Day 232 - The Lord Almighty is His Name

Daily Reading:  Jeremiah 50-52

The arrogant one will stumble and fall

and no one will help her up;

I will kindle a fire in her towns

that will consume all who are around her.

Jeremiah 50:32

Footnote:  Pride (arrogance) was Babylon's characteristic sin.  Pride comes from feeling self-sufficient or believing that we don't need God.  Proud nations or persons, however, will eventually fail because they refuse to recognize God as the ultimate power.  Getting rid of pride is not easy, but we can admit that it often rules us and ask God to forgive us and help us overcome it.  The best antidote to pride is to focus our attention on the greatness and goodness of God.

He made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Every man is senseless and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.

His images are a fraud;

they have no breath in them.

They are worthless, the objects of mockery;

when their judgment comes, they will perish.

He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,

for he is the Maker of all things,

including the tribe of his inheritance -

the Lord Almighty is his name.

Jeremiah 51:15-19

Footnote:  It is foolish to trust in man-made images rather than in God.  It is easy to think that the things we see and touch will bring us more security than God.  But things rust, rot and decay.  God is eternal.  Why put your trust in something that will disappear within a few years?

In the world's eyes, Jeremiah looked totally unsuccessful.  He had no money, family, or friends.  He prophesied the destruction of the nation, the capital city, and the temple, but the political and religious leaders would not accept or follow his advice.  No group of people liked him or listened to him.  Yet as we look back, we see that he successfully completed the work God gave him to do.  Success must never be measured by popularity, fame, or fortune, for these are temporal measures.  King Zedekiah, for example, lost everything by pursuing selfish goals.  God measures our success with the yardsticks of obedience, faithfulness, and righteousness.  If you are faithfully doing the work God gives you, you are successful in his eyes.

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All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV