Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. – Ezekiel 22:19

Today's Scripture Reading (June 30, 2023): Ezekiel 22

Over the past few decades, Meeting Places, Gathering Spots, and Evacuation Assembly Areas have increased. The idea is that if something happens and an evacuation of a building is necessary, if there is a joint meeting area, then there is at least a chance to verify that no one was left behind. If someone doesn't show up at the Meeting Place, there is a real chance that they are still trapped inside the building. And maybe, depending on what the circumstances are that caused the evacuation in the first place, a rescue can be launched; or after the emergency has finished, a recovery process can be carried out. The information of who might still be trapped inside the building is an essential piece of information for those who are dealing with the disaster.

Babylon was a severe disaster for the nations of the Middle East. The Babylonian rebellion began as a group of people who wanted to shed the authority of the Assyrians over their nations. But after Assyria was destroyed, it became apparent that the nations the Assyrian Empire had defeated were ripe for defeat again. And so, the Babylonians began to bring those nations under its banner.

But Babylon didn't just attack a nation all at once. They had a system. The nations were already weak, made that way by an extended period under the Assyrians. As a result, they wouldn't be able to mount an effective defense against any new enemy. And so the Babylonians became a spreading disease over the land. They would begin in one area, fighting against the smaller towns and cities and gradually spreading their influence throughout the land, just as Assyria had done before them. And as the Babylonian plague spread over the land. People ran from the outer villages to the ones in more central areas. And as the Babylonians encroached more and more on the center of the nation, the people ran further inside, finally congregating at the center, Jerusalem, which would be the last to be attacked.

Once again, the people believed that Jerusalem would survive as had happened during the attack of the Assyrians more than a century earlier. God would protect the city and the Temple. In Jerusalem, the people would be safe.

But the truth was that it was not Babylon gathering the people in Jerusalem. It was God. The people had become dross, the slag that results from the purification of metals. Judah and Israel had become waste, and they needed to be purified. And so, God gathered the people in Jerusalem to begin the purification process.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 23