FWD: Morning Manna (Oct. 31); BP: Jer. 52; RBTTY: Titus 1; Jer. 22-23

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

---

-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:57:36 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Oct. 31); BP: Jer. 52; RBTTY: Titus 1; Jer. 22-23
 

October 31                                                                                                                                                                           “Favor In Unfavorable Circumstances”

 

“And it came to pass in the 37^th year of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the 12^th month, in the 25^th day of the month, that Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison.  And spoke kindly unto him and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon and changed his prison garments and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.  And, for his diet there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Jeremiah 52:31-34

     Even in oppressive situations, “when our ways please the Lord, we’re able to be at  peace with our enemies” (Prov. 16:7).

     Sometimes our God-sent aid comes in the most unusual ways.  Although Moses’ sister may or may not have known where Pharaoh’s daughter would bathe that day (Ex. 2:3-5), it was no accident that this Egyptian princess “had compassion on the small, Hebrew baby” (v.6) and ended up taking him home to raise (vv.7-10).  And, it was no accident that Pharaoh himself paid Moses’ mother wages to take care of him until he was old enough to live in his palace (vv.9-10).  God is faithful!

 

     Likewise, it was no accident that Joseph—who was sorely mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery by them (Gen. 37:1-36)—still prospered while serving in Potiphar’s house (39:1-4) and later on in prison with the keeper of the prison (vv.20-23).  In both cases the key phrase was “And the Lord was with Joseph and made all under his hand to prosper” (vv.3, 23).  We should also note it was because of the “Lord’s mercy that he found favor in his master’s sight” (v.21).  Simply put, the favorable treatment Joseph received was because of God’s faithfulness to Joseph and Joseph’s faithfulness to Him.

 

     Thus, it’s evident that God moved in the heart of Evilmerodach, the king of Babylon and servant of their pagan god, Marduk or Bel.  We know nothing about this king apart from today’s Manna; however, it’s clear something prompted him to “bring Jehoiachin out of prison, speak kindly unto him, give him a place of prominence in his palace, clean clothes and allow him to eat regularly in his presence.”

 

     Why did he do this?

     We can only speculate.  Was it because Jehoiachin was such a model prisoner or demonstrated Joseph-like faithfulness?  That’s possible; however, this would have required a change-in-heart while in prison, for the king of Judah was just as evil as his father, Jehoiakim, prior to his being taken into Babylonian exile (II Chron. 36:8-9; Ez. 1:2; II Kings 24:6-15).

    

     Regardless, one thing is clear:  Jehoiachin’s favorable treatment was because of God’s favor.  It also shows how God can “prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies” (Ps. 23:5a)—which reveals how our peaceful communion with God in the midst of adversity will be even be noticed by those who oppose us.  May the Holy Spirit help us to also be found faithful today and find “favor in unfavorable situations” simply because of His love toward us, which we then show to others (Mt. 5:44).