Neh. 7-9
Sometimes the little, every day miracles of God’s provision are the most amazing. They are also often the easiest to miss. In leading the returned exiles in worship, the Levites recounted all that God had done in setting them apart as His people. Among all of God’s great miracles they noted the following, “Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (Neh. 9:21). The little things, right?
I’ve seen this mentioned other places, but it always amazes me. It makes me wonder how many other little every day things God did for them in the wilderness. And I think about the every day reminders they had all around them of God’s goodness and provision. I mean, every morning for forty years as they strapped on the same pair of sandals, they had opportunity to consider that God was faithful even in the little things. I’ve never had a pair of well used shoes last for forty years, but I’m sure that my days are full of mundane little miracles if I choose to look for them. I hope that I do. And when I do, I hope they remind me to be grateful and mindful of God each and every day of my life.
Rev. 18
It may not have anything to do with the prophecy here, but reading about Babylon’s great wealth makes me think of when Jesus told His disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. I think maybe that is because wealth, finery and luxury, such as this prophecy mentions, are so hard for people to let go of. Such things are a powerful draw for those who have not learned to live content in God’s grace. Which, honestly, is most of us, at least to some degree.
I need to remember Babylon. I think we all do. From what I read here, she had it all. Everything a person could possibly desire they could find in her. But I read that she lost it all in a single hour. “The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!” (Rev 18:14). Turns out all of that finery couldn’t do a darn thing for her. But I misspoke (miswrote) a moment ago. Not quite every desirable thing was found in Babylon. The only thing worth desiring and pursuing with a passion was notably missing. God. God is the only fruit for which our soul can long that will never be gone from us.