Rev. Prof, P C Nnaocha.
The people of Israel sinned against God, and the Lord allowed them to be carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. They lived in the strange land for seventy years. They were humiliated, but people like Daniel Meshack, Shedrack and Abednego prospered spiritually and otherwise in the land of captivity.
Their oppressors required them to sing their love song in a strange land. The people reacted about this in Psalm 137 as they asked:
How can we sing the love song in a strange land? (Psalm 137)
137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
137:2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
137:3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
137:4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?
137:5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
137:6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
137:7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
137:8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. (Psalm 137:1-9)
As Israel would not sing the love song in a strange land so we will sing the love song in our land.
When the people remembered Zion in the land of captivity a move was made in heaven. Artaxerxes ( Cyrus) had signed a bill that the people should go and rebuild their land. ( Ezra Chapters 1, 2, 3 ). This program was started, but some enemies sought to restrain the work. But Darius ordered a search to discover the bill signed by Cyrus. This was found and work went on to rebuild the temple by Ezra ( Ezra 6 : 1-22 ) and the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah (Nehemiah all Chapters from chapter 2 ).
Remembering Zion was a mark of repentance in the land of exile. The Psalm, “By the Rivers of Babylon”, was a cry of the people in exile. God respects repenting people.
God had left a standing order to bless a land, when repentance overflows her boarders , by the following:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
When enemies who were in seeming victory, commanded the people to sing their love song, it was in mockery. The love song was a praise of the God of Israel. It was like mocking them to praise their God. In all generations, God has never taken the mockery of His name for granted. The enemies of the people were like asking them ” where then is your God?”
When Pharoah said, “Who is this God that I should let Israel go?”, ( Exodus 5 :1-4), his kingdom went through ten plagues and the greatest was loosing every first born male child of Egypt.
( Exodus Chapter 11 and 12 ).
May God hear our cry.
We will not sing our love song in a strange land, strange circumstances or under the bondage of the enemy. God is our rescuer, we will not bow to the enemy, but we shall repent from our sins that the Lord will fight for us. Amen.
Restoration follows repentance
God had earlier spoken about the incarceration of the Jews.
“They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place. (Jeremiah 27: 22).
Apart from restoring them to the land, God was also bent on restoring their prosperity.
2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. (Joel 2 : 25-27)
Our position:
We may have been devastated by the enemy, because in time past, the people lived in their own will, but the time is here that God will restore us. We are not asked to carry cutlasses to enter the forest and do serious penance, so that our sins be forgiven, rather we are required to confess our sins and forsake them. Our enemies shall not rule us, if we will return to the Lord.
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon”. (Isaiah 55:7)
This is all we need to get out of Babylon. Note that any unpleasant event in a life is like life in Egypt or Babylon.
When a child of God is going through grievous issues, it pays to examine oneself. God might be waiting for a change of heart in some situations.
We will not sing the love song in a strange land, God forbid this Amen.
Thank you Lord for making provision in the blood of Jesus.
Rev. Prof, P C Nnaocha.
Last sunday of January 2018 at Miracle Valley Gospel Ministries.