October 26

Today's Reading

Jeremiah. Again the prophet speaks God's judgment on the surrounding nations. Damascus still exists, obviously, as capital of Syria. Kedar and Hazor are both gone. Ancient Elam -- in modern-day southwest Iran -- was eclipsed by it's city which became the capital of Persia: Susa. Susa was the setting for the Old Testament book of Esther. The region has a rich history, although Elam assimilated into the larger culture and lost much of its identity.

When I read Jeremiah 50 today, I was awestruck by the graphic detail God announced through Jeremiah -- before Babylon fell. To begin with, he described their attitude: "11 You rejoice and are glad,
you who plundered my chosen people.
You frisk about like a calf in a meadow
and neigh like a stallion." What happened is that the coalition of the Medes and Persians gradually took over the provinces of Babylon. The city itself, though, was a seemingly impenetrable fortress. In addition, the river that ran through it supplied it with water and they had several years of food stored up. So, when the enemy laid siege to the city, the Babylonians just laughed ("neigh like a stallion). The king threw a huge banquet for 1,000 of his officials. Showing off their great power, he brought in the vessels of gold which had been dedicated to the Lord for use in the temple of Jerusalem (which their nation had plundered). During their drunken party, a hand appeared out of nowhere and began writing strange letters on the wall (we will read about this in Daniel). They called in the prophet Daniel to interpret and he told them that their kingdom was ending that very night! Unbeknownst to them all, the Medo-Persian army under Cyrus had discovered a vulnerability in Babylon -- the river! The river was too deep and too large to wade into and go under the fortress walls. So the enemy army created an ancient engineering feat -- they diverted the river upstream and shut off the water supply. That very night of the king's feast, the armed went down into the the riverbed and under the walls. They destroyed the city exactly as described in advance in Jeremiah 50. Wow! My heart jumps some beats just telling it!

Titus. Having ministered some in what we call the "Third World," I can imagine Paul's thoughts as he wrote this letter to Titus. The movement of Christianity on this island probably began with some Jewish people who were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Likely some of the Cretans who heard the Gospel in their own language (Acts 2) returned home and started worshiping Jesus as their Messiah. Over the next few years, fledgling churches were in some of the coastal towns. As people embraced Christ, they needed encouragement, sound teaching and spiritual stability. Titus was sent to provide all those, but he also needed to prepare for when he would be gone. Paul's instructions for appointing Elders laid a foundation that we still use today.

Psalms. Can you imagine the day when all creation will break out in praise of our mighty God?

Proverbs. Don't be lazy! It was drilled into me from childhood. How about you?

What all have you noticed as you read today?