Tag: Israel

From Dry Bones to Streets of Gold

Ezekiel 37-39

Ezekiel 37 amber 

Friday, March 31

What a powerful passage.  If you would like a visual of the valley of dry bones, I recommend checking out this minute and a half Youtube clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dafYxu8cQQ).

 

While we can pull out hundreds of things to say about this passage, I am going to stick to two simple ideas.  Ezekiel 37 acts as a double prophecy.  In other words, we can expect two different things to happen:

  1. God will restore Israel and make a nation again from the scattered people. He will bring his chosen people back to the promised land.
  2. God will establish His kingdom on Earth. We know that Jesus is coming back to Earth again to reign until God Himself reigns above all men.

 

We see in Ezra and Nehemiah that prophecy number one is fulfilled as the temple is rebuilt.  In the New Testament we also get a glimpse at prophecy number two.  When Jesus died on the cross we know that the curtain was torn and we have hope in the future Kingdom! After all, Jesus did preach most about the kingdom of God during his time on earth.

 

As my dad says, he has two major goals in life: 1. To be sure he maintains a strong relationship with God, and 2. To get as many people into the Kingdom as possible.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait to live forever on the streets of gold glorifying God and Jesus all day long! How are you furthering the Kingdom cause through your everyday actions?

 

Revelation 21:1-4: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look!” God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

-Amber McClain 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who Will Stand in the Gap?

Ezekiel 22-23

ezekiel 22

Saturday, March 25

Throughout Ezekiel there are certain themes that keep circling back around: God’s judgment against Jerusalem, Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.  In today’s reading we see another very graphic depiction of Israel’s immorality.  This time, it’s the northern kingdom of Samaria and the southern kingdom of Judah.  They are likened to two sisters who prostitute themselves.  They again perform lewd acts shaming themselves before their neighbors.  It’s very sad, indeed.

God searches for someone to help:  “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”  God could find no one righteous to fill the gap and act as the mediator between God and His people.

We know the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and God’s Kingdom.  One day, Jesus would stand in the gap to keep God from destroying the earth.  Jesus on the cross fills the gap between a holy God and a sinful people.

I hope that these devotions from Ezekiel will help you to see some important truths with greater clarity.  God loves His people very much.  God wants His people to be faithful and obedient.   Some are and some aren’t.  When His people are unfaithful, God brings calamity and judgment, in order to turn people’s hearts back to Him.  It’s not the judgment that ultimately turn hearts, but it’s the fact that despite all of our wicked acts that deserve punishment, God is faithful to His promises and His steadfast love remains.  Ultimately, its God’s mercy that leads us to repentance.  May you know His love and His mercy through Jesus Christ, the man who did stand in the Gap for us.

-Jeff Fletcher

God of Mercy. God of Justice.

Ezekiel 17-19

ezekiel

Thursday, March 23

God used the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar to enact His judgment against Israel.  He carried off King Jehoiachin and 10,000 nobles to Babylon and installed Zedekiah to act as his vice regent or king in Jerusalem.  The prophet Jeremiah warned Israel that this was God’s judgment and that the exiles would not return from Babylon until the people repented.  But the people didn’t listen and false prophets gave Israel false hope that Babylon might soon fall.  So Zedekiah broke his treaty with Nebuchadnezzar and made an alliance with Egypt.   This led to a revolt against Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar crushed the revolt.   Eventually, Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar and King Zedekiah and family were carried back to Babylon where they faced Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath.  Zedekiah had his eyes put out and his sons were executed.  Israel did not repent quickly nor easily, and because of her stubborn disobedience they continued to suffer.

In Ezekiel 17 God chose to use the allegory of an eagle plucking up the top of a cedar and then replanting it to depict His judgment against his people and to remind them of his power to build and His power to destroy.

In Ezekiel 18 God gives a very clear teaching to His people on the nature of sin, righteousness, judgement, repentance and forgiveness.  Each person is responsible for their own actions.  Parents are not held responsible by God for the sins of their children, and children are not held responsible by God for the sins of their parents.  Each person is responsible for their own behavior.  In the same way, you don’t get credit for your parents good behavior if you do bad.  Each person is responsible for their own sin and will be judged accordingly.

There is good news imbedded in Ezekiel 18.  God doesn’t take any pleasure in seeing wicked people die.  God wants to see people who do evil turn away from their evil.  God wants everyone to repent.  If an evil person repents, God will not punish them.  If a righteous person turns evil, they will be punished for their evil behavior.  God is a God of both mercy and justice.  He will punish unrepentant evildoers and he will forgive and restore those who repent of their evil.  This chapter is best summarized in the final three verses:  30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

 

In Ezekiel 19, there is a lament for the end of the Messianic dynasty that came from David.  Since the time of David, his descendants, beginning with Solomon reigned as Kings over Israel.  But that has been brought to an end.  There were no more descendants of David serving as the Lord’s anointed over Israel.  Of course, we have the benefit of hindsight.  We live on this side of the New Testament.  After several hundred years of NOT having a descendent of David as King of Israel, one was finally born in Bethlehem and his name is Jesus.  One day, Jesus will sit upon the throne and rule over not only Israel, but all the earth.  In the meantime, we have a choice, we can turn away from our sins and turn to God, or we can face the judgment.  Jesus Christ is God’s provision for our salvation.  We go to him to get a new heart and a new spirit.

-Jeff Fletcher

Spiritual Adultery

Ezekiel 14-16

ezekiel 16 14

Wednesday, March 22

Chapter 14 gives us a picture of the heart of God.  Elsewhere in the Bible it says that God is a jealous God.  God loves His people Israel as a husband loves his bride.  Israel turned away from God’s love, their hearts were no longer given to God.  God wants more than anything else to recapture the hearts of His people who deserted him to pursue idols.  God wants them to repent and turn back to Him.

God wants to have His people love Him exclusively.  He will not let them worship idols, yet still come to him for prophecy.  This would be similar to a woman who both goes to her lover but then comes to her husband as well.  God will have none of this, no two timing wife.  Israel must have a change of heart and that will only happen through judgment.  The prophets were not permitted to prophesy for people who were also consulting idols.  If the prophets did prophesy to those seeking idols, they too would be punished.

God tells Ezekiel that His judgment is certain and that no human being, no matter how righteous or faithful can stop that judgment.  He warns that even if such great men of faith as Noah, Daniel or Job sought to keep Israel from judgment that their righteousness would not be able to save Israel.

In Chapter 15 God promises to make Jerusalem as desolate and useless as a dried up vine that has been thrown into a fire.  Just as the vine will be totally consumed by the fire, so too, will Jerusalem be consumed by the fire of God’s judgment.

Chapter 16 is one of the most graphic passages in all of the Bible.  If the Song of Solomon was rated PG-13, Ezekiel 16 would probably be rated R or NC-17.  It is extremely disturbing to read.  God compares Israel to an unwanted, discarded child whom God rescued from its disgrace.  God later came along when Israel was old enough to be married, but she was naked and dirty.  God cleaned her up, covered over her nakedness, dressed her up like a princess and made her his bride.  Israel was blessed beyond imagination by God her husband.  But then, tragically, Israel turned to prostitution.  Here Idolatry is likened to a form of spiritual adultery.  Israel had brought great shame upon her husband.  In fact, she was worse than a prostitute in that she paid others her gold and silver to sleep with her.  It’s such a disturbing picture.  And it’s designed to give us a visceral reaction.  It’s a gut punch.

The fact that God must punish Israel for her spiritual adultery is not surprising.  Israel is only getting what they deserve.  What is surprising is that God is going to restore Israel.  Not because Israel deserves it now any more than it deserved it when God first cleaned her up and made her His bride.  God is doing it because God is faithful to His Covenant promises.  God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, Israel.  God does not forget His covenant or break his promises.  God is filled with steadfast love for His people.

After punishing Israel, God will then make atonement for them.  He will cover over their sin and guilt and forgive them and take them back.  Then they will remember their vows and be ashamed of their guilt and will become a faithful wife and turn away from idols.

As Christians, we have been grafted into God’s family and we are now included as God’s bride.  Through Jesus Christ God has found us in our sin, cleaned us up and made us His own.  Are we sometimes guilty of idolatry?  Do we ever act unfaithfully toward God and give our hearts to someone or something else instead of God?  Remember, Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to Love God with all your heart.  God wants All your heart.  God is jealous when we give our hearts to another.  May Israel’s spiritual adultery remind us that we must give our hearts fully only to God and no one else.  Otherwise, God may have to win our hearts back the way he did Israel, and we can see how unpleasant that process was for them.  Let’s always keep our hearts faithful to God alone.

-Jeff Fletcher

 

 

Graphic Material

Ezekiel 5-9

ezekiel 5 14

Monday, March 20

This portion of Ezekiel is, admittedly, difficult to read.  It’s a pretty graphic account of God impending judgment against the city of Jerusalem and his people, Israel.  God tells Ezekiel to shave his head and beard.  This would have been an act of mourning for most people, but it was double disturbing for Ezekiel, since he was a priest and normally forbidden from shaving his head or beard.  Ezekiel was told to burn, take a sword to, and scatter his cut hair.  This was to symbolize what was to happen to Israel.  A few hairs were kept back, symbolic of the remnant who would not be destroyed.

God accuses his people, Israel, the chosen nation, of being worse than the other nations.  They broke the law more than the nations that did not have the law.  God was bringing his judgment against His own people.  The description of the siege almost defies comprehension, including cannibalism of both parents and children.  This was to serve as a warning to the other nations: if this is how God treats his own people for their idolatry, beware of what he will do to you.

In Ezekiel six God makes it clear that their judgement is upon them because of their idolatry. However, there is a remnant that will be spared and live in captivity and will come to repentance.

In Ezekiel seven, a special emphasis is made regarding their idolatrous attachment to gold and silver.  This wealth that they turned to and fashioned into idols will be unable to save them from the coming judgment.  All the money in the world can’t save you from judgment.

In Chapter eight Ezekiel has a vision of the temple in Jerusalem.  This includes the “Idol of jealousy” which we discover is the pagan god Tammuz.  Tammuz was the Sumerian god of food and vegetation.  At the summer solstice there was a period of mourning as the people saw the shortening of days and the approaching drought.  Sacrifices were made to Tammuz at the door of the Jerusalem Temple.  This was an absolute abomination to Israel’s God, YHWH as He made it clear that He alone was to be worshipped as God (see Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

In Chapter Nine an angel is sent out to put a mark on all of the people of the city who did not commit idolatry and worship Tammuz.  They would be spared.  But then all those who did not receive a mark would be destroyed.  This is reminiscent of the story of Exodus, when the doorposts of the Israelites were to be marked with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and those with the mark were spared their firstborn sons dying when the Angel of Death passed over their houses.  It also points to the future (See Revelation 13) when the beast will cause people to have a mark on their forehead or they would not be able to buy or sell.  This is contrasted with those in Revelation 14 who have the name of God and of the lamb on their foreheads.

God is a God of love and mercy.  God has provided a means for us to be rescued from the consequences of sin.  There is a way for each of us to be spared the final judgment of God that is coming.  Jesus Christ, the lamb of God is the only means by which we can escape judgment.  Along with God’s mercy is His holiness.  God will not allow sin and rebellion to continue on earth forever.  A day of judgment is coming for all the earth just as it did for the nation of Israel.  God tolerated their sin for only so long, and then came the time for judgment.  Mercifully, God spared those who repented by placing His mark upon them.  God has been tolerating sinful rebellion on earth, but a day is coming when He will destroy sin and sinners who have not repented and turned away from their sins and turned to him through Jesus Christ.  Ezekiel’s harsh imagery should remind us that we must not forget that God’s wrath is coming from which we all need to escape, and we need to warn others.  This won’t make us popular, but doing God’s will is seldom popular among the rebellious.

-Pastor Jeff Fletcher

 

(Photo Credit: http://w3ace.com/stardust/)

He’s Not Finished With You Yet

Jeremiah 46-49

Jer 46

Tuesday, March 14

These four chapters chronicle how Nebuchadnezzar and his armies defeated many different nations. It’s easy to get lost in all the war talk, but there is a little gem near the beginning of this passage on which I want to focus today. Check out chapter 46, verses 27-28 (from The Message):
“But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.

    Israel, there’s no need to worry.
Look up! I’ll save you from that far country,
    I’ll get your children out of the land of exile.
Things are going to be normal again for Jacob,
    safe and secure, smooth sailing.
Yes, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.
    Depend on it, I’m on your side.
I’ll finish off all the godless nations
    among which I’ve scattered you,
But I won’t finish you off.
    I have more work left to do on you.
I’ll punish you, but fairly.
    No, I’m not finished with you yet.”

Israel was God’s chosen people, and their future looked uncertain. However, God would not let their whole race perish! He still had great plans for Israel, and many prophecies to fulfill through them (SPOILER ALERT: including the birth of His Son, Jesus!). God is giving a reminder to his beloved children Israel that he’s got their back. Yes, he reminds them that they will be punished (fairly), but he clarifies to them, “I’m not finished with you yet.”

Even though these words were spoken to Israel and not specifically to us (though as believers in Christ we have been grafted into God’s family), I still like to take that promise to heart and remember that God is not finished with us yet. He wants to work in and through us to accomplish his will! I don’t know about you, but I want to leave a legacy for God – I don’t want the work he’s done in and through me to ever be finished! I want to teach others about God and his grace so they can grow to know and serve Him too, and therefore continue the work of spreading the gospel. I don’t have to be famous (in fact, as an introvert, I would prefer NOT to be famous!), but I want to leave a legacy from this life that will continue to grow God’s Kingdom long after I am gone… don’t you?
Philippians 1:6 – “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 
Pray and consider how you will leave a legacy. We are all called to be missionaries everywhere we go, every day in every way – at home, school, work, community, and beyond. Ask God to show you in what ways He is “not finished with you yet” so you can serve him every day in every way with your whole heart!
-Rachel Cain
(Photo Credit: http://www.quotescodex.com/p.php?author=jeremiah+46:27)

Called and Committed

Jeremiah 1-3

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Sunday, February 26

Israel started off well with the LORD, but her early devotion puttered as she turned to other gods. In today’s passage the LORD lays a charge against Israel. Despite their hopeful beginnings Israel turned away from Him. The warning for us in this is not to let our early love for God grow cold.

Jeremiah has been called by the LORD at an early age in Chapter 1.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”.

What has God called you to do?

 

In chapter 2 he is given the message he must preach.

2 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, This is what the LORD says,

“I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the LORD.” (Jer 2.1-3)

‘The devotion of your youth’, ‘Your love as a bride’. The history of the relationship between the LORD and Israel starts off with the pleasant honeymoon period. An early time of following the LORD in the wilderness, perhaps on the way to Sinai.

However with the shift in gender, Israel is addressed as a female to start then male at the end, comes a shift in how their marriage has turned south. A substantial part of the remainder of the passage describes how their relationship soured after a good start.

4 Hear the word of God, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 This is what the LORD says:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went so far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

6 They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’

7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.

8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. (Jer 2.4-8)

 

The message has turned into a series of charges and complaints the LORD has directed at Israel. Israel turned away from God after all the good He had done for them.

They went after the worthless and became worthless themselves. What do you pursue in life?

The LORD keeps stating they did not ask where he was. They did not seek him out even after all he had done for them in leading them through the wilderness, bringing them in to the promised land and providing for them.

All levels of their society had turned away from the LORD. None knew him including the priests, the shepherds and the prophets. They sought other religions.

9 “Therefore I still contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children’s children I will contend.

10 For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing.

11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.

12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD,

13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jer 2.9-13)

The LORD promises he will contend with Israel and their children for several generations because of how they have rejected him.

‘Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods?’ The LORD charges Israel with apostasy. They have abandoned him for false gods. The Baals.

What do you glory in? What is your glory?

 

The glory of Israel is the LORD himself.But they have exchanged their glory for worthless images (Rom 1.23). Images and false gods that can do nothing for them. That serve no practical purpose.

14 “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey?

15 The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

16 Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

18 And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your evil will mock you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. (Jer 2.14-19)

Israel, once protected by the LORD, has now became the target of more powerful nations. They brought this upon themselves because they abandoned the LORD.

Sin becomes their own punishment. God hands them over into it.

20 “For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, ‘I will not serve.’ Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a harlot.

21 Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?

22 Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord GOD.

23 How can you say, ‘I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done— a restless young camel running here and there,

24 a wild donkey used to the wilderness, in her heat sniffing the wind! Who can restrain her lust? None who seek her need weary themselves; in her month they will find her.

25 Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.’ (Jer 2.20-25)

The LORD delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. Now they have turned to other gods and refuse to worship the one true God.

The LORD planted them a ‘choice vine’. But they have become ‘degenerate’ and ‘wild’. The people of Israel try to wash themselves, but their washing is not one of the heart. They are not truly repentant. Consequently the ‘stain of their guilt is still before the LORD’.

How does one become truly clean and free of guilt before the LORD?

 

Some in Israel have attempted to deny God’s charge of going after the Baals. The LORD has seen their lust for the other gods. Wandering around seeking gods other than the LORD.

26 “As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets,

27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us!’

28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah. (Jer 2.26-28)

Israel has been caught out in her apostasy. The LORD has given them birth, he is their true father and creator. But they have turned their backs on him.

The LORD mocks them – ‘But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble.‘

The point is that the gods they have chosen over the LORD can do nothing. They cannot save. Only the LORD can save them and they have abandoned him.

29  “Why do you fight with me? You have all transgressed against me, declares the LORD.

30 In vain have I struck your children; they took no correction; your own sword devoured your prophets like a hungry lion.

31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘We are free, we will come no more to you’?

32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. (Jer 2.29-32)

Despite all this the people ‘contend’ with the LORD and charge him with wrong because they are being besieged by stronger nations. They have no argument. The LORD is righteous and they are guilty.

Israel, the LORD’s bride, has forgotten the husband of her youth for a long time.

33 “How well you direct your course to seek love! So that even to wicked women you have taught your ways.

34 Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the guiltless poor; you did not find them breaking in. Yet in spite of all these things

35 you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 How much you go about, changing your way! You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 From it too you will come away with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper by them. (Jer 2.33-37)

The LORD lists a number of the other sins. They teach women to be adulteress’ and they spill the blood of the poor. Despite all this they do not acknowledge their guilt. They say they have not sinned.

If you have sin in your life, don’t deny it. Confess it before the LORD and ask for forgiveness.

The LORD predicts they will be put to shame by Egypt and Assyria: their allies they trusted to protect them. Even under their protection they will be conquered and led away with the hands on their heads.

What is God trying to tell you through Jeremiah?  Is their sin that has kept you away from God?  Are you chasing after the wrong things?

God has called you but are you committed?

-Andy Cisneros

Andy Cisneros pastors at Timberland Bible Church in northern Indiana.  A graduate of Atlanta Bible College, he is also very active with missions, The UP Project, FUEL and Family Camp and any way he can serve others.  He loves sharing home and ministry with his lovely wife and their two talented kids.

(Photo Credit: http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Jer%202.13) 

Mercy and Compassion

Isaiah 14-16

isa-14-1-ww-cc-9x

Thursday, February 9

If someone were to look at news regarding the Middle East, there is a good chance it would have something to do with the people of Israel fighting against the surrounding nations.  Israel always seems to have problems with its neighbors.  These problems go all the way back to Abraham!  In today’s section of reading, there were several passages about neighboring nations of Israel.

At the beginning of our reading in Isaiah 14:1, it states that “the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land.”  Even though the people of Israel were a wicked nation at this time, God was still going to have compassion on them.  This is an example of the grace and mercy of God, as He was still going to work with them and give them their own land.  Similar to God having mercy on the people of Israel, God is willing to have mercy on us.  God’s will is that no one should perish; He wants us to seek Him.  If we do, then God will have mercy on us and grant us a spot in the coming Kingdom.

The rest of our reading for the day had to deal with the oracles of the surrounding nations.  Although God was merciful towards his own people, the other nations don’t necessarily receive that same mercy.  These other nations were opposing the people of Israel, and God was not too fond of that.  He was going to redeem His people.  God has the back of the Israelites, even when they were at their worst.

Nowadays, according to Paul, “There is neither Jew nor Greek,” (Galatians 3:28).  Anyone who devotes their life to God, is seen as a chosen people from our Heavenly Father.  The chosen people in the Old Testament were pretty much the Israelites.  The chosen people nowadays are followers of Christ.  Therefore, just as God had the backs of the Israelites, God has our back.

-Kyle McClain

(photo credit: http://www.alittleperspective.com/isaiah-14-through-16/)    

He’s Not Abstract

Psalms 103-105

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Thursday, January 12

If you attend a church (and I encourage you to do so), you probably hear prayer requests and prayers. Sometimes, in the interest of time, I have been known to say prayers and thank God abstractly for “all the good you have done” or “for another day of life” or something along those lines. In many worship services, the songs we sing tend to reinforce that kind of language as we talk to God. As kids we learn “Jesus Loves Me” and “Zacchaeus”, but these songs, while teaching us Bible stories and abstract truths, don’t make life real.
The psalmists don’t let things stay in the level of the abstract. They would think the way we think about theology is rather silly. We use big words like “omnipotent” (all-powerful) or “omni-benevolent” (all-good) to refer to God. The authors of psalms 103-105 are focused on the tangible ways God is working in the world, the concrete way he interacted, is interacting and will interact in creation. When you read psalm 104, the created order that is being displayed there is beautiful. It is a different look at creation, one that is intimate and yet shows God working in creation. He gives water even to a wild donkey. The dangerous and powerful leviathan is a work of God. The creation of trees and valleys all point to the wonder of the Almighty. Psalm 105 tells the work of God in the covenant people of Israel. The psalmist retells (probably with music) the great movement of God with Israel. The Exodus is such a significant moment, because God defeated the gods of the most powerful empire and proved that God is the only true God. He saved Israel and led them through the desert. In psalm 103, the author (David?) is speaking to his own soul when he says “He forgives all your sin”(3) and “he satisfies you with goodness” (5). The author is declaring his own story, that God saves him and gives him good things. Even though we are sinners, God takes care of us and makes sure we have all that we need.
The point is that when we praise God, there are times to tell of his “omni-“ qualities and there is a time to get down and talk about what he did. For me, God not only gives me love, but he has given me a wife that makes me laugh and makes my heart sing because she is wonderful in every way. He has given me a daughter that is fun, joyful and sweet. God gives me hope, and He assures me that though I have lost loved ones, that there will come a day that I will see them again. I praise God not just because he is loving or hope-giving in some abstract way, but because in my life and in the world God has clearly shown that he cares. He is a God that moves in concrete ways.
Live it Out Challenge: After you read the psalms, think of 7 concrete and specific ways God has worked in your life. Don’t make them abstract (“He loves me”) but make them concrete (“He has given me a wife and a daughter that mirror His love”). Make them about you, and take your time. Work and meditate on them all day if you need to.
-Jake Ballard
(Photo credit: http://www.spiritradio.ie/the-word-for-tuesday-psalm-1032/)

The Worst of Kings and the Best of Kings – Works Together for Good

2 Chronicles 33-34

romans_8-28

Saturday, December 3

Yesterday’s reading ended with an ominous sentence, “His son Manasseh succeeded him.” Manasseh might very well be the worst king of Israel. He sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering to a pagan god. He killed the prophet Isaiah. Yet when God punished him, he repented and tried to defeat the evil that he had done. However, his son was also evil, but then his grandson Josiah was one of the best kings ever in Israel.

 

A brief point I’d like to make on this passage: good things can create an opportunity for bad, while good can come out of bad. That sounds odd,  doesn’t it? Yet Hezekiah’s extended life, a gift from God, allowed him to produce Manasseh as an heir. Yet from the degeneration of the kingly line that began with Manasseh and continued with his son, came the best king of Israel. The point is that we cannot make predictions based on circumstances, but God will work for good whenever people will be open to him, regardless of how bad the people around them have been.

 

I thought of this often during the current election. People predicted dire consequences if either candidate was elected. Everyone of them could happen, but these are all human circumstances. Regardless of whether your candidate is elected or not, the only good that we can count on is what happens when people place their trust in God and act faithfully. Everything else is just a matter of circumstance.

 

Let’s finish this week by looking at the good that can happen when people respond to God in obedience. As unusual as it might seem, it appears that by the time of Josiah, God’s people were living by tradition rather than actually reading the Holy Scriptures. While doing the right thing and restoring the Temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the Law. Josiah was immediately convicted when he read these words and responded by bringing his life and the kingdom of Judah in line with the law of God. Great things happened because of it.

 

I really appreciate the opportunity to write these devotions this week. It thrills me that you are taking the time to read the word of God. There are many things that are difficult to understand, but good things will happen when we are obedient to the things that we do understand. One thing that I’m certain of is that obedience to what we know is the accelerator of Christian growth. In other words, we are all at different levels of spiritual maturity, but we can all grow by living the life that God reveals to us.

-Greg Demmitt