Prophecy

April 27, 2015

Mysteries Revealed

Daniel 2

This story is about a mystery…a dream that was imperceptible to the dreamer, a dream that was unknowable by all the wise men of his kingdom, a mystery that he feared would remain unsolved. Little did Nebuchadnezzar know that the God of heaven was beginning to reveal Himself to him through his dreams.

When all hope of discovery seemed to be lost, along comes Daniel, one of the refugees from Jerusalem. Daniel, whose character has already been demonstrated in his commitment to his God, once again trusts God and intercedes on behalf of the king.

The mystery…the future of planet earth. It will definitely continue to get darker before the dawn. But ultimate victory is certain…don’t give up, don’t give in, God wins…He will rescue the faithful.

We, like Daniel, live in this time of earthly kingdoms. We, like Daniel, are called to be faithful, available to the God of heaven who wants to use us to reveal His wisdom and His power. We see it with Nebuchadnezzar, but what about the wise men?

Hundreds of years later a group of magi from the east will follow a star looking for a King…wise men looking for Daniel’s Messiah, the Rock cut without hands, the One who would set up His eternal kingdom. What impact will you have on the folks God has placed around you, your 8-15, those He’s reaching out to?

Maybe you are like Nebuchadnezzar today…desperately looking for answers to life’s most important question, what is the meaning of life? If so, there is a God in heaven, the Revealer of mysteries…He wants to reveal Himself to you today.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Daniel series entitled Reclaimed. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

March 7, 2015

Weekend Passage – March 7

Genesis 49

Israel’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

49 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come.

2 “Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And listen to Israel your father.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 “Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
6 “Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?
10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 “He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 “His eyes are dull from wine,
And his teeth white from milk.

13 “Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a haven for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 “When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.

16 “Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 “Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falls backward.
18 “For Your salvation I wait, O Lord.

19 “As for Gad, raiders shall raid him,
But he will raid at their heels.

20 “As for Asher, his food shall be rich,
And he will yield royal dainties.

21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose,
He gives beautiful words.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a spring;
Its branches run over a wall.
23 “The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed him;
24 But his bow remained firm,
And his arms were agile,
From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 From the God of your father who helps you,
And by the Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 “The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. 29 Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. 31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

December 18, 2014

Jesus Wins

Thoughts About What We’re Reading!

This Advent season we are studying the book of Revelation.

Advent (meaning coming, or arrival) celebrates that Jesus came once to save us and is coming again someday to reign and rule over the earth. We live after the time when Christ came to suffer for our sins, and we wait for His 2nd advent, when He will return in glory and power.

In our previous blogs we learned that Revelation is the final chapter in God’s great story. One day, King Jesus will institute justice on earth through judgment on this evil world system and the creation of an eternal paradise. These judgments happen in the context of a great conflict, which reminds the reader of the Serpent and the evil city of Babel from Genesis, who stand in opposition to the savior Jesus. God’s Kingdom and Satan’s earthly kingdom are at war, but there is a clear and definite victor at the end of the battle.

For those of us who live “between the times” of Christ’s first advent and his future return, we rejoice in the hope that one day every wrong will be set right.

As you finish the book this week, it is important for you to note three very important events.

1. The Return of Christ (Revelation 19)

In language that invokes the promise of the son of man from Daniel 7, and Jesus’ promise that “the son of man will come on the clouds of glory” we see that a King will ride a horse from the skies to defeat the armies which oppose God and to throw a victory banquet. Some see this as a recapitulation of the battles described in the preceding chapters, others see it as a distinct battle which begins the millennial reign of Christ, and others equate it to the final battle described in Revelation 20:7-10.

2. The Thousand Year Reign of Christ (Revelation 20:1-6)

The fulfillment of the promise of Christ’s Kingdom is described here. Some (called pre-millennialists) view this as a future, literal kingdom on earth to occur after the return of Christ. This view says that the culmination of the tribulation will be the return of Jesus to literally reign on earth for 1,000 years before the final judgment. Others (called amillennialists) interpret it to symbolically refer to the current reign of God’s Spirit over believers’ hearts in the midst of conflict with the world. This view variously interprets Revelation 6-19’s times of judgment as past events, on-going, or yet to come. Others (called post-millenialists) believe a time is coming of a glorious symbolic reign of Christ in people’s hearts that will manifest itself through a world and society that is radically transformed to Christ-likeness as people everywhere increasingly bow to Jesus as Lord, culminating in his return.

In light of these various views, it is wise to remember what one theologian said, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” Though the pre-millennial view is the view you will most often hear preached in this church, we acknowledge that there are wise and godly believers who hold to other views. These views have different perceptions of the timing of Christ’s return and the nature of this millennial reign, but all can agree with the essential Christian doctrine that an ultimate and final judgment still awaits.

3. The Great White Throne Judgment and the Eternal State (Revelation 20:11-22:5)

One day, every human who has ever lived will be raised from the dead to a new physical body and will stand before the Lord. Those who rejected Christ will live in eternal, physical torment in the lake of fire. Those who put their faith in Christ will enter into a new earth and live in a perfect world, with a perfect body, experiencing perfect relationships in the presence of God, forever. This will be the final restoration of God’s good design. This will be a return to Eden, when God said that all things in creation were “very good.” This is the eternal rest we all look forward to, and is the hope that even if we die on this earth, we will live forever.

Resources for Further Study

– Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

– Three Views on the Millenium and Beyond by Darrell Bock

– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul

 

Andrew

December 11, 2014

Between the Times

Thoughts About What We’re Reading!

This Advent season we are studying the book of Revelation as we learn what it means to live “between the times.” Advent (meaning coming, or arrival) celebrates that Jesus came once to save us and is coming again someday to reign and rule over the earth. Christ came once as a suffering servant and will return again someday in glory and power.

The weekly group devotional is designed so you can share what you are learning with family and friends, but we’ve designed the reading plan to dig deeper into the events surrounding Jesus’ future return.

In last week’s blog, we learned that Revelation describes the final chapter in God’s great story and that the book ends with the description of a future time of final judgment and eternal paradise. We saw that John wrote the book to Christians who were trying to live out their faith in a world that didn’t follow Jesus.

As you read this week you will come across the outpouring of God’s justice on an evil world system. Revelation uses words like judgment, wrath, woe, and plague to describe God’s actions.

These judgments are organized by the releasing of 7 seals (Revelation 6:1-8:1), the blowing of 7 trumpets (Revelation 8:6-11:18), and the pouring out of 7 bowls of plagues (Revelation 15:1-16:21). Each set of 7 judgments includes 4 judgments on earth, plus 3 cosmic judgments.

These judgments happen in the context of a great conflict which is described that reminds the  reader of the Serpent and the evil city of Babel from Genesis, who stand in opposition to the savior Jesus. God’s Kingdom and Satan’s earthly kingdom are at war, but there is a clear and definite victor at the end of the battle.

This section also includes several interludes which remind the reader of God’s heart for His people. We read about the sealing of the descendants of Israel, of vindication for the martyr, and of Christ’s witnesses being resurrected from the dead.

Though there are many different interpretations of the exact nature and timing of these events, the intended message is clear for those of us who live “between the times” and await the final return of Jesus: On earth we are engaged in a temporary struggle. This world and our flesh war against the Creator, but one day the King will institute justice. For those opposed to Him, His justice will be poured out in judgment. For those who put their faith in Jesus, His justice will be poured out on our behalf to rescue and redeem us.

What about you? When He returns will you be ready? Do you know which team you are aligned to in the midst of this conflict? Do you see godliness and faith as matters of cosmic importance, or do you trivialize them in light of more “urgent,” yet temporary values?

Andrew

December 4, 2014

Intro to Revelation

Thoughts About What We’re Reading!

This week marks the start of our Advent Family Reading Plan and Devotion Guide!

Advent (meaning coming, or arrival) celebrates that Jesus came once to save us and is coming again some day to reign and rule over the earth.

The weekly group devotional is designed so you can share what you are learning with family and friends, but we’ve designed the reading plan to dig deeper into the events surrounding Jesus’ future return.

We’ve chosen the book of Revelation for this study. Let’s start off with some important background information to help you as you read.

Revelation describes the final chapter in God’s story.

Revelation reveals God’s intention to keep every single one of the promises He has made. Every verse is packed with references, allusions, and quotations that are meant to remind the reader of prophecies previously made by Moses, David, Isaiah, Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others. As you read, it will be helpful to use a concordance or a Bible search database like biblegateway.com in order to find the original passages that are being referenced. 

The final chapters of the book describe a future time of final judgement and eternal paradise.

While theologians disagree on the exact timing and meaning of many of the events in the book, it is quite clear what the final outcome of the story is supposed to be. There will be a time of judgment, based on the consistent standard revealed from Genesis to Revelation, and some will enter into eternal paradise whereas others will enter into eternal torment. This paradise will be a restoration of God’s perfect design, a new Garden of Eden that is completely free of all sin and suffering as the redeemed share in a perfect relationship with creation and its King.

John wrote the book to Christians who were trying to live out their faith in a world that didn’t follow Jesus.

The first few chapters describe the 7 churches who originally received the letter. Some churches were being more faithful than others as they faced temptation and persecution, but all had to learn to live by faith while they waited for the return of Jesus. Revelation is written for those of us “between the times.” We are blessed by what Jesus has already done for us, but we also take courage from the fact that the best of God’s promises are yet to come. Jesus didn’t just take off and forget about them, and He hasn’t forgotten about us. He is coming back some day to rescue us and vindicate our faith. The consistent theme of the book is that it’s worth it to hang on because there is great reward for those who overcome through their faith in Jesus. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Jesus wins.

A Brief Outline of the Book:

Revelation 1-3: Intro and address to the 7 churches

Revelation 6-20: God’s Judgments on the Evil World System

Revelation 21-22: Eternal Paradise and Final Instructions

Revelation 4-5: Scenes of Worship in Heaven

As you read this week about this great King Jesus and His message for his churches, remember “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

Andrew

November 7, 2014

November 7 – OT Reading

Jeremiah 46-48

Jeremiah 46

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

46 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2 To Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 “Line up the shield and buckler, And draw near for the battle! 4 “Harness the horses, And mount the steeds, And take your stand with helmets on! Polish the spears, Put on the scale-armor! 5 “Why have I seen it? They are terrified, They are drawing back, And their mighty men are defeated And have taken refuge in flight, Without facing back; Terror is on every side!” Declares the Lord. 6 Let not the swift man flee, Nor the mighty man escape; In the north beside the river Euphrates They have stumbled and fallen. 7 Who is this that rises like the Nile, Like the rivers whose waters surge about? 8 Egypt rises like the Nile, Even like the rivers whose waters surge about; And He has said, “I will rise and cover that land; I will surely destroy the city and its inhabitants.” 9 Go up, you horses, and drive madly, you chariots, That the mighty men may march forward: Ethiopia and Put, that handle the shield, And the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. 10 For that day belongs to the Lord God of hosts, A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; And the sword will devour and be satiated And drink its fill of their blood; For there will be a slaughter for the Lord God of hosts, In the land of the north by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up to Gilead and obtain balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain have you multiplied remedies; There is no healing for you. 12 The nations have heard of your shame, And the earth is full of your cry of distress; For one warrior has stumbled over another, And both of them have fallen down together.

13 This is the message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol, Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes; Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready, For the sword has devoured those around you.’ 15 “Why have your mighty ones become prostrate? They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them down. 16 “They have repeatedly stumbled; Indeed, they have fallen one against another. Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back To our own people and our native land Away from the sword of the oppressor.’ 17 “They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise; He has let the appointed time pass by!’ 18 “As I live,” declares the King Whose name is the Lord of hosts, “Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains, Or like Carmel by the sea. 19 “Make your baggage ready for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt, For Memphis will become a desolation; It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants. 20 “Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming! 21 “Also her mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened calves, For even they too have turned back and have fled away together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their calamity has come upon them, The time of their punishment. 22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes. 23 “They have cut down her forest,” declares the Lord; “Surely it will no more be found, Even though they are now more numerous than locusts And are without number. 24 “The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Given over to the power of the people of the north.”

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I shall give them over to the power of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his officers. Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.

27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be undisturbed And secure, with no one making him tremble. 28 “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord, “For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will not make a full end of you; But I will correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished.”

 

Jeremiah 47

Prophecy against Philistia

47 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 Thus says the Lord:

“Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and all its fullness, The city and those who live in it; And the men will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail. 3 “Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions, The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not turned back for their children, Because of the limpness of their hands, 4 On account of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon Every ally that is left; For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. 5 “Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been ruined. O remnant of their valley, How long will you gash yourself? 6 “Ah, sword of the Lord, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Be at rest and stay still. 7 “How can it be quiet, When the Lord has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast— There He has assigned it.”

 

Jeremiah 48

Prophecy against Moab

48 Concerning Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

“Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed; Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered. 2 “There is praise for Moab no longer; In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her: ‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow after you. 3 “The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ 4 “Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress. 5 “For by the ascent of Luhith They will ascend with continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction. 6 “Flee, save your lives, That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness. 7 “For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures, Even you yourself will be captured; And Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his princes. 8 “A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the plateau will be destroyed, As the Lord has said. 9 “Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them. 10 “Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work negligently, And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood.

11 “Moab has been at ease since his youth; He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs, And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore he retains his flavor, And his aroma has not changed.

12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13 And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14 “How can you say, ‘We are mighty warriors, And men valiant for battle’? 15 “Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities; His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter,” Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. 16 “The disaster of Moab will soon come, And his calamity has swiftly hastened. 17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him, Even all of you who know his name; Say, ‘How has the mighty scepter been broken, A staff of splendor!’ 18 “Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds. 19 “Stand by the road and keep watch, O inhabitant of Aroer; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, ‘What has happened?’ 20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24 against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the Lord. 26 “Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.

28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the crags, O inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm. 29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud— Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation. 30 “I know his fury,” declares the Lord, “But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing. 31 “Therefore I will wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres. 32 “More than the weeping for Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your tendrils stretched across the sea, They reached to the sea of Jazer; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen. 33 “So gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

34 From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make an end of Moab,” declares the Lord, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.

36 “Therefore My heart wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37 For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the Lord. 39 “How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.”

40 For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle And spread out his wings against Moab. 41 “Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day Will be like the heart of a woman in labor. 42 “Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the Lord. 43 “Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you, O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the Lord. 44 “The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab, The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon And a flame from the midst of Sihon, And it has devoured the forehead of Moab And the scalps of the riotous revelers. 46 “Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive And your daughters into captivity. 47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days,” declares the Lord.

Thus far the judgment on Moab.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

October 31, 2014

October 31 – OT Reading

Jeremiah 32-34

Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Imprisoned

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah, 3 because Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4 and Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye; 5 and he will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed”’?”

6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.”’ 8 Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9 “I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I weighed out the silver for him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, and called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy; 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time.” 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’

Jeremiah Prays and God Explains

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I prayed to the Lord, saying, 17 ‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, 18 who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of hosts is His name; 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20 who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21 You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror; 22 and gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this calamity come upon them. 24 Behold, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has come to pass; and behold, You see it. 25 You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’”

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” 28 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger. 30 Indeed the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only evil in My sight from their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord. 31 “Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from before My face, 32 because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction. 34 But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.’ 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. 38 They shall beMy people, and I will be their God; 39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41 I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. 42 For thus says the Lord, ‘Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them. 43 Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44 Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the Negev; for I will restore their fortunes,’ declares the Lord.”

 

Jeremiah 33

Restoration Promised

33 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name, 3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ 4 For thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defense against the siege ramps and against the sword, 5 ‘While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: 6 Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. 7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. 9 It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

10 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

“Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting”;

and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks. 13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.

The Davidic Kingdom

14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’”

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. 25 Thus says the Lord, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, 26 then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.’”

 

Jeremiah 34

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

34 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. 3 You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you, ‘You will not die by the sword. 5 You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, Lachish and Azekah, for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

8 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim release to them: 9 that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman; so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage. 10 And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage; they obeyed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants.

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 13 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘I made a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14 “At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15 Although recently you had turned and done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming release to his neighbor, and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 16 Yet you turned and profaned My name, and each man took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants.”’

17 “Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am proclaiming a release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the sword, to the pestilence and to the famine; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20 I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 21 Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has gone away from you. 22 Behold, I am going to command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

October 28, 2014

October 28 – OT Reading

Jeremiah 23-25

Jeremiah 23

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. 3 “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’

7 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”

False Prophets Denounced

9 As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of the Lord And because of His holy words. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; For the land mourns because of the curse. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil And their might is not right. 11 “For both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord. 12 “Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them, They will be driven away into the gloom and fall down in it; For I will bring calamity upon them, The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.

13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 14 “Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

15 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,

‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’”

16 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’ 18 “But who has stood in the council of the Lord, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? 19 “Behold, the storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. 20 “The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it. 21 “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. 22 “But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds.

23 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ 26 How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, 27 who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? 30 Therefore behold,I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.

33 “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What oracle?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will abandon you.’ 34 Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The oracle of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. 35 Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord, because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 For if you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’”’ 39 Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. 40 I will put an everlasting reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”

 

Jeremiah 24

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

24 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord! 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

8 ‘But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says the Lord—so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them. 10 I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

 

Jeremiah 25

Prophecy of the Captivity

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, 5 saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever; 6 and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

12 ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

15 For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16 They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a ruin, a horror, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and all his people; 20 and all the foreign people, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of thePhilistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab and the sons ofAmmon; 22 and all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon and the kings of the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23 and Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 and all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who dwell in the desert; 25 and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam and all the kings of Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

27 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you.”’ 28 And it will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall surely drink! 29 For behold, I am beginning to work calamity in this city which is called by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment; for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of hosts.’

30 “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

‘The Lord will roar from on high And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 ‘A clamor has come to the end of the earth, Because the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He is entering into judgment with all flesh; As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”

32 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, evil is going forth From nation to nation, And a great storm is being stirred up From the remotest parts of the earth.

33 “Those slain by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.

34 “Wail, you shepherds, and cry; And wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock; For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come, And you will fall like a choice vessel. 35 “Flight will perish from the shepherds, And escape from the masters of the flock. 36 “Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds, And the wailing of the masters of the flock! For the Lord is destroying their pasture, 37 “And the peaceful folds are made silent Because of the fierce anger of the Lord. 38 “He has left His hiding place like the lion; For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword And because of His fierce anger.”

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

October 9, 2014

“How Can I, Unless Someone Guides Me?”

 

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

 

One of my favorite books in the Bible is the Book of Acts.  Why am I blogging on Acts Chapter 8 when we are reading through the Old Testament, specifically Isaiah?

Because here in Acts 8, we have mention of one the most beautiful chapters in the Bible – Isaiah 53!

Isaiah 53 has been described by Spurgeon as the “Bible in miniature and the gospel in essence.”

This chapter is probably the best-known section in Isaiah and the most frequently quoted Old Testament chapter in the New Testament.

It is one of the richest and most unmistakable prophecies in the entire Old Testament concerning the suffering, rejection and atoning work of the Servant, whom we know to be Jesus.

John Piper once said in a sermon, “Nowhere in all the Old Testament does the gospel of Jesus Christ shine more clearly than in Isaiah 53. Seven hundred years before Jesus came into the world, God opened the eyes of his prophet to see into the very heart of Christ’s saving work.”

Piper goes on to say, “Christ not only died for sinners so that we could be saved, he died for sinners in fulfillment of explicit prophecy so that we could know more surely that we are saved. When you read the story of your salvation in detail seven hundred years before it happened, you have not only revelation, but validation.”

With the advent of the finding of the Isaiah Scroll, (one of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls), in the Qumran caves in the Judean desert of Israel; we know for certain that the document pre-dates Jesus Christ.

Someone once said about the archeological evidence of scripture, “Not that we need it but it’s nice to have.” Actually, I think it was my tour guide in Israel…

And here with the Isaiah Scroll found in that desert in the 1940’s-1950’s, we have a copy of Isaiah that pre-dates Christ.

Acts Chapter 8 describes how God moved Philip to share the good news with an Ethiopian eunuch traveling in a chariot.  Philip comes upon the eunuch and finds him reading scripture.

So Philip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch responds with the famously quoted passage, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” Acts 8:31

With that response Philip sees he is reading – you guessed it – Isaiah 53 and proceeds to tell the eunuch the good news about Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross.

At times, God uses us to simply point others to Christ, to share how He died for us that we might have life and live in a restored relationship with our God.

I have used Isaiah 53 myself to point others to Christ.  I want to challenge you to try it out with folks you know, maybe your 8-15 or others from work, school, clubs, associations or other places you frequent.

Simply read Isaiah 53 aloud to them (some folks start with Isaiah 52:13-through Isaiah 53).  When you are finished, simply ask them who is described in that chapter.

They will respond more times than not that it is Jesus.  Then tell them what you are reading was written 700 years before Christ and watch their reaction.

Then maybe, just maybe, Our Lord and Savior, through the work of the Holy Spirit, will use you, as He used Philip, to bring another soul into the kingdom.

Amen!

Until next time… keep reading!

Jim

September 23, 2014

September 23 – OT Reading

Isaiah 18-22

Isaiah 18

Message to Ethiopia

18 Alas, oh land of whirring wings Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush, 2 Which sends envoys by the sea, Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth, As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.

4 For thus the Lord has told me,

“I will look from My dwelling place quietly Like dazzling heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” 5 For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms And the flower becomes a ripening grape, Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives And remove and cut away the spreading branches. 6 They will be left together for mountain birds of prey, And for the beasts of the earth; And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them. 7 At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hosts From a people tall and smooth, Even from a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.

 

Isaiah 19

Message to Egypt

19 The oracle concerning Egypt.

Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. 3 “Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead And to mediums and spiritists. 4 “Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.

5 The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry. 6 The canals will emit a stench, The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; The reeds and rushes will rot away. 7 The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. 8 And the fishermen will lament, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away. 9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected. 10 And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

11 The princes of Zoan are mere fools; The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid. How can you men say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”? 12 Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the Lord of hosts Has purposed against Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly, The princes of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray. 14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of distortion; They have led Egypt astray in all that it does, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. 15 There will be no work for Egypt Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.

16 In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. 17 The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is purposing against them.

18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.

19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border. 20 It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. 21 Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them.

23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

 

Isaiah 20

Prophecy about Egypt and Ethiopia

20 In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. 3 And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. 6 So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’”

 

Isaiah 21

God Commands That Babylon Be Taken

21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As windstorms in the Negev sweep on, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land. 2 A harsh vision has been shown to me; The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media; I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused. 3 For this reason my loins are full of anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor. I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see. 4 My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. 5 They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; “Rise up, captains, oil the shields,”

6 For thus the Lord says to me,

“Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees. 7 “When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, A train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention.”

8 Then the lookout called,

“O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower, And I am stationed every night at my guard post. 9 “Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; And all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.” 10 O my threshed people, and my afflicted of the threshing floor! What I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I make known to you.

Oracles about Edom and Arabia

11 The oracle concerning Edom.

One keeps calling to me from Seir, “Watchman, how far gone is the night? Watchman, how far gone is the night?” 12 The watchman says, “Morning comes but also night. If you would inquire, inquire; Come back again.”

13 The oracle about Arabia.

In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night, O caravans of Dedanites. 14 Bring water for the thirsty, O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Meet the fugitive with bread. 15 For they have fled from the swords, From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow And from the press of battle.

16 For thus the Lord said to me, “In a year, as a hired man would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will terminate; 17 and the remainder of the number of bowmen, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken.”

 

Isaiah 22

The Valley of Vision

22 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops? 2 You who were full of noise, You boisterous town, you exultant city; Your slain were not slain with the sword, Nor did they die in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together, And have been captured without the bow; All of you who were found were taken captive together, Though they had fled far away. 4 Therefore I say, “Turn your eyes away from me, Let me weep bitterly, Do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day of panic, subjugation and confusion In the valley of vision, A breaking down of walls And a crying to the mountain. 6 Elam took up the quiver With the chariots, infantry and horsemen; And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots, And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate. 8 And He removed the defense of Judah. In that day you depended on the weapons of the house of the forest, 9 And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many; And you collected the waters of the lower pool. 10 Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem And tore down houses to fortify the wall. 11 And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

12 Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. 13 Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” 14 But the Lord of hosts revealed Himself to me, “Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you Until you die,” says the Lord God of hosts.

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts,

“Come, go to this steward, To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household, 16 ‘What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock? 17 ‘Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you headlong, O man. And He is about to grasp you firmly 18 And roll you tightly like a ball, To be cast into a vast country; There you will die And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master’s house.’ 19 “I will depose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station. 20 “Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open. 23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.

24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)