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Everyday Saints Devotional 22

by David Joynt on January 23, 2022


DANIEL 1:1-3| 1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the land of Shinar, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his gods. 3 Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility,

Psalm 137:4| 4 How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?

Disaster! Absolute disaster. No other way to describe the fall of Jerusalem and its “decapitation.” One way to punish and enfeeble an adversary is to incapacitate their leadership. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, besieged and conquered the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. He desecrated the Temple and he took the leadership of the nation and many citizens back to Babylon where they had to live in exile. Jerusalem lost its government and temple, its political and religious life were nullified. For the exiles it was worse—they lost their capital, their culture, their vocations, and their freedoms. Disaster!

What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?

Read Psalm 137 to see the emotional impact of these events. How many emotions can you identify?

 

Tags: impact, emotional, psalm 137, worst thing

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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