After about nine months of peace, Ishmael and a small group of men kill Gedaliah and take captives. Johanan and others pursue and in Jeremiah 41:14 “all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned…
Tag: 2018
The Crown Has Fallen From Our Head
This cry to the Lord in Lamentations 5:1–2 “take note, and see our disgrace! 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers” is not news to the Lord. It has only come because of Judah’s hard refusal to listen to…
Let Us Lift Up Our Hearts
The name of this book, Lamentations, describes the state of the house of Israel as they shrink fully into their seventy years of exile. There is a sense of the depths of their despair in Lamentations 3:5-6 “bitterness and hardship.…
I Am For Peace They Are For War
There are those around us that are against us with in Psalm 120:2 “lying lips from a deceitful tongue”. There is a recognition that in Psalm 120:2 “I sojourn in … I dwell among” people that do not know God…
Restore Us O God of Our Salvation
The word of the Lord by his prophets has been fulfilled. The leaders of Judah have been struck down and those that weren’t are deported to Babylon. Some, the poorest, are left behind, but the Lord says in 2 Kings…
I Will Rescue You on That Day
The word of the Lord is fulfilled, the siege of Jerusalem is over. In Jeremiah 39:2 “the city was taken by assault” and the army of Nebuchadnezzar burns the city, takes the gold, silver and bronze from the temple and…
Turn Back Why Should You Die
Judgement is coming in Ezekiel 32:23 to “those who spread terror in the land of the living”. And in Ezekiel 32:22 “all of them killed” and in Ezekiel 32:25 “all of them uncircumcised”. These great warriors fought with everything in…
Kings Will Shudder Over You in Horror
The Lord sets himself against Pharaoh, against Egypt, but not for the reasons we might think. In Ezekiel 29:6-7 “because of their being a staff of reed for the house of Israel 7 When they took hold of you with…
You Must Not Deceive Yourselves
Zedekiah was made king by Nebuchadnezzar and for three years served him, but then rebelled. The Chaldeans encamped around Jerusalem and there seemed no way out. Zedekiah sought help from Egypt and as Pharaohs army approached, the Chaldeans left. But…
According to Your Ways and Your Deeds
The Lord is dealing with the house of Israel and has released a decree in Jeremiah 21:7 “I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah … into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar”. He describes their coming encounter, a siege that takes…
Things Are No Longer the Same
For many years, life in Jerusalem has been in the hands of the king. And at his side, the prophets inquiring of the Lord. And the Priests in their ministry and teaching of the people. But now the Lord says…
I Will Show Myself Holy Among You
The Israelites have the name of the Lord and claim the Lord as their protector. And, in Ezekiel 20:1 “the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh”. But they have a form of seeking the Lord, they have a form…
He Gave His Hand in Pledge
The Lord is faithful to his word and he is looking for those that are also faithful. The Lord is righteous and just and is looking for those that will, in Ezekiel 18:5 do “righteousness and justice”. But even more…
I Entered Into a Covenant With You
The Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel. It was for their good but they abused the goodness of God. In fact, after the Lord raised them up as a nation, a “cedar”, they spoke about the sins…