By the Rivers of Babylon#
Men drink from the rivers of Babylon. They sit by its soothing waters and then dive into its cool.
The ripples of these flowing waters sparkle as diamonds under the sun. The rivers too swell and their floods then rage.
We each are besotted by the promises of these inviting Babylonian waters, and so transfix our gaze. Equally we fail to consider the Jordan river, let alone camp upon its banks.
The Jordan remains significant because it is the flooding river that Joshua led Israel across to the Promised Land. As the Red Sea parted to begin Israel's Exodus to freedom from Egypt, so did the Jordan to end the Exodus.
Across the rivers of Babylon drifts more of the seduction, glitter and spiritual independence that Babylon is renowned for.
But -
across the Jordan is paradise. A land that flows not just in water but with milk and honey.
Babylon's mighty Euphrates churns with life, energy and remarkable power, but the quiet and small Jordan borders the only land of truth and peace. It is better.
Many drown in the waters of Babylon, unaware of their death.
At the Euphrates the believers sit and complain, they listen to their own moaning.
By the rivers of Babylon the believer weeps.
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. (Psalm 137:1)
It is at the Jordan the believer waits to listen to the Lord.
Those who camp at the Jordan and then cross it shall gain life in Zion.
The rivers of Babylon hold no promise, the Jordan River borders the promised land.
Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over ... The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. (Joshua 3:1 &17)
Be found with your tent pitched at the Jordan when the time arrives and God parts the waters. The dry path to paradise awaits.
Today's Soul Snippet:
The Word of the Lord stands forever. (1 Peter 1:25)
#Today's image captures a serene Jordan River.
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