Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.
The Fall of Babylon
Today's passage reflects further on the fall of Babylon, the mourning of those that clung to the profits and pleasures that came from it, and the rejoicing of the people of God. Rather than reflecting specifically on this passage today, I want to draw a connection with some thoughts in the rest of the Bible. Psalm 73 is a great picture (from Asaph) of how many of us have probably felt at one time or another. Asaph sees the wealth and success of the wicked and asks, "What is the point of following God?", but then worships God and works his thoughts out. The is from the ESV, and the emphasis bolding is added by me to bring out some points:
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
This is why, though this passage and these events in Revelation are truly terrible, the people of God can rejoice over them. Truthfully, it seems like the wicked and God-haters often are the ones that get ahead in life, which seems backwards. Life is about trusting God with judgment, not ourselves. He will make all things right in the end! As we read on in Revelation, we're going to be moving away from judgment and into rejoicing over the redeeming work of God. In the meantime, here's a great song called "Never Again" on this topic.
The Fall of Babylon
Today's passage reflects further on the fall of Babylon, the mourning of those that clung to the profits and pleasures that came from it, and the rejoicing of the people of God. Rather than reflecting specifically on this passage today, I want to draw a connection with some thoughts in the rest of the Bible. Psalm 73 is a great picture (from Asaph) of how many of us have probably felt at one time or another. Asaph sees the wealth and success of the wicked and asks, "What is the point of following God?", but then worships God and works his thoughts out. The is from the ESV, and the emphasis bolding is added by me to bring out some points:
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
This is why, though this passage and these events in Revelation are truly terrible, the people of God can rejoice over them. Truthfully, it seems like the wicked and God-haters often are the ones that get ahead in life, which seems backwards. Life is about trusting God with judgment, not ourselves. He will make all things right in the end! As we read on in Revelation, we're going to be moving away from judgment and into rejoicing over the redeeming work of God. In the meantime, here's a great song called "Never Again" on this topic.
RSS Feed
