D 19-23, Ezekial: Warning rebellious people that they may know the LORD

One of the amazing things through the book of Ezekiel is the way the style of writing changes dramatically in different sections. We have visions, parables, exhortations to the people, tales of despair and judgement, descriptions of glory and hope, and explicit descriptive analogies of Israel and Judah's idolatry.

The book is written while Ezekiel has been taken away with the people in captivity to Babylon, and he is a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, roughly the same age as Daniel, although he was taken to Babylon in a later group of captives than Daniel.

One of the key phrases in Ezekiel is "(that ye shall...) know that I am the LORD". This phrase occurs 77 times in the Bible, and 63 times this is in Ezekiel! So the glory of the Lord is certainly a big focus in this book.
The glory of the Lord is drawn out in His relations with His prophet, His people, and the promised restoration.

Time is brief in many ways, and there is so much in Ezekiel - it is one of those books that reading through I kept thinking - I've got to go back to that bit later! - but I will deal with some of the major points I contemplated during my daily readings.


The book starts with the focus on the glory of God, and the second chapter leads directly into his commission to a rebellious people, Israel. 'rebellious' is another key word in Ezekiel - the phrase 'rebellious house' is found 13 times, and 'rebellious' another 4 times in the book. There is quite a discussion about it in chapters 2-3, then the same thought is repeated in chapter 12.

In the commission of Ezekiel, and again this is repeated (in chapter 33), there is a strong emphasis given tot he requirement to warn the people of Israel/Judah and the responsibility of the prophet/witness of God. Sobering to consider, as we are all witnesses of God, commissioned by Him to bear witness to Him in all the world. Ezekiel (and by extension ourselves) is not responsible for the salvation/repentance of the people if he fulfils his duty and warns them, but if he does not warn them, he bears some responsibility for his failure to warn them that the might repent. Good to remember our role in God's process of salvation. He is the One Who prepares the heart, convicts by His Spirit, and provides justification and reconciliation, but He asks us to be watchmen to warn the people of their doom if they do not turn in repentance. He chooses to use our words either as a condemnation of their wickedness towards judgement, or a convicting message that leads to repentance - it is His work alone that saves, but He gives us that responsibility to witness through word and/or deed.

Ezekiel's description of angels is something to marvel at also - especially around Christmas, where we see the 'typical' angel depicted everywhere, the description we read sounds truly weird. Personally, I am of the view that the form of the angels (both Seraphim and Cherubim) must be marvellous in beauty, but the lack of human words to describe the creatures leaves uncertain how to picture these creatures that seem a conglomeration of different animal heads and features. There is certain symbolism with the animals present - and many have discussed the different characteristics these represent, which I do not have the time to go into now.


Chapters 16 and 23 describe Israel's and Judah's harlotry (prostitution) in vivid detail. Reading it, the detail seems to be there to lend wait to the truth of how God is hurt by their rejection. Describing it in terms of this intimate relationship that is broken, marred, and exploited, He inspires Ezekiel to write these analogies both so the people might be impressed with the seriousness of their transgression and rejection, and remember the lesson more clearly.


Being a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, there are a number of themes coming through that are similar. We see warnings about false prophets that preach peace, and the analogy of Israel as a vine that the Lord will judge. We see the instruction to settle and live in the Babylonian lands, and to 'make the most of it.' We also see repeated prophecies about the nations round about. Egypt in particular receives a lot of prophecy against it in this book.

Restoration is a major theme, particularly in the latter part of the book. The picture of the Lord as Shepherd replacing the false shepherd who exploited and harmed the flock; the restoration of the land and purification of the people; the description of the Temple and the land boundaries - all are reminders that the Lord still has plans for them, for His purposes. An interesting note about the motivation though, in 36:32 - 'not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord' He is doing it for His glory and to show His character, not because of some special merit by the people. Indeed, As was seen in the case of Aholah and Aholibah, Judah was 'more corrupt in her inordinate love', and yet the Lord has chosen to deal more kindly with Judah than Israel.


For understanding the temple dimensions, it was helpful to watch through these videos instead of just reading through the numbers and trying to visualise it mentally:
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42&43
It is amazing the level of detail given here. The size of the temple, the descriptions of decorations and sacrifices - all arrayed to the glory of God! My understanding is this is a description of a future temple during the millennial reign of Christ on earth - although there may be a partial fulfilment of it during the tribulation period when the temple is rebuilt then. All the questions surrounding it are probably a study for another time, though - here just let us marvel at the detailed design God gives, that will be built for His glory.

Reading Ezekiel at the beach

Is it possible to read God's word and hear from God anywhere? In a different country? While I am stressed out or relaxed? On holiday? At the beach?
I've been reading Ezekiel at the beach and some verses stand out more because of what I see around me.
I thought I would share them to encourage us on our reading journey together.

At the beach, there were heaps of stones, that hurt our feet when we walked on them to get to the sea. It reminded me of this verse.
 Ezek 11: 19 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.
How much pain does my own heart of stone cause those around me? I am thankful that God promises to replace my hard heart.

As I watch the Pohutukawa trees in bloom. I am reminded of the cedar and this verse, which has resonance in the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13: 18-19)

Ezek 17: 22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.

Jesus uses verses from Ezekiel to talk about the Kingdom of God.

As the children make sand castles and try to cover the cracks and gaps in the sand piles as they lift their buckets, I am reminded of this verse:

Ezek 22:30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.

Is there a difference between filling in the gap and standing in the gap? The motif of the Watchman who stands in the gap is repeated in Ezekiel. Join me as I marvel, mull over and meditate on what that means.

D 18, Lamentations and Obadiah: The devastated land of the Lord

Coming to the book of Lamentations just after reading Jeremiah helps us understand the setting of these dirges. The author is not specified, but is generally accepted to be Jeremiah. Evidently, the date is just after the captives have been taken away, approximately 583 BC, but while he was still in the land and the Israelites hadn't forced him down to Egypt.

There seems no anger in the laments, but sorrow and resignation. There is a recognition of God's hand in the destruction, and a remembrance of why the devastation occurred - with a hope coming through the tragedy. The key seems to be in chapter 3. The first two lamentations consider the desolation of Judah and the sin of the people, and God's rightful anger against them which has caused the people to suffer, and chapter three starts to turn it around into a message of hope in the midst of all this, recognising the the care of the Lord for His people.

Lam 3:22-24  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  (23)  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  (24)  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

The last two laments then look to the continued suffering in the future. Because of the greatness of Israel's sin, it is no quick turning around, but a prolonged period of judgement. As seen by the words of the prophet though, the appropriate response is to continue calling on the Lord and following him, not giving up and rejecting Him again because He does not bring an immediate end to the sufferring. In the midst of suffering, He endures unchanging.

Obadiah is a very short read. We have seen some of the themes of judgement against Edom in other prophets - from our understanding of history at that time we know that Edom never really accepted either Israel or God, but rejected Him as did Esau their ancestor. A nation so close in many ways to Israel, with similar heritage, in a similar locality, and yet they took such a different path, and when Israel suffered they rejoiced and went to divvy up Jerusalem after the Babylonians left it relatively alone. Interesting to hear a bit about the geography in that video linked - it does really enhance the understanding of why the language in the chapter is chosen - they were trusting and prideful of their location in the world, but God tears away their security and their location, and will in a coming day give it to Israel (partial fulfilment now, as half of Edom was made up of the Negev desert in Israel today). The final promise is telling though - the kingdom will not be Israel's, but the LORD's. A great thing to remember!

D 15-17, Jeremiah 21-52: Breaking covenants and dashing them to pieces

Continuing on the themes from the last post, we see now a specific situation with a false prophet recounted. In this case, because of his errant prophecy to the king, we see the false prophet's own demise prophesied and unlike his own prophecies, this is carried out. God sees all the false prophets - and knows their deceit.

Jer 23:23-26  Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?  (24)  Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.  (25)  I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.  (26)  How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

In contrast to the deceit of the false prophets, we see the predictions concerning the One Who is truly Righteous. In Isaiah (11:1) the emphasis on the Branch was the righteousness of His life. Here the emphasis is the righteousness of His judgement and rule.

Jer 23:5-6  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.  (6)  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The sign of the figs in chapter 24 relates well how God deals with His people in the time of this captivity. Amongst them are good figs, which He plans to return to the land, to lead back to Himself - and there are bad figs such as the kings, who continually reject God and break his Covenants, and go against His prophecies, and the bad figs will delivered over to be consumed.

We see this happening again and again. Though the kings must know that Jeremiah is clearly a prophet of the Lord, their own pride and their animosity towards God means that they keep rejecting the messages - casting them into the fire, throwing Jeremiah into a pit, seeking to kill him, and generally ignoring him and God.

On the other hand, the people taken away to captivity are told that they will return eventually, but in the meantime they should:

Jer 29:5-7  Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;  (6)  Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.  (7)  And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Jer 25:6  And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

Basically - they should live in such a way to be a blessing to those around them, while keeping themselves pure from the idolatry they live amongst. The last verse is part of that they did not listen to before the captivity, but I am sure we can agree that the message is still relevant to them now. Also very relevant to us today to consider the amalgamation of these two thoughts - the idols today are not in temples per se, but there are many this that are the equivalent of the physical idols that are the object of man's desires, glory, and pursuit instead of God, and it is easy to have our motivations influenced towards serving idols rather than God.

In terms of covenants, we see a number broken or amended. Consistently the break happens first with the people, not God - and He responds to the breaches of covenant with much long-suffering. In terms of the Davidic covenant to have a man seated on the throne always, and a Levite serving always before Him, the captivity seems to have broken the blessings in this covenant because of the rebellion and disobedience of the people, but God shows in the end of the chapter that He will restore the rule of David over Israel (through Christ, Who also becomes our Great High Priest, superseding the Levitical order).

There is a specific covenant in the later days before people are taken away to Babylon that is quite shocking in the deliberate flouting of the principles of God. An edict from the king (prompted by Jeremiah) decreed that the Hebrew bond-servants should be freed. They freed them fine, but then deliberately pursued the servants and took them back again! (chapter 34). As we consider the situation though, it provokes thoughts of how often I also am tempted to or end up following the letter of the command 'worming out' of the principle behind it.

In contrast to these broken covenants, we see the people of Rechabites who have remained in obedience to an ordinance from their ancestor that they not drink wine or live in fixed houses. Unlike the people of Israel, they kept it faithfully, and received that great blessing that

Jer 35:19  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

How great a promise that is! It also makes us think though, about how it is often seems easier for people to keep covenants and promises when they are secular - motivated by things other than God. Perhaps it is because there is more antagonism towards the thing of God, perhaps due to spiritual adversity (the demons do not mind how you don't serve God, things similar are fine to them, so long as it not for God). But this is not an excuse for complacency, nor an ode to fatalism, but should rather inspire us to seek God for strength in obeying Him - He will give generously anything we lack if we ask Him (James 1:4) - and will not allow temptation greater than we can bear. After all, isn't serving our Saviour and Righteous King the greatest motivation of all - how honoured we are to serve Him!

In the latter part of Jeremiah, we see the debacle once both kings have been taken away and only a governor for Babylon is left. The first governor seems fine, but is naive to some extent and gets assassinated. The guy who assassinates him is cruel and plays favourites, and is then fought and defeated by the guy who warned the first governor about the potential assassination. Hmm... looks like he might be a bit better?... no, the people ask Jeremiah for advice and then again reject the message of God and travel down to Egypt to be enslaved there rather than be 'enslaved' by Babylon, when God had promised Babylon would leave them alone if they stayed in the land quietly. Trying to fix problems in our own strength always seems to come unstuck doesn't it! Many times the short term easy option leads to much more hardship later.

Finally we see that God does not just focus on Israel - He may have used the surrounding nations to punish Israel, but He has not forgotten their errors either. The judgement may be long in coming, but He is a just God and the judgement does come!

Shall we end with a beginning this time: The beginning of Jeremiah's prayer to the Lord after he bought the land from his cousin as a sign from God that the people would return to the land:

Jer 32:17-19  Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:  (18)  Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,  (19)  Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

Amen, a good way to sum up this section!

D 13 & 14, Jeremiah 1-20: False prophets and deaf people

So much in these chapters of Jeremiah! Again, one of the passages where I really want to go slowly and consider all the details, but at the moment I don't have the time, but will look forward to returning ot read again in the future!

As noted in Li Lian's intro post, the book does not follow chronological order - so if you are interested in seeing how it fits together chronologically, check out this link (and there are many other resources online for this). Also a good resource is this Intro to Jeremiah - the main things we need to be aware of reading this book are the history of rejection of God that Judah has gone through - before Hezekiah, then again with Manasseh and Ammon, then after Josiah's partial reform the reversion in the next generation - Jeremiah preaches during Josiah's reign and continues into the degeneracy afterwards all the way into the Babylonian captivity.

There are a number of themes we have seen before: the potter working the clay after his idea's not the clay's ideas - the condemnation of the deceit and abuse of the poor - the continual going after idols and other nations. I do like one analogy God uses here - the destruction of the fresh spring of water to build their own cistern (place to hold water) that is broken and can never hold any water, and yet they prefer it to the fresh spring! We also see the heart attitude coming out again and again - mentioned 34 times in the section considered here. Interesting to see the contrast in character when it refers to the heart of the righteous and the wicked -

Jeremiah 11:8  Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not. 

vs.

15:16  Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. 

We see the insight of the Lord:

17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 

17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 

17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

And the burning of the heart of the righteous to speak up for God, in contrast to the wicked who ignore Him:

20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. 

The other major theme I noticed through this passage was the continued talking about false prophets. The people would not listen to the prophets of God:

Jeremiah 7:25  Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: (26)  Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. 

Yet there were plenty of false prophets around that would tell the people what they wanted to hear, despite it all being untrue and deceitful.

Jeremiah 5:13  And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. 

5:31  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? 

14:14  Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. (15)  Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 

Their words are empty, and do not come true, but many listen to them. It is good to think about who we listen to in the world. The media is a classic example of something practically set up to tell us what we want to hear - but there are often things closer to home spiritually as well. Sometimes we can dismiss the media as unimportant or realise its bias and counter-act that influence, but we need to be aware of how much we do absorb. Closer to home spiritually, there are many pastors and churches that will just tell the congregation what they want to hear. There are many people in the church not in leadership role who will do the same, either through being deceived themselves or deliberately. Do we ever do it ourselves, to fit in with friends? There is a place for letting things go and not provoking unprofitable arguments, but it is another thing if we tell them all is fine/that doing good is ok/it doesn't matter what you believe - when we know they are heading to Hell for eternity. We are the watchmen of the city - it is our duty to warn!

I've quoted from chapter 17 already above, but there was a beautiful bit in the middle of the quoted verses I've chosen to end with:

Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. (8)  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 

Let us always be fruitful in the Lord and resting in Him for our grounding and strength!

D 11 & 12, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habbukuk: How God Judges.

Whew! Busy few days recently - last week spent at uni finishing off a few things before a 'holiday' with family. Holiday in inverted commas because there is plenty of work to do at home too, and I might have to do some work on reports via email during this time... but don't worry, I will at least be taking Christmas day off to relax with family and celebrate our Saviour's birth!

Covering a few books today. Small ones, but lots in them! There is a bit of a gap between Micah (contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah) and the next three - the rest are all speaking at a time when only Judah is left in the land - Israel (Northern Kingdom) has already been taken by Assyria. Broadly speaking, we see in these four judgement coming on Israel and Judah for rejection of God - later Judah repents and reforms somewhat but it is not enough to influence the whole nation and the judgement is simply delayed rather than prevented. We see judgement against Ninevah also, a foreign nation that earlier repented and turned to God, but returned to its wicked ways. And we see a prophet discussing the judgement of God, seeking to understand why God acts the way He does.

So Micah - what do we see here?
We see the prediction of the catastrophe arriving on both the northern kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. For their rejection of God, He will lead them into captivity. We see themes come through noted elsewhere - the desire for heart worship and obedience rather than multitude of sacrifices - the idolatry present, and the witchcraft - the cheating and deceit of the rich for unjust gain.
One statement stood out to me - I think I might have mentioned something similar in a previous prophecy - "Then they will cry unto Him, but He will not hear them... there is no answer God" Chapter 3.
Yet through it all are messages of hope. There will be a remnant left in the land, and there is a prophecy regarding the coming kingdom of the Messiah - which we also look forward to. And the beautiful conclusion:

"7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

Moving on to Zephaniah:

Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah. It is interesting to note that there is no prophecy recorded for us during the reign of Manasseh of Ammon (two wicked kings between Hezekiah and Josiah). Quite possibly there were prophets in that time, but God chose not to record their exhortations in the Bible for us - perhaps because it was a repetition of messages heard often before, or many other reasons. We do have htis enlightening prophecy in the reign of Josiah though. Josiah reigned from the young age of eight years (2 Kings 22), and as he grew older, he instigated a number of reforms, such as destroying idolatrous places of worship, casting the idols out of the Temple, rebuilding the Temple, and reading the book of the law to the people. Zephaniah was likely a large part responsible (as a mouthpiece of God) for some of of the reform of Josiah, as we can see in Zephaniah that this prophecy takes places when these places of worship still are present.

Quoting a few key verses:

1:17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

3:7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

3:12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.

3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

Again we see this message of hope coming through in the remnant - their own wealth or strength cannot save them, but God will save them once again, purifying to Himself a holy people that turn back to following Him with pure hearts.

Zephaniah also includes a prophecy about Ninevah's destruction, a theme that is the focus of the next book, Nahum:

It is provoking to think of this book in the light of what we know from Jonah, that we recently read, and in light of Isaiah, knowing the conquest of Israel and attempted conquest of Judah that Assyria undertook some time after their repentance (a generation or two later). Like Israel, their memory only seems to last a generation before the unrighteousness and therefore judgement return. The verses that stood out to me in this passage are all in the beginning description of the Lord:

1:2 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

3 The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

...

7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

9 What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.

How great is our God, and how fearful when He says 'I am against thee'! Assyria was one of the great powers in the time - and the prophecy goes through describing aspects of that power that shall become as nothing. All the power in the world does not hold out against our Lord, for He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

In Habbakuk we have a slightly different form of prophecy - more similar to Job in that we see a conversation between Habbakuk and God as he wrestles with the message God is asking him to preach. Very useful to have heading sin your Bible for reading this section, as it helps to clarify who is speaking (always check for yourself, but I think most versions split this book up well, the divisions are quite evident once you start looking closely).

1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

The sticking point seems to be God's use of judgement via a nation that is (to outward appearance at least) more evil than Judah. It is good to see the humility of Habakkuk in phrasing his argument and questions to God - very respectful, and expecting to be reproved (have his questions refuted for good reasons). Indeed, the Lord impresses upon Habakkuk how far above He is from men, and how His ways are beyond our ways, and sometimes beyond our understanding. Habakkuk responds appropriately in trusting the Lord to work out his plans, and whether good or suffering, he would rejoice in the Lord.

Habakkuk always makes me think of how we respond to God doing something we don't understand. Yes, the suffering here described is on a human level, but it always makes me think about who we are in God's sight, and what we deserve and what He deserves compared to the reality of the blessings He has granted us and the feebleness of our current response to Him. Thought experiment for meditation: would I still worship God and seek to obey Him if there was no path of salvation and I knew I was going to Hell (as I deserved for my sin) - He is still the righteous just God Who deserves honour, glory and praise - He is still the Creator and Sustainer of all the world and our individual lives - and as we know the deserved punishment for our sin is hell eternally. Would we still praise Him? I hope so, but fortunately we are not in that situation and can never know for sure. Praise God we know Him as Just, Righteous, Creator and Sustainer! Praise God we know Him also as Saviour and Merciful Redeemer! He deserves our praise for ALL that He is, for He is our Holy God!

D 9 & 10, Isaiah 28-39: Listening to God

I covered some thoughts on Isaiah 28-31 last post, but didn't write about everything, and the themes in the last section 32-39 relate back to the previous chapters, so we will consider this again.

Set in a time when Assyria was marching through Judah, and then besieged Jerusalem, we see in these chapters a lot of narrative interrelated with the prophetic words of Isaiah. The coming siege was first prophesied by Isaiah, and was carried out first by Assyria - where the enemy was destroyed by God and turned back - and later by Babylon, where they were eventually taken to captivity (not related in this section, but the prophecy of Babylon taking Jerusalem captive is related after the Assyrian siege).

In these sections we see a lot about the people as a whole and individuals listening to God.
Warning is given of judgement and exhortation to turn back, but little response is made. We see a strong warning not to go down into Egypt, but we learn in the end of II Kings that the people do go down to Egypt, rejecting God's message of hope for rebuilding those that stay. How often do we go against God's direction, choosing an easy out rather than persevering in a harsh environment and seeking His blessing rather than the world's wealth/ease?
We see Rabshakeh claiming to listen to God - possibly partly true, as Assyria is used as a tool of God's punishment, and he may have heard the prophecies regarding Assyria punishing Israel - but any 'message from God' if it wasn't just a lie is incidental to him/his nation enacting their own selfish ambitions and going their own way. God may use (indeed is using) him for His purposes, but that does not give Assyria any credit. We/I need to be careful in our/my own life to not just use the Word of God as window dressing on our own desires, but actively seek His will above our own, and listen to Him through His Word.
God listened to Rabshakeh's mocking and destroyed 185,000 in the army - He listened to Hezekiah's intercession and responded to save the city.
We see Hezekiah listening to God's plans for his death - and instead of embracing it and trusting in God's plans, he begs for 'a little bit longer'. The only other incident we have recorded in his life is his showing the Babylonians his storehouses of wealth indiscreetly and pridefully. The punishment assigned for this is as much a prediction/consequence of Judah's current and later turning from God as directly related to Hezekiah showing off his wealth, but God saw fit to record the punishment as linked with this event, and teaches us a valuable lesson both about pride and about seeking our own way rather than trusting in God's plans whether our life is short or long.

Concluding with a touching verse:

Isaiah 33:2 "O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble."