SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 47
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
‘Alas, sword of the LORD, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still.’ But how can it rest when the LORD has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?” [Jeremiah 47:6-7]
I am watching what is happening in Libya (and elsewhere) with concern, how horrible it must be to be there, to live through this, to experience the violence, the bloodshed, the frightening instability.
Is the Lord behind this, and if so why, to what purpose?

With Jeremiah I say, ‘Alas, sword of the LORD, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still.’Believing as I do that God is in control of all circumstances, though not responsible for the evil and suffering in the world, I do feel that this too is a part of God’s justice and mercy – both!
No, not every person who suffers or dies is wicked, or condemned; but the mess and misery of sin afflicts the whole world in different ways (ask the people of New Zealand, or those affected by unemployment or marital breakdown, or… you get the point, it’s everywhere!)
Through everything that happens, God’s justice AND mercy is at work, challenging or defeating the oppressors and securing and strengthening the weak.
No, it does not mean that the innocent do not suffer, nor that the wicked do not succeed (right now Ghaddafi has the upper hand).
But God has His heart towards the weak, and God is opposed to the oppressors – and in time He will accomplish His purpose.

Jesus describes this in His warnings about the last days.
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now–and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. [Matthew 24:20-22]
Suffering will be terrible, for the oppressors and the oppressed; but through it all God will direct and control it for the sake of His elect (chosen) ones: the poor in spirit, the meek, the persecuted, etc.
For the sake of the elect, for the sake of the elect…
I will not turn this into a complicated discussion about election and predestination – I do not understand it.
But I do know where God’s heart is; I do know that whatever happens in the world, God is directing things to help the lowly and bring down the prideful.
Yes, because of the weak, the oppressed, the righteous – how can (the sword of the Lord) rest when the LORD has commanded it… for the sake of the elect!

PRAYER:
Lord, like Jeremiah I wish it would all stop. But I do not know the full extent of all that You are doing, and I trust that somehow it is just and merciful. But please make it short, please work quickly… for the sake of the elect.