Read: Jeremiah 51:15-52:3 ; 2 Kings 24:10-20; 2 Chron. 36:10-14; 1 Chron. 3:10-16; Jeremiah 37:1-10
God told Jeremiah that he was a battle-ax and a sword though Jeremiah never fought in a battle. It was not Jeremiah’s hand that held a sword that the Lord was referring to; it was Jeremiah’s mouth that was a sword because he spoke what the Lord told him to speak. He proclaimed it and God did it. He told Jerusalem that the Babylonians would take them captive and they did. He said that the Medes would destroy Babylon, and they did.
Our mouths are swords too. They can be swords that bring death and judgment or swords that bring life. If it is the Lord’s words we are speaking, they will bring life. Life comes through death. Jeremiah spoke of judgment and wrath against nations that defied the Lord, but God always said that out of this death would sprout restoration and life. Divorce looks like death, but out of it can come life. We are all going through some semblance of death all the time because God is out to kill our flesh so that His spirit can spring forth. It doesn’t always look like we think it should because God is a physician who carefully and meticulously operates on us with the utmost care and love. He is not concerned with how long it takes, but in how complete it is. God’s timing is always perfectly planned to fit his timeline….not ours.
Lord, we submit our bodies to your knife so that we can be your sword in the battles that count for the kingdom. Let us not get weary in well-doing knowing that we will receive a crown of life and glory in the end.
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