Sin and rebellion always have a Payday

 Jeremiah 49: 28-33

When you travel on holiday or vacation as we on this side of the pond refer to our trips away from home seeking rest and fun, do you have a plan?  I hope so, but on my 50^th birthday Jan and I went to Germany in the latter part of October with no plan, and it did not turn out well.  Maybe that’s why I'm drawn to the promise God gave the people of Judah who were carried off into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.  First, it was to build homes and plant gardens, take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage.  Why, because you are going to be there for seventy years?  But then comes the promise found in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”   God has good plans for us, often while in the catastrophe; often brought on by rebellion we have problems believing God has a plan for our welfare, a hope, and a future.

It brings to mind Luke 22:31-32, “Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  The one Jesus calls the thief in John 10:10 is excellent on his mission to steal, kill, and destroy, but he has to ask for authority to mess with a follower of Christ.  He messed with Peter, and he also has a plan for your life, yes, to steal, kill, and destroy.

Sin and rebellion always have a payday, and that day has come for the people of Kedar and Hazor.   Kedar was an Ishmaelite tribe in the Arabian Desert and was known for sheep breeding and also for their archery skills.  Hazor was believed to be a city in the desert region.  It is thought that these were nomadic tribes that often raided Israelite territory.  It is of interest that the five items were taken; flocks, tents, curtains, equipment, and camels.

Now it seems strange, but in the middle of the judgment from God, there is mercy shown to these people. 

For a man that is unusual but one must remember our ways are very different than God’s ways, as are our thoughts.  In verse 30 they are told to run to escape, and God is going to provide an escape before the judgment comes.  We find in verses 31-33, the result of sin, all that is precious to these tribes are lost.  “Rise up, advance against a nation at ease that dwells securely, declares the Lord, that has no gates or bars, that dwells alone.  Their camels shall become plundered, their herds of livestock a spoil.  I will scatter to every wind those who cut the corners of their hair, and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, declares the Lord.  Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, an everlasting waste; no man shall dwell there; no man shall sojourn in her.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice