Woe to
you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and
you live alone in the land. The LORD Almighty has declared in my hearing:
"Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left
without occupants.
From Background Notes [BN] for June 29th & 30th
written by Pastor Bob Brown:
Here is
urban monopoly and gentrification to the nth degree. Equally graphic are
portraits of cities like Babylon that serve as a metaphor for any city:
"'Woe! Woe, O great city, O
Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!' 11 "The merchants
of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any
more-- 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen,
purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of
every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of
cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil,
of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and
souls of men (Revelation 18:10-13).
And in texts like that one from the
last book of the Bible, it is especially alarming to read about the merchants who
deal in “the bodies and souls of men.” As the text suggests, dealers in
commodities sooner or later make slaves of human beings. [BN, 1]
Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First
Church of the Nazarene:
* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am
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