Skip to main content

We need better ways to avoid staying in conflict

War is a difficult time. Whether you are talking about the wars of the previous century or the ones previous to that. It makes people do desperate things. Bad things continuously escalate.  People, communities and entire nations react with greater and greater intensity to each other's actions.  Every verbal point made in the midst of such conflict is always viewed with high skepticism.  Good gestures and offers are not trusted.  You yourself may be in the midst of such situation, and you may be feeling like the "whole world" is against you like the people of Israel felt.

Jeremiah 34:1-2
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

The first verse of this chapter seems to indicate that the whole world was against the people of Israel and only a few cities were left. While they were faced with this situation they did a curious or desperate thing. They freed the slaves in their midst. That was unthinkable in their society. Why lose dominion over another person that is useful to you? Human nature will not allow this. God applauded this but they changed their mind and enslaved them again. They had sinned by holding a Hebrew person enslaved more than time of 7 years, and did right finally.  Alas, only for a short time.  

 Jeremiah 34:14
“At the end of seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.

Why did they do that? Maybe they sensed that the Babylonians were losing interest in them, or perhaps because the act of freeing the slaves caused God to show mercy to them by getting them to start winning. Whatever it is, they went against God's ways in the area of subjecting someone to a period of slave labor.

Daily, I need to check my ways. Are they God's ways? I need God to show me.  Father, show me Your ways which lead to peace, instead of conflict.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Journey of Faith

Sreedhar standing to the left of his grandfather in the center Almost 55 years ago a son was born to a Hindu family.  The parents were 2nd generation Malaysians raised in a rubber estate near a small town called Sungei Petani in Northern Malaya at that time.  This first child was given much love and care by their parents and had the privilege of growing up in 3 different states of Malaysia, most of which was in Petaling Jaya.  He was blessed with his first domestic airplane ride when he was 10 years old, and made his first trip by airplane to Bangkok at the age of 11.  In the mid 1970's the family moved to a large house in a relatively exclusive neighborhood in Petaling Jaya. This was a result of the favor his father, aged about 35 at that time, had in the workplace,. As a result, this son grew up in a mostly multicultural environment with Indian, Chinese and Malay children.  In the process, his perspectives became cosmopolitan and racially neutral.  On...

Stand and raise your hands

I apologize if I offend anyone, but I feel free to lift up my hands when I worship the Lord.  I would do it while standing up.  It is only natural when you are worshiping the Almighty God, creator of heaven of earth.  He is after all the God loves me and redeemed me by dying on the dying on the cross.  The Psalmist agrees with me on this one. Psalm 134:1-2 Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. There are key elements to be observed here in this chapter being shared by the Psalmist. The familiar ones are us blessing God, doing it with hands raised, we doing this as servants of God. But a new element that I did not see before is doing all this at night, though it may have been said in other parts of the Word. The Psalmist ends with acknowledging God as the one who made heaven and earth. Reflection from 2016: Speaks to me about ...

I have decided to do right today

Have you been told off for something that you may or may not have done wrong?  How did you feel?  I usually feel rotten.  I get a mix of guilt and anger, but these situations have tremendously reduced with my growing relationship with God.  You want to say many things to justify your actions (or inaction), but it is usually of little value.  Accept everything said (or written) as good feedback, and do better the next time. Amos 1:2 And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.” Amos the prophet must have been in great fear as he spoke. So many negative things against so many people. The pronouncement of judgement can make you angry or repent.  I am reminded of King David's reaction to Nathan the prophet when he confronted him about his relationship with Bathsheba. He cried out to God and repented. Many of Israel's kings never repented and the Lord c...

You will look good

In today's world many are not happy with how they look naturally. They do everything possible to get it "right". Some of these include almost permanent changes that affects their bodies for the rest of their lives. This includes tattoos. I am not going to saying anything about this but we need to be careful about the agenda of people that do these things. There is something better. Revelation 22:4, They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. How God's name is going to be on our foreheads, I am not sure. But it would be like wearing a uniform of an organization that you are very proud of, and want to be associated with publicly. There will also be the tree of life. There will be no more pain. No more sorrow. God's presence will be so tangible that we can see His face. Revelation 22:12-13, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and t...

Be unconventional

I may have said this popular quote before, insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If our plan is for better success then the approach needs to be changed. Or perhaps unconventional. The old ways cannot remain. David did the unthinkable. 1 Samuel 27:1, And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” Desperate times called for desperate measures. He ran from Saul's persistent need to kill him by moving to enemy territory. While there he had good war campaigns and duped the Philistines into thinking that he was against the people of Israel. God is ready to give us new approaches for spiritual warfare for souls. Are we ready for unconventional methods and approaches? The challenge for us...

All must engage

There are so many conflicts in the world today that it is very difficult to keep up. The other day I shared about the problems in Venezuela. And then there are more bombings aimed at Israel. And yet again, notwithstanding that some of you reading this may feel it unfair, Israel is preserved. Psalm 69:35-36, For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, And those who love His name shall dwell in it. There is a promise, and only God knows how it will be fulfilled. The impossible becomes possible because God is in charge. The trajectory for His Word to go forth to all peoples is set. Much evil is trying to prevent this. But, no weapons formed against us shall succeed. The technologies in place today allows instant reach of billions. The people of God have been prepared for this day, and now must be mobilized to engage in this ministry of reconciliation. There is no time to waste wh...