Jeremiah 28
Prophet drama! If there had been a Jerry Springer Show on Israeli TV, this would certainly have been an episode. Jeremiah has already made waves by going around wearing a yoke on his neck to symbolize the enslavement of the Israelites to the Babylonians. Then, in a stunning turn of events in front of a packed house at the temple, a rival prophet sweeps the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and breaks it to pieces:
Isaiah 34
Whoa, scary chapter! No wonder lots of people read the Bible (especially the Old Testament) and get the idea that God—while He may graciously be biding His time—is out to “get us” in the end. In fact, this chapter is so scary that it (and lots of other chapters in Isaiah) got completely cut out of the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many (if not most) mainline Protestant churches. If you attend such a church, that means you will never hear this chapter of the Bible read in worship. Ever.
Isaiah 26
There are times in our lives when circumstances cause us to step back and realize just how fleeting life is and just how little control we have over the things that happen to us. This isn’t a reality we often face; most of us go merrily through the day, living out the plans we have made for ourselves, gleefully unaware that it could all come crashing down around us in a moment (although somewhere, in the back of our minds, we know it’s true).
Psalm 141
In the Old Testament, God instituted an elaborate system of sacrifices and offerings for the Israelites to bring to Him at the temple. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll remember that we went over those sacrifices and offerings in detail in the book of Leviticus. There are a variety of opinions about what that sanctuary system meant and how the life and death of Jesus impacted it. Obviously, we no longer sacrifice animals as a way of worshiping God. But was that what God ever really wanted in the first place? Burnt offerings? Sacrifices? Blood?
Psalm 46
This psalm contains one of my favorite texts in the Bible: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (vs 10) This, after a vivid picture of utter chaos: “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (vs 2-3)
Esther 5
Perhaps the theme of the 1965 hit by the Rolling Stones is apropos to this chapter—I can’t get no satisfaction. Poor Haman. That was his problem. It seems that no matter how "good" things got for him, it wasn’t enough: "Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 'And that’s not all,' Haman added. 'I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.'" (vs 10-13)
Nehemiah 13
For Nehemiah, this must have been a shocking end to his story. He had devoted his life to overseeing the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls and ushering in a new era of spiritual revival for the Israelites. The dramatic rebuilding of the wall—which had survived numerous attacks and intended detours by political enemies—had been topped off by a spiritual celebration in the temple, culminating in a signed covenant made by the people.
Nehemiah 10
So, the people had returned from exile. They had rebuilt the temple and the Jerusalem wall. They had heard the law proclaimed from the temple steps and been appalled that they had fallen so far from God’s ideal. They resolved to do better. And so they entered into a covenant, a signed contract with God. They promised to obey everything God had asked them to do:
In the end,
what You will have of me is
all
or
nothing.
There is no in-between.
Either I will be consecrated
head to toe,
my entire being
holy ground,
or
I will be a vast, open
wasteland—
a demonic haunt.
There is no in-between.
For You
(the indwelling universe-God)
will not be relegated to
a shelf
a building or
a weekly (better-not-be-longer-than-an-hour) visit.
You will either dwell
in the midst
or
You will be completely
banished from the land.
There is no in-between.
You are uninterested
in negotiation
or compromise.
Come, then,
and take no prisoners—
except me, that is.
Captivate me
head to toe
and all that's
in-between.
Come, Divine Intruder:
Make me
holy ground.
Nehemiah 5
It is an interesting trend in our culture that we value rights over responsibilities. Just ask yourself how often you hear language such as "It’s my right!" as opposed to "That’s my responsibility." In fact, we even like to use the smokescreen of "rights" to shirk responsibility. But this is the opposite of what God is like. He values responsibilities over rights.
Ezra 10
Have you ever heard this saying? You can take a boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. That’s what I thought of as I read this last chapter in the book of Ezra. Only, in this situation, I suppose it would be more accurate to say, You can take the Israelites out of heathenism, but you can’t take heathenism out of the Israelites.
Measurements specified
down to the inch—
linen curtains
crossbars
acacia-wood frames
Accessories requiring
a wealth of resource—
bronze clasps and
gold hooks and
loops of blue yarn
When God sets out
to build Himself
a temple,
He leaves
no corner untouched,
no detail unplanned.
We so casually declare
our bodies to be
the temples
of this Holy Spiriting God
while intending
to satisfy Him with
our present accommodation.
Take note:
the God who deigns
to live in you
is not planning to
make Himself
at home.
He is planning to
make Himself
a home.
2 Chronicles 25
Amaziah—like his father—started out well as king. Later, he too strayed from the ways of the Lord, but as kings of Judah went, he was a pretty good one. (Which is, I think, a sad commentary on the kings of Judah!) Before he went astray, however, he had a habit of listening whenever the Lord talked to him. One such occasion was recorded in this chapter:
2 Chronicles 21
Over the last several chapters of 2 Chronicles, I’ve noticed an interesting trend. See if you can spot it in this passage from today’s chapter: "Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors." (vs 5-6, 8, 10)
2 Chronicles 20
This chapter contains what has to be one of the most moving expressions of trust in God to be found in the Bible, contained in the middle of Jehoshaphat’s prayer: "But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you [God] would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." (vs 10-12)
2 Chronicles 16
I’m sure you’ve heard this famous saying: God helps those who help themselves. A popular idea, but is it true? King Asa’s experience in 2 Chronicles 16 would seem to contradict the idea. For what was Asa doing, but helping himself? "In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 'Let there be a treaty between me and you,' he said, 'as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.'" (vs 1-3)
2 Chronicles 12
One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is the idea we have that our lives here on Earth should be easy and relatively painless. We must have this idea buried deep somewhere in our minds, for it seems that when any of us face adversity or crisis, we react with shock. How could this happen to me? Next, we focus our energies on how to get out of the unpleasant situation.
2 Chronicles 5
I heard this quip recently: Wanna hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans. I’ve heard that before, and it always makes me chuckle (although I do believe that God wants to hear what’s on our minds). But I think it’s true that we sometimes have our days and weeks planned out so intricately that we forget about God and the plans He has for us. And even if we remember, often we try to somehow fit His plans into the plans we already made for ourselves.
