Fear Not, My Servant Jacob

Fear Not, My Servant Jacob

“O you sword of the Lord, how long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, rest and be still!” Jer. 47:6. This is how people speak to the Sword of the Lord: “Put yourself up into your scabbard, rest and be still. Let us have peace and sleep a little longer. Let us speak about love. Send for a whitewasher to proclaim peace. After all, we are a holy people, people who adorn the doctrine of Christ by our words and actions. We patiently bear our cross, and our hearts are entirely devoted to searching out the laws of the Lord. Rest, O Sword, be still and quiet. Let us be at peace, for we are a perceptive people, who are more easily enticed than threatened.”

“How can it [the Sword] be quiet, seeing the Lord has given it a charge against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it.” Jer. 47:7.

Fear not, my servant Jacob. The Sword does not come to strike you down but to defend you. Let the Sword flash brightly as it carries out its work. Knowing that it will not come near you, you can rest securely in your own vineyard, within the safety of your dwelling. Yet outside, the Sword of the Lord flashes threateningly from Ashkelon to the seashore. Woe to everyone who has abandoned their secure dwelling and who has gone to Ashkelon so that the people might be multiplied. This shining Sword will surely strike its target. If you attempt to defend yourself by casting your stones at the Sword, your defense will only meet with mockery and scorn. The Sword will complete its work and will not return to its scabbard until the Lord gives His command.

“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.” Jer. 48:10. Stay home, dear soul, if you are afraid of war. Man must not plow with an ox and a donkey together. Deut. 22:10. Do not do anything that would tax you beyond your strength; instead be completely at rest in everything you do.

This will be of benefit to you. The Sword will bring you into a deeper rest, and you will increase your area of land. As the Sword of the Lord descends over the land from Ashkelon to the seashore, you will rest securely in your garden of delight.

“For what man is he that can know the counsel of God? Or who can think what the will of the Lord is? For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable.” Wisdom of Solomon 9:13-14.