47 “Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.
2 “Take the millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame also will be exposed;
I will take vengeance and will not [a]spare a man.”
4 Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit silently, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called
The queen of kingdoms.
6 “I was angry with My people,
I profaned My heritage
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’
These things you did not consider
Nor remember the outcome of [b]them.
This is a scathing rebuke of the Babylonians (Chaldeans), who were to take the Israelites captive. As in, it hadn’t even happened yet, but God already knew how they would treat the Israelites. All that aside, we see in v. 7 the root of their impending downfall, as Babylon said, “I will be a queen forever.”
Because of this pride, they profaned God and the articles of the temple, and made even the aged carry very heavy loads. Now, none of us are queens–unless a queen somewhere does read this some day, and good for you–but there are lessons to learn for anyone in business or politics.
Notably that latter part, which shows how the Chaldeans treated those whom they took captive. Well, naturally they weren’t going to treat their slaves very well, right? But how about their own subjects? It’s likely the king and other rulers didn’t treat them very well either, and that theme has been repeated throughout history. Why?
Because they forget why they are in their position–or they don’t know in the first place. Many though, get into business or government to help solve a problem. They want to help fix something, and this involves serving their fellow man (and yes, women too!). Unfortunately, once one gets into a position with any power or influence, the temptations come knocking.
Specifically, instead of using that power or position to do good for others and to serve them, we start looking to our own gain and benefit instead. When we do that, God’s words speak against us as well, so we must be on our guard. Even if we don’t own a business, our job is to serve others to the best of our ability–and better even, with God at our side.
So whatever your position, don’t lose sight of the mission. Love and honor those you serve, with the love and grace that God has poured out on us. Keep your eyes away from selfish ambition and serve with your whole heart.