September 21

“The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the Lord” (I Chronicles 9:1b). The prophet, Jeremiah, along with many others, had tried to warn the people of Judah on many occasions what would happen if they continued to ignore the Lord, but they would not listen. “Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and it’s people.......I will completely destroy you.....I will take away your happy singing and laughter......This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:7-14). “The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again” (Jer.29:10).
God is not mocked and He is not deceived. We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). He is always faithful to His promises (Numbers 23:19). God tells us what we will receive if we are faithful to Him, and God warns us what we will receive if we are unfaithful to Him. The people of God had been punished as God had foretold and it was time for them to be restored as God had also foretold. Many Israelites had already returned to the land of Judah. They had rebuilt the Temple and they had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Since the population of Jerusalem itself was small, some people would be needed to leave their regions where they lived to resettle in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:1&2). Many were given specific responsibilities; whether it was ministering in the house of the Lord (I Chron.9:10-13), guarding the entrances to the house of God (9:14-32), playing music (9:33&34), etc. After seventy years of captivity, God’s people were ready to do what they needed to do and what they were called to do (Luke 17:10).
Why is it that hardships, pain, and suffering are often what drive us to do what we should be doing all along? Apparently, it is easy to take so much of what we have forgranted, and unless we are put in a position to see how blessed we are, we forget. May we be wise enough to learn from the mistakes of others in the past so we will not be foolish and repeat them, ourselves (Romans 15:4).