There is a wolf that comes to steal and destroy. In the old nursery tale, he huffs and puffs and tries to blow down the houses of the three little pigs. However, this wolf is more than just a fictional character in a story, and our houses are more than straw, wood, and brick.
It is the devil who chases us, and if we do not build strong defenses against his attacks, he will destroy us. God illustrates this in Jeremiah 49:28-33. The story is about the cities of Kedar and Hazor, rather than the foolish pig brothers, but the lesson we can learn is the same.
God sends Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, up against the cities. Normally, ancient cities would be built with massive fortifications designed to protect the inhabitants. However, Kedar had none. The city was built up from small villages, and they trusted that their peaceful intentions would keep them safe.
Do we do that as modern Christians? We come to Christ, but we do not feel we were bad people to begin with. God has not healed us of a drug addiction or pulled us out of a brothel. We have always been kind to our neighbors and given of what we have to those who are needy.
So, we see reading our Bible as discretional. Our prayer becomes rote. We choose friends who do not worship the Lord. We forget that the devil sees what we have become in Christ, and he looks for every opportunity to huff and to puff and to blow our spiritual house down.
Kedar and Hazor had become wealthy with trade. However, without walls for fortification, Kedar’s wealth soon became Babylon’s spoils of war, and Hazor was destroyed so utterly that it became a desolation forever.
How can we build walls around us spiritually?
#1. We can read our Bible regularly.
#2. We can spend time in prayer on a daily basis.
#3. We can fellowship with our Christian brothers.
Then the devil can huff, and he can puff, and he will not be able to blow our spiritual house down. We will have become the pig who built his house out of bricks, and when the devil comes against us, he will be defeated.
God is our only fortification against every evil thing. We must turn to him or come crashing down.
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Rewind Wednesday: Originally Published 10-20-13 in Kingdom of God