Kingdom Building

September 3, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 18:1-11

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. –Jeremiah 18:5-11

Dystopia: an imaginary place which is depressingly wretched and whose people lead a fearful existence*

I rarely read books classified as dystopian. I tend to see the depressingly wretched side of life without any help from fiction. There are a lot of dystopian fiction books being written that barely mask how closely they relate to the reality of our world we do not want to see. I just downloaded a recently published dystopian book dealing with an unfamiliar subject to me, thinking perhaps I need to broaden my field of understanding.

Jeremiah and the other prophets would probably have been classified as dystopian writers in their day. We have the advantage of hindsight to know that what they predicted in general  came true. So why are we not doing something to counter the evil currently being described? Are we also caught up in evil’s enticements even to our detriment? Are we being distracted by fear and hate mongers so that we do not pay attention to the greed and lust for power that is infesting our land?

And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. –Jeremiah 18:9-10

Prayer: Lord forgive us for ignoring your wisdom. Help us see the light of your ways. Help us Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings (Jeremiah 18:11b) Amen

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/dystopian

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.