The prophet Jeremiah had it tough. Not even King Zedekiah listened to his pleas to trust in the Lord and obey the Babylonians. As a result, Jeremiah saw his beloved Jerusalem burned. He saw the healthy young men and thousands of families dragged off. Then the faithful Governor Gedaliah was murdered. And finally, Jeremiah was forced to go to Egypt where he died along with the rest of his people. But he never stopped telling the truth or believing in God’s mercy.
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion’s never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
The Babylonians left behind stacks and stacks of clay tablets—it seems the government liked to count everything. More than 100 years ago, archaeologists found the ration tablets for an Israelite king—Jehoiachin—who was a prisoner in Babylon (2 Kings 25:27). Nearly 2,600 years have passed, and we know how much food and oil this king had in prison.
According to some reports, nearly 1 in 100 people in the world today have been forced from their homes. Ask an adult to help you find a refugee organization in your community. Then host a garage sale, bake sale, or other fundraising event, and donate the money to help those families who are exiles, like the Jews in Babylon were.
Lord, let me be a faithful follower when it seems everyone else—even some of our leaders—want to do what’s wrong.