Shortly before the people of Jerusalem would be carried captive into Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah pleaded with them to repent. Proud, self-righteous, confident in their holiness, and materialistic, they rejected his message. But it was directly on target. In randomly reading Jeremiah 22 this morning, I found passages that seemed to resonate with our Zeitgeist. Here are a few of these verses.
8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?

9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. . . .

13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; . . .

21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. . . .

29. O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
The Lord spake to us in our prosperity, but so many of us trusted in uncertain riches where thieves (especially those in Washington) can break through and steal, leaving retirement accounts depleted, housing values underwater, jobs cut, and economic outlooks bleak. Many homes and even great empires of wealth have been built by unrighteousness, with loans that could not ever be paid back, or with money that was taken by force from others - trillions of dollars worth, without right and even without accountability. We are witnessing theft at the most grandiose levels ever conceived as the national debt - an ogre that took decades of corruption and greed to accumulate - suddenly doubled in a few weeks, leaving you and your posterity with impossible burdens of debt.

What has been sowed must be reaped. Chaos and captivity loom when a nation has its finances utterly out of control. Much will be swept away by the wind and the floods that will follow. May we heed the word of the Lord and listen to the inspired guidance of his living prophets and apostles to know how to live and prepare in such times. Now, more than ever, the world needs the counsel found in the word of the Lord. More than ever, we each need to repent of our sins, increase the level of charity in our lives (both in Christlike love and specifically in care for the needy around us), live frugally, and draw close to the Lord.

One more verse, speaking of the deceased King Josiah:
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

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