October 22

Jeremiah 39:1-41:18; 2 Timothy 1:1-18; Psalm 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 26:1-2

My husband and I visited Masada in Israel several years ago. Our guide explained to us how this impregnable fortress has been conquered: she showed us from the top of the fortress how siege ramps had been built up with earth and eventually the city succumbed to the relentless oppression of catapulted missiles and isolation.

Yesterday we read in Proverbs 25:28, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” And we read about broken walls in Psalm 89, too, in verse 40: “You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.”

And today it happens—in 586 B.C., Jerusalem falls to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Jerusalem, the city the Lord God loves, is invaded (Jer. 39:1-3), the walls are broken down, the royal palace is burned (v. 8) and the people carried into exile (v. 9). God’s warnings to his people have not been heeded and now the people suffer the consequences of their sin.

Like Masada, Jerusalem is on a hill, a steep hill, and in many ways seems impregnable. But without God’s protection, she becomes vulnerable. It’s interesting that the Babylonian officials say in Jeremiah 40:3, “Now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.” Even they knew what the prophets had been saying to the people of Judah! They seem to have believed what the Judeans refused to believe, perhaps because it was a truth that profited them.

Jeremiah is given the option of going to Babylon or staying in the city. He stays, but chaos ensues with murder and lawlessness rampant. And now Jeremiah does go into exile—he joins the fear-filled people of Judah who go to Egypt for protection from the Babylonians.

After all this chaos, we need the serenity of Psalms 90 and 91. I always wonder why the authors of the OYB put both of these lovely psalms on the same day. I would like them to come separately, so I could savor each one. But maybe we need them together, to know that when walls are breached in our own lives, and when we are taken into exile, then we can say with Moses, the author of this psalm, that God is still our dwelling place through all generations (Ps. 90:1). We find our refuge in Him, in the shadow of the Almighty, who is our refuge and fortress, our God in whom we trust (Ps. 91:1-2). The Mighty One who is our refuge will never be taken captive; He is able to save those who trust in Him. He will command his angels concerning us to guard us in all our ways (vs. 9-10).

And to that I say, Amen!

- Nell Sunukjian

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