For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver.” Ezekiel 21:21
November 20, 2023
It was Yogi Berra who famously said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” It was 588 B.C. and Israel was about to feel the heavy hand of Babylon in bringing destruction, death, and exile to Jerusalem for her unrepentant rebellion against God. Nebuchadnezzar and his army came to a fork in the road. One way would have taken him to Rabbah and the other to Jerusalem. He resorted to his pagan way of making decisions. We might say it was “reading the tea leaves.” Ironically, Israel had become addicted to superstition instead of seeking God’s counsel. So they got a dose of their own medicine. God is sovereign over all decision making, even if it is idolatrous. He rules over and uses evil to accomplish His purposes. Israel thought she was secure by her use of treaties and seeking the right political allies. God directed Babylon to bring judgment on Jerusalem as a result of a “rolling the dice.” God rules over the folly of man, whether it is a calamitous boarder policy or the evil things people do that make life harder for us on a day to day basis. The Lord God is infinitely wise and is moving His plan along to bring about His glory.
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“With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.” A. W. Tozer