2003-10-06 - The Fast of Nebuchadnezzar

2 Kings 25:7 And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

October 6 and 7 is known as the Fast of Nebuchadnezzar. It is in recognition of what the verse above mentions when Nebuchadnezzar killed the sons of Zedekiah before him and then put out his eyes. The story is repeated again in Jeremiah 52:10.

There is one thing that is undeniable about the Bible. It is a violent book. We might not like to admit that, but it is true. Over and over we see the pages of Scripture littered with violent acts. The pages of Scripture are full of the history of wars and the killing of innocents. Why then would we affiliate ourselves with such a belief system? How can we accept and link ourselves to such a heritage?

Honestly, there is no where else we can turn. It is much as Peter said in John 6:68. When Christ asks him if he wants to leave Him, Peter replies, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." There is no where else for us to go. It might be that our faith, and those who have followed it, have done so imperfectly, but there is life for us in Christ and that life does not exist for us outside of Christ. Our faith is marred by sin, and is imperfect. It will always be imperfect. It is only by God's grace and mercy that it is not worse than it is.

So as we remember the Fast of Nebuchadnezzar this week let us also be mindful the history of our faith and be thankful for God's kindness and mercy toward us. Besides the pages of Scripture being littered with violence they are also full of constant reminders of God's grace toward us. We are told of God's goodness in 1 John 1:5 where we read that, "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." When we see the violence and suffering in the pages of Scripture we can't attribute it to any defect in God. It is the nature of sin to produce suffering and struggles. It is God's nature to be pure, holy, and true.

"If every attribute of the Deity were a distinct member, purity would be the form, the soul, the spirit to animate them. Without holiness, his patience would be an indulgence to sin, his mercy a fondness, his wrath a madness, his power a tyranny, his wisdom an unworthy subtlety. Holiness gives decorum to them all." Stephen Charnock

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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