Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Jeremiah 25:8-14 teaches us about God’s character and His dealings with the good and evil in mankind. I believe the way to view this is that Judah and Jerusalem are a picture of God’s objective. They are, in my understanding of Scripture, no more the object of God’s love than are any of the Gentiles. But God’s dealings with them in the Old Testament are for our learning. This is, as I understand it, to be taken as an illustration of how God uses the circumstances in our world to draw people to Christ.
His object is corrupted
Vs 8
We are corrupted - even those of us who claim to know Him. We are corrupted. God’s intent is to conform us to the image of His Son.
He uses that which is evil for His purpose
Vs 9-11
In this case, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. God did not make Babylon evil; they were evil because they turned away from God. God did use them as His servants to chasten and mold Jerusalem. The chastening was deliberate and measured, with God announcing ahead of time that it would be seventy years.
He has not forsaken the evil servant He uses
Vs 12-13
Once the seventy years were completed, God punished Babylon. Even during the captivity, God sent people to love Nebuchadnezzar, minister to him, and provide opportunities for Babylon to turn to the Lord.
God is not the creator of a world gone out of control, but the orchestrator of a plan devised to bring humanity to willing submission and holy faith. He is not cruel in His dealings with men. He did not create evil. He does not choose some for destruction and others for everlasting life. However, He does give His creation free will. He directs through the choices of those with free will to finally bring about eternal peace and the salvation of all those who 'take of the water of life freely.'
#GodsCharacter #DivinePurpose #LearningFromJeremiah #GodsPlanInEvilTimes #FreeWillandDivineDirection
Free Will and Divine Direction: God's Redemptive Strategy
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