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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

I will save you; you will not fall, by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in Me, declares the LORD. Jeremiah 39:18 (Jeremiah 37-38, II Kings 25)

King Zedekiah keeps badgering Jeremiah for some news of hope. None is forthcoming. The only prophecy Jeremiah delivers is the message to cooperate with the invading Babylonian forces.  Jeremiah is accused of keeping moral low among Jerusalem’s residents, but famine, drought, pestilence and warfare are the problem, not Jeremiah’s truth. With the city under siege, Jeremiah leaves to check on his own personal property and is accused of trying to escape for nefarious purposes.  He is beaten, then imprisoned.  Zedekiah tries to be faithful and rescues Jeremiah, but he is a weak man and cannot apply any faith in God to overcome his nation’s problems.

When Nebuchadnezzar’s men finally enter Jerusalem, they pillage the temple, remove EVERYTHING of value and burn it to a pile of rubble. Then they kill those of nobility, men, women and children, and take some of the poor captive, but then, in an act of brilliant repopulation, Nebuchadnezzar gives the poor people vineyards and wine presses and leaves them to reside in Judah. 

Finally the prophets are vindicated. Their messages have proven true. Jeremiah is first taken with the captives. Nebuchadnezzar recognizes him as a man of honor and integrity and offers him a position in his court. Rather than live the rest of his life in comfort with the ‘haves,’ he choses to live the rest of his life among the ‘have-nots.’

Eventually, Jeremiah becomes a refugee in Egypt to escape conspiracies against him. From a very young age, this man, called to save his people, remained faithful when there was no viable, earthly evidence that he should. He watched those he was sent to save, perish, but he was faithful, because, on the very, absolute, worst day, God is Good! He is Hope and He loves us.

Love,

Gretchen

I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in My wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I take vengeance on them. Ezekiel 25:17 (Ezekiel 25-32)

God is the LORD of the World! All nations are held to the same standards, no one is beyond God’s sovereign hand nor His judgement. The prophecies of these chapters came after Ezekiel learned of the fall of Jerusalem. Each of the surrounding countries took part in Judah’s downfall, watching in vengeful delight as Babylon marched through. They didn’t laugh long, as that same powerful army came knocking on their door. Judgement came for them too.

Egypt’s pharaoh was given the same status as God. This is NOT acceptable and God will not tolerate man’s reliance on human principalities in His place. Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Trye, and Sydon were wiped off the maps of history. Egypt lost its wealth and prestige.

God called Babylon His servant, but still called evil, evil. Willing or not, God used Babylon’s powerful, genius of a leader, to deliver His judgement on Judah. However, within 100 years Babylon was no more. God is the ONLY, ONE TRUE GOD. He will judge, protect, deliver and call His people as He said He would. Our only acceptable response is faithful obedience. In this you will live by the standard set by the One who loves you most.

Happy Wednesday,

Gretchen

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.’ Jeremiah 30:2 (Jeremiah 23:1-8, 30, 31, and 33)
The political winds of Babylon would soon change and God was going to work miracles in the world of His covenant people. He commanded Jeremiah to write down all His words so that coincidence and happenstance would not be credited for His purposeful work on man’s behalf.
The message given to the prophet is two fold. God plans to reestablish Israel as a unified nation, and the captivity and oppression the Judah is temporary. This new kingdom will last forever and be defined with perfect justice and everlasting peace. In detail it is described by Jeremiah and Isaiah. It is not the world power some are looking for, but it is the hope we all need, a new covenant made by the Creator that becomes the Savior.
While Jeremiah is writing the very breath of God for us to know, he is under house arrest in a besieged Jerusalem with false prophets maligning his every effort to direct the people back to God. God assures him there will be a day of reckoning for those who use God’s name to propel their personal agenda. Don’t use God’s name if you are not speaking clear Biblical truth and pointing people toward His hope and eternal life.
Love,
Gretchen

I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you.” Jeremiah 21:14 (Ezekiel 24, Jeremiah 21:1-14, 32 & 34)

God has a different meaning for death than man does. This is evident is the simultaneous death of Ezekiel’s beloved wife and the final siege of Jerusalem, 700 miles apart. Ezekiel was told this was to be a prophecy to Jerusalem, who was in the final throws of death itself.

There are some quandaries in the Bible. Ezekiel’s absolute, ultimate sacrifice is one of them. Was his wife terminally ill? Was it sudden? Scripture doesn’t say, but Ezekiel is denied the traditional process of grief, in which a community comes together, honors the life gone and comforts the surviving family members. There are some assumptions that can be made though. She most certainly was a woman of faith, to have been a help mate to a man of great calling. Also, God Himself comforted His prophet and so, Ezekiel may have seen the Glory his wife now knew.

Jeremiah was in Jerusalem when Zedekiah, the puppet king, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and brought the full wrath of Babylon down on the city. As a last resort, Zedekiah turns to God, and in a gesture of good will, frees the slaves that should have been emancipated years prior. The slave owners quickly regathered their laborers without consequence, so this new found interest in righteousness wasn’t deeply heart felt. In the end, Zedekiah was carried off to Babylonia with his eyes gouged out. Again, God addresses this death, the final passing of an era, an end the children of Abraham and Moses thought they were exempt from, by declaring there would be no time of mourning. This death was of separation from Himself. To mourn would mean to find good and there was none to remember.

As the end for Judah loomed, Jeremiah was instructed to purchase a field, take the land title and preserve it, to be found at a later date. In this instruction, God gave a hope for the future. There was coming a time when Israel/Judah would be a righteous nation and again produce crops and prosperity for those who remain faithful and obey. There would be life after horrible death.

What will death mean for you? Life everlasting or complete and total separation from God?

I hope you have a Friday kind of Monday!

Gretchen

The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share in the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. Ezekiel 18:20 (Ezekiel 18-23)

When things go badly, the reflexive actions is finger pointing, blame is assigned and no fault of one’s own is declared. It has obviously been a stumbling block throughout the ages, not just for the current generation. But, be mindful, God says He won’t buy it! You sin, you die. You choose righteousness, you live.

A large part of Ezekiel’s commission was to teach an entitled nation they had things turned around. Their blessing was ‘input’ in preparation for incredible ‘output’. They were so absorbed in their right to ‘input’ the ‘output’ never occurred. By removing all privilege, God humbled this people to show them His true character and authority, and to create in them a heart that would never wander again. Indeed, they did become a small group, a remnant, who desired nothing more than a God who bound their hearts to Him.

When you stand before God, He will only look at your actions and reactions as they relate to your behavior. Don’t expect a time of argument or rebuttal, and remember! No excuses. How someone else treated you isn’t the issue, but how you treated others. 

Love,

Gretchen

Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.  Ezekiel 12:1 (Ezekiel 12-17) 

The purpose of the prophecies for Israel and Judah was to make the nation aware of its sin and  return to obedience. God’s people were not willing and the nation came to an end, its citizens carried into captivity or remained locally in devastating circumstances. Still, there was division among these people that had seen the prophecies fulfilled and punishment rain down.  Some believed and sought guidance, others were anxious, bitter and rebellious. Ezekiel symbolized this horrible state by carrying his belongings on his back.

False prophets still spread words of confidence in Jerusalem’s impenetrable power, and their conflicting messages eroded trust in God. However, everyone is responsible for their own faith, both the incorrect messenger and the hearer that choses to believe the comfortable over the correct. The wrong teacher will be condemned to death, but those who demand God to compete with a ‘circus act’ to prove Himself worthy of their attention will also, meet their just end.

God gives Ezekiel three important allegories to share among the captives. First, Jerusalem is a useless vine, a piece of wood that produces no fruit, can’t be used to build anything, and is only good as kindling. Second, Israel/Judah are like an adulterous wife who was given security and prosperity, but traded it all for a life of self-indulgence. Lastly, two eagles and a vine represent Egypt, Babylon, their kings and Zedekiah, Judah’s final king. The tender twig is The Messiah, the restored royal member of David.

We are all accountable for what we ingest and digest as our spiritual food. No one will get a ‘get out of hell free’ pass, due to a misunderstanding of convenience. I’m glad we serve an all-knowing God that judges with perfect love, but in that there is the ‘ALL-KNOWING’ part. You will have no secrets, so do right in all things at all times.

Love,

Gretchen

Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be My people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 11:20 (Ezekiel 8-11) 

Ezekiel is transported to Jerusalem via a rapture. As he walks the streets of Judah’s magnificent city and into the Temple built by Solomon, for the exclusive glory of God, he sees a state transgression that is worse than any of the surrounding pagan peoples. God commands that all the faithful be marked for they will be spared judgement. He is preparing to remove His presence from this once, Holy place. When done, all hope is gone and Ezekiel is transported back to his home where he gives a report to the elders. 

The Temple is now an empty shell. The heart and soul of the City of David has departed, there is no turning back.

In my studies I read, I must understand the prophecies and meaning of Ezekiel if I am to understand John’s revelation.  More obvious than ever, I see that hell is simply the absence of God. When death comes, free choice is a foregone option. God will not coexist with sin, so the sinner will be abandoned to a place that God is not and He will not enter that place to rescue you when you discover how awful it is going to be for all eternity. Please understand this! There is no hope, nor will there ever be, in this singular place in the universe God refuses to be.

The Temple is now just another pile of rocks because God is not there. Don’t be that place and do not sentence yourself to hell for all eternity. Fill yourself with Holiness, be the dwelling place of the King of Kings.

Passionately Pleading!

Gretchen

The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. “They they will know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 7:27 (Ezekiel 1-7) 

Ezekiel was part of the ‘Great Deportation’ that took 10,000 statesmen, craftsmen and soldiers from Judah into Babylonia. He was in his late twenties, training for the priesthood with a wife and children. All seemed lost. And then! When he was thirty, the age a priest begins work and also the age John the Baptist and Jesus began their ministries, God gave him a vision. He saw sin in all its blackness contrasted with God, all-knowing, all-seeing, ever present and Glorified!

With meticulous attention to precise dates and vivid symbolism, Ezekiel brings a message of personal accountability. Sin must be seen as it is, devastatingly destructive, and God is to be Sovereign over all things, yet a Kind and Good Friend. Ezekiel’s mission was one of great sacrifice. He lived in personal famine to illustrate the consequence of rejecting God. He shaved himself bald to give living evidence of the grief and shame God felt over Israel and Judah.

First came the judgement that had been promised. It was horrible, but just. The people of Judah had filled the Temple with prostitution, secret animal worship and false gods. Second, a renewal was begun. In captivity the covenant people lost their entitlement and were humbled. From this point they began to see and become what God designed them to be.

Some individuals became the best versions of themselves (Ezekiel, Daniel, Baruch….) and others became the worst. It is a free choice. Choose God’s version, it is a perfect fit in any circumstance.

Love,

Gretchen

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (Jeremiah 23, 27-29, 50-51)

Jeremiah is told to send letters to the exiles, those who were carried off in the first round of deportations.  The false prophets were still telling the people all was well, Jerusalem was safe and their captivity would be short lived. They were not speaking the Word of the Lord, and for Hananiah, the prophet who boldly broke the yoke Jeremiah wore to illustrate a peaceful submission to Babylonia, he met a quick death and eternal separation from God.

The prediction of Babylon’s final downfall was told in chapters 50 and 51.  This book was to be read publicly, then taken to the Euphrates and sunk as a demonstration of how Babylon itself would sink rather than rise.  For all its powerful splendor, this magnificent empire lasted less than 100 years.

God’s message to the displaced people of Judah is to settle in for the long haul. The exile would be seventy years. Build homes, grow gardens and eat from the harvest, marry and procreate, and pray for their communities and neighbors because they all succeed together or fail as one.

God demanded that these people chose peace and prayer for one another. It would once again set them apart. In the midst of injustice, discomfort and an incredibly uncertain future there is the promise that God has not given up, He won’t forget nor become disinterested.  He has a plan and it is good.

In prayer you will find a plan and a peace that passes all understanding.

Love,

Gretchen