Day 250: Ezekiel 7, 8 and 9

I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done. (Ezekiel 9:10)

A few days ago we read these words of Jeremiah: I will discipline you but only with justice (Jeremiah 46:28). In other words, I'm not letting you off the hook, but you can rest assured the punishment will fit the crime.

Here Ezekiel affirms the same message. The consequences of Judah's behavior are finally coming back to haunt them. God doesn't need to devise some totally arbitrary punishment incongruent with their sin. God will allow their own sinfulness - the weight of their own depravity - to come crashing down on their heads. They will reap what they have sown.

While bad things do happen to good people, and sometimes we're blindsided with the harsh realities of life on an unpredictable planet, most of us would probably admit most of the bad things that happen to us have a seed in our own behaviors. If I don't change the oil in my car, the engine fails. If I don't watch my diet, I gain weight. If I don't do my homework, I earn a bad grade. It would be silly to blame God for such consequences... yet we do.

Ezekiel makes it clear that the people of Judah have no one to blame but themselves.

When's the last time you got mad at God for the consequences of your own behavior?

Day 249: Ezekiel 4, 5 and 6

Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me. (Ezekiel 6:9)

In reading through Ezekiel, one may be struck by the prophet's odd behavior and language. Such things make it easy to get distracted from the message. Remember that Ezekiel did not witness firsthand the siege of Jerusalem or the city's destruction. He was taken to Babylon along with one of the earlier groups of exiles. Whereas Jeremiah preached to those in Jerusalem enduring the Babylonian attack, Ezekiel ministered to exiles already taken from their home. A unique person with a unique role. Add to this that some biblical scholars have questioned his mental health and we have the makings of a colorful character.

Something that might make Ezekiel's message easier to follow is that the book can be roughly divided into two parts. The first half deals with the destruction and overthrow or Jerusalem (judgment), while the second half deals with the future return of Israel (restoration). In this light, despite the confusing language, the message is congruent with that of Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Already in Chapter six, Ezekiel gives a hint of his restoration beyond judgment theme: Those who escape will remember me. Here we have once again an allusion to the promise of Deuteronomy 30:1-10, reiterated so often in subsequent prophetic messages.

I also find it interesting that what historians traditionally refer to as exile, Ezekiel calls escape.

Can you see through God's discipline to his providential care?

Day 248: Ezekiel 1, 2 and 3

They may listen, or they may not . . . But they will know that a prophet has been among them. (Ezekiel 2:5)

In this passage outlining Ezekiel's call to prophetic ministry, God teaches the prophet-to-be that he is not accountable for the people's response, but he is responsible for the message delivered.

Likewise the farmer spreads seed on all kinds of soil, even though most of it will never reach maturity (Luke 8:5-15).

This is not to say that the prophet cannot increase the reception factor, or the farmer the richness of the soil. Two of the biggest factors in how the word is received are prayer and relationship. If the seed (the word) is planted with prayer, and the soil (the heart) is cultivated with relationship, there is a much greater chance of the message accomplishing that for which it is designed - changed lives.

Besides all that, we often forget the work of the Holy Spirit. We apply the word to needy hearts, but the Spirit has already been there preparing the way. The Spirit continues applying that word in the coming days after we've gone on to something else.

It is my calling to speak prophetically. It is also my privilege and duty to cover the seed with prayer and cultivate the soil with relationship. The Holy Spirit is responsible for the changed lives. One day the proof will be in the harvest.

Are you called to speak prophetically? Or to heed the prophet's message?

Day 247: Lamentations 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

She did not consider her future. (Lamentations 1:9)

She is Jerusalem. Lamentations is exactly that, a lament written to chronicle the grief over Jerusalem's destruction and her inhabitants exiled to Babylon.

The writer makes it clear that Judah's fall was directly related to her disobedience and egocentric attitude. Though cautioned time after time about the consequences of such a lifestyle, Judah ignored the warnings and rushed through the darkness denying there was a cliff.

In Eugene Peterson's rendition of Proverbs we read: Don't judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor. Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with, the queasy stomach (The Message, Proverbs 23:31,32).

In other words, we would do good to look further in front of us than our own immediate gratification. A wise person considers the consequences and makes an informed decision.

Have you considered the consequences of your current course of action?

Day 246: Jeremiah 49, 50, 51 and 52

So Judah went into captivity away from the land. (Jeremiah 52:27)

Jeremiah Chapter 52 details the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. What took years to build, the fire and the battering ram took just days to destroy. King Zedekiah had been blinded, his children executed in front of him. The temple priests and gatekeepers were killed. So Judah went into captivity away from the land. It was done... Or was it?

More than 600 years earlier Moses had declared: When you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul . . . then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you (Deuteronomy 30:2,3).

Once again we see a glimmer of hope beyond the present fog of despair. The truth is that no matter how lost we might be, no matter how far off track we may have wandered, there is always a way home.

"In those times, at that time," declares the Lord, "the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it." (Jeremiah 50:4,5)

The blessing of exile is that it makes us long for home.

Is it time for you to leave your exile and turn your face toward home?

Day 245: Jeremiah 46, 47 and 48

I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished. (Jeremiah 46:28)

God was bringing judgment on Egypt. Just as Babylon was a tool in the hands of God to discipline Judah, so would it be wielded to discipline Egypt. But God has assurance for the Jews living there: Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you (v. 28a).

God speaks through Jeremiah: I will discipline you but only with justice. As we said just a couple weeks ago, Rabbi Abraham Heschel teaches that God's anger/punishment is never without a purpose. Its purpose is to change our attitudes and behaviors so that we can live the life God designed us to live. God cannot bless us while we are living in disobedience. His punishment provides a way for him to bless us once again.

I will not let you go entirely unpunished. God has always been clear that there are consequences for bad behavior: He does not let the guilty go unpunished (Exodus 34:7). Yet as Isaiah and now Jeremiah make clear, God still loves us even when he has to punish us, and we can be assured there is a future beyond judgment.

How would it affect your attitude toward God's discipline if you really believed it was a tool paving the way for him to bless you once again?

Day 244: Jeremiah 43, 44 and 45

Ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing. (Jeremiah 44:18)

After Jeremiah was kidnapped and taken to Egypt, he warned the Jews living there about continuing in the disobedience that led to Jerusalem's destruction. The refugees scoffed at Jeremiah for they saw no connection between behavior and blessing.

The things that are best for us don't usually offer an immediate reward. We exercise for thirty minutes and still aren't buff so we say, Forget this! We start putting a few bucks a week in savings and at the end of the first week we have... a few bucks. This isn't getting me anywhere. Might as well go out to dinner! On the other hand the things that are worst for us don't usually pose an immediate threat. We eat a greasy hamburger without having a heart attack. We spend too much time at work and our wife and kids still love us.

The fact that the consequences of our choices are cumulative rather than immediate allows us to live in denial. But just because the outcome is delayed doesn't mean it's not coming.

The Jews remembered fondly life in Judah back when they had been worshiping the Queen of Heaven. [1] They totally missed the connection between their previous lifestyle and their present circumstances.

What behaviors would you change if you were thinking long term?

[1] This title probably refers to the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.