So Many Parallels

“Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.”  Jeremiah 5:15

On June 30, 2021, I began a study of the book of Jeremiah.  I don’t think my selection of this prophetic book was happenstance.  It is astonishing at the parallels that one can draw between what was happening in ancient Israel and what is happening in the world today, particularly as it affects the United States.  To be clear, America is not God’s chosen nation.  That was and is Israel and always will be.  With that said, however, the United States was founded by men and women, for the most part, who desired to worship the Lord in freedom without interference by civil authorities.  The Constitution and Declaration of Independence were drawn up by men who were believers in the Lord God and who based the organization of a government of, by, and for the people on the precepts of scripture and the existence of a holy and righteous God.  I only wish our current politicians would recognize that fact.

Jeremiah was a prophet who was chosen by God to warn the people of Israel because of their idolatry and abandonment of Him as their Lord.  Sin was rampant at that time and involved all sorts of perversions and worship of false gods, including idols and images.  Because of God’s love for His people, He always gave them warning before He brought punishment which was designed to bring repentance and a return to Him.  “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” was God’s first commandment, and upon it were all the other commandments based.  God is sovereign and can justly do whatever He desires, to whomever He desires, whenever He desires.  He is the Creator of man, and the Bible is His mind as revealed to mankind.  He cannot accept any form of sin, but, in His love and mercy, gave mankind the way to be reconciled to Him through repentance and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

At the time prior to Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army taking the people of Judah captive, neither Israel nor Judah had developed any sort of relationship with Babylon.  The Babylonians spoke the Syriac language, but most of the Jewish people did not understand that tongue (II Kings 18:26).  The nation of Babylon was much older than Israel and located at a great distance eastward from Israel.  It was a powerful nation.  Its beginning is dated back to around 4,500 B.C., and the people of Babylon are believed to be the descendants of Noah’s youngest son, Ham.  They were militant people seeking to conquer other lands, and their armory was large and formidable.  Their fighters were not fearful of any nation, being men of death and destruction, skilled with their swords, always ready to fight.  They confiscated the goods and properties of those thy conquered, and they did not value life.  The people of Judah were no match for them.

Fast forward to today.  We are told that the terrorists of Afghanistan and the surrounding areas live as though they are still in a century long past.  It is believed that the people of Afghanistan are the descendants of Japheth, Noah’s middle son.  His descendants also populated the areas we know today as Iran, Russia, India, and much of Europe.  The descendants of Shem, Noah’s oldest son, populated Israel and Syria, and it was through the people of Israel of whom God sent His Son, Jesus Christ.  The goal of the terrorist, like that of the once great Babylon, is world domination, in which their Sharia law would become the law of the entire globe.  It is a highly legalistic and harsh law, and is ruled by force.  Also like the Babylonians, they fear no one and consider it a worthy goal to die for their beliefs.  They do not believe in freedom, and women are treated even less than second class citizens.  They do not believe that Jesus is God’s Son, but merely a prophet.

God allowed a more powerful nation led by Nebuchadnezzar to take the people of the southern kingdom of Judah captive for 70 years because of their sins.  But could we not learn from this?  Our nation has become so full of sin and hypocrisy, would it not be possible that God has allowed our enemies to humiliate our nation because of our sin and our abandonment of the Lord?  Many in our nation accept sins and perversions that even the terrorists will not accept.  The U.S. is still the most powerful nation on earth with the best and most dedicated military men and women, many of whom have given their lives fighting so that our nation can be one of freedom and an individual potential for success, but the last two weeks has made our nation look weak, overwhelmed by a much smaller army which is determined to succeed.  We don’t know how, when, or if this situation in Afghanistan will end, but, for now, our enemies are definitely a scourge upon our nation.  Unless we fall to our knees and repent individually and as a nation, the outcome could be very bleak.