Jeremiah 5:15-17
“Attention! I’m bringing a far-off nation against you, O house of Israel.” GOD’s Decree. “A solid nation, an ancient nation, A nation that speaks another language. You won’t understand a word they say. When they aim their arrows, you’re as good as dead. They’re a nation of real fighters! They’ll clean you out of house and home, rob you of crops and children alike. They’ll feast on your sheep and cattle, strip your vines and fig trees. And the fortresses that made you feel so safe— leveled with a stroke of the sword!”
“O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand. Their weapons are deadly; their warriors are mighty. They will devour the food of your harvest; they will devour your sons and daughters. They will devour your flocks and herds; they will devour your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified towns, which you think are so safe.”
Babylon was a nation in its prime, its cultural identity and traditions strong, its people disciplined and productive. Judah was descending, its distinctiveness having long ago vanished into the ease and lassitude of prosperity. It is an uncomfortable comparison since American today is decidedly more like Judah than Babylon. What are the fortresses we think safe? We may cite Democracy and our military strength. But it takes a disciplined, service-oriented population to sustain these. Adult Americans, though long past infancy, are still attached to one kind of nipple or another, always on the search for meaning, comfort, and actualization. We do not have the Great Depression induced discipline of the generation that fought the last world war. May God have mercy on us.
Lord, make us ready for the future. Discipline us as unruly children. Open our eyes to our own condition. Save us from ourselves.