Bringing Hope to the Darkness 8

Last time, we watched God bring hope to the Judeans through His prophets Habakkuk and Jeremiah, warning them of a Babylonian invasion if they didn’t stop their sinful living. But the people loved their vices more.

So, God kept His promise and the Judeans were made captives, carried away to Babylon (see here). Included with the first group of captives was a priest, turned prophet, named Ezekiel. He was taken captive in 597 B.C. – 11 years before the final fall of Jerusalem.

Five years into Ezekiel’s exile, He was struck by a powerful vision from God. Within that vision, he sees God’s throne in heaven, surrounded by four cherubim. Immediately, the Spirit of God entered Ezekiel to prepare him for his ministry, which he was to deliver to the exiled people of Judah.

Ezekiel was left in a trance for seven days. When he came out of it, Jehovah commissioned him to make the exiles aware of the eternal consequences of their twisted ways if they remained unrepentant, which would also apply to Ezekiel, if he didn’t deliver His message. The message is just as relevant today:

“If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.” Eze. 3:18, 18. NLT

God commands His children to inform the sinner of his or her sin and the consequences of it, regardless of whether it is socially acceptable to do so. However, this does not give us the right to judge them, only to judge their actions. If they are incongruent with His commands, you must tell them that death will ensue should they not confess and repent.

Jehovah again drives this point home to show just how serious He is:

I will pour out my wrath on you very soon; I will exhaust my anger against you and judge you according to your ways. I will punish you for all your detestable practices…and because of the iniquity of each one, none will preserve his life. Eze. 7:8 & 13. CSB

Our Creator is a promise-keeper. That should give us pause to revere Him and remember that everything He says comes from His love for us. He cannot abide with sin; so God chastises first, hoping for our repentance.

Approximately one year later, God transported Ezekiel (in the spirit) to witness blasphemous activities from some of the people still left behind in Judah, in the midst of His own temple. Jehovah condemns the people and removes His presence from the temple altogether.

Yet our most merciful and loving God pleads again with them to turn back to Him:

 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all my statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die. None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced.” Eze. 18:21, 22. CSB

“For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore, turn and live!” Eze. 18:32 NKJV

And in that continued life with Him, He will bring restoration:

“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony heart and give them a tender responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.” Eze. 11:19, 20. NLT

“I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace,” says the Sovereign LORD. “I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.” Eze. 34:15, 16. NLT

Then, God promises to make a new everlasting covenant with His children (Eze. 16:60). We know that this is a new one, because they already have an everlasting covenant that was passed down to them from Jehovah’s blessing upon Abraham.

So, how does our heavenly Father facilitate this new one? Through the Messiah!

“Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My Servant David; he will feed them and be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.” Eze. 34:23, 24. AMP

King David has been dead for hundreds of years; and the physical temple / throne of David in Jerusalem is being destroyed at this point in time. Therefore, we know that God is referring to His Messiah (descended from David), sitting on His perpetual Spiritual throne.

At this time interval, God has been wrestling with His willful children for over 900 years, since their exodus from Egypt with Moses. He sent leaders, judges, kings and prophets, but to no avail. He is finished wasting His breath on the hell-bent defiant, that are still living in Judah.

Jehovah is now solely focused on His children scattered about in Babylon.

Ezekiel then receives a fountain of prophetic visions concerning the role of a ‘restored’ nation of Israel, during the ‘end times’ of this planet, as we hurtle towards the end of history.

Much of biblical prophecy concerns itself with the nature of ‘end (eschatological) times.’ Interpreting these prophetic visions can be daunting, even for the most accomplished biblical scholars. Fortunately, as with the entire Bible, God’s words and illustrative images can be crosschecked for accuracy against other related subject treatments within the Bible.

The book of Ezekiel ranks, along with the books of Daniel, Zechariah and Revelation, as being the most prophetically intensive books of the Bible. It is possible to travel back and forth among them to accurately resolve the significance of the prophecies and visions.

I present them as how they are commonly defined by the scholars, and what my spirit tells me (if it is different), and why I feel that way. Ultimately though, it is what your spirit tells you, that is of greatest import. Your life, after all, is about your personal conversation with God.

In the case of Ezekiel, it is generally believed, that he was chosen to prophesy about the restoration of Israel. However, understand that God did not single out Israel because He loves them more than other peoples:

“…God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts. 10:34, 35. ESV

Jehovah loves all His children equally. Still, He must uphold His covenantal promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – where He said that their descendants would be blessed forever and that He would rule the earth from Jerusalem, for all of eternity. We can see this in how He prophesies about Israel’s ultimate restoration:

“…the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people – for they will be coming home again soon!” Eze. 36:8 NLT

“I will fill you with people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before.” Eze. 36:11 NLT

“When my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel.” Eze. 37:28 CSB

Yes, God will restore our ‘home,’ but we must contribute to the restoration of our own hearts:

“…the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.” Eze. 36:23 NKJV

No one can come to Jehovah’s love, joy, mercy and forgiveness unless they first see these attributes in His children, as well as their reverence for their Maker.

Finally, God blesses Ezekiel / us, with a vision of His eternal temple when He lives among all of His children forever in a ‘new Jerusalem,’ with a new name:

Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the glory and brilliance of the LORD filled the temple. And I heard One speaking to me from the temple, while a Man was standing beside me. And He [the LORD’ said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the sons (descendants) of Israel forever…” Eze. 43:5 – 7. AMP

“…and the name of the city from that day shall be THE LORD IS THERE.” Eze. 48:35 NKJV

You know that ‘Man’ in the throne room is Jesus. And you’re invited!

Goodnight and God bless.

Bringing Hope to the Darkness 7

Last time, we were able to learn what God was teaching His miscreant children (through the mouths of His prophets Micah, Nahum and Zephaniah), about the judgment He brought against Israel by way of Assyrian conquest. He also warned the Judeans that they would face a similar fate at the hands of the Babylonians if they would not get right with Him. (here)

Didn’t Listen. Let us consider the events that are about to take place:

The Babylonians conquered the Assyrians.
In 609 B.C., Pharaoh Neco of Egypt invaded Judah, killed King Josiah and crowned the king’s grandson as a puppet king to do his bidding.
In 605 B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Egypt, as well as becoming the new puppet master of the token king in Judah.
In 597 B.C., the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem, plundered the temple, and captured most of the Hebrews, whom they took to Babylon as slaves.

The siege lasted 11 years, effectively starving the people to death. Yet, even with these dire circumstances, the sins of the people kept growing in both frequency and perversity:

All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the LORD’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem. 2 Chr. 36:14 CSB

In 586 B.C., the Babylonians stormed the city, burning it and the temple to the ground. Any survivors were taken captive to Babylon – just as God promised He would do.

You might think that God was being cruel, but nothing could be further from the truth. He continued to cry out to His rebellious children through the mouths of yet more prophets, right up to the point where He had to dispense justice:

The LORD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done. 2 Chr. 36:15, 16. NLT

The Judeans were at the gates of destruction, when one such prophet, Habakkuk, was sent. His ministry covered the time of the Assyrian defeat of northern Israel to the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians.

He was overwhelmed by the moral corruption of his Hebrew brothers and sisters, and all of the chaos that it brought. He cries out to God, asking why He is not coming to their rescue. Jehovah’s response takes Habakkuk by surprise:

“Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.” Hab. 1:5, 6. NLT

God is saying that He’s sending the Babylonians to clean up the mess His children had made, using the tool that He promised He would, if they continued in rebellion. And as we know, God keeps all of His promises. He is using their captivity to interrupt their spiritual death at their own hands.

Often, people throw their hands in the air and shout at Jehovah, ‘Why don’t You do something?’

We don’t always see that God does many things simultaneously. And, we might turn a blind eye because we don’t like the way that He is solving our problems – especially if it is contrary to what we want. Yet, what do we know about Jehovah?

…God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Rm. 8:28 NLT

This is where our faith in God’s goodness, wisdom, faithfulness and His love must be exercised. God has a unique plan for your highest and best life, now and forever (Ps. 139:16).

Habakkuk finally understands that His Creator has a purpose for him as well:

Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.” Hab. 2:2 – 4. NLT

So, Jehovah God is telling us to position ourselves to hear Him, by keeping our focus on Him, and taking it off of ourselves. Often, we find that the solution to our situation is something that we haven’t even considered. We need to keep our faith in God’s ability to deliver what is best for us – even if present circumstances seem bleak. God’s timing is always perfect:

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. Hab. 3:17 – 19. NLT

Habakkuk is one of three prophets that God sent to make His final curtain call to the Judeans. The second is Jeremiah, who had a ministry that began in 627 B.C. and overlapped Habakkuk’s. He ministered for 40 years. The first thing he did was to bring God’s formal charge against His children:

“…when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you. The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols. Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the LORD. Jer. 2:7 – 9. NLT

Thus, every stratum of Judean society rebelled against God. They made Him promises of obedience, yet they repeatedly reneged:

“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.’ On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.” Jer. 2:20 NLT

Yet, our Creator’s love and mercy are still proffered. He pleads in the face of their rejection:

“O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I the LORD have spoken! Jer. 3:12, 13. NLT

So, we’ve seen again and again, that no matter what we’ve done, no matter how far we’ve fallen, our confession and repentance will always bring us back into God’s arms. Feel His heart:

“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you.” Jer. 3:14 NKJV

“Return, you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness.” Jer. 3:22 NLT

God’s heart is always bigger than your sin. The time for action is now. Our last call began when Christ rose from the dead. We want to make sure our standing with Him is good when He comes back.

Yet, God will not violate your free will. He wants your free will-offered love. But, you can choose to walk another path; and there are only 2 paths to walk: either with Jehovah or with Satan. Many of the Hebrews picked the latter. Judgment is declared:

I am about to bring a nation far away against you, house of Israel. This is the LORD’s declaration. It is an established nation, an ancient nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand. Jer. 5:15 CSB

Even so, He will be merciful, and the punishment will not last forever:

“They will devour the food of your harvest; they will devour your sons and daughters. They will devour your flocks and herds; they will devour your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified towns, which you think are so safe. Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,” says the LORD. Jer. 5:17, 18. NLT

“This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.” Jer. 25:11 NLT

At this juncture, God stops casting pearls before swine. Turning away from the hard-hearted majority, He now focuses only on His children who choose Him:

“Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jer. 6:16 NLT

This is what the LORD says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches, but to those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.” Jer. 9:23, 24. NLT

“…blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit. Jer. 17:7, 8. NLT

What God is telling His children, is how to live and survive their captivity for these 70 years, through living by these three paragraphs of divine wisdom. If they do this, there will be a God-guaranteed outcome:

“I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” Jer. 24:5 – 7. NLT

“I will give you back your health and heal your wounds,” says the LORD. Jer. 30:17 NLT

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you. Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt…” Jer. 31:3, 4. CSB

So, when we transgress against God, know that He wants to make up immediately. It begins with confession and repentance, with showing patience as we wade through our ‘correction’ phase, knowing that He will take us back into His fold of mercy and love:

(Note: Jeremiah has been traditionally been thought to be the God-inspired author of the book of Lamentations as well).

Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins? Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD. Lam. 3:39, 40. NLT

I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him! The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD. Lam. 3:24 – 26. NLT

For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow. Lam. 3:31 – 33. NLT

Amen to Jehovah’s grace, love and mercy…

Goodnight and God bless.

Bringing Hope to the Darkness 4

Previously, we’ve seen that after the death of King Solomon, Israel split into two regions: Israel in the northern region, and Judah to the south (see Rebellion of God’s Children). Both regions turned to paganism.

In part one, part two and part three of this series, we saw that God sent prophets to both regions (Joel and Amos) to speak for God in order to try to get His children to return to Him, and another (Jonah) to the Gentile Assyrian city of Nineveh to successfully get them to turn from their sinful ways.

God sent one last prophet to try to save Israel from their imminent destruction that He promised would come to pass at the hands of the Assyrians. His name was Hosea, who also brought hope to their darkness.

Hosea prophesied during the final years of Israel before their captivity (753 – 722 B.C.). Simultaneously, the kingdom suffers its last six corrupt kings.

The people of Israel had descended into absolute unrepentant depravity – even to the extent of sacrificing their own children to pagan gods. Jehovah had tried to turn them from their wicked ways (without violating their free will), but to no avail.

Indeed, listen to how God calls Hosea to his task:

“Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods…in fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence…for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel of forgive them.” Hos. 1:2, 4 & 6. NLT

So, God is telling Hosea to mirror Israel’s spiritual prostitution by marrying an unfaithful prostitute and by taking care of the children she would bear from her transgressions – in the spirit of repeated forgiveness, bringing her home after she strays. That is one blatant metaphor…

Why is God so upset? Why is He sending the Assyrians to take the Israelites captive?

This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshipped other gods. The sinned against the LORD their God…They had followed the practices of the pagan nations… 2 Kin. 17:7, 8. NLT

They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD’s anger. 2 Kin. 17:17, 18. NLT

Hosea, speaking for God, declares a conviction against Israel:

Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel! The LORD has brought charges against you, saying, “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere – one murder after another. Hos. 4:1, 2. NLT

Israel was morally bankrupt; and Jehovah laid some of the blame on the priests – rejecting them in the process:

My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Hos. 4:6 NLT

Without spiritual guidance, the Israelites turned to the ways of the world:

They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. Hos. 4:7 NLT

…when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. Hos. 13:6 NLT

Israel separated themselves from God, and it changed them:

The LORD says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped.” Hos. 9:10 NLT

Nevertheless, like the loving Father that He is, God continues to plead with His wayward children. And in so doing, we get a glimpse of the anguish that the Israelites had caused Him:

“I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria.” Hos. 11:3 – 5. NLT

Do you see the similarities in the people who reject God in our time? This is why we study the Old Testament as well as the new. Being ignorant of the past will only bring the curse of repeating it…

God is a loving Creator, and He continues to declare that love:

I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. Hos. 6:6 NLT

‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’ Hos. 10:12 NLT

Unfortunately, Jehovah’s entreaties for love fall upon deaf ears and defiance:

For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me. Hos. 11:7 NLT

Yes, they rejected God and had to pay the price. God warned them for 70 years. He is always true to His word:

The people of Israel have been swallowed up; they lie among the nations like an old discarded pot. Hos. 8:8 NLT

In 722 B.C., Israel was decimated, and its people taken captive by the Assyrians. Yet God’s mercy is far greater than we can ever hope to comprehend. He cannot abide with unrepentant sin, so the Israelites were punished. However, our merciful and faithful God makes a promise to raise up a future generation of Israelites and re-establish Israel – thus keeping His promise that He made to Abraham so long ago:

“Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore – too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’ Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together…when God will again plant his people in his land.” Hos. 1:10, 11. NLT

“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.”

Then God leaves a message for all of us:

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O grave, I will be your destruction! Hos. 13:14 NKJV

What can we bring home from this?

First, it is that Jehovah loves us so much, regardless of what we have done. But it is up to us to maintain our love-connection with Him by walking in His word to the best of our ability.

The Israelites had hope brought to their darkness through the prophets. Today, we have the entire Bible; we get to see the whole divine plan.

God knows that His children will perish if they don’t stick to His plan; but He is also acutely aware that we are human. That means we will fall repeatedly. I believe that a tear falls down the face of Jehovah every time that happens. Yet He waits patiently for you to ask for His forgiveness so that He can wipe the tears off of yours.

Our heavenly Father only asks us to do our best, and then enlist His aid to bridge that gap where we fall short, so that our ‘best’ can materialize.

The world is a messy place because so many people reject God. Those who wallow in the world want you to do so as well – so that they don’t feel convicted for their ungodly thoughts and actions. That is why it is vital that you marinate in God daily, so that you don’t become one of the walking dead.

Our Creator wants to love His children forever in an intimacy of miraculous proportions:

“When that day comes,” says the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband,’ instead of ‘my master.” Hos. 2:16 NLT

On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land…so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the LORD. Hos. 2:18 – 20. NLT

Such love…

Goodnight and God bless.

fall of Israel

Five years into Ezekiel’s exile, He was struck by a powerful vision from God. Within that vision, he sees God’s throne in heaven, surrounded by four cherubim. Immediately, the Spirit of God entered Ezekiel to prepare him for his ministry, which he was to deliver to the exiled people of Judah.

Approximately one year later, God transported Ezekiel (in the spirit) to witness blasphemous activities from some of the people still left behind in Judah, in the midst of His own temple. Jehovah condemns the people and removes His presence from the temple altogether.

At this time interval, God has been wrestling with His willful children for over 900 years, since their exodus from Egypt with Moses. He sent leaders, judges, kings and prophets, but to no avail. He is finished wasting His breath on the hell-bent defiant, that are still living in Judah.

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