Social welfare is the strongest defence.

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Jeremiah 22:3, 13, 16-17 NIV

This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.

He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord.  “But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”

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Leeds City Hall

When they march it feels like the ground actually shakes.  Hanging sweet in the air is the smell of oiled leather and sweaty horses. The din of soldiers speaking a foreign language echos in the valleys outside the city.

Had Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians left one man at home? Surrounding the city in every direction as far as the eye can see are these invaders.

You think God would be concerned with foreign affairs. But no, Jeremiah, the prophet everyone hates and the only one to warn us of this siege says, God is concerned with the needy and poor. Jeremiah has the audacity to go on and on about petty domestic issues.

We're all going to die and it gets worse and worse! Jeremiah says God wants us to be socially aware and to alleviate the situation for the most vulnerable. Can he be serious?

Why is God harping on about people who've supposedly been cheated? A King and his court have to make a good impression if I'm going to negotiate with Nebuchadnezzar! Those unproductive wasters will be glad to give up their food if I save their worthless lives. If we're going to make it out of this, I'm going to have to commandeer a lot more as well. I'll need to make sure the strong, good looking and the healthy are making the best impression, so some of the less important will have to contribute to the war effort to bolster our campaign to impress those foreign dignitaries. Maybe I'll secure our release? I've got no time at all to be settling the ridiculous complaints of a few street urchins and unfortunate old women. Priorities, man!

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Possibly an attitude like the one I've fictionalised above is being held by you or your friends. Maybe you think times are hard, terrorism is on the rise, the economy is plummeting, and crazy foreign governments are plotting a nuclear holocaust. So of course now is not the time to extend a free lunch to the needy. You think of ways to stimulate the economy by helping the rich create jobs, and if we have a strong nuclear deterrent, then in better times we'll maybe be able to help the poor help themselves.

That is not God's way. Need protection? Go God's way. Need to help the economy? Go God's way.

Take care of the poor and God will take care of you because you are just as poor and needy. The rich and the mighty will not be able to rescue you!

Jeremiah 22:25 NIV
I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.

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Finally, justice!

Isaiah 11:4 NLT

He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
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The promise God made to King David had always seemed too good to be true. Dynasties don't last forever. David's experience of the promise was seriously threatened before he ever reached the throne. And when the land of Abraham's promise was finally united under David's good rule, it is divided by fights among his sons and generals. Does this throw God's promise into doubt? Solomon appears to be a just king, but he is deeply flawed and wavers.

God's people are waiting for a prophet who will declare his people free of exile and oppression. They are longing for a promised king who will rule with justice and peace. God's people are looking for a Messiah like Isaiah has foretold. Who would be this 'Sent One' whose very words would bring healing and peace?

Surely someone could see that this promise would have to be fulfilled by no one short of God himself. Thus it is Jesus Christ, the God/Man-Messiah, who alone can fulfil this grandiose and outrageous promise from God.

We clearly see in Jesus' words he is the one that Isaiah is speaking of here (read further below).

Do you long for justice? Did your heart crave the peace promised by Isaiah? Does your mind desperately need this safety and salvation?

All this and more is found in Jesus.

Rest assured, Jesus rules a kingdom you can be part of that is all this and more.

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Isaiah 11:1-10 NLT

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.

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