When Metaphors are Literal

Scripture:
"I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep forever and not awake,"
    declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty
Jeremiah 51:57

Observation: Jeremiah's prophesy ends with God's verdict against Babylon, which will be destroyed for having destroyed Jerusalem. This is how it will end ... God himself will make the officials drunk, and then suddenly kill them.

And this is literally what happens! The Babylonians hold a party, where they break out God's sacred cups and drink from them, get drunk, and fall to the hands of the Persians that very night!! God himself got the officials drunk, and they never went to bed and awoke again.

Applications: I gain comfort in God's promises when I see and understand how clear and even literal he can be in his word. God's word is amazing for more than anything it reveals God's nature, and his nature is actually love in very real and practical ways. God promises to deliver his believers, to comfort and care for us. It isn't a metaphor! Those promises are not conceptual or contextualized. They are literal and real. And I claim them.

Prayer: Lord, in the midst of my myopic concern for my practical needs, I see you taking care of all those needs already. It may not be as direct as I expected, but it is just as real and just as purposeful. You are an amazing father. Thank you for your love for my family. I trust in you alone. Amen.