365 Reflections

Lamentations 4 is another sad poem chronicling Israel's demise as she lies in exile. The passage gives far more clarity than others as to the people's perception of themselves before their defeat by the Babylonians.  We find that people were unaware that anything like this could ever happen. First, Jeremiah laments the tarnish on her royalty by noting the gold is now diminished: Lamentations 4:1–2 (ESV) How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! Riches blind a person and a country. They make you think you are impervious to disaster. But there are many ways to lose money. One of the consistent warnings in the Old and New Testaments is how unreliable wealth is to one's defense of life.  Proverbs 23:4–5 (ESV)  Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5...

NOTE : If you are new to this blog, it started on blogger and is duplicated on Tumblr. The Tumblr page may not have all the posts from the beginning. Therefore, this is #1000 on the blogger page:  https://365reflect.blogspot.com/ POST : It is appropriate that this is my 1000th post on the Bible. We come to an important story surrounding David's return with an aged man named Barzillai offering a place in David's house to his son. 2 Samuel 19:37–38 (ESV)   Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems good to you.” 38 And the king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.” The story tells us as David returned he met Barzillai, an aged wealthy man who cared for David and his men while they were in exile during A...