November 2, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: ‘I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes.’”

(Jeremiah 29.21)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

How many of us have heard the call of affirmation “They ayes have it”? Here in Jeremiah 29, we are given a different affirmation as it pertains to “the eyes” have it. In Jerusalem, as the siege was in full force, two of the prophets, temple leaders, Ahab and Zedekiah, had they eyes put out. Most likely they were burned or boiled out by torches of fire. I cannot imagine the horror or pain they must have felt. Their punishment came because they swore allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar in the name of God. (Remember in a previous reflection the consideration of “Taking the Lord’s name in vain and it should not be done“?) What Ahab and Zedekiah attempted to do was to placate both God and the Babylonian enemy. Hoping to maintain their place in Jerusalem where they committed adultery and sacrilegious acts in the Temple (both Jeremiah and Ezekiel spoke out against these things) they made oaths with God and Nebuchadnezzar they never intended to fulfill. The prophesy given to them by Jeremiah was that God would bless them if they surrendered the land and power to Nebuchadnezzar. If they did that they would be allowed to live peacefully in exile and not die at the hands of the enemy. They did not do this, however, For their treachery, God withheld His protection from them fulfilling His covenant of trust and Nebuchadnezzar executed his justice by killing their sons and blinding them so “they could not see.” Such penalty demonstrated his power over them and the loss of sustainability in all of Israel. The people would see “eye to eye” the very power of Nebuchadnezzar over them. It was a witness and testimony to his authority over God’s people. However, he had no authority that was not granted to him apart from God’s sovereignty. He took the opportunity provided as of his own making. He did not give credit to God for it. God declared that He would execute His justice by choosing Nebuchadnezzar as His servant. His own downfall would be evidence to Israel and the Babylonian Empire that God remained in control just as He had in Egypt. It would be with Cyrus, King of Persia, who defeated the Babylonian Empire, that Israel would be restored. It was not so much that Cyrus believed in God, but he did respect the faith and faithfulness of the exiles who submitted to God’s will and bring prosperity even to Babylon because of it. Cyrus would release the exiles and even fund the rebuilding of the Temple. He had “seen with his own eyes” the testimony of the Lord. Indeed “the eyes” had it!

Herein is the lesson to be gleaned from these verses in Jeremiah 29. The “vision” of the Lord is what should be pursued and honored. We hear this message in the healing of the blind by Jesus (there were eight blind people healed according to the gospels: Matthew 12 and 20, Mark 8 and 10, Luke 18 and John 9 and then unspecified numbers of people in Matthew 15 and 21.) It lends itself to the biblical phrase “There are none so blind as those who will not see” which speaks to both a literal and metaphorical sense of blindness. It is the pursuit of God and our trust in Him that allows us to see His presence and purpose in the world in, around and through our own lives. We know the apostle Paul described faith in this way, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1) Again we hear something similar in Paul’s writing to the believers in Corinth speaking of the transforming power of God’s love, “For now we see as in a mirror dimly but one day we shall see Him face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13.8) He would say in another writing to them “But we all with an unveiled face [that is being fully exposed] beholding as in a mirror the glory of God, are being transformed in that same image from glory to glory by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3.8) We read of Stephen who, in the power of the Holy Spirit, declared he could see into Heaven and there the Son of God whom his very persecutors crucified sat at the right hand of God. Yes, mighty ones of God, by faith we are able to see God at work in word and deed in the very “ordinary” events of the day. We see it literally and metaphorically. We see it as words from God to testify to His glory, mercy and purpose. But those with blind eyes or eyes which refuse to see will find that choosing such “blindness” will have disastrous consequences leaving a legacy of despair and condemnation behind and ahead. We must heed the vision which God gives and follow it all the days of our lives. We dare not forsake it nor make light of it with the hope of letting our vision and our glory supersede it. Remember, there are none so blind as those who refuse to see!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.