The Pride of Babylon

SCRIPTURE

You said, ‘I will reign forever as queen of the world!’ You did not reflect on your actions or think about their consequences.

~Isaiah 47:7, NLT

QUOTE

Two things are said to be very rare sights in the world: one is a young man humble, and the other is an old man content.

~J.C. Ryle

The ‘queen of the world’ was a reference to the city of Babylon which dates back to Genesis. Babylon was at it’s zenith during Isaiah’s life time. At the time it’s hanging gardens and descending water falls made it one of the seven wonders of the world. The Babylonian captivity for the Jews took place during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and this was probably the peak of Babylon’s grandeur. Daniel the prophet rebuked Belshazzar for desecrating the golden vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and told him, “The kingdom will be taken from you” and it was taken that very night by Darius the Mede. In 539 BC the empire fell to the Persians under Cyrus. Babylon’s existed until Alexander the Great who took it in 331 BC. He intended to rebuild it and make it greater but he died before pursuing his plan and the city, it walls and towers were torn down. Babylon, once great, no longer exist. It has become a symbol of worldly pleasure, power, prosperity and PRIDE. When John speaks of Babylon in the Revelation, he is referring to the antichrist world system driven by PRIDE.

I did not intend to give you a history lesson when I sat down to do the blog. In yesterday’s DBR that second part of the verse jumped out at me…You did not reflect on your actions or think about their consequences. I cannot count the times that I have acted in haste without considering the circumstances. About five or six years ago, I did something stupid and it came back to bite me this past month. I am not mad at God or anyone else: I should have thought about what I was doing and possible consequences. I imagine most of my bone head decisions could be laid at the door step of PRIDE.

TODAY WE PRAY FOR STUDENTS

• Miss Clara has bursitis in her shoulder, got a shot yesterday in B’town and feels better but is still fighting a UTI.
• Front Pew Shower for Ginny Shaneyfelt this Sunday.
• Sunday schedule: LCBS 9:15, Worship 10:15 and 6:00. God willing we are preaching on the Cross Sunday morning and the Burial Sunday night.
• You have just two Sundays to order ROSES FOR MAMA. I wish I knew how many years we had Roses for Mama but I would have to guess 8-10 years. It has been a huge success but we did have a drop in attendance last year. Instead of the kids coming to DBC to be with Mama, Mama is going to the kids. We are going to try it one more time. MOTHER’S, it is your day, let the kids come to you.