“All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: ‘We have swallowed her! Ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it!’” (16)
The Lord has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.” (17)
We can see at least 2 things here:
First, we see that Israel’s enemies despise her and rejoice at her downfall. Most importantly, they take credit for defeating Israel: “We have swallowed her!”
Second, we see that God is taking credit for Israel’s downfall: The Lord has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word…
When we compare these statements, we can conclude that God accomplishes His will on earth through the actions of people. In this case, Babylon was all too happy to be the Lord’s rod of discipline, even though they didn’t realize that’s what they were doing.
They also didn’t realize they would be judged for their hatred toward Israel. Jeremiah mentions this judgment in 51:36: “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry, and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant.’”
I am amazed at how God accomplishes his will on earth, and that I play a part in that … even when I don’t realize it. I want to be an instrument of God’s blessing. I’m afraid that if I am an instrument of his wrath, I will step over the line as Babylon did and deserve to be judged myself. I don’t trust myself in such a situation. For example, if God used me to punish Hamas, I’m afraid I would be all too happy in the process.
So, today I begin making a conscious effort to bless others.
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