Cannot Serve Money & God (Rev. 18:11-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR

10/20/2005

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Can’t serve money and God

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Revelation 18:11-13

            Message of the verse:  “11  "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more—12  cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13  and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.”

            In the previous verses the kings and rulers were crying over the destruction of Babylon, and now we see in these verses that the merchants of the earth begin to weep and morn over the destruction of Babylon.  I have written before about some of the things in the book of Revelation that come to an end that have been going on throughout the history of man, things like antichrists, and false prophets, and false religions, and now in this section it can be seen that people will be so upset over the loss of material possessions and this has been going on throughout the history of man.  Jesus said that a person cannot serve money and God for they will love the one and hate the other.  Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all the things he had and give it to the poor because it was those rich things that he cared about more than serving the Lord.  There are many other examples given in the Scriptures about this subject.  During the collapse of the economy in the late 1920’s many people took their own lives because they could not live without all of their possessions and this was a picture of what will happen at the destruction of Babylon.  Revelation has in it the culmination of many things that are going on in the world today and this is just one example.

            These verses list some of the articles that these merchants will morn over and the last one speaks of slaves and the souls of men.  I don’t know if there will be slaves in the sense that there were during the Roman Empire then, but the number 666 will make slaves out of many, many people and it will also affect their souls too. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are many people that God entrusts material riches with throughout the history of mankind, and some of these people are true believers who realize that it is God who owns everything and that they are just a steward of these things that are owned by God.  I do believe that this is one of the things that God is working with me at this time of my life with the trials He is sending me through, and there could still be some work to be done in this area of my life, but not as much as when He started.

The Word of God was very convicting to my heart as I read it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  I trust the Lord to complete His work in my life that He is working on during these trials that He is sending me through.  I know that these trials are for my good even though at times I do wish they would be over, but I also know that the things that the Lord is teaching me through these trials will be worth very much to me in this life and the life to come.