Heralds Digest

“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria. But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days and in that time,” says the LORD, “The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭50:18-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.50.18-20.nkjv Convicted prisoners on presidential parole often enjoy their conditional release with restraint and constant reminder of their sin and parole terms. Even the parole officers would always act in constant threat and tendency of a re-arrest. As parole officers to Israel and Judah, Assyria and Babylon mismanaged the possibilities of grace for all offenders of the laws of God. While there is a constant reminder of sin with p...

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might’...I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭49:35, 38‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.49.35,38.nkjv Those who desire the treasure of this world by all means are mostly unconcerned about the underlying transaction in respects of the demands of treacherous thrones. After all, there are no thrones without the need for an offer of sacrifices, either in term of time or in term of tributes. Like the king and the princes of Elam promoted the bow of the people before its exhorted throne, the family or fellowship altars of people who must be endowed with the treasure of this world are often a distraction to the true worship of the Lord. Men can keep drawing near with their hands full of service, but with their hearts empty of worship. This is sincerely because the visible throne for the service offering is simply the mat...

““Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the LORD, “Which has neither gates nor bars, Dwelling alone. Their camels shall be for booty, And the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will scatter to all winds those in the farthest corners, And I will bring their calamity from all its sides,” says the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭49:31-32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.49.31-32.nkjv The strength of the security that is powered by the material things of the world grows with the intelligence of man. Unfortunately, the knowledge that constructs this security increases daily with the knowledge that compromises the same system security. Like in Kedar and Hazor, the confidence of most human systems (family, state, and institutions) is driven by the search and settlement in the scattered security, built on proven material reliability measures - “Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the LORD, “Which has neither gates nor bars”. Whereas, all secur...

“Against Damascus. “Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭49:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.49.23.nkjv In times of troubles, there is always a turbulence of ideas and chaos in finding the appropriate path of peace. Myriads of self-help solutions are often explored, until all hopes are gone. For Damascus, reliefs have been tenable from neighboring cities, especially the temporary respite from the city of God’s Joy. Notwithstanding, troubled hearts that are open to the source of good news have always found a merciful leading to the Lord. And when the cyberspace and the entire social entertainment world are saturated with bad news, those who are called to share good news require a refreshing courage to be committed to the business of highlighting the peace path. Unfortunately, there is always the greater quietness in the sharing of good news, compared to the excitement in t...

“Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭49:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.49.16.nkjv If dwelling in the clefts of the rock created a delightful attraction in the days of Edom, building stations in the space in our days must be a blown-away attraction for the likes of today’s Elon Musk. However, it is instructive to note that the burden of Edom was not ‘the ride to your height’ but ‘the pride of your heart’. The stride in the height of man means nothing to God; but many things go wrong when the heart goes high. ‘Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall’, says the holy scriptures. Promotion in career life and ministry or prosperity through business achievement is a delightful experience, until the detestable pride stage a revolting mess in the heart....

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the LORD...Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭49:2, 4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.49.2,4.nkjv The difference between an incidental and institutionalized call of action is clear, especially for a call to corrupt practices. Enforcement of correction is easier with incidental calls, compared with institutionalized calls with all the strength to resist correction. Referring to the confidence of Rabbah of the Ammonites in her political and economic treasures, the scripture confirmed the institution “Who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’” While confidence in institutionaliz...

““We have heard the pride of Moab (He is exceedingly proud), Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, And of the haughtiness of his heart.” “I know his wrath,” says the LORD, “But it is not right; His lies have made nothing right...And Moab shall be destroyed as a people, Because he exalted himself against the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭48:29-30, 42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/jer.48.29-30,42.nkjv Intelligence and dexterity are significantly resourceful in the planning and implementation of the project of life. However, the management of these human resource without the understanding and accommodation of the diversity in the people concerned (either at home or in the societal workplaces) often lead to the mismanagement of offences. While people could readily testify to Moab’s problem of pride, God provided the correct diagnosis - which is ‘wrath’ or anger management. If Moses, who was proudly proclaimed by God as the meekest of all men could fail the test of anger management when subje...