Israel in Exile and the Church, Part Two

Sermons by Bob Vincent and Others

Jeremiah wrote to Israel in exile that they should pray for the peace and prosperity of Babylon -Jeremiah 29-4-7-, quite in contrast to the feelings of the Jewish people in Psalm 137.--However, now that God's purpose for the violent, hateful Babylonian empire is about to be fulfilled, in 597 BC Jeremiah sends a scroll with an official of Judah's last king, Zedekiah -Jeremiah 51-59-61-. That scroll is a curse on Babylon- it was not only to be spoken out loud, it was also accompanied by a curse ritual -Jeremiah 51-62-63-.--The angry cravings for revenge of Psalm 137 are also a prayer. God uses that prayer and Jeremiah's curse to destroy Babylon by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC.--Living as pilgrims from our true homeland -Hebrews 12-22- Galatians 4-24-31-, we must follow the counsel of Deuteronomy 32-35 as it is fleshed out in the New Testament in Romans 12-14-20.--We must be kind to our enemies -Proverbs 25-21-22-, trusting our sovereign God to right all wrongs -2 Thessalonians 1-5-10---As we await our Lord's return, we are confident he will always be with us and bless us because he died for our sins -1 Corinthians 15-3- Hebrews 13-5-.