Month: April 2025

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward Heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. Daniel 4:34 ( Ezekiel 29:17-21, Daniel 4, Jeremiah 51:31-34) 

At the age of 59, Ezekiel’s prophecies come to an end as far as is recorded in scripture. With the prophecies of Tyre and Egypt’s destruction he grows quiet. It is possible that he lived long enough to see the Israel’s restoration begin, but it is not known with certainty. As Ezekiel’s work is concluding, Nebuchadnezzar is seeing the miraculous power of God over and over.  First in Daniel’s ability to describe and interpret dreams the king had never even spoken aloud, second, when he witnessed the Angel of the LORD rescue the three Hebrew men from his own wrath in the fiery furnace and finally, when he was boasting of his great success and was stricken with a mental illness for three and a half years.

Nebuchadnezzar  becomes delusional, believing he is an animal. He lives in the woods around the palace, but following his time of infirm, this great and proud man is humbled to the point that he finally understands his sinful state and need for the redeeming Grace of God. Babylon was a polytheistic culture, but the presence of a personal, exclusive and creative deity, The One True God, never stops reaching out to each one of us so that we will repent and become His child again and know there is no other. 

Until we realize that nothing good comes of our own strength, machinations and resources, we will never fully understand the omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience of our Loving Heavenly Father.

Happy Wednesday!

Gretchen

And I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with His glory. Ezekiel 43:2 (Ezekiel 40-48)

Ezekiel is taken, for a second time, back to Israel. The first journey drew him to the complete destruction of the Temple. Now, the LORD has taken him by the hand and shown him, symbolically and in great detail, a New Jerusalem and a new Temple. This new Temple has an eastern gate reserved for the entrance the LORD and from beneath the threshold a river flows. Along its banks are trees who’s fruit provides food and gives healing. God reminds Ezekiel of the debauchery and corruption that occurred at the former altar of the LORD and shows that only the holy, obedient and pure of heart will worship in this Temple who’s name is THE LORD IS THERE.

Ezekiel’s prophecies begin with God leaving the presence of His covenant people. His life’s work ends with a vision of His returned Glory to Israel (Israel represents all believers). In Revelations 21:22 John sees this Temple that embodies the name Ezekiel heard. It is not a building. Being in the presence of God and The Lamb will be our Temple.

Our hearts must be a Temple for God’s glory and our lives a living sacrifice, so that someday we will forever dwell in the Temple/Presence of the LORD.

Love,

Gretchen

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3: 16-18 (Daniel 3)

An arrogant king makes and image of himself, possibly using gold taken from Jerusalem, and then mandated its worship. When the three Hebrew boys did not comply, because their God’s law forbade it, some Babylonian astrologers tattled on them. The star gazers didn’t want the foreigners to make the local gods angry and bring down curses, and the king of a great empire just wanted to affirm, that he was indeed, the center of the universe.

The strong words of the three Hebrew men brought the full wrath of the king raining down. These men stood before the one who thought he held their fate in his hand, and informed him he did not. The king, in his fury, had a furnace heated up as hot as possible just for them, but their steadfast faith wasn’t shaken. They chose the possibility of death for worshiping the One True God over living in disobedience to God.

In the end, the three men came out of the furnace without even a heightened temperature and all recognized the saving power of God. They were promoted to greater esteem and the king of a vast empire was humbled in the knowledge that there was One True God……and it wasn’t him.

If your faith, in action, was proof enough to convict you, what would the crime be? Where is your absolute loyalty? What will you be standing for when everyone else has left the building? The answers matter a lot!

Love,

Gretchen

“I will make known My Holy name among My people Israel. I will no longer let My Holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.” Ezekiel 39:7 (Ezekiel 38-39, 33-34)

The chapters of 38-39 are apocalyptic and known to be symbolic rather than literal. Gog is the ruler of the the wicked land of Magog. As far back as Genesis 10:2 the lands of Magog, Meshech, Tubal and Gomer are associated with complete evil and a people that delight in other’s misery. Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy the news that God is going to exact due punishment for rebellion and idolatry. Satan will amass a mighty army and attack, but God will single handedly wipe away all evil from the world and unlike all other judgements against nations in the past, this one will be eternal.  There will be no second chance, God’s act of death and destruction will be universal, cataclysmic and final.

When God has finished with Gog and his minions, there will be a world of peace, joy and righteousness for those who remained faithful. The carnage among the wicked will be so great it will take seven months to bury the dead and for seven years, the weapons of these foes will provide fuel for cooking and heating. For the Jewish people, the number seven represents completeness and perfection.

Gog and Magog are symbolic of those person’s and or nations across the globe who persecute Christians. God’s answer to this offense? He alone will judge and destroy them with complete finality and those they harmed will bask in God’s radiant love for all eternity. Once and for all, God’s name and His Glory will be held in highest esteem, never to be profaned again!

Have a Great Friday!

Gretchen

He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Ezekiel 37:3  (Ezekiel 37)

God’s nation is dead and has been for ten years. They are scattered, becoming part of other cultures and forgetting who they were created to be, but God sends Ezekiel an exciting vision of what He alone can do; restore life where death was thought to be final.

In the valley of dry bones Ezekiel walks back and forth among bones with no flesh. They are very dry, completely separated from life for all eternity, AND THEN! A rattle is heard and new life begins. Hope is not gone. The best is yet to come!

A second vision pertains to the rejoining of Israel and Judah as a people of peace and victory. Both of these prophecies/visions are restoration prophesies and God shows that there will be a time when evil will be destroyed forever and those who believe will be led by The Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace, Messiah.

There is far more than, “The leg bone connected to the thigh bone……” When it seems all hope has gone forever and we can’t fathom anything but misery, God is just beginning to really show out, and the best is just beginning. Death doesn’t ever get the last word. God does, and He is LIFE!

Love,

Gretchen

“I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.”  Ezekiel 34:25 (Ezekiel 33-36)

Because of Israel/Judah’s fall, many believed that the God of Abraham was powerless. These misperceptions will soon be put to rest. The sheep that have been scattered will be gathered and live in prosperity and peace.

When the siege of Jerusalem began, Ezekiel became mute, coinciding with the death of his wife. Now, Jerusalem has completely fallen and God opened his mouth to speak a message of  condemnation to those who lead others astray. Responsibility for the captivity of God’s covenant nation lies firmly at the door of greedy, cruel kings and corrupt spiritual leaders. However, there IS coming a true shepherd and Israel will flourish because they will be made new. God has humbled them, cleansed them of their idolatry and they will glorify His name.

God is not powerless. In unfathomable, perfect strength, He chooses to reign with peace, justice, perseverance and boundless love. He can and will make all things new when people believe, trust and obey. Sin brings death, but God alone provides abundant, full life throughout all eternity.

Happy Thursday,

Gretchen

If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted. Jeremiah 42:10 (Jeremiah 40-44) 

Remember Jeremiah’s prophecy of 29:11? God has a plan of peace and prosperity! Nebuchadnezzar has set up Gedaliah as governor in Mizpah. God has said to reap a harvest and put down roots. But within three months, Gedaliah is assassinated, along with 70 men. In fear of repercussion from Babylon, these agents of evil kidnap their countrymen and head for Egypt. Jeremiah was among those taken against their will. There is a seeking of God’s will and Jeremiah delivers the message to remain in Judah where God will care for them, but instead, they continue to Egypt and return to self gratifying idolatry. Just as God promised, these people become extinct.

God says again and again, “Don’t take the easy way out! Follow me, I know what’s best.” Once again, separated from everything he loves and surrounded by idolatrous Hebrews, Jeremiah remains faithful, speaks truth, and trusts God’s plan for a future he cannot see, or even perceive in his great grief and desolation.

You don’t need perfect circumstances to cultivate personal Holiness. We look to earthly principalities and institutions to endorse our values and make moral living an easier target. This is an ideal that is unlikely to occur, so don’t be distracted. DO WHAT IS RIGHT! When no one else will, YOU DO IT ANY WAY!! Because God has a plan, and it is good.

Love,

Gretchen

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” Lamentations 3:22-25 (Lamentations 1-5)

Jeremiah had every right to gloat and say, “I told you so.” It wasn’t in his character because it was not the model of compassion and love he witnessed from the One who Loves us most. He chose to live like Him.

The five poems of Lamentation were written in the three months between the burning of the glorious city of Zion and the departure of refugees to Egypt. Jeremiah felt profoundly that God had given Jerusalem up to the enemy as consequence for their sin. Although the action was justified and understood, his grief was inconsolable.

All that Jeremiah loved, the thing he fought the hardest for, was gone. He was broken, but at his very lowest, he trusted in God’s great goodness. We will share a place in Heaven with this great man of faith, a place named The New Jerusalem and what a day that will be!

Love,

Gretchen