Daily Devotions
What If I Told You That Someday America Will Someday Be Gone
Reading for August 21st: Jeremiah 51-52
Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,
the haunt of jackals,
a horror and a hissing,
without inhabitant.
Jeremiah 51:37
Babylon was an impressive city. It was in the shape of a giant square, each side being 15 miles long. The walls were wide enough that chariots could ride around the city on top of them. The famous Ishtar Gate was decorated with bulls and dragons. After you entered that gate you would then be led down the Processional Way with 120 lions carved on the walls on either side of you. There were lavish buildings and temples throughout the city. The Ziggurat was a tower that stood 300 feet tall in the center of the city. The Hanging Gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
But this city, as massive and fortified and prosperous as it was, has been left without inhabitants for thousands of years. It is a desolate place in the deserts of Iraq, only about 2% of this once great city has been excavated by archaeologists.
Look at all the things around you right now. Imagine that everything around you as it will certainly be when our great nation falls someday. No houses to be seen. No roads or bridges with cars and trucks driving on them. No stores open for business. Everything is gone.
Now ask yourself the question, why am I obsessing over things that will so soon vanish away to nothing?
Father, forgive us of our foolish pride. Help us to learn the lesson the Babylonians never did. Help us to see what matters most.
