The Gift of God’s Spirit

Readings for today: Ezekiel 33-36

Today’s reading brings with it a cascade of images. Watchmen. Shepherds. Scattered sheep. New covenants. Ancient prophecies. Culminating in one of the most beautiful promises in the Old Testament...the gift of God’s Spirit. Is there a thread that ties this all together? Or does God simply have too many tabs open in His browser? Is there a common tie or theme or guiding principle at work here? Or is God doing His best “Jackson Pollock” impersonation? Sometimes when we read the Old Testament, especially in the prophetic literature, it can feel scattershot. Like a bunch of random events some scribe collated at a later date, one not necessarily having to do with any other. 

Today, however, is different. There is a thread that weaves itself throughout these chapters. It builds toward a beautiful crescendo where God Himself promises to invade time and space to perform heart transplant surgery on His people. It all starts with this idea of the “watchman.” Watchmen were essential in the ancient world. They stood guard on the walls of the village. Day and night they faithfully manned their posts. Never resting. Never sleeping. They bore a great responsibility. The safety of their people rested on their shoulders. Should an enemy invade, it was the watchman who would give warning. Should natural disaster strike, it was the watchman who often saw it coming. When the watchman gave warning, it was up to the people to respond. To take action. God tells Ezekiel he is to act as a watchman for Israel. To sound the warning when he sees them falling into sin. To point out where they are wandering off the path of righteousness. To challenge them to turn from their sin and return to God. If Ezekiel is faithful, he will potentially save his people. If he is faithless and refuses to speak up, he will have failed his people and their blood will be on his hands. 

Why such a drastic call to action? Because the shepherds God has placed over His people are corrupt. Instead of caring for the sheep, they actually feed off them. Instead of protecting the sheep, they let them wander all over the place. Instead of seeking those that are lost, they abandon them to their fate. These faithless shepherds are only concerned with themselves. They’ve grown fat and lazy. They use the sheep to further their own purposes. Their own agenda. To enrich themselves and make their names great. 

God looks down on His people. They are scattered and suffering. Lonely and afraid. Lost and wandering. Wounded and weak. Injured and hurting. And this pierces God’s heart. So He takes action. “For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out...I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness...I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land...I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land...I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” (‭Ezekiel‬ ‭34:11-16‬) It’s an unbelievable promise. God renewing His gracious and glorious covenant with Israel!

Why would God do such a thing? For the sake of His great name. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 36:22-23) Remember, God’s primary concern from creation to redemption to final glorification is His own glory. His own honor. His own reputation. God will make His name famous on the earth. God will make Himself known among the nations. God’s name will be lifted up! God will be worshipped in the way He deserves and the way He demands! One day, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth! And what’s happening here in Ezekiel is just a foretaste of what’s to come. 

So how will God make this happen? How will He take a stubborn and rebellious and sinful people and turn them into worshippers? Listen to what God Himself says He will do, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭36:25-28‬) Isn’t this amazing? God is not content to sit up in heaven and wait for us to get it right. He isn’t going to sit back and watch as we work our tails off to get to Him. He isn’t going to stand by as we struggle and suffer and fight the forces of darkness that attack us on every side. No. He WILL rescue! He WILL redeem! He WILL save! He lifts us up. Holds us in His arms. Bathes us in His grace. Transplants our broken hearts. Infuses us with His very Spirit. Gives us new desires. New appetites. New loves. And so we find ourselves walking in God’s ways. Obeying His rules. Living by His commands. Not because we have to but because we want to! Not because we’re forced to but because we long to show our devotion to our Heavenly Father! Not out of fear or anxiety of what might happen if we make a mistake but from a deep sense of peace and security that flows from our confidence in the unconditional love of God. 

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 37-40

No Other Gods

Readings for today: Ezekiel 29-32

The original temptation that caused humanity to fall into sin was “you shall be like God.” The first commandment given to Israel on Mt. Sinai says “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The greatest commandment according to Jesus is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” In the Book of Revelation, God describes Himself as “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” From the opening chapters of Genesis to the closing chapters of Revelation, God makes it very clear that there is only one God. He alone is worthy of our worship. He alone deserves our praise and adoration. He alone demands our complete and total allegiance. He alone is to be obeyed. When we violate this fundamental truth, we place ourselves in grave peril for God will not be mocked. He will not share His glory with another. He will allow no rival to ascend His throne.

Tragically, this doesn’t stop humanity from making the attempt. Over and over again, we seek to scale the heights of heaven. Over and over again, we seek to make a name for ourselves. Beginning with the Tower of Babel, every great human civilization sets out to be like God. The kings and pharaohs and emperors and prime ministers and presidents style themselves as gods. They believe they can do no wrong. They believe might makes right. They believe they hold the authority over life and death. They believe they deserve to be worshipped and praised and adored. Sure, it may not be as obvious in the modern world as it was in the ancient world where a king like Pharaoh literally declared himself a god but you see some of the same signs nonetheless. Humanity making the same mistake over and over again. Falling for the same temptation over and over again. Listen to the litany laid out in Ezekiel…

“Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes.”

“Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword…”

“Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.”

“Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living.”

“Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.”

“The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.”

“When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭32:20, 22, 24, 26, 29-31‬)

One after the other, the great civilizations of the ancient near east decline and fall under God’s mighty hand. The same thing will eventually happen to Babylon and Persia and Greece and Rome and Germany and England and Russia and America. Every human civilization that seeks greatness and wealth and power and immorality will one day fall. This is God’s promise. “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭31:10-14‬)

Why is God so jealous for His name? It’s because of His great love for us. God knows the kingdoms of this world are corrupt. God knows how often they fail. God knows they are not ultimately trustworthy. He knows they are not safe. It’s why He calls His people to place their trust only in Him. He is God. He is eternal. Unchangeable. Immovable. Immeasurable. Immortal. Indestructible. Imperishable. He alone can be depended on. He alone can save us from the powers of sin and death. He alone has the power and authority to rule and reign over all He has made. He alone is God.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 33-36

Never Rejoice at Another Person’s Fall

Readings for today: Ezekiel 25-28

Several years ago, I was hanging out with a group of middle school boys. It was our first small group of the year. The lesson happened to be on Genesis 1:27 where God describes how He made human beings in His image. Male and female. Black and white. Rich and poor. All bearing the signature stamp of their Creator. We talked through the implications of this passage for each of them as they started school. Within the first few days their peer groups had already formed. The pecking order quickly established. They knew who was popular and who was not. They knew who the jocks were and the nerds. They knew the kids who struggled and those who seemed to always succeed. Then we flipped over to Galatians 3:26-28 where the Apostle Paul challenges us to move beyond our social categories and divisions and embrace one another in Christ. After the conversation, we discussed how we could put this principle into practice. Each boy was challenged to think of a student they knew that they struggled to love. It could be someone they knew was lonely. Someone they knew had few friends. Perhaps even someone they made fun of or even bullied on occasion. The accountability point for that particular week was to approach that student and find a way to love them concretely in the name of Jesus. Sit with them at lunch. Hang out with them at recess. Invite them over to hang.

As Christians, we do not celebrate the struggles of others. We do not rejoice at their fall. We do not take secret pleasure in their pain. Ezekiel makes it clear that people who do such things will be judged. Either as individuals or as nations. The nations surrounding Israel watched them struggle and eventually fall into ruin. They rejoiced when it happened. Threw parties. Danced in the streets. They even took the opportunity to pile on for their own revenge. Ammon. Moab. Seir. Edom. Philistia. Tyre. All of them are guilty. All of them are judged. Perhaps Tyre most harshly. God even compares her king to Satan. "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground...” (Ezekiel‬ ‭28:12-17‬) No one escapes God’s righteous judgment. No one gets a pass. Not Satan. Not the kings of this world. Not pastors like me. Not middle school boys like the ones in my small group that year.

The reality is when we rejoice in wrongdoing, celebrate the fall of others, or take pleasure in another person’s pain and heartbreak; we are operating under the influence of the evil one. He loves watching God’s people tear each other apart. He loves creating divisions and factions. He loves to isolate and attack and devour and destroy. As Christians, we must resist this temptation. We must resist the temptation to label others as our enemies. We must resist the temptation to make fun of others at their expense. We must resist the temptation to wound and hurt and pile on when someone’s down. Instead, we must lift them up. We must encourage. We must stand at their side. Show compassion. Grieve with them and for them. Our hearts must break with their hearts. This is what it means to be Christ to others. To show Christ to others. To love Christ as He has loved us.  

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 29-32

We Want Justice!

Readings for today: Ezekiel 21-24

I remember my first trip into inner city Trenton, NJ. My wife and I were going there to spend time with mentors and friends. When we arrived, we parked outside their row home and I watched as my friend stood on his front stoop and made eye contact with several different people on the block. When we went inside, I asked him what he was doing. He told me he was letting the people he lived among know I was under his protection. He lived in an impoverished neighborhood plagued by drugs and gang violence. Trenton has one of the highest homicide rates in the country. Every evening at 5PM during the week, the city empties out as government employees flee to the suburbs. When we lived nearby in grad school, there were very few restaurants. No hotels. No night life to speak of. It was a city desperate for redevelopment but unfortunately the political leadership was notoriously corrupt.

I was reminded of Trenton when I read our passage today from Ezekiel. Like I said yesterday, we struggle when we get to the prophetic books of the Bible because of the harsh judgment of God. But then you start to catalog all the sins Israel has committed over the years. All the suffering she has caused. All the violence and corruption and idolatry. Add it all up and it starts to make sense. Chapter 22 begins with a question from God to his prophet. Essentially, is Jerusalem worthy of judgment? God’s answer? I will declare to her all her abominations…

She is a “a city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!” (Ezekiel‬ ‭22:3‬) Her leaders are corrupt. They are violent men who shed innocent blood. “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. (Ezekiel 22:6) The commandments are ignored. Father and mother are not honored. The Sabbath is not kept. The worship of the Living God is impure. (Ezekiel 22:7-8) Furthermore, the immigrant and refugee are exploited. The poor and fatherless and widows are not cared for. Bribery and extortion are common. (Ezekiel 22:7, 12) Sexual immorality is rampant. (Ezekiel 22:9-11) The priests of God commit sacrilege and heresy. They no longer follow the ritual purity rites set up by God to govern worship. The prophets of God tell lies. They embrace deceit. They whitewash the sins of God’s people. The princes of God are greedy. Selfish. Power-hungry. Tyrants who only care about themselves. (Ezekiel 22: 26-28) And the people follow their lead.

No wonder God is angry! The people He called by His name and set apart for Himself to be a light to the Gentiles and a witness to the nations have now become an abomination. They commit sin with impunity. They have no shame. God has warned them over and over again and has been ignored. Now the sword of God’s judgment will come. Israel will reap what she has rightfully sown. She will suffer God’s judgment as He seeks to purify her once again. “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭22:18-22‬)

The important thing to note here is that God’s judgment is not an end in itself. It is always the means to a greater end which is to separate the dross from the silver. To refine all the impurities out of God’s people. God places us in the “furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10) in order to make us pure as gold. I know this may be a new thought to some of you. You aren’t used to hearing things like “God disciplines those He loves” but it’s true. I know when I look back at the hardest and most difficult times of my own life - growing up in an alcoholic home, losing my firstborn son, watching my career implode, almost losing my marriage, etc. - I can see how God used those times to expose some things that I needed to surrender to Him. He exposed my sin. He exposed my selfishness. He exposed my pride. He exposed my addictions. He brought all those things to the light of day so they could be dealt with once and for all at the cross. For it is at the cross of Christ where God’s judgment and God’s mercy meet. Surrender your will to Him, friends, so you may experience His mercy and grace today!

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 25-28

Divine Justice

Readings for today: Ezekiel 17-20

Today’s reading poses a very important question. Actually, it’s more of an accusation. “You say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭18:25‬) If we’re honest, this is a question we’ve all asked at one time or another. Perhaps even an accusation we’ve leveled at God at different points of our lives. Frankly, this isn’t new. God’s people have been wrestling with God over this issue for centuries. They look at their history. They look at their circumstances. They ponder their suffering. Because of the difficulties they face in their lives, they wonder how God could allow such things to happen. They wonder how a good God could allow evil to flourish. They wonder how a loving God could stand by and watch His people endure such pain. They wonder how a gracious God could be so demanding. I hear it all the time and I sympathize for I’ve wrestled deeply with this issue myself.

Here’s the hard but honest truth. From the very beginning, we’ve been avoiding the responsibilities that come with being made in God’s image and being given a mandate to care for all creation. Instead of humbly acknowledging the ways we have failed, we too often try to find someone else to blame. Instead of looking in the mirror and coming to grips with the depths of our self-centeredness, we look to God and try to blame-shift. We seek an escape from the natural consequences of our sinful behavior by pretending the issue is somehow with God...“He made me this way”, “He set up the world like this”, “He is the one who allows evil to flourish...”

God will have none of it. “Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?” (Ezekiel‬ ‭18:25-29) God makes it very clear that He will not allow us to skirt our responsibilities. Our sin is the root of the evil we see in the world. Our rebellion is the reason for our difficult circumstances. Our refusal to follow the ways of God is why we face such suffering and hardship with so little hope. It is not God’s arm that is shortened or God’s strength that has failed or God’s justice that has let us down. The failure is our own. 

Thankfully, God is merciful. He is gracious. He loves us despite our sin. Listen to His words from Ezekiel 18 and be encouraged. “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.” Your soul is God’s. Whether you believe or disbelieve. Whether you are good or evil. Whether you feel worthy or unworthy. Your soul is God’s. He holds you in His hand. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” You are only responsible for you. You are not responsible for the sins of your parents or friends or extended family. You are not at the mercy of your family’s dysfunction or the baggage from your broken history. You are not simply the product of your genetic makeup. If you are a Christian, you are a rational, spiritual creature who is endowed by Christ with His Spirit to make godly choices. “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” God doesn’t delight in your pain. God is not immune to your suffering. God does not derive a sadistic pleasure from the death of anyone, including the wicked. He loves everyone He made in His image and desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of His truth. "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live." What God desires is NOT perfection but repentance. Humility rather than pride. A broken and contrite heart, God will never despise.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 21-24

The Bride of Christ

Readings for today: Ezekiel 13-16

The graphic imagery from chapter 16 of Ezekiel has grown on me over the years. Whereas I initially struggled to get through this chapter and those like it, I now find it presenting a deeply compelling picture of the gospel. A gospel that was as much for Israel as it is for us today. In this chapter, God describes His journey with His people from His point of view. He reminds them He was there at their birth when no one wanted to claim them. He reminds them of His tender mercies and lovingkindness and the lavish blessings He gave to them. He reminds them of their betrayal of His love and His faithfulness to the everlasting covenant He had made. This is their story. This is our story. This is the gospel story.

Where does our relationship with God begin? Not with us. We did not choose God, He chose us. We were stillborn spiritually. Existentially helpless. Abandoned. All alone. It was not our beauty that caught God’s eye but our desperation. “And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. "And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' (Ezekiel‬ ‭16:4-6‬) Out of pure compassion and grace, God adopted us as His own. Brought us into His family. Lifted us out of the pit where we had been cast. Bathed us. Fed us. Clothed us. Rocked us. Sang to us. Raised us. “I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭16:7‬)

We grew up under God’s watchful eye and gracious care. When the time was right, God took us as His bride. He covered our nakedness with the corner of His garment. He made His vow and covenant with us. He bestowed riches and honor and glory on us as befits the bride of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And the whole world marveled at what God had done. The whole world came to see the splendor and glory of Israel just as she came to see the splendor and glory of the church. The whole world envied the relationship we had with our God.

But we grew proud. We began to believe our own hype. We read our own press clippings. We trusted in our riches and beauty and power and influence. We abandoned our covenant with the Lord and began to serve other gods. For Israel, it meant worshipping other gods. Establishing high places where sacrifices could be made to pagan deities. Creating and fashioning idols just like all the other nations. We fall into this same trap as well. We worship the gods of money and sex and power and success. We sacrifice time and talent and treasure and even our families to pursue these things. In either case, God’s bride is now playing the whore. Literally taking the gifts God has given her and giving them away to idols. “How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute...” (Ezekiel‬ ‭16:30‬) 

Therefore God brings judgment on His bride. “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God...” (1 Peter‬ ‭4:17‬) God will not spare her and in fact, holds her to a higher standard. Higher than Samaria. Higher than Sodom. Higher than the happy pagans that live around us. “Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭16:52‬) God disciplines those He loves out of a desire to see us cleansed from sin and brought to glory. "My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son or daughter whom He receives." (Hebrews‬ ‭12:5-6‬) His desire is for His bride to return home. To remain faithful and true. To remember from whence she came and to honor her Divine Husband for all He has done. Why? So the world may again marvel at the intimacy of their relationship. “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭4:7‬)

This is why Ezekiel 16 ends with this note of hope. “Yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant...I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God." (Ezekiel‬ ‭16:60, 62-63‬) God has atoned for His bride. On the cross, He paid for all her sin. He took all her punishment. All her shame. All her self-inflicted degradation on Himself. On the cross, the faithful Husband gave His life for the sake of His bride “so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” ‭(Ephesians‬ ‭5:27‬)

Readings for tomorrow: None

Seeking God’s Glory

Readings for today: Ezekiel 9-12

It is hard for us to fathom the national catastrophe that befell Israel. Harder still for us to understand the depth of their pain and suffering. Living as we do in the world’s most powerful nation, we cannot begin to grasp what it would be like to watch your entire way of life destroyed. However, all of that pales in comparison to the tragedy Ezekiel sees in his vision today. All the destruction. All the loss of life. All the famine and disease. None of that would have compared to the grief he felt watching the Lord leave His Temple. 

From the moment God had indwelled the Tabernacle in the wilderness, Israel had never been alone. They enjoyed His protection. They enjoyed His provision. He gave them victory after victory. Established them in the Promised Land. Took up residence in Jerusalem once they built the Temple. Over time, the Israelites began to take Him for granted. In fact, there was a sense in Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s time that the Lord was somehow “trapped” in the Temple. They believed they had the Lord caged. He ceased to be their god and had now become a totem. A magic talisman that kept them from evil. This is why they stubbornly refused to leave Jerusalem when Jeremiah called them to submit to Nebuchadnezzar. They falsely believed as long as they had the Lord locked down in His Temple, they could never be fully defeated.  

Imagine their shock when Ezekiel relates his vision of the Lord leaving the Temple. Departing from the east gate. Rising above the cherubim where He normally sat. Heading out of the city that bore His name. Imagine their fear as their one hope departs, leaving them alone for the first time since their days in Egypt. It’s difficult for us wrap our minds around simply because we believe God is everywhere all the time. We hold onto the promise that God is always with us. We trust He will never leave us or forsake us.  

But what if the Lord is leading us into exile? What if the Lord is leading us into a season of suffering? What if the Lord is seeking to refine us and sanctify us? Are we willing to go where He leads? The reality is we too often take the Lord for granted. We too act as if He’s “trapped” in a relationship with us. As if God is “bound” by His unconditional love for us. We falsely believe our thoughts, attitudes, and actions don’t matter. We falsely believe we can reject holiness as a way of life. We falsely believe God’s primary goal is our personal happiness. Nothing could be further from the truth. God does love us with an everlasting love. God does love us unconditionally. Nothing can snatch us out of His hand. Yes. Yes. Yes. But make no mistake, God is not “bound” to us. He is not “trapped” in this relationship. He is not co-dependent on us nor does He allow our whims, our feelings, our desires to shape His will for our lives. We sin at our own risk. We run ahead of God at our own peril. We stubbornly refuse to follow Him and invite despair into our lives. 

Perhaps the best example of how God relates to us comes from the story Jesus tells of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The younger son comes to his father in the tale and asks for his inheritance. He wants nothing to do with his family any longer. He wants to be on his own. Live according to his own rules. Follow his own path. Find his own happiness. So he takes his money and leaves. The father lets him go. Many years pass. The son has spent all he has on sinful pursuits. He has abandoned all his father taught him. Now he’s desperate. Alone. Afraid. Ashamed. One day he plucks up the courage to go home. He has no hope his father will accept him back into the family but he thinks he might be able to catch on as a hired servant. But while he is far off, the father sees him. The father’s been waiting by the door. Watching out the window. Longing. Praying. Looking forward to the day when his son will come to his senses. The father runs to him. Embraces him. Gives him a robe to wear and places the signet ring back on his finger. He is home. He is one of the family again.  

It’s a powerful story. One that reminds us of the great love of God. It should also remind us of the consequences of our sin. The father never stopped loving the son just as God never stops loving us. But the father did let the son go. He did let the son make his own sinful decisions and then let him face the terrible consequences. The same was true for Israel. God did indeed come to dwell in His Temple. Like the father from the story, He loved His children unconditionally. Over and over He forgave them. But then there came a day when they finally said, “We don’t want you here anymore. We don’t want to be your children. We want to do our own thing. Live our own lives. Pursue our own happiness. Chase our own dreams. And they don’t include you.” So the Father did what they asked. He left His home in their hands. He removed His glorious presence. The result is pain. Suffering. Heartbreak. Such is always the case when we abandon God. At the same time, Ezekiel sounds a note of hope. Presumably, God could have chosen to leave His Temple and head in any direction. He went east. East to where the exiles lived. East to Babylon. East to find His wayward children. East to be with them in captivity. East to comfort them in their diaspora. East to provide for them and make them prosper. East to join them.

Friends, God’s glory doesn’t need a Temple. A house made with human hands. A sanctuary covered in gold. The Bible declares that we are temples of the Holy Spirit! Our hearts have become the residence of God Himself! This is why Ezekiel declares, “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭11:19-20‬) Furthermore, it’s why the Apostle Paul will later declare, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:16‬) Because God’s Spirit has taken up residence in our hearts, we ourselves are “being transformed into the Christ’s image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:18‬) Amazing! The great news of the gospel is that God’s glory now lives in us! And this is why we do not take Him for granted or presume upon His grace. Rather we should be deeply humbled by God’s willingness to dwell with us and in us and work through us.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 13-16

The End of God’s Judgment

Readings for today: Ezekiel 5-8

Today’s reading is as difficult as it gets. Violence. Disease. Famine. Destruction. Pain. Suffering. God delivering His people over to judgment. It is hard to read. Harder still to try and picture. But the hardest part is to accept is that this is all from God. All a part of His plan. It raises some extremely difficult questions. How can this be the same God who promised compassion and steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love Him? How can this be the same God who will later reveal Himself fully and completely in Jesus Christ? How can this God of wrath be the same God of love? Is this God schizophrenic? Can He be trusted? Is such a God even worthy of our love? 

These are all important questions to ponder but they also ultimately miss the point. God is God. He has made known His will. He has established His covenant. He has made clear His expectations. From the beginning, He held nothing back. Nothing hidden. Nothing secret. He created us to fulfill His purposes. He is the Potter. We are the clay. Our problem is we keep forgetting our place. We keep rejecting our role. We refuse to acknowledge His Lordship over our lives. Starting with Adam and Eve, we keep asserting our independence. We keep trying to be our own gods. Do things our own way. Worship as we please. Do things as we choose. And we forget the One we were created to serve. We forget the One we were created to please.

We cannot say we haven’t been warned. God is more patient with us than we deserve. He forbears for generations as the sin piles up. He continues to reach out in love only to have the door slammed in His face over and over again. He continues to show us grace though we deserve judgment. He continues to be faithful though we ignore Him and walk away. There are consequences to such actions. The apostle Paul talks about them in Romans 1, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of humanity...” And how does that wrath manifest itself according to Paul? God simply withdraws His hand. He “gives us over” to the lusts of our hearts. The lust of our eyes. Our pride and arrogance. And the results are ugly. Human beings, left unchecked, are often brutal creatures. It was Robert Burns who first coined the phrase, “Man’s inhumanity to man” in a poem he wrote in 1787 and the events of the last few hundred years only serve to confirm his analysis of the human condition. We are capable of unfathomable evil. We are capable of the most horrific violence. We are capable of the most dehumanizing behavior. And if we’re totally honest, we all know this to be true. Given the right conditions, all of us are capable of just about anything. (See the infamous “Stanford Prison Experiment” of 1971.) 

How should a just and holy God respond? Righteous judgment. Our sin offends God on a level we simply cannot understand. Listen to how Ezekiel describes how God feels, “Then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭6:9‬) God takes our sin seriously. Our problem is we don’t take it seriously enough. We gloss it over. We make excuses. We rationalize our behavior. We justify our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. We foolishly believe we are somehow special and will escape judgment. We presume upon our relationship with God. We are just like Israel who believed they were “immune” because they were God’s chosen people. 

But God will not be mocked. He vents His fury without mercy. "Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the Lord —that I have spoken in my jealousy—when I spend my fury upon them.” (Ezekiel 5:13) It is scary. It is frightening. It makes us tremble. And if we aren’t careful we will miss what God is trying to do. In our fear, we will focus yet again on all the wrong things. God’s judgment is NOT an end in itself! It points beyond itself to something far greater! Far more important! 

“That they may know I am the Lord.” Over and over again we read this refrain. God using judgment to cleanse His people. To refine them. To separate the gold from the dross. The wheat from the chaff. He disciplines them in His love. He confronts the evil of their hearts. He forces them to come face to face with the depth of their sin. The utter futility of their idolatry. The full measure of their rebellion. Yes, it is harsh but it is also true. It is just. It is fair. It right. It is good. And it is ultimately designed to bring them back in humility to the Lord. They must be broken. Their hardened hearts must be crushed. Their stiff necks bent. God will bring them to their knees through judgment so they may again experience the joy of being in right relationship with Him. This is the point of their exile. This is the point of their suffering. God wants His people back. And He will not relent until they return. 

It’s a sobering reality. Especially for us Christians. To think of all that Christ endured as the Father poured His wrath out on His Son. To consider all Christ went through as he experienced the depths of hell and God-forsakenness. He took on the full weight of human sin. As terrifying as the judgment is in Ezekiel, it pales in comparison to the judgment Christ suffered on the Cross. Reading these words through the prism of the Cross should make us appreciate more and more the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We should find ourselves marveling at the great love of a God who would take our place. Bring judgment on Himself. Freely lay down His life in order to save us from our sin. Amazing love! How can it be that Thou my God wouldst die for me?

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 9-12

Seeing God’s Glory

Readings for today: Ezekiel 1-4

How many times have I prayed over the years to see the glory of God? But am I prepared for God to answer that prayer? Reading through the opening words of Ezekiel is a bit frightening. Ezekiel’s vision of God’s glory is simply overwhelming. Angels in flight. Faces constantly shifting and changing. Wheels spinning. Fire and lightning flashing. It levels the prophet. “Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭1:28‬) Such is always the case when we come face to face with God’s glory. Moses could only bear to see it in passing. Isaiah cried out in fear because he was a man of unclean lips. Ezekiel falls on his face. Even the disciples fall down prostrate before the Lord when He reveals Himself in power and exercises His divine authority.

Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us on our faces. He is not interested in making us grovel before Him. He has no need to prove Himself to us or demonstrate His power over us. Instead, He lifts us up. He invites us to become part of what He’s doing in the world. He encourages us and strengthens us. Listen to what He says to Ezekiel, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭2:1-2‬) God has a plan for Ezekiel’s life. He will use Ezekiel to speak His Word to His people. There will be words of comfort and confrontation. Blessed words of hope and strong words of warning. It’s an open question as to whether or not they will receive God’s Word but no matter what they will know a prophet has been among them. A man full of the Spirit of the Living God.

The Word Ezekiel is called to preach is not easy. The Spirit of God will make his face like flint. His forehead like emery. His words will fall on deaf ears and hard hearts. Most likely, Ezekiel will be an outcast. Isolated and lonely. Perpetually misunderstood. Many will believe he is insane. Still the call remains. This makes Ezekiel bitter on some level. He must feel trapped. Torn between the overwhelming glory of God on one hand and the hard hearts of his own people on the other. “Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!”…The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭3:12, 14-15‬)

Only the Spirit of God can sustain such a call. Only the Spirit of God can hold him together as he faces the challenges of the years ahead and fulfills God’s call on his life. Standing as a watchman. Lying on each side for over a year. Eating unclean food cooked over human waste. It’s brutal. And yet the Spirit is there with him to sustain him miraculously. Every time Ezekiel falls, the Spirit lifts him up. Every time Ezekiel finds himself at a loss for words, the Spirit is there to give him the words to speak. Every time Ezekiel feels alone and afraid, he feels the Lord’s hand upon him. “And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭3:22-27‬)

We live in challenging times ourselves. It’s easy to become discouraged when we see what’s happening all around us. When we encounter the hardened hearts of so many people. When people refuse to listen to the Lord and return to Him. It’s easy to become bitter and disillusioned when we see so much pain. So much suffering. So much heartbreak. Much of it self-inflicted. This is especially true for those of us who have seen God’s glory revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ. Once we come to know Him, we can’t imagine life without Him. His Spirit comes to live inside us, lifting us up out of the dust and ashes. He strengthens us and encourages us. He confronts us and convicts us. He heals us and restores us. He sustains us through every trial and wipes away every tear. No matter what challenges you may face, know God is with you today!

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 5-8

Next Steps

Readings for today: Lamentations 3:37-5:22

What comes after lament? That’s a question I often deal with as a pastor. I walk with people through crisis. I sit with people in their grief. I do my best to comfort them as they mourn. I help them process their pain. After making space for all of the heartache, what comes next? After walking through the valley of the shadow of death together, what happens when one gets to the other side? Honestly, in my experience, this is where the hard work really begins.

I think of a woman I once knew who was married for decades. On the outside, things in their family looked good. He was very successful in his business. They were able to travel the world together. Pursue whatever their hearts desired. But after he passed and the funeral was over, the real truth began to emerge. Alcoholism. Abuse. A life of torment and fear. As the widow and I met to process what she was feeling, we talked about her need for healing. Her need to recover. Her need to be patient and give herself time to work through all the emotions she was experiencing. We also talked about what life would look like on the other side. Her desire to be married again. Her desire to pursue some of the dreams her husband had denied her. Her desire to reconnect with their estranged children and recover some of the years they had lost. This would require a lot of introspection and self-reflection. Owning what she needed to own and disowning what she needed to disown. Thankfully, she had the courage to walk the road faithfully before the Lord. She took up hobbies like horseback riding and cooking. She renewed her relationship with her son. She began dating a good man who treated her with the love and respect she deserved. It was beautiful to watch.

We catch Jeremiah at a much earlier, much darker place in the journey. He is still very much processing his pain. The heartache is real. The emotions are visceral. Though the reading is hard, it is good to know we can be raw and real before God. At the same time, we see the stirrings of a new season begin to emerge as well. Jeremiah calling for the people of Israel to think about what comes next after lament. Once they’ve fully grieved, they will need to take some time to reflect and repent and renew their faith and trust in God. “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should the living complain about the punishment of their sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven…” (Lamentations 3:37-41) Jeremiah knows what comes next. He knows the people of God must return to Him if they are experience the healing and restoration their hearts so desperately long for.

Anyone who has ever walked with grief knows the journey well. It begins in deep darkness where it’s hard to see any light at all. Momentum begins to pick up as we take our initial steps and the darkness doesn’t seem as deep. As we continue walking the road, a light does appear at the end of the tunnel. Eventually, as we keep doing the work, we emerge into the bright sunshine of a new day. God is faithful! He will walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death and as we turn to Him - lifting up our hearts and hands in worship - He promises to cast out all our fear and bring us to green pastures and still waters, to places where we will find our souls restored.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 1-4

Lament

Readings for today: Lamentations 1:1-3:36

I have a friend named Dinesh. Dinesh is a Ugandan pastor who ministers in the northern part of his country. When he was a boy, he lived under the constant threat of terrorism. The Lord’s Resistance Army under the leadership of Joseph Kony was very active in his region. He was trained by his family to run into the bush when he heard the jeeps and trucks roll into his village. He escaped several times over the years only to come back and find the bodies of his family members who had been killed. Eventually, those living in villages all over northern Uganda escaped to cities like Kitgum where Dinesh now lives. They found safety in numbers but they left their homes behind. They left their livelihoods behind. The cities were not set up to support all the refugees so many of them suffered from life-threatening poverty. It’s been many years since Kony ravaged the region. The latest news has him hiding out in the Central African Republic, a shadow of his former self. Still, the people are afraid to go home. They believe their villages are cursed. The memories of death and destruction are too painful to face. It reminds me of Lamentations.

“My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city. They cry to their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?” as they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mothers’ bosom…In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.” (Lamentations‬ ‭2:11-12, 21‬) It’s hard to believe this kind of thing still happens around the world. But it’s more common than we realize. This fall I hope to travel to the northern regions of Ethiopia where a civil war has been raging for the last couple of years. We are hoping to launch over seventy new church planters into the area to bring the hope of the gospel to people who are experiencing unbelievable suffering. We will work alongside our indigenous leaders to empower them and equip them and resource them as they rebuild. But it will not be an easy task. The trauma is immense. The pain is very real. We will lament even as we labor to bring renewal and restoration.

It’s not easy to read a book like Lamentations. It’s not easy to enter another person’s pain and suffering. It’s not easy to hear them cry out. It’s not easy to look at the world through their tear-filled eyes. It’s not easy to sit with them in the ashes and dust of their lives and listen to them. And yet the Lord calls us to weep with those who weep. To mourn with those who mourn. To grieve with those who grieve. Jeremiah models this for us by putting these words to paper. Though he knows God is in the right, his heart breaks for God’s people. He feels their pain intensely. Listen to just a few of the verses from Lamentations 3 again, “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light…He has made my flesh and my skin waste away…he has broken my bones; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago…though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer…he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate…He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver…He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood…He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” (Lamentations‬ ‭3:1-2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15-18‬) All hope seems lost but Jeremiah continues to turn to the Lord. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations‬ ‭3:21-26‬)

God is always faithful. Even in judgment, His desire is to bring mercy and forgiveness and grace. His love is steadfast, loyal, faithful, and true. It never wavers. It never ceases. It never fails. No matter where you may find yourself today, turn to the Lord! Make Him your portion! Make Him your hope! Make Him your sanctuary! No matter what pain or suffering you may endure, wait for the Lord. Seek His face! Trust He is already on His way to bring deliverance and salvation in this life and the next!

Readings for tomorrow: Lamentations 3:37-5:22

The Language of Suffering

Readings for today: Jeremiah 51, Psalms 137

One of the most important things to keep in mind as you read the Bible are the different genres of Scripture. It’s not all directions and commands. There is history. There is poetry. There are wisdom sayings. There is storytelling. There are parables. All of it is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and correction and encouragement. 

Today’s reading from Psalm 137 is a gut-wrenching one. It is a song sung from the perspective of those recently exiled to Babylon. Force-marched over 900 miles, they arrive at the Euphrates. Held captive and enslaved, they have lost all hope. They had just witnessed the destruction of their entire way of life. They come to the waters of Babylon and they sit and they weep. Their cries fill the air. They shared their memories of better days when they walked the streets of Zion. They were so heartbroken, they longed to hang up their instruments and sing no more but their captors forced them. Adding insult to injury, they mocked them saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” Sing us one of the songs of deliverance. Tell us stories about the God who abandoned you in your hour of greatest need. It is an incredibly heartbreaking scene. 

It reminds me of a book I once read titled, Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans. Scholars have uncovered a treasure trove of prayers going all the way back to the days of slavery and it is powerful to read them. To place oneself in their shoes and imagine their pain and suffering. To hear their hearts as they cry out to God for deliverance and healing and freedom. It is not a book you can read dispassionately. It brings tears to your eyes at times. The raw emotion is moving. It’s also what informs so many of negro spirituals. Songs like Go Down Moses, Give Me Jesus, and Wade in the Water. Their music and prayers rose out of their pain and gives them an unmatched gravitas that moves hearts to this day.

Psalm 137 ends with a terrible request, “O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” (Psalms‬ ‭137:8-9‬) It is horrifying and yet it is as honest and real as it gets. By including it in the canon of Scripture, God is not promising to answer such prayers as much as letting us know He listens to them. No matter how dark our prayers become. No matter how angry we get. Even if we lace our prayers with profanity and frustration. God hears them. God welcomes them. God is a big boy and can handle all we can throw at Him. He is not afraid to get down into the muck and mire. He’s not afraid to dig through the manure pile that our lives can become. He is with us in the midst of the deepest heartaches and terrible tragedies. It doesn’t matter whether we find ourselves in Jerusalem or Babylon. At home or in exile. Feeling blessed or cursed. God is there. We can talk to Him. We can share our deepest thoughts and emotions with Him. We don’t need to be ashamed. We don’t need to hide. He is our Father and He understands our fears. 

Readings for tomorrow: None

Biblical Archeology

Readings for today: Jeremiah 49-50

I have stood on the mound in Rabbath-Ammon. I have seen the ruins of Edom. I have spoken to the descendants of Kedar. It’s a powerful experience to see the Bible come to life. To connect the dots between what we read in Jeremiah today and real life events. The archeological “tel” in the modern day city of Amman, Jordan dates back to the Bronze Age (1800 BCE). Walking among the ruins, one can see evidence of the Romans, Byzantines, and Umayyads. As they have excavated certain portions, they found a tomb dating to the middle Bronze Age that held some pottery. They also found evidence of the ancient capital of the nation of Ammon. In fact, the oldest known inscription of the Ammonite language was discovered here. The museum that was built on site holds some of the oldest artifacts ever unearthed. It’s really something to behold.

The ruins of Edom are just as powerful. I took a tour of Wadi Rum and saw the places where ancient caravans would stop to rest and water their camels before continuing north. It’s also the wilderness where Israel wandered after coming up out of the Red Sea. It’s desolate. Empty. Dangerous. It’s easy to see why Israel spent so much time complaining and longing for Egypt. There’s simply nothing out there. Petra was a marvel, of course. Though not Edomite, it was a major city in the region built by the Nabateans. One also encounters the Bedouins in this region of the world. Descendants of nomadic tribes like the Kedarites referenced in today’s reading. They largely maintain the same way of life their ancestors did.

What’s my takeaway from the journey? How does it relate to today’s reading? Jeremiah makes it clear that kingdoms come and go. Nations rise and fall. As powerful as one county may be at a particular moment, there is already another rising that will take it’s place. This was true in the ancient world and it’s just as true today. Only the Kingdom of God lasts forever. Only the Triune God reigns supreme. He has no rival. He has no equal. There are none who can match his power. I love how Psalm 2 puts it, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm‬ ‭2:1-6‬)

As believers in Jesus Christ, we place our trust in the King of kings and Lord of lords. While we may love and serve our earthly kingdoms, we do not give them our final or ultimate allegiance. We know they will one day fall just as surely as Ammon and Edom and Damascus. We must learn from those who have gone before us and whose voices cry out to us from the ruins they left behind. They spent their lives building great civilizations and monuments only to watch them disappear into the sands of the desert. Will we do the same? Or will we spend our lives building for a different kind of kingdom? A kingdom that never ends?

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 51, Psalms 137

The Lord’s Discipline

Readings for today: Jeremiah 45-48

The Lord disciplines those He loves. I remember when I first ran across those words from Hebrews 12:6. They resonated deeply. As Christians, we believe God is our Heavenly Father. We believe He is a Good Father who delights in giving good gifts to His children. We believe He is a Faithful Father who walks with us every step of the way throughout all of life. We believe He is a Wise Father who knows what’s best for us. As such, it makes perfect sense that He would discipline me when I go astray. It makes perfect sense that He would say “No” when I ask for something outside of His will for my life. It makes perfect sense that He would lovingly but firmly correct me when I am engaged in sin.

God made a covenant with Israel after delivering them from bondage in Egypt. He promised to be their God. He promised to be faithful and true and steadfast and loyal to them. He promised to walk with them wherever they would go. He promised to be good to them and bless them and keep them. But God was also clear as to what would happen should Israel forsake the covenant and worship other gods. He would punish them. He would discipline them. He would lovingly but firmly correct them. Now His judgment may seem harsh in light of everything we have read. The pain and suffering they’ve endured has been immense. The devastation and destruction overwhelming. So many have lost their lives and lost loved ones as a result of all that has happened. This is loving discipline? No thanks! But take a moment and try to look at things from God’s perspective. Recall to mind all the injustice and oppression and idolatry and violence and abuse of power that had taken place under the evil kings who ruled both the northern and southern kingdoms. Called to be the light, Israel had become a land of deep darkness. Called to be set apart, Israel had become just like her pagan neighbors. Called to be righteous and good, Israel had become corrupt and evil. It’s hard to overstate the horror she had become so God brings forth His judgment.

God’s goal in judgment is never the complete destruction of His people though they have rightfully earned such a fate. It is always to turn them back to Him. Even here at the end of Jeremiah after all has been lost and the nation scattered, the prophet sounds a note of hope. “Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭46:28‬) Yes, the evil Israel has committed in God’s name must be dealt with but God will never forsake the covenant He made with them. Yes, their sin must be atoned for but God will never abandon them to their fate. He will discipline them in just measure. He will punish them for their transgressions. But He will restore them as well and gather them from the nations to which they have been scattered.

Now consider your own life. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still disciplines those He loves. He still corrects those who’ve gone astray. He still confronts us in our sin. But thankfully ALL of His wrath and judgment was poured out on Jesus at the Cross. All our sin was atoned for by Jesus’ sacrificial death. God’s justice has been perfectly satisfied in Christ. This is unbelievably good news! Because of what Jesus has accomplished for us, we receive mercy and forgiveness rather than judgment and punishment. God’s discipline is kind and gentle even as it is firm and righteous. Yes, we will still experience the natural consequences of our sin but God is always faithful to welcome us back home.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 49-50

Family Feud

Readings for today: Obadiah 1, Psalms 82-83

There’s nothing worse than a family feud. Especially one that lasts generations. Two brothers grow up together. Polar opposites in personality, they never get along. One is favored by his father, the other by his mother. One loves hunting, camping, fishing, and the outdoors. The other prefers staying at home, reading, studying, enjoying the finer things of life. One is big and strong. A mountain of a man. The other is small and thin. He’s the intellectual. One day, the big, strong older brother comes in from hunting and is famished. The younger brother has been cooking all day. The older brother asks for some food but the younger brother refuses him unless he gives up his birthright. The stage is set for the younger brother to usurp the older brother’s place in the family. Many years pass. Their father is failing. It’s time to divide up the inheritance. The younger brother steals the favored place in the family. The older brother is enraged. He seeks revenge. The younger brother leaves home. He’s gone for years. When he finally comes home, he’s prospered. In his absence, so has the older brother. They meet. They forgive. But their families remain separate. Their clans do not mingle. There is no indication they even see each other again.  

Fast forward generations. Hundreds of years. Edom and Israel are now mortal enemies. Locked in perpetual conflict. What began with a bowl of porridge has become a tribal war. Seems crazy, doesn’t it? And yet, it’s not an uncommon story. Especially in “honor/shame” cultures where defending one’s family reputation is taken very seriously. Through it all, God has been watching. Watching these two “brothers” fight. Watching their descendants go back and forth. Now judgment has come for Esau has gone too far. “Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.” (Obadiah‬ ‭1:10‬) It’s painful to read. 

Family feuds are the worst. There’s nothing worse than going to war with the people you love. Husbands. Wives. Mothers. Fathers. Children. Grandchildren. Brothers. Sisters. It’s heartbreaking. It doesn’t matter if the conflict is large or small, it’s always painful. Working through it requires great courage and humility as we forgive, reconcile, and restore relationships. It’s some of the hardest work we will ever do. 

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a very famous story. Two brothers and a father. The younger brother comes and shames his father by asking him to give him his inheritance early. For some reason, he doesn’t want to be part of the family anymore. The father graciously agrees. The older brother is horrified. His anger begins to smolder. The younger brother heads off on his own. He wastes everything he has on sinful living. Gossip and rumors filter back to the family of his experiences bringing more shame and more dishonor on the family’s reputation. The older brother is enraged. He secretly begins wishing his younger brother would die. Meanwhile, the younger brother loses everything. Things are so bad, he takes on the most shameful profession there is for a Jew. Feeding pigs. He’s starving. He’s destitute. He has nothing left. Coming to the end of himself, he finally decides to return home. To face the family he once left. To ask for mercy and perhaps be taken on as a hired servant. On his way home, he rehearses what he will say when he finally sees his father. But he while is far off...the Bible says...the father sees him! He’s been waiting! Hoping! Praying for the day when his younger son would appear on the horizon! He runs to him. He embraces him. He gives him the family robe and signet ring. He welcomes him home with a feast. Meanwhile, the older brother’s rage now erupts. He refuses to embrace his brother. Refuses to forgive. Refuses to reconcile. Refuses to welcome him back into the family. And what does the father do? Runs to him as well. Embraces him. Assures him of his great love. 

The parable ends with a cliffhanger. What will the older brother do? How will he respond? Will he follow his father’s example and embrace his brother once again? Think about your own family. What relationships need reconciliation? Where does forgiveness need to be offered and received? What does restoration look like? Think about your own position in your family. Are you the prodigal son whose left home and damaged relationships? Are you the older brother whose anger and rage threaten the possibility of reconciliation? Are you the father who embraces both his sons with grace and love?  

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 45-48

Fear or Faith?

Readings for today: Jeremiah 41-44

One of the things I get to do in my line of work is help churches that find themselves in crisis. Leadership failings. Trust issues. Organizational chaos. There are lots of reasons churches struggle and when it gets to a certain point, they cry out for help. That’s often when I am called to go in. We begin working with the pastors. Working with the elders. Working with the leaders. And the biggest challenge we face in these situations is to help people who are often hurting, angry, fearful, and afraid, walk by faith. 

Jeremiah faced the same challenge. The national crisis of God’s people deepens with the murder of the Babylonian governor. The people of God come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray on their behalf. What should they do? How should they respond? They are naturally afraid of the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar. Will he return and utterly destroy them? Will he seek retribution for the murder of his official? What’s going to happen? Jeremiah seeks the Lord on their behalf and the Lord graciously answers. “If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭42:10-12‬) What an amazing promise! Even now, after all their sin and rebellion, God is willing to forgive and show mercy and establish them in the Promised Land. Even now, God is willing to bless them and help them and come to their aid. Yes, it will require a step of faith. It will require them to be humble. Submit to Nebuchadnezzar once again. It will require faith as they wait to see how the Babylonians will respond. But if they will do these things, God will be with them. 

Sadly, their fear gets the best of them. “Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there,' but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon." (Jeremiah‬ ‭43:2-3‬) They flee to Egypt. Back to the place where they were once enslaved. They begin to worship Egyptian gods. They leave the land of promise for a foreign land to serve foreign masters hoping they will protect them and keep them safe. 

We walk by faith and not by sight. It’s not easy. It often seems illogical to our human minds. Azariah and Johanan were doing what made sense. It makes sense to run for cover when you are afraid. It makes sense to run to Egypt, the world’s only other superpower, to escape the wrath of the Babylonians. It makes sense to flee when you’ve just been conquered. It is natural to be afraid in such situations. But it is PRECISELY in these moments, when things are at their darkest and most bleak, that we turn to God in faith.  

Many churches I’ve worked with over the years have sadly not been able to make this turn. They keep trying to handle things on their own. They keep turning to their own wisdom. They keep trying to operate according to their own strength. They falsely believe if they can just get another pastor. If they can just get rid of a certain leader. If they can just hit on the right program. Attract the right kind of people. Success will come. They turn to business principles. They go to conferences. They talk vision and values and policies and procedures. They try so hard and all the while God is in heaven reaching out to them. Calling them to slow down. Simplify. Sit with Him in prayer. Rebuild trust by spending time together in the Word and just sharing life. 

Thankfully, I’ve seen some wonderful successes along the way as well. Churches who finally come to the end of themselves and are ready to submit to God. Ready to walk by faith not by sight. Ready to look past attendance and budget and building issues and let God restore them. They are ready to put aside all the talk about vision and values and leadership and let the Spirit show them the way. They are ready to stop looking to organizational solutions for spiritual problems and instead rely on God. It’s a beautiful thing to watch as God builds them back up. Replants the fields and brings in a harvest. Friends, if we trust God, He will come through! 

Readings for tomorrow: Obadiah 1, Psalms 82-83

Sabbath

Readings for today: 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36:1-21, Jeremiah 52

Today’s reading includes this fascinating line from 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, “Nebuchadnezzar took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” Most scholars believe the books of the Kings and the books of the Chronicles are written by two different authors with two different perspectives. Both agree that the reason Judah was now going into exile was due to the sins of the kings. Both agree that Nebuchadnezzar is an agent God has raised up to execute His righteous judgment. However, the Chronicler goes into further detail as to why judgment has come. Not only did the kings refuse to humble themselves before the prophet Jeremiah and obey the Word of the Lord, they ignored the Sabbath. They broke the fourth commandment. They refused to give the land its rest. According to Leviticus 25:3-4, “For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” Sabbath rest for the land was part of a healthy agricultural cycle God hardwired into creation. It also served as a reminder to the people of God of their dependence on Him. In the Sabbath year when the land is at rest, they would have to trust God to produce what they needed. Furthermore, it reset humanity’s relationship with the earth. It reminds us of the calling God placed on our lives at creation - to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and exercise dominion as stewards over all God has made. The earth is not a possession to exploit or abuse but something to nurture and cherish.

Our world would do well to recover the idea of Sabbath and God’s people should be the first to show them the way. Beginning in the way we lead our lives, we take one day out of every seven to rest from our labors. We worship. We rest. We sleep. We disconnect from technology. We enjoy time with those we love. We engage in those activities that bring us joy. Second, we seek to create Sabbath opportunities for those around us. If we are employers, we give our employees generous time off. We create space for them to worship and rest and recharge. We give our business a rest as well. We refuse to bow the knee to the relentless pressure to turn a profit. We refuse to believe the lie that “time is money.” This is what drives a company like Chick fil-A to remain closed on Sundays. Third, we create Sabbath for the world we inhabit. If we are engaged in agriculture, we practice crop rotations and other such things that give the land a rest and allow it recharge. If we are energy producers, we seek to minimize our environmental impact, expand into renewables, and do all we can to steward our resources well. If we are architects and engineers, we try to build with the land rather than against it. Rather than engage in a running war with the earth, we seek to build our communities in partnership with it. If are government leaders, we incentivize new technologies that leave less of a mark on the planet and regulate business in order to eliminate abuses like overfishing, strip mining, or slash and burn farming techniques. All of these examples are not just good social policy but actually have biblical warrant in the foundational principle of Sabbath.

Practicing Sabbath is revolutionary. It’s also deeply Biblical. God ordained the Sabbath when He chose to rest on the seventh day of creation. God set up all of life and all of creation to operate according to a divine rhythm. Mornings and evenings. Springtime and harvest. Six days to labor and one day to rest. Six years to plant and prune and one year to lie fallow. We ignore these rhythms to our peril. Those who refuse to take one day out of seven to rest find themselves anxious and stressed and unhealthy. Human beings simply were not meant to run 24/7. Employers who drive their employees relentlessly without giving them a break will find themselves with high turnover and lower quality products. Communities that ignore the contours of the land on which they are built will find themselves at greater risk of floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. These are the consequences of ignoring Sabbath and we see the examples all around us.

So what are we to do? What’s the first step towards change? It begins with each one of us making a conscious, intentional decision to set one day in seven apart for worship and rest before the Lord. Creatively finding ways to disconnect from email and social media, putting work aside, and getting outside to enjoy all God has made. What does Sabbath look like in your life today?

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 41-44

Entitlement

Readings for today: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

Have you ever been disappointed with God? Ever feel like He let you down? Ever wonder how His plans for you could be good when so many bad things are taking place? I imagine that’s how King Zedekiah felt in today’s reading. He hoped against all hope for an 11th hour rescue. He simply could not believe God would abandon His people. Abandon His city. Abandon His Temple. He fundamentally could not bring himself to believe things had gotten that bad. He knew his history. He could look back and tell you story after story about God relenting from disaster at the last possible moment. But then he watches in horror as the Babylonians storm a breach in the wall. He tries to escape only to be captured and forced to watch as his sons are executed in front of him. It is the last thing he will ever see as his eyes are the next thing to go. He is then shackled in chains and carried off into exile. It’s a tragic ending to a tragic story.  

But we’ve seen this before, have we not? After Adam’s fall, God raises up Seth only to watch as humanity descends into chaos. He raises up Noah and rescues him from the flood only to watch Noah’s descendants rebel and build a tower to the heavens. He scatters them and raises up Abraham only to watch his descendants end up in slavery in Egypt. God raises up Moses and delivers them from bondage. Brings them to a land flowing with milk and honey only to watch them forget Him and do what is right in their own eyes. So he raises up David. The man after God’s own heart and sets him on the throne. But now David’s descendants have followed the same path and ended up in the same place as those who’ve come before. In each case, I am confident the people of God believed God would never leave them or forsake them. I am confident they believed God would remain steadfast, loyal, and true. And I imagine they were incredibly disappointed when judgment came.  

The reality is our disappointment with God is often grounded in entitlement. We make the mistake of taking God’s grace for granted. We presume on the unconditional nature of His love. We fail to acknowledge the seriousness of our sin and refuse to take responsibilty for the selfish choices we make. Bonhoeffer called this “cheap grace.” Grace without cost. Love without sacrifice. Relationship without rules. Unfettered freedom which isn’t really freedom at all. This is what Zedekiah believed that led to his destruction. This is what Israel believed that led to their destruction. And this is what far too many of us believe if we’re honest.   

Friends, we cannot blame God for the consequences of our sinful choices. We cannot blame God for our rebellion. He has warned us over and over again what will happen should we choose to reject His ways. We cannot claim to love God and not follow His commands. The two always go together. Yes, we are saved by grace. Yes, Jesus loves us with an everlasting, unconditional love. Yes, God’s forgiveness is always within reach. But only for those who repent. Only for those who confess. Only for those who acknowledge their sin and actively seek to turn from their self-centered ways. This is the truth of the gospel! Grace and law hang together. Only those who believe obey and only those who obey believe or, as the old hymn put it, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus.”

Readings for tomorrow: None

God’s Word

Readings for today: Jeremiah 33-37

God’s grace is truly amazing. No matter how bad things get. No matter how far we fall. God is always quick to forgive. Quick to relent of the judgment our sin rightfully deserves. Jehoiakim is another in a long line of evil kings. Kings who reject the will of God. Kings who worship idols. Kings who seek their own glory and power instead of humbly serving God. Judgment is coming. Jeremiah has been sent to proclaim the impending doom. The sins of Israel are many and have piled up over the years, creating a mess God intends to use Babylon to clean up. It’s going to be ugly. It’s going to be tragic. It’s going to be painful. Many will suffer. Many will die. All they hold dear will be destroyed as God’s justice rolls down on the earth. 

But even now at the eleventh hour, there is hope. God’s mercy makes one last appearance. God commands Jeremiah to speak a word of grace to the nation. To speak words of life instead of death. He gives them one last chance to repent and turn from their wicked ways. “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin." (Jeremiah‬ ‭36:2-3‬) Jeremiah obeys. He writes everything down on a scroll and gives it to his servant, Baruch, to proclaim. Baruch goes to the Lord’s House and reads it in the presence of all who’ve gathered. Officials from the king’s household hear the news and they ask Baruch to come and read the scroll to them. Eventually, the scroll makes it’s way into the king’s presence for one final hearing. The tension builds. How will the king respond? Will he repent? Will he turn back to the Lord? Will he humble himself and bow the knee? Sadly, the answer is no. He takes out a knife and cuts the scroll to pieces as each line is read and then proceeds to burn it in his fire pit. His rejection of the Word of God is complete and final. So is his doom.

One cannot so easily dispose of God’s Word. It has a power all its own. Coming from the Holy Spirit, it is eternal. Unquenchable. Inflammable. Unbreakable. The grass may wither and the flower may fade but the Word of God endures forever.  (Isaiah 40:8) So again the Word comes to Jeremiah. Only this time, judgment has replaced grace. Justice has replaced mercy. God’s wrath is about to be fully unveiled. “Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, "Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?" Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭36:29-31‬)

It is a serious matter to reject the Word of God. To disobey His commands. Whether by ignorance or by deliberate defiance, we rebel against God to our own peril. God takes our sin seriously. Far more seriously than we know. He is so holy. So righteous. So just. His nose cannot bear the stench of sin. His eyes will not behold the stain of sin. His presence will not endure even the appearance of sin. It must be dealt with. It must be done away with. A price must be paid. A sacrifice offered. It will either be us or it will be Christ. Either you receive Christ as your perfect sacrifice. Receive Christ as your perfect substitute. Receive Christ’s atoning death on your behalf or you will bear the punishment yourself.

I know this sounds harsh. I know this doesn’t feel good. What about God’s love? It is there! In Christ! One cannot separate Christ from the love of God for Christ Himself is the love of God! “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John‬ ‭4:10‬) God has provided a way for you to escape the coming judgment just as He provided a way for Jehoiakim to escape his coming judgment! Repentance! Faith! Accept the perfect sacrifice God Himself has offered on your behalf! Do not reject the Word of God, friends! Receive Christ and live!

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

God’s Plan

Readings for today: Jeremiah 29-32

Jeremiah 29 is a chapter embedded in a much larger story. A tragic story. The story of Israel’s exile. They have lost their home. They have been forcibly removed. Their leaders have been tortured and put to death. All of their cultural icons - including the Temple of God itself - have been razed to the ground. In short, their collective identity as the people of God suffered a massive hit, leaving behind an emotional and spiritual crater that will not be easily filled. Especially not as they rebuild in a foreign land. 

Think about the collective shock we’ve felt during the COVID pandemic. Public health models predicting millions of deaths. Hospitals filling up. Cities on lockdown. A robust economy crashing to a halt. As weeks turned to months, frustration reached a boiling point. Then George Floyd was killed. Thousands of protesters filled the streets. Peace gave way to violence as the sun set in many of our cities. Looting. Rioting. Burning. Then came election season. A bare-knuckle affair that left a nation more divided than ever. Then came January 6th and the fallout. At times, it has felt like our society was on the verge of collapse. But as bad as the last several months have been, it could have been much, much worse. Imagine groups like Antifa or the Proud Boys or some other extremist group having their way? Imagine anarchy breaking loose not just in a small autonomous zone in Seattle but across the country. Imagine all the hateful, violent rhetoric becoming reality. Imagine an enemy invading the United States like Ukraine. Imagine our political and social leaders imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Imagine the systematic destruction of every monument we’ve ever built. Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson memorials all destroyed. Arlington, the US Capitol, and the White House all burned to the ground. Imagine these invaders attempting to erase “America” from the face of the earth. This is what the Israelites experienced and as they begin to settle into captivity…into slavery…into their new lives as strangers and foreigners in a new land, they receive the strangest letter from Jeremiah.

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29:5-6‬) In essence, live your lives. Do what you’ve always done. Don’t spend your days looking back at where you’ve been but forward to the future.

“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29:7‬) Pray for your enemies. Pray for those who destroyed your way of life. Pray for those who killed your loved ones. Conquered your land. Burned your cities. Destroyed your nation. And don’t just pray. Actively seek to bless them. Bless their city. Bless their communities. Be salt and light in this new place.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29:10‬) Settle in for the long haul. This is not going to quick or easy. You will be in exile for generations. Your children and children’s children will be born here. You may actually never return home yourselves. 

It is only AFTER all these difficult things have been said that Jeremiah pens the words we love to quote so much, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11-14) 

Friends, the hard truth we don’t like to think about very much is that God’s plans for us often include exile. Suffering. Hardship. Pain. God uses such experiences like a chisel to knock off the rough edges of our lives. To refine out all the impurity. To strain out all the sin. His “good” plans for us include taking us through the fire so that we can be made pure and holy as He is pure and holy. Seeking God with all our hearts means trusting Him with the direction of our lives even when that direction doesn’t appear to be comfortable or safe. It means letting Him lead and guide us into dark valleys where all we have is His presence. It means trusting the Good Shepherd to eventually find us green pastures and still waters though the journey may be long and arduous. This is what Jeremiah is trying to communicate to his people as they start their heartbreaking, gut-wrenching exile in Babylon. God is with them. He has not forgotten them. He will eventually redeem them. This is their hope! This is their future! And though they themselves may not actually get there, they can trust God will bring their descendants home.   

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 33-37