And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.
I have a friend who had lived in New York City but recently moved out to Pennsylvania because he would rather commute 75 miles into the city than live in it. That says a lot about the state of our urban centers in America. I only thought of it when I read these verses of curses from God for disobedience on the part of Israel. This is just two verses worth of a whole chapter of sheer dread. Anyone living in Israel when this happens will be in a world of misery. Well, it happened. First Assyria conquered the Northern Tribes and then Jerusalem and Judah fell to the Babylonians. They did not have the choice to move out. They were carried out into captivity.
This is not to say that the Lord will pass judgment on America and destroy it. It seems we are doing the job quite nicely ourselves. For Israel, there was no one to help them, as verse 29 says. In the case of America, help has already arrived in the God-Man Jesus Christ. He gave us the gift that cannot be stolen and is preparing a mansion that will be ours to dwell in. You do not have to move out. You need only bow down.
Dear Lord, thank you for the help you sent for this broken and dying world. We pray for those who know only this world and not the kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church