Rescue Plan

Jeremiah 51:11, 38-40

Imagine hearing the story of a child being kidnapped by a vicious gang. They do not ask for a ransom. The sole purpose of the kidnapping is slavery. That is something we hear a lot about today. The police are powerless to help rescue the child. The, a man comes to the door and tells the parents, "A rival gang is going to attack the gang that kidnapped your child. They will all be killed and your child will be returned to your home. There is one disturbing catch, this will all happen 54 years in the future. No doubt we would think this individual was crazy and would gladly shut the door in his face. Yet, that is what happened in our text today.

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Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: The LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: For his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; Because it is the vengeance of the LORD, The vengeance of his temple.

They shall yell as lions’ whelps. In their heat I will make their feasts, And I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, And sleep a perpetual sleep, And not wake, saith the LORD. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with he goats.

Jeremiah 51:11, 48-50

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Judah had been taken captive, essentially kidnapped, from their homes. While God used this as judgment against them for their sins, he did not condone how evil Babylon was. He did not condone their pagan worship. He allows evil to happen to teach his children and also to judge the unrepentant sinners. He does not cause the evil, but he can use it for good; as Romans 8:28 says. Because Babylon was evil, God was going to bring about judgment on them for their sins against His people.

Verse 11 tells who was going to be God's weapon of judgment. It would be the Medes. Can you imagine that? 54 years before they were a credible threat to this massive empire, God said exactly who was going to destroy Babylon.

Verses 38-40 talk about Jeremiah talks about "their feasts" and "them drunken". This seems like figurative language until we get to Daniel 5. There we learn that it is quite literal. King Belshazzar was having a drunken feast the night that the Medes marched into Babylon and captured it. This is the story of the handwriting on the wall. They slept a "perpetual sleep" because the kingdom was destroyed. That night, because of their arrogance and pride, they went "down like lambs to the slaughter".

God is omniscient. He knows what we will do and chose. He guides our paths for his glory. As his children, we may face chastisement for our sins, to correct us and teach us obedience, but we are never outside of God's protection. We may feel lost and hopeless but God is in control. He used this situation to teach the Children of Israel to not serve pagan gods. They would finally learn the lesson. Sometimes, God has to use strong measures to teach us as well. It might take 54 years, but God will rescue us when the time is right, when we have learned our lesson, and return us home to serve him. Even better than a geographic location, we have a home in glory. We have a home in His presence. We have a home that no enemy will ever have access to us again. That is the home that His children really long for.

Father help me to be obedient without the hard lessons. However, if that is what is required, help me to surrender to you and learn the lessons you want me to learn. I long for the day when I can go home and see you. Help me to be obedient wherever you lead me while I am here.