{"id":663,"date":"2022-09-21T01:31:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T01:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deadmannotwalking.org\/?p=663"},"modified":"2022-09-21T01:31:25","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T01:31:25","slug":"desolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deadmannotwalking.org\/?p=663","title":{"rendered":"Desolation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thus says the LORD, \u201cGo down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word\u00a0and say, \u2018Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on David\u2019s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.\u00a0Thus says the LORD, \u201cDo justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of\u00a0his<\/em>\u00a0oppressor. Also do not mistreat\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.\u00a0For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David\u2019s place on his\u00a0throne, riding in chariots and on horses,\u00a0even the king<\/em>\u00a0himself and his servants and his people.\u00a0But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,\u201d declares the LORD, \u201cthat this house will become a desolation.\u2009\u2019\u2009\u201d\u00a0 (Jeremiah 22:1-5, NASB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah was a prophet in the last days of the Kingdom of Judah.\u00a0 He prophesied in the days of King Josiah and Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim, until the defeat and exile of Judah to Babylon.\u00a0 (Jeremiah 1:2-3)\u00a0 The Bible passage above is from one of Jeremiah’s warnings to Jerusalem if they don’t shape up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “king of Judah” refers to Jehoiakim, who was evil in the sight of God (Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah, is described as being the most wholehearted king of all time over Israel and Judah).\u00a0 God tells Jeremiah to warn the king to “do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”\u00a0 God’s people had been consistently told to be just and righteous; to be kind to the stranger (because they had been strangers in the land of Egypt); and to provide for orphans and widows.\u00a0 But Judah had fallen away from justice and righteousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jeremiah 22:3 image.\u00a0 Found at World Challenge,\u00a0https:\/\/www.worldchallenge.org\/jeremiah-223<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

God’s warning is clear:  Repent, and Judah’s kings would continue to sit on the throne of David; or continue in their ways, and “this house will become a desolation.\u201d  Unfortunately, Judah did not turn from its ways, and God kept His promise.  Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar, besieged Jerusalem, utterly destroying the city, and carried the people of Judah off into exile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Nation faces a similar choice today.\u00a0 We’ve turned our backs on God.\u00a0 We can turn back to Him, or face the consequences.\u00a0 God’s people must lead in this effort to “do justice and righteousness,” and be kind to people.\u00a0 As I’ve said, God wants our hearts.\u00a0 If we give Him our hearts, everything else will fall into place!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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