Almost as if the Babylonians are at the gate and the battering rams are doing their work.  In the midst of that, we need to keep doing what we know is right, trust in God, and leaving the future in His hands.

The upper classes of Israel were either killed or enslaved.  The king had his sons murdered in front of him and was blinded.  Left behind were the farmers and peasants who tilled the land.  Among those who were carted off to a foreign country were those who had been faithful.  They went away to become leaders and successful citizens elsewhere.  God has a plan for us and He has ways of taking care of His people.

I hope that includes you.

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