31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived. (Jeremiah 52)
Israel was at it's worst. The paragraph before this lists all those who had been taken away into exile under the Babylonians. Theywere under the hand of a man whose first name was Evil. In a sense there was now more shame than when they had been slaves in Egypt; at least then their sheer numbers put fear into the heart of Pharoah. Now there was nothing to make anyone fear them. Yet there was something that drew this evil emperor to bless Jehoiachin and bless him as a welcome guest in his court. He seemed to sense that promise that as long as he blessed God's king, he and his people would be blessed. There was still a thread of hope running through the Story of God's people in the lowest of lows. No matter how low your Monday morning may find you, there is hope!. Get up; appreciate God's blessings; trust Him, and you will see.
No comments:
Post a Comment