Ezekiel 1 - In Exile

As I’ve read the Bible over the years, I’ve honestly never really paid much attention to Ezekiel. It has been one of those skip-it-over books. Perhaps it’s the seemingly bizarre visions that caused me to shy away because they didn’t fit my flannel graph view of God. However, there’s some good stuff here.

At the onset of the book, we find that God had lifted his hand of protection from the Israelites because of their disobedience and their enemies conquered them. Some of the people were left in Israel while others were exiled to the land of the Babylonians.

And Babylon is where we meet Ezekiel. He’s 30 years old and standing alone by the Kebar River. Now that might sound all fine and dandy, but he’s a Levite and at age 30 he should be starting his priestly duties. However, he’s stuck in Babylon with no temple in sight to fulfill his calling. But it’s right here that God shows up in a vision.

Now I can’t fully wrap my head around everything from that vision, but I like the fact that it challenges the flannel graph view I sometimes have of God. It reminds me of the mystery. And that mystery had a profound effect on Ezekiel. It moved him so much that he fell flat on his face in response to such awesome majesty and glory.

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.”  

-Gina G.

Obadiah - No Time To Gloat

To me this chapter is a warning. Green Day wrote a song about warning signs. The song is about how would life be like if we lived a life without reading warning signs. It's kinda humorous and the video is funny too. In this chapter God is telling Esau's nation and the accomplices that you have ignored My warnings and you shall pay for what you have done, and are going to do. God is taking up for His people.

I see two things that stand out in this chapter. One is pride. Pride gets us all at some point, right? We get tangled up in ourselves, and the next thing you know we have ruined a great thing because of our pride. We have ruined a good friendship, a marriage, or even a church. The nations that are coming against Israel are prideful, because they have committed these acts against the nation of Israel, and that Israel is not the nation God wanted them to be. God warns them of being prideful and gloating in verses 12-15.

Next I see God's LOVE for His people. Can you imagine a God that loves His people so much that even when they don't claim Him to be their God he still looks after them? These are the same people that have killed His prophets, and have worshipped other gods in His temple, and yet He will persecute those that persecute them. That is an amazing love. 

If you have read my blogs then you know that I try to take away something from every chapter that I can apply directly in my life, and what I am taking away from this chapter is two things. One is don't mess with God's people. That ain't no joke!! Second thing is, not to ignore the warning signs God has for us. We see spiritual warning signs all the time and they are called temptations. We are tempted and this big red light starts blinking, and we have a decision to make, either choose sin or choose righteousness. I want to follow God's path for my life, so I am praying I don’t ignore those warning signs and choose righteousness.

John 

Lamentations 3 – Poet in Shock

It was hopeless.  Babylonians were standing at the gate of Jerusalem, about to take the city and take everyone in it into captivity in a distant foreign land. 

It was hopeless.  Jeremiah spoke for God to people who would not change, who wouldn’t even listen, who were so angered by Jeremiah’s message they hunted me like a bird and tried to end my life in a pit (Lam. 3:52-53).

It was hopeless.  Jeremiah played by the rules.  Did what was right.  Answered God’s call on his life.  And this is where it got him.  When I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer (Lam. 3:1).  Even God abandoned him. 

But his beautiful song of sorrow insists that even when everything you’ve ever hoped for is gone (Lam. 3:18), there is still hope.  Because God’s compassion is unfailing and new every morning.  Because God is faithful.  Because God is God.   (Lamentations 3:21-24 – verses worth memorizing.)

Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet.  When Babylon conquered Judah, he was not taken into captivity.  Instead he was carried off by a remnant of Jews to Egypt where, tradition says, he continued to speak for God and so was executed by being sawn in two. 

Jeremiah.  Remember him the next time you have a tough day.  Or a tough year.  If Jeremiah says there’s hope, there’s hope.

– Paul Abbott

Habakkuk 1 – Debating God

Right out of the gate, we’re confronted by not one but two complains from Habbakkuk hurled up at God.  He’s seeing all this injustice play out before him, but is unsatisfied with God’s response.  How long, O LORD?  Why are you silent?  Why do you tolerate the treacherous? 

Debating God?

I wonder, is there any place for this sort of thing before the Lord?  Is there room in our faith for questions, laments, and complaints?  Just look through the Bible and you will see this modeled for us over and over again by some of the most passionate followers of God.  They are people who care deeply about what God cares about, and so they raise their voices for God to act.  Writes Walter Wink:

“Biblical prayer is impertinent, persistent, shameless, indecorous.  It’s more like haggling in an outdoor bazaar than the polite monologues of the church.”

Perhaps God wants us to be people who feel what He feels, people who—like Habbakkuk—cry out to Him in earnest when His kingdom is threatened and the bad guys are winning.  Maybe God actually welcomes this kind of prayer, and Habbakkuk can teach us something about prayer we’ve lost long the way.

Reuben

Jeremiah 38 - Prophets Perils

I have been chewing on this idea about “choosing” recently.

It seems that in my day-to-day life I have to consciously choose happiness, joy, and other such attitudes that are needed for certain situations in my life.

Therefore, While reading through this chapter, the word “choose” automatically stuck out in my head.

“Jeremiah replied, “You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord, your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.” –verse 20

I am not going to pretend that I know exactly what the theological implications of this chapter reveal; however, I confident that the Lord has called me to choose certain things in my life. For Zedekiah it was the choice between surrendering and fighting. I am sure that was a difficult decision!

Choosing the Lord is not always the easiest or does it make sense in the moment. But I am choosing to put my hope in the Lord because he is good and all will be beautiful in His time. What will you choose on this glorious Friday?

With love,

Charity Harlan

Jeremiah 31: Israel's Future

Finally, after wading through many words of reprove and judgment, we come to words of hope, words of optimism, words of restoration for God’s people. This chapter is one of the emotional high points of this entire Bible book.

At this point in our one80 journey, we have seen (again and again) how Israel was unable to keep the Old Covenant that they had lived under since the days of Moses. This Mosaic Covenant could direct their conduct but not change their character. If God was going to restore his people completely, something had to change.

In verses 31-34, we find out what that something was – God initiated a New Covenant with Israel. This was not just another renewal of the Old Covenant that God gave at Sinai; it is a covenant that is new in every way.

• The New Covenant is inward so that God’s Law is written on the heart and not stone tablets.

• The New Covenant is personal rather than national, with each individual person putting faith in the Lord receiving a “new heart” and with it a new disposition toward godliness (see also Ezekiel 36:24-27).

• The New Covenant is not aimed at controlling people’s conduct but instead, changing their character so that they want to love God and one another and obey God’s will.

• In the Old Covenant, God pronounced curses for the sins of the people. In the New Covenant, he promises to forgive their wickedness and remember their sin no more.

Of course, the basis for this entire New Covenant is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This promise of the New Covenant was absolutely the best news that the Jewish people had heard in a long, long time. Take some time today to express thanks to God for what he has done for you through the life and death of Jesus. 

Ken Jackson

Jeremiah 15 – Balky Prophet

Jeremiah is not a happy camper in this chapter.  He’s basically telling God: “Hey, look, you know what’s going on here. You called me to this gig, so could you help me out? And it’d be great if you’d help me…NOW. I’ve done everything you’ve expected of me. I’m innocent and I’ve been nothing but faithful and devoted to you. So how long will this suffering continue? Why are my wounds incurable?”

You’ll notice that Jeremiah starts off on the right track – he addresses God, offers a petition, and states his innocence.  However, then he moves into complaining. I find it interesting how God doesn’t respond to the complaint, but the complainer. He’s more concerned about Jeremiah’s heart than his circumstances. God tells Jeremiah that he needs to repent for his poor attitude of self-pity and blame and stay faithful to his calling, to God. And God says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.”

What a great reminder that my circumstances don’t justify wrong attitudes or behaviors. As Henri Nouwen writes: “Our life is full of brokenness – broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives?”

                                                      

-Gina G.