but he (Zedekiah) stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. 2 Chronicles 36: 13-16
What depth of sadness those words, “until there was no remedy!” There are moments as we listen to the news and our hearts are torn into shreds, that we might wonder if we too have reached that sad time in which there is no remedy. But, I do say that as long as there is at least one man, woman or even child that is willing to stand firm for God; then, there is hope. For though there was a time that the Jews were held captives of Babylon; they did later return to their land. The book of Daniel tells of a man who stood firm in his faith, though he was taken into service of the King. Ultimately he led a pagan king to worship God; because, Daniel lived out his faith boldly. He foretold of the future, some of which was fulfilled even in his lifetime. Some is yet to come. That is why we must learn of this man; so that, we too can dare to be a Daniel in our own time.
But before we jump ahead into that story, we might want to understand how it was that God’s people were taken captive. We saw Josiah was a mighty leader that lead the nation back to God. So, with such a great revival, what happened? Very quickly after Josiah’s death the people returned to doing evil and worshiping man-made idols rather than Worshiping God. It was during the reign of Jehoiakim (barely 4 years after the death of Josiah) that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon captured the King and took him to Babylon in chains. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the riches from the temple and placed them in his pagan temples. Then Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah (Jehoiakim’s brother) to rule over Jerusalem. Yet, Zedekiah did not heed the warnings of God and rather continued in turning his back to God and polluting the house of the Lord. So, next Nebuchadnezzar sent
the Chaldean army to massacre men, women and children in Jerusalem. Then, Nebuchadnezzar took the rest of the riches from the temple. Why would God have allowed a pagan King to be the instrument that sent so much devastation upon His people? Once more they had turned their back on God. He had already warned them that they would be taken captive by Babylon. Yet, God had already steadied His hand, withholding the day of judgment a little while as Josiah lead a revival. But, when Josiah died the people returned to their evil deeds. So, it is really important that we choose a leader wisely. That was why I wrote about the Characteristics of a great leader to help you as you pray and decide.
GOD’S COMPASSIONATE PLEA
But look once more at the opening verse. Long before the wrath of God rose against His people, He had sent His messengers because of His great love and compassion for His people. Over and over again He had sent those who would plead for them to turn and follow God. For He is a kind, compassionate God who longs to shower upon us His love, His joy and impart to us a part of His Glory. So why does an omnipotent, all powerful God not just make us all believe and do what is right? Couldn’t He do that!! Yet, if I never had seen evil; would I have ever truly known righteousness? If I had never known the devastation of darkness, would I have ever rejoiced in the light? Wasn’t that part of the problem with Adam and Eve? Think about this. They walked and talked with God every day; yet, did not realize what a precious gift that was! If they had; how could they have ever disobeyed?
WHY WOULD AN OMNIPOTENT GOD ALLOW EVIL
For our joy to be complete, we must see the full spectrum of God’s Glory which includes His wrath against evil and His compassionate willingness to send His Beloved Son to die in our place. He has passionately and graciously waited throughout the corridors of time that He might have a people upon whom He could lavish His love and Joy upon. He has endured all the insults, the evil, the arrogance of this self-centered human race as He draws aside a people to be His own adopted children.
WHAT ABOUT US, NOW?
One day He will return to establish a new Kingdom. Until that day, we who know the joy, love and wonder of His Grace must be busy telling others. The fields are white for harvest and we must stand firm for God in the same manner as Daniel did. We must pray for our nation. Yet, a little while and He will return; but, until that day let us labor. [bctt tweet=”Let us call upon God for revival to restore our nation to One Nation Under God.” username=”effiedarlene”] [bctt tweet=”Let us not in idleness wait until there is no remedy.” username=”effiedarlene”] [tweetthis]Let us Stand in the Gap and Pray for our Nation![/tweetthis]
The Song I chose for you today is this Tom Inglis- We’ll Stand In The Gap (Pray For The Nations) Let this become our song for America and the world.
photo used by permission https://unsplash.com/@dan_carl5on
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.