2 Kings 24:7. "And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates."

My reading yesterday was a reminder that, while the Jews suffered a short time after being led out of Egypt, the Egyptians would suffer inexorably. Today's reading further enforces that, as the king of Babylon has taken everything from Egypt. Will the king of Babylon, or Babylon itself, remain powerful forever? Of course not, Babylon will fall as well, they are certainly not the "good guys", although God uses them for His purposes.

These battles between worldly powers can have tremendous consequences on the world, especially on the people in the nations fighting, but they are not determinative of anything in the long run. Who actually owns the land and the power taken from the Egyptians? God does. He allows it to be gained by one nation or another in accordance with His plan. His plan reaches to the end of time, and is for the good of all people. It is not for us to question.

We must do our best to live morally and righteously in these very turbulent times, always keeping our eyes on God as our ultimate goal. We will suffer as earthly powers rage against each other, and they certainly are raging, but we know who holds the real power, and we know that He is all good.