The Lord tells Ezekiel that his wife, “the desire of your eyes”, is going to die and He instructs Ezekiel not to mourn her death. This is another effort to get the attention of the people in captivity and it is an illustration of the destruction coming upon the temple, the desire of their eyes – ”Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

The Lord gives a word of judgment against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia and He gives a warning to Zedekiah, king of Judah – “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.”

Jeremiah rebukes the people in Jerusalem for not releasing their slaves after seven years as the Lord had commanded them to do back in the wilderness (Exodus 21:2). “Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.”

Since the people disobeyed the Lord by making their slaves return, the Lord promises to deliver them “to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.” The Lord says there will be no deliverance from the hand of the Babylonians; therefore, it is futile to try to escape the coming judgment – “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good…It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” 

The Lord also pronounces judgment upon Egypt. He says, like Assyria, they will be destroyed because of their pride. And Egypt “shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.”

Disaster is quickly approaching Jerusalem. However, the Lord gives the people a word of hope tomorrow, so keep reading.

(Ezekiel 24:15-25:17, Jeremiah 34:1-22, Jeremiah 21:1-14, Ezekiel 29:1-16, Ezekiel 30:20-31:18)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Lord says the house of Israel, which He once regarded as His precious possession, has become dross from silver, worthless. Therefore, “As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.” However, the Lord is sovereign over their punishment and is serving the judgment to refine His people and to salvage what He once saw as precious. 

The Lord compares Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel, and Jerusalem, the capital of Southern Judah, to two sisters; Oholah for Samaria and Oholibah for Jerusalem. Both of these sisters were the Lord’s but both played the harlot with others. The Lord says, “They committed harlotry in Egypt, they committed harlotry in their youth.” Remember before Joshua died during the Conquest Era, he said to the Israelites, “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:14). And all the people said they were going to serve the Lord. But then during the Judges Era, a new generation arose that didn’t know the Lord and they fell into all sorts of immortality and idolatry. The people have continued in their unfaithfulness to the Lord and the Lord has continued to pursue His people in spite of their unfaithfulness. 

Since Samaria played the harlot with the Assyrians, the Lord said, “Therefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.” And her sister, Jerusalem, saw the destruction of Northern Israel as a nation and still didn’t repent and turn to the Lord – “Now although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.” So the Lord removed His protection from Jerusalem and is turning them over to their lover, the Babylonians. “Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall bear the penalty of your lewdness and your harlotry.”

“Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.”

The Lord had Ezekiel record the day of the siege of Jerusalem because it was the beginning of the final siege and ultimately destruction of the city of Jerusalem. There is nothing that will stop the coming judgement – “‘I, the Lord, have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, nor will I spare, nor will I relent; according to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you,’ says the Lord God.’ ”

Tomorrow Ezekiel’s wife dies and the Lord tells him not to mourn her death. Keep reading to find out why.

(Ezekiel 22:17-23:49, 2 Kings 25:1-2, Jeremiah 52:4-5, Jeremiah 39:1, Ezekiel 24:1-14)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The elders of Israel come to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. The Lord responds saying He will not be inquired by them; instead the Lord instructs Ezekiel to tell the elders of Israel His story, beginning with the oath He made with Jacob’s descendants to bring them out of the oppression they were under in Egypt. The Lord’s story highlights Israel’s rebellion in contrast to God’s mercy.

The Lord says He promised to bring them out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. “Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.”

In the wilderness, “I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths.” Therefore the Lord told that generation that they would not enter the promised land; He would take their children into the land flowing with milk and honey. “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths.”

The Lord says when He brought them into the promised land, “they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings…For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live… I will not be inquired of by you. What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’”

God tells the elders that they have been unfaithful, just like their fathers, but the Lord will restore them one day and it will not be because of anything they have done. He will restore them because of His mercy and grace and His name’s sake; and then the people will truly repent – “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel.”

Ezekiel once again warns Israel of the judgment coming from Babylon and says it will impact everyone, both the righteous and the wicked. Ezekiel’s heart breaks over the news of the coming disaster – “‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”

We live in a broken, fallen world where the righteous are impacted by the actions of the wicked. God has promised that some would be taken into captivity, some would die by the sword, some by a plague, and some by famine. Therefore, all will be impacted by the Lord’s judgment one way or another. However, the righteous will only have temporary suffering on this side of heaven with the hope of eternal peace with the Lord. For the wicked, the unrepentant sinner, there will never be peace.

Tomorrow, Babylon invades Jerusalem. Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 20:1-22:16)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Lord instructs Ezekiel to speak a riddle about two eagles. The eagles represent Babylon and Egypt. The riddle reveals that King Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon by, “Sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people.”

Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king over Jerusalem but Zedekiah despised the oath by breaking the covenant that he had with Babylon. The Lord says that by breaking the covenant with Babylon and rebelling against the Lord’s ordained judgement, Zedekiah actually rebelled against the Lord. Therefore, he would not receive any help from Egypt and he would die in the midst of Babylon – “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me. All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Although Zedekiah is about to be dethroned, his eyes gouged out and taken to Babylon, the Lord still promises to send the Branch of Jesse, the Messiah, who is coming through the Davidic bloodline. Under the reign of King Jesus and the sovereign hand of the Lord, all people amongst all the nations, Jews and Gentiles, can find peace and rest in Christ as their Lord and Savior- “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”

The Lord confronts the complaining captives who blame their captivity on the sins of the previous generations. He says each person is responsible for his own actions. “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right… If he has walked in My statutes and kept My judgments faithfully— He is just; He shall surely live!… The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

God makes clear that He takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked but His nature can not let sin go unpunished. He desires for the people to repent of their sin and turn to Him – “‘Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” 

Ezekiel then laments over the kings. He says there is a lioness, Judah, and her two cubs: 1) King Jehoahaz who reigned three months and was taken to Egypt where he died and 2) King Jehoiachin who was taken into captivity with Ezekiel. Both of these kings ignored God’s Word. Now the cowardly King Zedekiah is sitting on the throne as the last king of Judah.

Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 17:1-19:14)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

“The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: ‘Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,’ says the Lord God.”

Basically, even these three great men of faith couldn’t intercede for the people at this point; they would only save themselves by their righteousness. The multitudes are not saved by the righteousness of a few. We saw this in the days of Noah. Each individual will be judged based on their heart, whether or not they have a heart of stone or a heart of flesh transformed by the power of the Lord. 

The Lord compares Jerusalem to a useless vine. The people believed that the Lord wouldn’t judge them because they were His chosen people so the Lord says “Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.”

God also compares Jerusalem to an unfaithful wife. He says He cared for her from her birth through His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and He raised her, clothing her in fine linens and jewels. However, Jerusalem is guilty of several things:

• “you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame”
• “you have slain My children and offered them up to [Molech] by causing them to pass through the fire” 
• “you built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself on every street” 
• “you committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to provoke Me to anger.”
• “you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied” 

God tells Jerusalem that she has become like her older sister, the corrupt capital of Northern Israel, Samaria, that was destroyed by the Assyrians about one hundred and thirty years before the fall of Jerusalem. The Lord goes on to say that Jerusalem is even worse than her older, Sodom, whom the Lord destroyed by fire back in the Patriarch Era. The Lord brought judgment upon the cities of Samaria and Sodom, and He is doing the same to Jerusalem. Later in the Story Jesus will also use the comparison to Sodom when speaking about the judgment that will come upon those who reject Him. He will say it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for the ones who reject Him (Matthew 10:15, Matthew 11:24).

However, despite the judgment, the Lord says He will never forget His covenant that He made with Israel and the promise of the new covenant under Christ- “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you. And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done.”

Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 14:1-16:63)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today Ezekiel sees the temple of the Lord and the four creatures and the four wheels that he saw in the first vision the Lord gave him by the River of Chebar. “Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.”

The Lord has Ezekiel pronounce judgment over the leaders, “For you have not walked in My statues nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” And while Ezekiel was prophesying one of the leaders dies. So Ezekiel cries out, “Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”

Then the Lord gives a word of hope as He looks forward to the day He returns His people to their land and even further, to the day He establishes a New Covenant with His people through His Son Jesus Christ – “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone…I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel…And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads.”

The Lord says He will be a sanctuary for the ones scattered among the countries because the Lord’s presence is not bound by a building or location. We have seen the Lord’s presence with Daniel and his friends and with Ezekiel while in exile; and we will continue to see His presence with His people throughout the Story.

Then the glory of the Lord departs the temple. “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.” This is the Mount of Olives where Jesus will one day sit and explain to his disciples the second coming and end times. When Jesus returns he will execute judgment upon the entire earth. The ones who refuse to accept Him as their Savior will perish. However, Jesus says He will gather all who belong to Him – “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).

The Lord has been patient with His judgment upon Judah because He desires for all to reach repentance just like the Lord is being patient in sending the final judgment. However, final judgment is coming just like the judgment upon Judah has arrived. Therefore the Lord tells Ezekiel to tell the people who are saying that their days are prolonged is not true. “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision. For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord, I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass…None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done.”

We end the reading with the Lord rebuking the false prophets who were giving the people a word of false hope – “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you…My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God…Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace.”

Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 10:1-13:23)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

As an illustration of the coming judgement on Jerusalem, God tells Ezekiel to shave his head and beard and then divide his hair into three parts: one-third to burn in a fire, one-third to chop in pieces, and one-third to toss into the wind. Then He says to bind a few strands in his garment. This is to show the fate of the people, “Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes nor kept My judgments, nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you… because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.” However, the Lord will save a remnant of the people and restore them to accomplish His plans and purposes.

The Lord says the end has come for Jerusalem and He “will repay you according to your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes.” And on that day, all the worthless material items of the world that they so value and receive joy from will be useless – “Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They will not satisfy their souls, nor fill their stomach, because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.”

About a year and a half after receiving his first vision from the Lord, the Lord gives what one commentator called “the most tragic vision in the book of Ezekiel” as the Lord gives Ezekiel a view inside the temple in Jerusalem. There Ezekiel sees:

• An idol of jealousy in the court of the temple
• Seventy elders practicing idolatry inside the temple
• Women weeping for the false god Tammuz at the gate of the temple
• People worshipping the sun at the door of the temple 

Although idolatry is a trivial thing for the people, it is not for God and He will not tolerate it forever. So the Lord calls for seven angels, with one being a scribe, to execute the wicked ones. He tells the scribe to mark the people who have repented so they would be spared but the rest were to be killed, beginning with the elders who led the people astray.

“Then He said to them, Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!’ And they went out and killed in the city. So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?’”

Tomorrow the Lord gives Ezekiel a word of hope for the exiled before the glory of the Lord departs the temple. Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 5:1-9:11)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

In a vision yesterday the Lord had Ezekiel eat a scroll containing the word of God, illustrating that the Lord expects Ezekiel to digest His word so that he may faithfully relay His message to the people. Today, God calls Ezekiel the watchman for the house of Israel. Ezekiel will be held accountable for speaking the word of God to the exiles and the people will be accountable for their response. However if Ezekiel knows God’s word and does not warn the people and they die in their inquiry, God tells Ezekiel “his blood I will require at your hand.” However, if Ezekiel is faithful in sharing the Lord’s message, he will bear no guilt. Then the Lord fills Ezekiel with the Spirit so that he is equipped to handle the job of watchman. And the Lord says, “He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”

After commissioning Ezekiel as the watchman of Israel, the Lord tells Ezekiel to go to his home where the people will bind him and the Lord will make him mute. But when the Lord speaks to Ezekiel, he is to open his mouth and speak to those who will hear. Then the Lord instructs Ezekiel to perform three symbolic acts in order to get the attention of the rebellious people:

1) Sketch the city of Jerusalem on a clay tablet and play siege against it like a kid would with a block toy to illustrate the coming destruction of the city.

2) Lie on his left side 390 days and his right side 40 days for the years of Israel’s and Judah’s sins. There are differing views on this symbolic act; some say the years are for their past sins and some say for their future judgment. 

3) Cook your food over human dung…Now Ezekiel does object to this one, so God says he can use cow dung instead. This is to illustrate the food shortage during the invasion and captivity by the Babylonians.

Over in Jerusalem we find out that during the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah, the Lord has Jeremiah wear a yoke to symbolize Judah’s future enslavement to Babylon. God will use Babylon to subdue all the nations and anyone who fights against them will die. Jeremiah warns the people against listening to false prophets and says to trust the Lord and summit to Babylon.

The false prophet, Hananiah, tells the people they will be released from captivity in two years and he yanks the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck. God rebukes this false prophet for making the people believe lies and for giving them a false timeline of their judgment. Therefore, the Lord gives Hananiah a timeline on his life. He says Hananiah will die within the year…and two months later, Hananiah dies.

Tomorrow, God has Ezekiel perform some more unusual acts in an effort to get the people’s attention. Keep reading.

(Ezekiel 3:16-4:17, Jeremiah 27:1-28:17, Jeremiah 51:59-64)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

After the Chaldeans return home for fear of the Egyptians, Jeremiah goes to leave Jerusalem to claim his property in the land of Benjamin. A guard falsely accuses Jeremiah of defecting to the Chaldeans. So Jeremiah is beaten and thrown into a dungeon.

Many days later, Zedekiah secretly visits Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord. However, the Lord is consistent with His message to Zedekiah – “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” Then Jeremiah asks to not go back to the dungeon where he will die. So Zedekiah places Jeremiah in the court of prison and gives him a daily ration of bread.

When some of Judah’s officials hear the Lord’s message from Jeremiah, that the people should go with the Chaldeans to live or stay and die, they want Jeremiah dead. The officials say that Jeremiah’s message is bad for morale and they accuse him of being against the people. However, Jeremiah could not of been more for the people. He was speaking hard truths from the Lord so that the people may listen and live. But Jeremiah’s message from the Lord was not a popular message because it was not what the people wanted to hear. As one commentator said, “in a time of national crisis, religious fakers always flourish because many people want to hear only comforting messages, which may often be untrue.”

The weak King Zedekiah tells the officials they can do what they want with Jeremiah. So they lower Jeremiah into a muddy dungeon with no food or water where he is left to die. However, when Ebed-Melech, an Egyptian eunuch working in the king’s house, hears about the state of Jeremiah, he pleads for Jeremiah’s life and Zedekiah allows him to rescue Jeremiah from the dungeon. 

This suffering servant, Ebed-Melech, who was taken as a slave, castrated, and forced to work in the king’s house has more compassion on Jeremiah, a suffering servant of the Lord, than the high and mighty officials of Judah who were going through all the religious motions with a heart of stone. Because of Ebed-Melech’s faithfulness, the Lord will later say to Ebed-Melech when Jerusalem is being besieged, “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you. But I will deliver you in that day…and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me” (Jeremiah 39:16-18). So we see once again that the Lord provides salvation for the ones who trust Him.

After Jeremiah is rescued from the dungeon, he is placed in the court of prison. Then Zedekiah secretly inquires of Jeremiah again and again Jeremiah is consistent with the Lord’s message. He says to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”

Zedekiah is afraid to surrender because he thinks the Jews who already defected will kill him. But Jeremiah assures him that all will be ok if he will just obey the Lord! Then Jeremiah is placed in the court prison where he will remain until the invasion of Jerusalem. And soon we will see if Zedekiah will obey the voice of the Lord and live or choose to ignore His word and die.

Then we meet Ezekiel who served as a priest in the temple and was taken to Babylon during the second wave of captivity in 597 BC. Four and a half years later, while by the River Chebar in the land of the Chaldeans, Ezekiel has his first vision from the Lord. Ezekiel tries to explain what he sees but he has never seen anything quite like it before. There are four marvelous creatures and four spinning wheels and at the sound of a voice the creatures appear to submit. Ezekiel sees the throne of the Lord and a splendid being – “Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.”

The Lord tells Ezekiel to rise and while He is speaking to him, the Spirit of the Lord fills Ezekiel. God says that He is sending him to speak to rebellious people who may or may not listen but Ezekiel’s job is to just say what the Lord has said. Ezekiel then eats a scroll that tastes like honey, “And written on it were lamentation and mourning and woe.” Then the Lord says, “But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

“Moreover He said to me: ‘Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.” However, the Lord says if Ezekiel knows God’s word and does not faithfully warn the people of the coming judgment, he would be held responsible for the bloodshed of the ones who die in their sins. But if he speaks the truth from the Lord, he will bear no guilt.

Ezekiel is now commissioned to be the voice of God to the captives. Tomorrow the Lord has Ezekiel perform some strange symbolic acts to get the attention of the people in exile. Keep reading. 

(Jeremiah 37:11-38:28, Ezekiel 1:1-3:15)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Jeremiah sings praises to the Lord as he remembers that the Lord is the God of Creation – “He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding… For He is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of hosts is His name.”

However the people of Judah and the surrounding nations do not fear the God of Creation. Instead they walk in the ways of their deceitful hearts and worship gods made by their own hands. Therefore, the Lord is using Babylon to bring judgment upon the nations including the nation of Judah. The Lord says Babylon is “My battle-ax and weapons of war: for with you I will break the nation in pieces; with you I will destroy kingdoms.”

After the Lord uses Babylon to judge the nations, He says He will then judge Babylon – “And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion in your sight.” This repayment will occur when the Lord raises up the Medes and Persians to destroy Babylon. “For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.”

In 597 BC Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, “came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.”

Zedekiah is now sitting on the throne as the “puppet king” of Judah. He is the last king of Judah before the fall of Jerusalem. And although Judah still exists as a nation, it is under the rule of Babylon. “Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.”

Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar by forming an alliance with Egypt. When the Chaldeans come up against Jerusalem, Pharaoh’s army from Egypt comes to help Jerusalem; therefore, the Chaldeans return home. Then the Lord says to Zedekiah, “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire… Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,’ for they will not depart. For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.” Because the Lord has already purposed to bring judgment upon Jerusalem for their rebellion against Him, and nothing is going to stop the Lord’s plans and purposes. 

Tomorrow Jeremiah is thrown into a dungeon and we meet the prophet Ezekiel who was taken into captivity along with King Jehoiachin, so keep reading.

(Jeremiah 51:15-58, 2 Kings 24:10-17, 2 Chronicles 36:10, 1 Chronicles 3:10-16, 2 Chronicles 36:11-14, Jeremiah 52:1-3, 2 Kings 24:18-20, Jeremiah 37:1-10)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching