Idolatry, theirs and ours: Ezekiel 16 – 33

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

It is a familiar prophetic refrain: judgment against Jerusalem and judgment against the nations. Ezekiel picks up that torch and carries it all the way. Fortunately, judgment was only half of God’s plan. We know from Chapter 11 that God also planned restoration.

“I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again. They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 11:17-21

But judgment comes first. Ezekiel records a long list of Israel’s sins. Jerusalem is the abandoned, adopted baby girl who is unfaithful to her loving parent. Her kings are young lions that are carried away, first to Egypt and later to Babylon, because of the sins of the nation and their own rebellion. Though Jerusalem complains that she is suffering for the sins of her ancestors, God makes it clear that each person suffers for their own transgressions and will be judged accordingly. The repeated sin of Israel and Judah, portrayed as two sisters, is their spiritual prostitution exemplified by their idolatry and by their alliances with pagan nations. The sins of the nation are so great that the exiles are forbidden to mourn for the Jerusalem and its people. God makes this clear to them by forbidding Ezekiel to mourn for his wife when she dies.

You can read these illustrations and easily write off the condemnations as meant for someone long ago and far away. But the history of Israel’s idolatry is meant to teach us at least two important truths:

1. No human being or nation, except for the God-man Jesus Christ, has succeeded in keeping covenant with God by obeying the Law. Only grace offers us hope.
2. Even modern day believers perform spiritual prostitution when they put God below greater loves of power, pleasure, or possessions, or seek their security in any other place than God’s grace.

God’s judgment doesn’t stop with the Israelites but reaches all the nations that have interacted with them. Israel was judged for failing to keep the covenant. The pagan nations are condemned for their pride, cruelty, and so that they will know God. Finally, in Chapter 33, Ezekiel and his fellow exiles receive the message from an escapee that Jerusalem has fallen. Once again God’s word is proven true, and both we and the exiles learn that God’s promises are trustworthy.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Ezekiel 16 – 33. Next week I will write about Ezekiel 34 – Daniel 6. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Ezekiel 16 – 33.

God’s Old Testament Love: Ezekiel 16

You can’t blame others for your sins: Ezekiel 18

No one stood in the gap: Ezekiel 22

Adultery and anger: Ezekiel 23

A great ship sinks: Ezekiel 27

Ezekiel 28: A prideful king, or Satan?

Hearers, but not doers: Ezekiel 33

God in Exile: Jeremiah 51 – Ezekiel 15

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Who are the true exiles in the history of Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem? Are they not those who were captured and sent away from the Promised Land to that far country? Among them were Daniel, Ezekiel, and two kings of Judah. Are these the true exiles?

What about those who were left behind in Jerusalem? According to Ezekiel they considered themselves the choice part while those in Babylon were the castaways. But God showed them that they were no choice part and they would not remain in Jerusalem.

“This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.” Ezekiel 11:11-12

Perhaps those left behind were the true exiles. They were certainly exiled from the presence of God and from the city they loved. Lamentations is a detailed and painful account of the suffering the people experienced when God withdrew his presence and his protection. In this reckoning, those left behind were the true exiles, while those carried away from Jerusalem were the fortunate ones who would be gathered up by God and returned to the land. Lamentations closes with a confession of God’s abandonment and honest doubt about whether he will return.

Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. Lamentations 5:20-22

But read the heart of lamentations, chapter 3, to see how this doubt is resolved.

There is one more exile in this week’s readings, and it is God himself. Lamentations shows the results of God’s self-imposed exile from Jerusalem, and Ezekiel vividly describes God’s departure as the prophet pulls back the curtain and shows the spiritual reality.

Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them…The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. Ezekiel 10:18-19, 11:23

Now we and Ezekiel know why the glory of the Lord appeared in the far country of Babylon at the beginning of Ezekiel’s book: God was in exile from his own Promised Land.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Jeremiah 51 – Ezekiel 15. Next week I will write about Ezekiel 16 – 33. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Jeremiah 51 – Ezekiel 15.

Surrender or Fight? Jeremiah 52

Therefore I have hope: Lamentations 3

The high cost of sin: Lamentations 5

A watchman must warn: Ezekiel 3

Have you seen this? Ezekiel 8

God protects the remnant: Ezekiel 9

People may lie: Ezekiel 13

Judgment and Hope: Jeremiah 30 – 50

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

While the first half of Jeremiah proclaims the prophet’s sermons to an unrepentant nation, the last half tells a narrative story of events leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction. Jeremiah finds himself caught up in those events in a most dangerous way. First he is imprisoned repeatedly by those who fear his promises of the coming judgment. In the end he is kidnapped and taken to Egypt by the remnants of the Jews left in the land after Jerusalem falls. As God tells Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, there is no shelter for anyone as judgment falls.

“This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.” Jeremiah 45:4-5

But sandwiched between the first half of warning and the second half of judgment we find the heart of the book, a message about a heart, or hearts. There is God’s heart of love for his people:

“Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:20

And there is the heart of his people, remade by God’s grace:

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33

Most significant of all, there is the heart of the Savior who is coming:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.” Jeremiah 32:14-16

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Jeremiah 30-50. Next week I will write about Jeremiah 51 – Ezekiel 15. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Jeremiah 30-50.

Throwing away the rule book: Jeremiah 31

Seal the deal: Jeremiah 32

In prison for the Lord: Jeremiah 37

Why won’t we listen to advice? Jeremiah 38-42

Collateral damage in the time of God’s judgment: Jeremiah 45

Why mourn for Moab? Jeremiah 48

Walls will fall: Jeremiah 50

Image by Tim Lucas on Flickr, CC by 2.0

Warnings for the Unrepentant: Jeremiah 4 -29

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

“See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:10

Jeremiah was a priest who became a prophet. He began his work during the reign of good king Josiah, a reformer who died too soon and was unable to turn his people back to God. Jeremiah then faced increasing opposition from faithless leaders and a nation unwilling to change. He proclaimed God’s word for 40 years culminating at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction. His message of judgment was fully realized in history, giving great confidence that his promises of restoration would also come true.

• 627 Jeremiah’s ministry begins, Josiah is king
• 622 Book of the Law discovered and reforms accelerate
• 609 Josiah dies in battle and reforms end
• 608 Jehoiakim becomes king
• 605 Nebuchadnezzar rules Babylon, which invades Judah and makes it a vassal of Babylon
• 598 Jehoiachin becomes king but is taken as prisoner to Babylon
• 597 Zedekiah becomes king
• 586 Jerusalem destroyed by Babylon
• 585 Governor Gedaliah killed and Jeremiah taken to Egypt

The first 24 chapters of Jeremiah are full of warning for the people of Judah. Jeremiah gives a series of sermons that accuse the nation of breaking covenant with God, worshiping idols, and failing in their responsibilities as leaders. The sermons are not given in chronological order but jump back and forth through the years leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction.

“ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.’ ” Jeremiah 7:9-11

Then, in Chapter 25, Judah’s world changes as Nebuchadnezzer takes the throne in Babylon. In the Babylonian king’s first year Jeremiah proclaims that Judah’s time for repentance is over. Had they repented, they could have been reshaped as a potter reshapes a marred piece of clay (Chapter  18). Instead, like a hardened pot that cannot be mended they are bound to be broken (Chapter 19). Jeremiah urges the people to take up the yoke of subjugation under Babylon, but they refuse even this advice (Chapter 27).

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” Jeremiah 25:8-11

Jeremiah will still speak words of hope, but the last half of the book is mainly about judgment and instead of sermons we will read many reports of the harsh treatment the prophet suffered as he faithfully spoke God’s message.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Jeremiah 4-29. Next week I will write about Jeremiah 30-50. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Jeremiah 4-29.

At the crossroads: Jeremiah 6

What does it mean to know God? Jeremiah 9

When the going gets tough… Jeremiah 12

Where are you planted? Jeremiah 17

Before it’s too late: Jeremiah 18-19

Nuggets of wisdom from Jeremiah: Jeremiah 23-25

Life in exile: Jeremiah 29

Comfort and Redemption: Isaiah 42 – Jeremiah 3

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

…and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21, quoting Isaiah 61

What do we make of the final half of Isaiah? With the end of Hezekiah’s story in Chapter 39, the stage is set for the rise of Babylon and the forced exile of the people of Judah. Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians a century after the death of Isaiah, and it would be another 70 years after the fall before the exiles were able to return to their homeland. When they did return, their way was difficult and sin still characterized their lives. The second half of Isaiah speaks hope to these exiles and promises restoration and eventual prosperity like nothing they have ever experienced.  Isaiah even names the man who will allow their return: Cyrus. Most importantly, the latter half of Isaiah speaks comfort to those who are suffering, complementing the judgment of the first 35 chapters, and reveals their redeemer.

There are two main views of the second or “Babylonian” part of Isaiah. Either Isaiah himself wrote the words, predicting the future by divine revelation, or followers of Isaiah wrote the words according to his teachings during or after the exile. The accuracy of the predictions is the main argument against the authorship of the historical Isaiah, but the New Testament confirms his role repeatedly (John 12:37-41, Matthew 3:3 and 4:14, Mark 1:2 and 7:6), and the Dead Sea Scrolls preserved a unified – not divided – book.

Chapters 40-66 divide into three sections, with both of the first two sections ending with the phrase, “ ‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’ ” In a fashion comparable to the New Testament, these chapters begin with the appearance of a messenger who proclaims the coming of the Messiah and close with the arrival of the New Jerusalem.

Chapter 40-48. The glory of God. Comfort and deliverance are promised by the Glorious God who contrasts his power with the worthlessness of idols. A servant is introduced, originally intended to be the nation of Israel, but Israel repeatedly fails to carry the good news to the world. God hints at his true servant who is coming.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. Isaiah 40:21-23

Chapter 49-57. The glory of the Servant. Salvation is promised through the suffering of the Servant, now clearly a single man who pours himself out to save both the Jews and the world.

…by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:11-12

Chapter 58-66. The glory of the Kingdom. God’s promises become reality in the millennial kingdom and then in the new Heaven and Earth. The righteous receive eternal blessing and the wicked eternal judgment.

No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Isaiah 60:18-19

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Isaiah 42 – Jeremiah 3. Next week I will write about Jeremiah 4 – 29. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Isaiah 42 – Jeremiah 3.

Facing tribulation: Isaiah 43

Stealth God: Isaiah 45

The true Israel: Isaiah 49

A prescription for healing: Isaiah 58

Jesus and the future of the Jews: Isaiah 61

Isaiah looks at the End Time: Isaiah 65

God will take us back: Jeremiah 3

Image by MTSOfan on Flickr, CC by-nc-sa 2.0