We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens. – Jeremiah 51:9

Today's Scripture Reading (September 18, 2026): Jeremiah 51

After the First World War, nations looked for a way to stop such an occurrence from ever happening again. Their solution was to form an international body that would strive for world peace, a group of nations committed to doing whatever was necessary to make sure that a World War never took hold of the earth ever again. American President Woodrow Wilson worked hard to create this group of countries, and on January 16, 1920, the League of Nations was born: an association of nations committed to peace.

Ironically, despite the work of Woodrow Wilson, the League of Nations held its first meeting, and every other meeting throughout its 27-year existence, without the United States. In the end, the rising Superpower objected to Covenant 10 of the charter of the League specifying that the nations of the League would come to the defense of any other member that was attacked by another nation. The concept was that by providing a united front, the nations of the League would make the probability of attack, and a Second World War, less likely. However, without the United States, and with the parade of nations that entered and left the League throughout its existence, the League failed in its biggest objective: preventing World War II. The unanswerable question historians have been left with is this: would adding the United States to the League have been enough to keep nations in the League and stop the disaster Adolf Hitler brought to Europe and the world? As Benito Mussolini once remarked, "the League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out." To heal the world, it needed to lead the world's strongest powers to act together as one in support of peace. From a contemporary perspective, it is interesting that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Article 5 mirrors Covenant 10 of the League of Nations. The United States is a signatory of NATO, and Article 5 has been invoked once since the inception of NATO in 1949, and that was in defense of the United States. Yet, in 2026, President Trump continued to question whether NATO countries would defend the United States if it were attacked. Mr. President, they already have. However, Article 5 does not require Nato signatories to follow you into the stupid wars you start. If the United States is attacked, like you were in 2001, the NATO nations will support you.

Jeremiah remarks that Babylon was beyond healing. The coming war was unavoidable. While Judah's faith in her God would eventually heal Judah, and Nebuchadnezzar would experiment with the faith of Judah, Babylon would never fully accept the God of the Jews. In the end, God was the only hope of either Judah or Babylon. Without God, the looming crisis was inevitable. Babylon's fate was absolute. In the end, the nations would rebel, and Babylon would fall as swiftly as it had risen. As a result, peace would be as impossible for Babylon as it was for the world in 1939.

Reality is that future healing and peace always require our total commitment. Unless we allow God into our lives and our plans, healing and peace will never be available. Nebuchadnezzar's faith could have led Babylon into a very different future. Without that faith, Babylon's fall was unavoidable, and the possibility of her healing was a distant memory.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Lamentations 1