By The Rivers Of Babylon

BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON (JEREMIAH 29:1-11)

A wealthy eccentric died and left a million dollars to his nephew, John. When the will was read at the lawyer’s office, the lawyer said to John, “According to your uncle’s instructions, payment of your inheritance will depend on choices that you must make.” The lawyer held his two fists out in front of him and asked, “Do you choose what is in my right hand or in my left hand?”

John decided to take what was in the attorney’s right hand. The lawyer opened his left hand to reveal a gold coin and a silver coin. “Had you chosen this hand,” he said, “you would have received a substantial share in a gold mine or a silver mine in Chile.” Then he opened his right hand to reveal a nut and a coffee bean. “These represent a million dollars’ worth of nuts or coffee from Brazil,” said the attorney. “Which do you choose?” John decided on the nuts.

A week went by before John arrived in Brazil to take charge of his holdings. In the interim, fire destroyed a huge warehouse where the nuts that John had inherited were stored and coffee prices doubled. Since John hadn’t gotten around to insuring his holdings, he soon was bankrupt. He barely had enough for his airfare home to New York or Los Angeles, where he could stay with a friend. He chose Los Angeles. Just before he took off, the New York plane came out on the runway—it was a brand-new super jet.

For the connecting flight to Los Angeles, the plane was a 1928 Ford trimotor with a sway back that took half a day to get off the ground. It was filled with crying children and tethered goats. Over the Andes one engine fell off. Our man crawled up to the cockpit and said, “Let me out if you want to save your lives. Give me a parachute.” The pilot agreed but said, “On this airline, anybody who bails out must wear two chutes.”

John jumped from the plane and as he fell he tried to make up his mind which rip cord to pull. Finally he chose the one on the left. It was rusty, and the wire pulled loose. He pulled the other handle. The chute opened, but its shroud lines snapped. In desperation the poor fellow cried out, “St. Francis save me!”

Suddenly a great hand reached down from Heaven, seized the poor man’s wrist and let him dangle in midair. Then a gentle voice asked, “St. Francis Xavier or St. Francis of Assisi?” (Bits & Pieces, May 25, 1995, pp. 6-8)

In the last chapter (Jer 28) there was a backlash against Jeremiah and his advocacy of exile because the new and the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, (Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin were exiled in the first group) was advised by a group of patriots, including Hananiah the prophet (Jer 28:5). Setting his stage right, Hananiah challenged Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people ( Jer 28:1), insisting beyond all doubt that the yoke of the king of Babylon was broken (Jer 28:2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13) – nowhere in the Bible is the word “broken” recorded more than in this chapter. Hananiah predicted that the returnees and vessels would return to Jerusalem within two full years (Jer 28:3) including the two former kings Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin and all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, insisting God will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. The word “broken” broke all records in the Bible with its six occurrences in the chapter. Jeremiah had to send a letter to calm the people and counter Hanani’s message.

How do you strengthen God’s people against false teachings and opportunistic people? What does the future hold for people who trust in God?

Follow His Footsteps Fully

1 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)

Are you an immigrant, foreigner, a migrant, a permanent resident, or alien resident? Immigrants have their fair share of opportunities and obstacles financially, culturally and linguistically. Do you how long it took for a good credit person like me to obtain my first credit card in Hong Kong? One and a half years. The biggest local bank asked me for a HK$100,000 deposit, but my wife balked.

As a new immigrant, I also cannot understand how locals can buy a 700 square feet advertised apartment or house but the living space is barely two third the size. The other third of the gross area includes the lift, the common walking area, bay windows and facilities. My wife suggested to accept it like a Hong Kong man. Local English is a hoot too.