“Not Carried Away Captive Into Babylon” (Jer 40:7)

“Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon” (vs7).

God will save the poor. We can be sinners, rebellious saints, frustrated, and proud, and He will save us, if we come to Him. But, if we rebel, argue with God, and declare Him unjust in afflicting us, seeking help other than faith in Christ, we’ll be damned forever.

The way is DIFFICULT for sure, impossible with men, but God does all that it takes to save the HELPLESS. This doesn’t require anything but faith: do you and I believe what God has promised (eternal life), God is able to do without your help and strength? If so, then you and I shall be saved by God who saves sinners, helps the feeble, and does good to people who should be damned.

Jeremiah despised God’s counsel and yet obtained more mercy and grace: we are similar. We squander mercy, murmur when life is hard, and complain, even calling God a liar, when He is perfect and just.  Jeremiah said, “Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will you be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail“ (Jer 15:18)? … What pity and patience God shows in restoring us. He told Jeremiah, “I will make you unto this people a fenced brazen wall: and they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you: for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says the Lord”  (Jer 15:19-20).  This pity and FAIRNESS/justice in God draws us to Himself, as we see that He is right: He hasn’t asked more than He gives, the reward is so worth the time of pain down here, and the SALVATION is from hell eternal - “And [Nebudchadnezzar, God’s instrument of pain] burnt the house of the Lord, and the king‘s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every GREAT man‘s house burnt he with fire“ (2 Kings 24:9).

Don’t be discouraged that you’re afflicted; know the afflicted are those whom He saves, even as only the poor remained in the land when terror came. God’s word says, “Blessed is the man whom you chasten, O Lord, and teaches him out of your law, that you may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be dug for the wicked” (Ps 94:12-13), and again, “The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (Ps 58:10-11), and again, “the four and twenty elders”, God’s elect, “and the four beasts”, those who lead them in worship, the preachers of Christ, “fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia”, as the smoke of the wicked eternally ascends from hell (Rev 19:3-4).

We have GREAT reward coming, so it is WORTH following God here. He is MERCIFUL, gracious, generous, pitiful, compassionate, and good.  He does only right, and He will save ALL that call upon Him, not by works of righteousness that we’ve done (merit), but by love and compassion that He gives.

“I Will Not Remember Your Sins” (Is 43:25)

"I, even I, am he that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins".

The bible is a story of redemption, not only from sin before we know Christ but also from sin when we have sinned against the Christ that we’ve known, so that Israel, after deliverance from Egypt, was given to Babylonian captivity for dishonoring God. Many fell in this time and proved to be false believers, departing from Christ the Lord. Yet, those who bear the chastisement and trust the right ways of God, these are redeemed from double sin - not only from pre-Christian but also post-Christian sins. In this, we have the picture for you and me: we have done WICKEDLY and God’s hurt us for it, but now, we see to return to Him because He remembers it no more - “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed you“ (Is 44:22). It was to BRING us to Christ that this all happened, and having come to the Beloved, we need not fear Him holding our past against us.

If this is so, then why walk around in gloom because of past sin? You hate yourself for sure, but rejoice in Christ more so. Don’t let the past stop you and me from believing God’s mercies are here in full (Ezek 36:31-38). Let the past make you lean on and GLORIFY Christ instead of yourself, but TAKE the mercies He gives.

The Wife of Urias (Matt 1:1-17)

“And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias” (vs6).

God uses and saves sinners, not because we are worthy of grace, but because He is good, wise, and holy enough to do so. Having punished our sins in Christ, He uses even the sins of His people for their good and His glory.

David was wrong for his adultery, even as we are wrong for every sin in our life. And, yet, God used it for good, though David hurt from his error. God did not forsake him, leave His promises, or do anything but use the evil of his child to benefit the kingdom and save God’s elect.

God chastises, but He never forsakes. He reproves and shows anger, but He never HATES those He’s loved, never backs up an inch, and He KNOWS and ordains this before we ever believe and receive the rewards of obedience. When David was anointed, God ordained that David’s evil would show itself in Bathsheba. When David slew Goliath, receiving honor from God, it was the same David who would slay Uriah, his friend. God knows the end from the beginning, and though we STUMBLE along the way, He charts every believer’s course for good.

1. “Judas and His Brethren” were evil sinners (Matt 1:1-3). They murdered in cold blood, slept with harlots, and did evil abundantly (Gen 38:15-16). Nothing positive is mentioned of any in Christ’s bloodline to exalt His mercy to sinners and His power to bring light out of darkness. Falls teach us we are weak, He is STRONG, and salvation is God’s. He doesn’t save BECAUSE we are strong; it is BECAUSE He is strong that we are saved.

He keeps us from sin, or we’d die in sin. David is KEPT from being what he would have been, a tyrant, a king like all others, by God’s grace. He’s made a king after God’s heart, because it pleased the Lord to make him king and to bless him with salvation (II Sam 6:21).

2. The sin’s of God’s people only lead to our good, even as, “Boaz begat Obed of Ruth”, the Moabite (Matt 1:4-5). We have pain along the way because of what we do, but there is nothing that breaks the covenant, not David and his sins nor yours and mine. Sin cannot break the covenant God made with Christ, when He made Him propitiation for us (I John 2:2). Because Christ died, all that believe on Him of every nation shall be saved. The BLOOD is enough to procure the END. Even if the sin and misery of today are great, they cannot stop the accomplishment of redemption. He didn’t promise a life of ease, and our sins have wrought havoc upon us, causing pain repeatedly. And yet, the God of grace glorifies Himself in keeping us from departing the gospel, purifying us thereby and calling us to peace. The grace of God is not diminished by the sinner, but it is magnified in saving as promised. He saved Ruth through the fault of Naomi and her resulting bitterness of soul. Yes, God’s hand hurts, but it SAVES. He comforts and reproves, but DELIVERY is promised to all that believe – “For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death” (II Cor 7:10).

Don’t say, “It is over”. Believe God for the salvation that He gives. Learn of me, He says. You have not sinned beyond hope, if you deal with Him in Christ.

3. God brings good out of evil kings, even as an evil “Amon begat Josiah” (Matt 1:10). He makes ways where there are no ways, and He raises up kingdom’s at His will. Josiah was young and had an evil father, but God gave him heart to hear the word and seek God’s will (II Chron 34:3). The Pure One purifies whom He will, coming to us in new covenant love. If He came in wrath, we’d have no hope or restraint from sin. But, GODLY sorrow works repentance not to be repented of. Grace conquers sin, makes light where it was dark, and compels sinners to honor God (II Cor 7:11).

We don’t know what wind will carry the word of the Lord to what place and where God’s elect shall be saved. He can take a family that’s been torn apart, a relationship gone bad, and a lifetime of sin, and change it to something that honors God.

4. A godly man’s children will die in sin, unless God intervenes, because even a good “Josiah Begat Jechoniah and his brethren” who were, “carried away to Babylon” (Matt 1:11). No amount of holiness in the parents can assure salvation to one soul. Our children and those we preach to are ELECT or they are not, saved or they are damned forever, and God unlocks the door. We live in hope, which is PEACE before God and love to men, but we don’t live to see our wishes answered and our hearts soothed by ANYTHING other than God’s glory in Jesus Christ. The parent prays, and God says “no”. These things happen with men who preach also. These things happen to churches and to people that we care about. We say, “Save”, and God says, “No. I will do my will”, even as Isaac begat Esau and said, “it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck”, meaning that you won’t love your brother, and you will die in sin (Gen 27:40).

God’s people love God, and we are taught to yield to His wisdom because salvation is MORE to us than everything else. He purges us from all else by doing as He wills and teaching us the goodness of His love.

Be warned, child of God. This is not an easy “everything I want” religion. But, God will bring Christ before your eyes, save you forever, and bring you to Himself, where there shall be no more sin or crying, forever!