Jeremiah 51-52/Mark 7-8
Get away from the fence! The enemy will be destroyed.
OT – 51:4-10 They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians, slashed to death in her streets. For the LORD Almighty has not forsaken Israel and Judah. He is still their God, even though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”
Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don’t get trapped in her punishment! It is the LORD’s time for vengeance; he will fully repay her. Babylon has been like a golden cup in the LORD’s hands, a cup from which he made the whole earth drink and go mad. But now suddenly, Babylon, too, has fallen. Weep for her, and give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed. We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go; abandon her. Return now to your own land, for her judgment will be so great it cannot be measured. The LORD has vindicated us. Come, let us announce in Jerusalem everything the LORD our God has done.
Stage of exile of the Jews to Babylon
But God will repay
NT – 7:7-9 `These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away.
Their worship is a farce,
for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’
For you ignore God’s specific laws and substitute your own traditions.”
Then he said, “You reject God’s laws in order to hold on to your own traditions.
NT Flash Points
Defilement comes from within a man
Evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, appetite for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride & foolishness
Perspective:
Do those terms have a pertinence to us today? Or have we gotten so accustomed to seeing them only in “other people” that we forget our hearts are human too and the source of all that defiles us. Jesus says it is the forces within us, not outside us, that make us impure. Don’t give territory to the enemy – especially in your heart!