Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”—Jesus        (Matt 23:37)

Rebellion is a heart disease. When the heart is sick, the body shows heart disease in how it performs day to day. God’s people had forgotten His law and commandments. They never developed a love that transformed their hearts. They had traditional ceremonies that looked like they were followers of God, but they also practiced worship of other gods in the Temple of the Most High.

I find a warning message for our time inside Ezekiel. God’s judgment is coming upon our world. Our nation professes to love God, but does not keep His commandments. He longs to bring us under His wing and shield us from the evils being unleashed on this planet, but only a remnant will be attached to His side.

“Under His wings I am safely abiding; though the night deepens and tempests are wild, Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me, He has redeemed me, and I am HIS child!”

Written by Cheri Holmes
Emergency Nurse RN, Lynden, Washington USA

Ezekiel 5, The Message

A Jealous God, Not to Be Trifled With

5 ^1-2 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a straight razor, shaving your head and your beard. Then, using a set of balancing scales, divide the hair into thirds. When the days of the siege are over, take one-third of the hair and burn it inside the city. Take another third, chop it into bits with the sword and sprinkle it around the city. The final third you’ll throw to the wind. Then I’ll go after them with a sword.

^3-4 “Retrieve a few of the hairs and slip them into your pocket. Take some of them and throw them into the fire—burn them up. From them, fire will spread to the whole family of Israel.

^5-6 “This is what God, the Master, says: This means Jerusalem. I set her at the center of the world, all the nations ranged around her. But she rebelled against my laws and ordinances, rebelled far worse than the nations ranged around her—sheer wickedness!—refused my guidance, ignored my directions.

⁷ “Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: You’ve been more headstrong and willful than any of the nations around you, refusing my guidance, ignoring my directions. You’ve sunk to the gutter level of those around you.

^8-10 “Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: I’m setting myself against you—yes, against you, Jerusalem. I’m going to punish you in full sight of the nations. Because of your disgusting no-god idols, I’m going to do something to you that I’ve never done before and will never do again: turn families into cannibals—parents eating children, children eating parents! Punishment indeed. And whoever’s left over I’ll throw to the winds.

^11-12 “Therefore, as sure as I am the living God—Decree of God, the Master—because you’ve polluted my Sanctuary with your obscenities and disgusting no-god idols, I’m pulling out. Not an ounce of pity will I show you. A third of your people will die of either disease or hunger inside the city, a third will be killed outside the city, and a third will be thrown to the winds and chased by killers.

¹³ “Only then will I calm down and let my anger cool. Then you’ll know that I was serious about this all along, that I’m a jealous God and not to be trifled with.

^14-15 “When I get done with you, you’ll be a pile of rubble. Nations who walk by will make coarse jokes. When I finish my angry punishment and searing rebukes, you’ll be reduced to an object of ridicule and mockery, turned into a horror story circulating among the surrounding nations. I, God, have spoken.

^16-17 “When I shoot my lethal famine arrows at you, I’ll shoot to kill. Then I’ll step up the famine and cut off food supplies. Famine and more famine—and then I’ll send in the wild animals to finish off your children. Epidemic disease, unrestrained murder, death—and I will have sent it! I, God, have spoken.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

1. God is a jealous God who wants our full attention so He can bless us with all that is God.  Anything that we allow to stand in the middle of our view of God is an idol that needs to be removed from our lives.
2. God is a jealous God because it grieves His heart to see our wickedness that destroys His created when He knows the plans He has for us “not to harm us but to prosper us”.
3. God is a jealous God because God is love.  Real love is God.  God’s love for us is unmatched by human love.  His jealousy is not like our jealous thoughts that want what others have.  His jealousy comes from much higher thinking.  He wants to give all we could ever want, beyond our wildest dreams; as He watches us turn to lesser things with wicked outcomes that cannot possibly satisfy.  

Yes, God is jealous of what we run after, give our lives to get, and worship with all our attention.  God has so much more for us in His storehouse of blessings.  So, we must ask ourselves today, what are we thinking and doing that is making God jealous in our lives?

What is standing in the way of our total view if God and what He wants to give us?

Jesus came to teach us about the very things that make God jealous of our attention, love, and committed, bold devotion to Him.  Jesus reintroduced the commandments of God with explanations that went beyond the words written in stone.  Jesus said we are the living stones upon which God’s Word is written.  Jesus was the “Word made flesh” to teach us how to live like Him, giving our full attention to God, with nothing standing between God and mankind.  Jesus died and rose again so that sin no longer could be the jealous factor that keeps us from God. 

Repent of the sins that make God jealous and make things right with God.  Learn from God’s Word, listen to His Holy Spirit, so we may walk in His ways under His wings of protection.  Jesus saved us.  Believe in the redemption!  Live knowing that God loved you first and wanted you for His very own.  God longs to abide in us as we abide in Him.  This abiding diffuses all jealousy.

Lord,

We repent of all that draws our attention from you and your plan for our lives.  We repent of idols that get in the way of our view of you.  We repent of listening to the voices of this world that can shout above your voice of what is best for us.  Show me your ways, tell me which path to take, and I will follow.  There will be lessons to learn along the way and I am ready.  I am yours.  No turning back, no turning back.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

God will not only tell us what to say but how to say it!  God is good and amazing in this way.  His Son, Jesus, was a Master Teacher of storytelling.  Jesus knew His audience well.  He knew His Message because He WAS the Message!  Jesus was Truth, The Way to God and Hope for Life forever with Him!  Jesus began with what His listeners already knew and understood; then He expanded their knowing and thinking by helping His listeners “see” what He was saying through object lessons. 

I love object lessons!  As a teacher, I used object lessons before, during and after most presentations for optimal learning.  Real learning is listening, seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, questioning, feeling, relating, being part of the process before doing.  Jesus nearly always INVOLVED his disciples in the object lesson.   “Can I get a volunteer”?

God always involves his servant, prophets, and teachers in the actions of His work.  Why?  Because the messenger needs to understand first so they can speak with confidence and clarity.  I know I cannot teach students what I do not know!  Messengers of God’s Word must take in the information and internalizing so that Truth becomes a part of their being.  Only then can messengers tell the God’s story with passionate understanding.  This is why the direction from God to Ezekiel in yesterday’s passage, “eat the scroll—all of it” makes sense.  Ezekiel heard God, read the scrolls given by God, digested the Truth of God so it could be said with knowledge of God.

Now God is directing Ezekiel to be a prophet messenger with an object lesson!  And it’s powerful!

Ezekiel 4, The Message

This Is What Sin Does 

^1-3 “Now, son of man, take a brick and place it before you. Draw a picture of the city Jerusalem on it. Then make a model of a military siege against the brick: Build siege walls, construct a ramp, set up army camps, lay in battering rams around it. Then get an iron skillet and place it upright between you and the city—an iron wall. Face the model: The city shall be under siege and you shall be the besieger. This is a sign to the family of Israel.

^4-5 “Next lie on your left side and place the sin of the family of Israel on yourself. You will bear their sin for as many days as you lie on your side. The number of days you bear their sin will match the number of years of their sin, namely, 390. For 390 days you will bear the sin of the family of Israel.

^6-7 “Then, after you have done this, turn over and lie down on your right side and bear the sin of the family of Judah. Your assignment this time is to lie there for forty days, a day for each year of their sin. Look straight at the siege of Jerusalem. Roll up your sleeve, shake your bare arm, and preach against her.

⁸ “I will tie you up with ropes, tie you so you can’t move or turn over until you have finished the days of the siege.

^9-12 “Next I want you to take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, dried millet and spelt, and mix them in a bowl to make a flat bread. This is your food ration for the 390 days you lie on your side. Measure out about half a pound for each day and eat it on schedule. Also measure out your daily ration of about a pint of water and drink it on schedule. Eat the bread as you would a muffin. Bake the muffins out in the open where everyone can see you, using dried human dung for fuel.”

¹³ God said, “This is what the people of Israel are going to do: Among the pagan nations where I will drive them, they will eat foods that are strictly taboo to a holy people.”

¹⁴ I said, “God, my Master! Never! I’ve never contaminated myself with food like that. Since my youth I’ve never eaten anything forbidden by law, nothing found dead or violated by wild animals. I’ve never taken a single bite of forbidden food.”

¹⁵ “All right,” he said. “I’ll let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human dung.”

^16-17 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I’m going to cut off all food from Jerusalem. The people will live on starvation rations, worrying where the next meal’s coming from, scrounging for the next drink of water. Famine conditions. People will look at one another, see nothing but skin and bones, and shake their heads. This is what sin does.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

Imagine how shocked the spectators were when Ezekiel’s face became hard and resolute and he placed a flat, iron griddle between his face and the drawing he made of the besieged city. The griddle was the kind of utensil that the priests used in the temple for preparing some of the offerings so it was recognizable. The iron griddle symbolized the wall that stood between the Lord and the sinful Jewish nation so that God could no longer look on them with approval and blessing. Ezekiel the priest could not pronounce on them the priestly blessing of, for God’s face was not shining on them with blessing.

All because of Jesus, the “wall” between God and mankind has been torn down.  Because of Jesus, we can repent of our sins in His Name and be set right with God—forever!  God’s Holy Spirit comes to live in the hearts of all believers to guide, confront, comfort, teach, and encourage us in our walk with God.  When we sin, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us. 

We become our own object lessons of what sin does in our lives, right?!  The lessons are everywhere around us!  Going our own way leads nowhere.  To get somewhere of significance, beauty and love with God, we respond with repentance.  Jesus will set us back on the right path immediately to God.  Jesus is “God with us.”  Our complete forgiveness is because of Jesus, His Son, who set us right with God by paying for our sins.

FOR CLARIFICATION…

Ezekiel didn’t “bear their sins” in the sense of atoning for them, for only the Son of God can do that (1 Peter 2:24). But “bearing the sins” of the nation before God was one of the ministries of the priesthood, and Ezekiel was a priest.  This was an object lesson to show the power of God as well as the lesson of what sin does in the lives of his people.  Nothing good happens when consumed by sin.

Lord,

I repent of all that offends you in me.  Create in me a clean heart.  Wash me white as snow.  Renew my spirit with Your Holy Spirit.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work in me.  Refresh my soul with all of you in all of me.  I know your’re not finished with me yet.

In Jesus Name, For your Glory, Amen

Many times, we accept a job in the early years of our employed lives only to get by financially until we work our way to the job we would really like to have.  That is how our world works.  Believers, however, learn quickly (or slowly and methodically) in life that God has a different way of thinking.  God has a plan for our lives with purpose and direction that is for our best and for His glory!  He gives and allows us multiple experiences through our lives to prepare us for the next thing He has for us to do.  No life experience, God-led or people-led, is wasted on our journey to be all that God create us to be and do.  All we are and all we learn is used to fulfil God’s plan.  Our response is to simply obey with awe and respect for God who created all, is in all and is over all.

Ezekeil is called by God to warn His people.  What God says through Ezekeil is a matter of life or death!  (No pressure there!)  But, let’s go a bit deeper into this chapter. As we step back, we see the bigger picture.  We see an outline forming of Ezekeil’s calling into a job description that highlights what God expects.  On closer inspection we discover this job description is fitting for all of us as a called people of God.

See what you see…

Ezekiel 3, The Message

Warn These People

He told me, “Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel.”

^2-3 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, saying, “Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!”

So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey.

^4-6 Then he told me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. Look, I’m not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately.

^7-9 “But it won’t work that way with the family of Israel. They won’t listen to you because they won’t listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. But I’ll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. I’ll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don’t let them intimidate you. Don’t be afraid of them, even though they’re a bunch of rebels.”

^10-11 Then he said, “Son of man, get all these words that I’m giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ Speak your piece, whether they listen or not.”

^12-13 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion—“Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!”—the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake.

^14-15 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn’t want to go. But God had me in his grip. I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.

¹⁶ At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God:

^17-19 “Son of man, I’ve made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You are going to die,’ and you don’t sound the alarm warning them that it’s a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they’ll most certainly die for their sin, but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.

^20-21 “And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they’ll die. If you haven’t warned them, they’ll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they’ve done will count for anything—and I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they’ll live because they took the warning—and again, you’ll have saved your life.”

²² God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, “Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you.”

²³ So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn’t believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate.

^24-26 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, “Go home and shut the door behind you.” And then something odd: “Son of man: They’ll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can’t leave the house. I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won’t be able to talk and tell the people what they’re doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels.

²⁷ “But then when the time is ripe, I’ll free your tongue and you’ll say, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: . . .’ From then on it’s up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

We all see it!  As a believer, called for purpose and mission, God expects us to:

• Read, taste, eat and digest His Word until what He says becomes a part of us.
• God’s Word goes down like sweet honey to those ready to obey His Spirit.
• THEN GO and speak GOD’S message that is clear and understandable.
• Know your audience.  Know your Message.  Know God is at work.
• Be ready for some to hear and obey as well as those who turn away. 
• Do not be intimidated by hard looks and mean words.
• The response of the people is not your responsibility, only the message.
• The message of God is of greatest importance, a matter of life or death.
• Follow God’s timing always.  “When the time is ripe, I’ll free your tongue…”

NOTE:  The watchman in those days stood on top of the wall of the city with eyes fixed on the horizon.  They would warn people of impending danger from the enemy approaching the city.  The cry of warning could be heard throughout the city.  It was, indeed, a matter of life or death for the listeners.

Today we are all called to tell God’s message of salvation.  God tells us the right time, place and with what to say when we listen and obey His Holy Spirit.  Paul explains this “calling” and obeying so well to the Romans: 

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.’Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’”  Romans 10:9-15, NLT

It’s still a matter of life or death! 

Lord,

May we take our calling seriously knowing without a doubt you are leading, going before us to prepare the hearts of the listeners.  But if some say no, not yet, we know that you are still at work in their hearts.  Some will say no, but their response is not in our job description.  Our work is to be led by you to tell the Truth of the One and Only who gives Life eternal.  Show us when with what to say.  I know you will.  I believe.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Remember?  Yesterday our passage ended with “When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.”  Well, Ezekiel gets a “chair turn” from God in today’s passage!  God’s Voice speaks to his prophet priest with words of importance for his ministry as well as the people to whom God tells Him to speak.

Ezekiel 2, The Message

It said, “Son of man, stand up. I have something to say to you.”

² The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. As he spoke to me, I listened.

^3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.

⁸ “Only take care, son of man, that you don’t rebel like these rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

^9-10 When I looked he had his hand stretched out to me, and in the hand a book, a scroll. He unrolled the scroll. On both sides, front and back, were written lamentations and mourning and doom.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

Rebellion against God and all that He is never goes well for us.  Rebellion is physically unhealthy as it raises stress levels as we hold grudges, find ways to fight back to get even or as we spend wasted time to create ways to “one up” others, or consistently think of evil things to say and do to make the one against you appear demonic to others so you can form sides for war.  Whew, exhausting, right?

Yes, rebellion, in worldview thinking, is taking sides against the current establishment as opposed to making peace through unity.

Jesus came to earth to a rebellious people whose existence was living under Roman oppression while trying to survive their current poor circumstances.  Jesus experienced the mean words and hard looks—from His own people!  God’s priests were full of pride with political aspirations as they walked the line between the Roman government and Jewish living under the Law of Moses.  Seeking power and prestige became their only life goal. 

Jesus came to “rebel” against this way of thinking.  Jesus was revolutionary but not in any way shape or form as the world had viewed revolution.  Even his beloved disciples didn’t completely understand this shift in thinking when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God.  Kingdom of God thinking draws people together in unity and peace.  There is only one “side” to be on—God’s side.  God’s side includes everyone!

When we talk of the Kingdom of God today, we still get the looks Ezekiel was warned about and for sure got in his day.  God’s advice to him is priceless!  The Voice tells him:

• Tell them what I tell you.
• Don’t be afraid of their mean words and hard looks.
• Whether they listen is not your concern.  Wait, what?!  Yes, the rest is between the people in earshot and God!

As believers who want others to know about God.  We are impressed by His Spirit to tell His story, but we need to understand that until people say yes, they will say no.  Their no, not yet comes with wondering, hard looks and sometimes mean words while deciding if they want to leave their known for God’s unknown ways of life they have not experienced.  They do not know God—yet.  But if we say what God tells us to say, He will do the rest!  We too, must not be so concerned with whether or not they listened.  We pray and obey.  God works and continues to work.

Rebellion is seen all around us and rebellious behaviors never escape God’s notice.  Our best strategic tactics, however, in Kingdom of God thinking was taught by Jesus, Son of God and we must take it all in—

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously.”  –Jesus, Luke 6:27-30 

Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and list all of Jesus’ ways to develop Kingdom thinking and behaving!  It’s all there!  In case you’re wondering…

Eat what I give you

Being a priest, Ezekiel knew that the Hebrew Scriptures pictured God’s Word as food to be received within the heart and digested inwardly. Job valued God’s Word more than His “necessary food” (Job 23:12), and Moses admonished the Jews to live on God’s Word as well as on the bread (manna) that the Lord supplied daily (Deut. 8:3; see Matt. 4:4). The prophet Jeremiah “ate” the Word of God (Jer. 15:16), and so did the apostle John (Rev. 10:8–10).

God’s prophets must speak from within their hearts, or their messages will not be authentic.  The world today is starved for authenticity, for what is really real.  Be real.

Work the Words into Your Life

“If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.” –Jesus, Luke 6

To be real, then is to read and digest God’s Word so that it becomes who we are.

“Had Ezekiel heard the description of the hardness of his people before he saw the vision of God’s glory, he may have had a difficult time accepting his call. But having seen the glorious throne of the sovereign Lord, Ezekiel knew that he had all the help he needed to obey God’s will. The only motivation that never fails is doing all for the glory of God.” –Warren Wiersbe

Lord,

Thank you for this lesson that humbles us and reminds us of our motivation to be a real truth teller of what you give us to say.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Have you ever met a person with passion?  Have you met a person who truly knows their purpose?  Have you hung out with a person with relentless drive to fulfil their purpose on earth?  Have you met a person who knows because they know God, the Creator of people, passion, purpose, and courage.  We are drawn to them!

Ezekiel is the man to come close to and listen.  He is an encourager to the suffering.  Ezekiel the priest and prophet assures his fellow Jews that God will one day return them to Jerusalem and restore the temple.  Don’t give up, I see visions of what will be as we journey through what is in front of us right now, he tells God’s people.  Yes, we would love hanging out with a person like Ezekiel, right?!

Ezekiel 1, The Message

Wheels Within Wheels, Like a Gyroscope

When I was thirty years of age, I was living with the exiles on the Kebar River. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the sky opened up and I saw visions of God.

^2-3 (It was the fifth day of the month in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin that God’s Word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, on the banks of the Kebar River in the country of Babylon. God’s hand came upon him that day.)

* * *

^4-9 I looked: I saw an immense dust storm come from the north, an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze. Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life. Each had the form of a human being, but each also had four faces and four wings. Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf and sparkled from the fire like burnished bronze. On all four sides under their wings they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings, with the wings touching one another. They turned neither one way nor the other; they went straight forward.

^10-12 Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle. So much for the faces. The wings were spread out with the tips of one pair touching the creature on either side; the other pair of wings covered its body. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit went, they went. They didn’t turn as they went.

^13-14 The four creatures looked like a blazing fire, or like fiery torches. Tongues of fire shot back and forth between the creatures, and out of the fire, bolts of lightning. The creatures flashed back and forth like strikes of lightning.

^15-16 As I watched the four creatures, I saw something that looked like a wheel on the ground beside each of the four-faced creatures. This is what the wheels looked like: They were identical wheels, sparkling like diamonds in the sun. It looked like they were wheels within wheels, like a gyroscope.

^17-21 They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures went, the wheels went; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

^22-24 Over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome, shimmering like a sky full of cut glass, vaulted over their heads. Under the dome one set of wings was extended toward the others, with another set of wings covering their bodies. When they moved I heard their wings—it was like the roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of a battlefield. When they stopped, they folded their wings.

^25-28 And then, as they stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their heads. Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne. From what I could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day—that’s what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God!

When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.

AND SCENE….More tomorrow from The Voice!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

Filled with bizarre visions and puzzling revelations from this prophet priest might intimidate and puzzle us at first reading.  But it shouldn’t. Let’s dig beneath the surface and uncover the timeless lessons about God and his relationship with us such as:

• God would rather forgive you than judge you.
• He remains faithful even if you don’t.
• He can use anything—even something really bad—to accomplish his greater good. 

The NIV Quest Study Bible says Ezekiel wrote this book to the Israelites living in exile. They needed to know that the God of Israel was God even in pagan Babylon. Ezekiel warned the people that their idolatry would be judged. Later, after Jerusalem’s destruction, he wrote to encourage them that God would bring them back to Judah and Jerusalem.

We learn that God’s anger and discipline only lasts a moment, His love lasts forever.  Cling to this Truth and Promise from God as we read of the struggles in exile as God’s Chosen paying the consequences of their own sins of turning away from Him, committing murder of even their own, worshiping idols of all kinds, and living in evil, perversion—all that was not God.  All because of pride and arrogance that grows like weeds in humanity when we go our own way with no thought for anyone else.

Jesus came not to judge humanity but to save us.  Jesus came to serve, not to be served.  Jesus taught us how to love.  Jesus gave everyone he met dignity and worth when no one else did.  Jesus loved the unlovable.  Jesus completed his purpose and mission when he laid down and gave his life for our sins.  Yes, Jesus is proof that God can do anything! 

God will take the bad of this world and turn it all around to be used for our good and His glory.  The “wheels” could be representative of a never ending life with God.  We come “full circle” from where we were in sin to where we are when we repent in Jesus Name.  Bad to good—That’s God!

Israel was experiencing dark days.  But God was still with them.  The first truth Ezekiel needed to understand was that, no matter how discouraging the circumstances, God was still on the throne accomplishing His divine purposes in the world.  Ezekiel vision was recalling what he already had seen and knew as he identified the living creatures as the cherubim, heavenly creatures first mentioned in Genesis 3:24.  These would have been engraved on the Temple walls.  How assuring from this vision to recall where he met with God!

Wild “winds” of debilitating storms will come in our lives, but they won’t last forever.  God is still on the throne.  Nothing that happens is surprising to God or catches Him off guard.  Be assured, God knows and He cares.

If you are going through a really tough time right now, go to a place that helps you remember God is with you, wants to hear from you and will act on your behalf in His way that is best for you.  I will pray for you, too.

We all go through times that we wonder if God is still on our side, moving on our behalf.  The answer is and always will be—YES!

“The wheels symbolize God’s omnipresence, while the eyes on their rims suggest the God’s omniscience, seeing and knowing everything. Ezekiel was seeing a representation of the providence of God as He worked in His world.”  –Warren Wiersbe

“Noah saw the rainbow after the storm (Gen. 9:13–16), the apostle John saw it before the storm (Rev. 4:3), but Ezekiel saw it over the storm and in control of the storm. In His wrath, God remembers mercy.” –Wiersbe

“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” –Psalm 30:5

Lord,

Thank you for all the lessons your Word teaches us each morning, proving you are who you say you are and do what you say you will do.  There is truly no one like you!  You are all I need for living this life on earth through good times and bad.  I praise and thank you for you have done, are doing and will do as you transform my life to be all you created me to be.  Thank you for being with me—always and forever!

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen—Yes, and Amen!

THE GLORY OF GOD!

Ezekiel will watch God’s glory leave the temple and go over the Mount of Olives, and he will also see it return to the kingdom temple. Because of Israel’s sins, the glory had left the temple; but God’s promise is that one day the city of Jerusalem and the temple will be blessed by the glorious presence of the Lord.

Ah…now we can begin to grasp the message that God was giving His prophet. Though His people were in exile and their land and temple and nation were about to be destroyed, God was still on the throne and able to handle every situation. In His marvelous providence, He moves in the affairs of nations and works out His hidden plan.

Yes, God is still here.  Yes, God is still able.  Same God then as now.  Trust Him.

When a child comes to a loving parent and says, “I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again”, the compassionate parent picks up the child, holds the child in a close, comforting embrace and whispers words of loving forgiveness.  The defiance and arrogance cease in the child.  Humbled regret is expressed by the lamenting child.  The parent assures the child of their loving relationship through forgiveness.  A fresh start begins.  All is well.

Lamentations is about grief; it is about forgiveness; it is about holding intention and an openness to possibility. It is about a great turning – a shift in consciousness and way of being.  The people grieve what was which was destroyed while learning to grab and cling to the Hope from God of what will be.  The lament begins a reversal in thinking.

We have learned that the “lament” is an important aspect of our lives and is just as crucial to us as breathing.  To lament is the final act of humbling ourselves in a posture that empties all that is human desires within to receive and be filled with all that is holy—God!  We learn in our lament that life is larger than our pain and current physical reality.  God is and always will be our only Hope.  God does not fail us in His compassion toward us.  His unfailing, relentless love for us never quits or gives up on us.

The Word of God, inspired and delivered by God to mankind has been preserved for communicating who God is and how He specifically speaks deeply into our lives. All things considered; to study Lamentations along with the book of Jeremiah, almost makes Lamentations irresistible when you intimately know the One who wants us to love Him back!  Be still, let go, and know God.

Lamentations 5, The Message

Give Us a Fresh Start

^1-22 “Remember, God, all we’ve been through.
    Study our plight, the black mark we’ve made in history.
Our precious land has been given to outsiders,
    our homes to strangers.
Orphans we are, not a father in sight,
    and our mothers no better than widows.
We have to pay to drink our own water.
    Even our firewood comes at a price.
We’re nothing but slaves, bullied and bowed,
    worn out and without any rest.
We sold ourselves to Assyria and Egypt
    just to get something to eat.
Our parents sinned and are no more,
    and now we’re paying for the wrongs they did.
Slaves rule over us;
    there’s no escape from their grip.
We risk our lives to gather food
    in the bandit-infested desert.
Our skin has turned black as an oven,
    dried out like old leather from the famine.
Our wives were raped in the streets in Zion,
    and our virgins in the cities of Judah.
They hanged our princes by their hands,
    dishonored our elders.
Strapping young men were put to women’s work,
    mere boys forced to do men’s work.

The city gate is empty of wise elders.
    Music from the young is heard no more.
All the joy is gone from our hearts.
    Our dances have turned into dirges.
The crown of glory has toppled from our head.
    Woe! Woe! Would that we’d never sinned!
Because of all this we’re heartsick;
    we can’t see through the tears.
On Mount Zion, wrecked and ruined,
    jackals pace and prowl.
And yet, God, you’re sovereign still,
    your throne intact and eternal.
So why do you keep forgetting us?
    Why dump us and leave us like this?
Bring us back to you, God—we’re ready to come back.
    Give us a fresh start.
As it is, you’ve cruelly disowned us.
    You’ve been so very angry with us.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—WHO DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

There is nothing you have done or suffered the consequences for that will keep you from the love of God and His forgiveness.  God made a Way to come back to the Truth of who He is and wants to be in us—Life forevermore.  That Way, Truth and Life is all wrapped in the Person of Jesus Christ, His Son.  Jesus, “The Word made flesh” came down from His throne in heaven and willingly lived a humble life on earth teaching us who God is, how much He loves us and wants us to love Him back with how to love each other.  Jesus healed, comforted, while reclaiming humans from a life of hopelessness. “Come and see God!” was the mantra of the day.

All was wonderful and right with Jesus.  But sin still stood in the Way.  Sin has always stood between God and mankind.  Sin was a debt that was too much to pay by human efforts.  So, Jesus volunteered to be the perfect, once and for all sacrifice, the One and Only candidate who could because of being without sin himself.  He willingly and painfully laid down on a cruel cross, nailing our sins on that cross through His body who took all our sins upon Himself.  Jesus paid it all, in full, for all the sins of the world. 

God sent Jesus to earth for this very purpose.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Believe.  Lament with repent, calling on the Name of Jesus for forgiveness.  Jesus forgives and we are saved for eternity.  God said.  It’s done.  Our sins to be remembered no more.  After lament and repent comes hope and fresh new way of thinking and behaving! Get ready for a fresh start!

Lord,

Indeed, your mercies are new and fresh with each new day to be alive here on earth.  You are Hope!  You bring Life with new, higher ways of thinking which leads to more holy ways of behaving.  You forgive sin completely, so much so that you forget we ever sinned.  We do not forget which hopefully helps us to “sin more more”!  But when I do, you forgive and set me right once more.  That’s how you made us and that’s how you love us.  I love how you love.  Teach me your ways and help me to internalize Your Word into my being so I will sin less.  You are God and I am not.  I’m yours, Lord, all that I am and all that I’m not but want to be.  Yes, I believe.  No turning back, no turning back.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Now, let us worship!  Singing, “It is Well with My Soul”!

If you get your just deserts, you get what you deserve. The consequence you get could be good or bad, but the phrase usually has a negative connotation.  For example, if you did something bad and then something bad happened to you in return, you got what you justly deserved.

In the book of Deuteronomy, God is very specific in what actions He will take for their behaviors.  God’s blessings will flow from their heart-felt obedience.  Suffering the consequences of disobedience is also described as a curse. God also makes it clear what will happen if His Chosen, those He loves dearly and wants to bless, do not obey what He has laid out as the best way to live for their own good. 

Jeremiah’s lament continues in this chapter.  He brings together several vivid images to describe the “just desserts” for disobedience with what the people endured in the siege and fall of Jerusalem. When you read Deuteronomy 28-30, we see that these very calamities were announced in the terms of the covenant with God from the beginning, so the Jews should not have been surprised when they got was coming to them for their evil deeds.  But, they were…in shock.

Lamentations 4, The Message

Waking Up with Nothing

Oh, oh, oh . . . 
How gold is treated like dirt,
    the finest gold thrown out with the garbage,
Priceless jewels scattered all over,
    jewels loose in the gutters.

² And the people of Zion, once prized,
    far surpassing their weight in gold,
Are now treated like cheap pottery,
    like everyday pots and bowls mass-produced by a potter.

³ Even wild jackals nurture their babies,
    give them their breasts to suckle.
But my people have turned cruel to their babies,
    like an ostrich in the wilderness.

⁴ Babies have nothing to drink.
    Their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths.
Little children ask for bread
    but no one gives them so much as a crust.

⁵ People used to the finest cuisine
    forage for food in the streets.
People used to the latest in fashions
    pick through the trash for something to wear.

⁶ The evil guilt of my dear people
    was worse than the sin of Sodom—
The city was destroyed in a flash,
    and no one around to help.

⁷ The splendid and sacred nobles
    once glowed with health.
Their bodies were robust and ruddy,
    their beards like carved stone.

⁸ But now they are smeared with soot,
    unrecognizable in the street,
Their bones sticking out,
    their skin dried out like old leather.

⁹ Better to have been killed in battle
    than killed by starvation.
Better to have died of battle wounds
    than to slowly starve to death.

¹⁰ Nice and kindly women
    boiled their own children for supper.
This was the only food in town
    when my dear people were broken.

¹¹ God let all his anger loose, held nothing back.
    He poured out his raging wrath.
He set a fire in Zion
    that burned it to the ground.

¹² The kings of the earth couldn’t believe it.
    World rulers were in shock,
Watching old enemies march in big as you please,
    right through Jerusalem’s gates.

¹³ Because of the sins of her prophets
    and the evil of her priests,
Who exploited good and trusting people,
    robbing them of their lives,

¹⁴ These prophets and priests blindly grope their way through the streets,
    grimy and stained from their dirty lives,
Wasted by their wasted lives,
    shuffling from fatigue, dressed in rags.

¹⁵ People yell at them, “Get out of here, dirty old men!
    Get lost, don’t touch us, don’t infect us!”
They have to leave town. They wander off.
    Nobody wants them to stay here.
Everyone knows, wherever they wander,
    that they’ve been kicked out of their own hometown.

¹⁶ God himself scattered them.
    No longer does he look out for them.
He has nothing to do with the priests;
    he cares nothing for the elders.

¹⁷ We watched and watched,
    wore our eyes out looking for help. And nothing.
We mounted our lookouts and looked
    for the help that never showed up.

¹⁸ They tracked us down, those hunters.
    It wasn’t safe to go out in the street.
Our end was near, our days numbered.
    We were doomed.

¹⁹ They came after us faster than eagles in flight,
    pressed us hard in the mountains, ambushed us in the desert.

²⁰ Our king, our life’s breath, the anointed of God,
    was caught in their traps—
Our king under whose protection
    we always said we’d live.

²¹ Celebrate while you can, O Edom!
    Live it up in Uz!
For it won’t be long before you drink this cup, too.
    You’ll find out what it’s like to drink God’s wrath,
Get drunk on God’s wrath
    and wake up with nothing, stripped naked.

²² And that’s it for you, Zion. The punishment’s complete.
    You won’t have to go through this exile again.
But Edom, your time is coming:
    He’ll punish your evil life, put all your sins on display.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TODAY?

It breaks the heart of God when we turn from Him, all that is good, to live a disobedient way of life.  God knew we needed help.  He knew we needed a Rescuer who would save us from our own natural propensity to disobey.  We can never be good on our own.  We need God’s power behind us, His knowledge within us.  And for sure, we need help to avoid our “just desserts”.  God knew that.

So, God, in His Sovereignty and wisdom, mercy and grace, gave us His Son, to pay for the punishment for our disobedience, our “just desserts” so to speak, for all our sins.  Jesus, the One and Only Son who came to earth, the Only Perfect One qualified without sin, sacrificed all He had for all we needed—mercy and grace—and a pardon for our sin.  Our “just desserts” for our sins was paid in full.

Mercy is the act of withholding deserved punishment, while grace is the act of endowing and showing unmerited favor. In His mercy, God does not give us punishment we deserve, namely hell; while in His grace, God gives us the gift we do not deserve, namely heaven.

We can now cease our lamenting over our sins by repenting to Jesus and be saved forever, our sins to be remembered no more!  We stand in praise to the One and Only who gave us what we do not deserve—forgiveness for all our sin.  This is amazing grace and power-filled mercy!  How can we walk away from this? 

Mercy and grace are two sides of a coin – and the coin is love. In the author’s own words, mercy is a compassionate love to the weak, and grace is a generous love to the unworthy. Humans are weak and unworthy – we all need God’s mercy and grace. Mercy takes us to the path of forgiveness, while grace leads us to reconciliation.  Jesus is the Way to True reconciliation with God who gives us eternal Life.

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

Believe.  Repent.  Be saved forever. God’s Holy Spirit will come to live in all who believe and love Him back with power to obey that is beyond human efforts.  But when we slip and fall, and we will because we are human, rely on God who picks us right back up with His guiding hand. To be honest with God is to be intimate with Him.  We love Him because He first loved us, says John. 

Lord,

Lamenting over what we have done is remembering the pain we caused by our own actions.  Rejoicing is being set free by your sacrificial act of love for my sins.  I am so grateful for you, dear Jesus, who set us right with God by your mercy and grace.  Continue to transform me to be all you created me to be.

In Jesus Name, Amen

When we worship God, we find hope no matter the current circumstances or feelings.  Great is Thy Faithfulness came to be from reading Lamentations 3!  Let us sing from our hearts right now!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Jeremiah reveals his deep pain but still has “a grip on hope” that can only come from God.  The sufferings of the people and the destruction of the city and temple were the great causes of pain for Jeremiah. These tragic events would not have occurred if the people had listened to him and obeyed God’s will. Jeremiah had faithfully proclaimed God’s message for forty years, yet the nation had turned a deaf ear. But great is God’s faithfulness, mercies new each morning!

Lamentations 3, The Message

God Locked Me Up in Deep Darkness

^1-3 I’m the man who has seen trouble,
    trouble coming from the lash of God’s anger.
He took me by the hand and walked me
    into pitch-black darkness.
Yes, he’s given me the back of his hand
    over and over and over again.

^4-6 He turned me into a skeleton
    of skin and bones, then broke the bones.
He hemmed me in, ganged up on me,
    poured on the trouble and hard times.
He locked me up in deep darkness,
    like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.

^7-9 He shuts me in so I’ll never get out,
    handcuffs my wrists, shackles my feet.
Even when I cry out and plead for help,
    he locks up my prayers and throws away the key.
He sets up blockades with quarried limestone.
    He’s got me cornered.

^10-12 He’s a prowling bear tracking me down,
    a lion in hiding ready to pounce.
He knocked me from the path and ripped me to pieces.
    When he finished, there was nothing left of me.
He took out his bow and arrows
    and used me for target practice.

^13-15 He shot me in the stomach
    with arrows from his quiver.
Everyone took me for a joke,
    made me the butt of their mocking ballads.
He forced rotten, stinking food down my throat,
    bloated me with vile drinks.

^16-18 He ground my face into the gravel.
    He pounded me into the mud.
I gave up on life altogether.
    I’ve forgotten what the good life is like.
I said to myself, “This is it. I’m finished.
    God is a lost cause.”

It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

^19-21 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
    the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
    the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
    and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

^22-24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left.

^25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
    quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
    to stick it out through the hard times.

^28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take,
    go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
    Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
    The “worst” is never the worst.

^31-33 Why? Because the Master won’t ever
    walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
    His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
    in throwing roadblocks in the way:

^34-36 Stomping down hard
    on luckless prisoners,
Refusing justice to victims
    in the court of High God,
Tampering with evidence—
    the Master does not approve of such things.

God Speaks Both Good Things and Hard Things into Being

^37-39 Who do you think “spoke and it happened”?
    It’s the Master who gives such orders.
Doesn’t the High God speak everything,
    good things and hard things alike, into being?
And why would anyone gifted with life
    complain when punished for sin?

^40-42 Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living
    and reorder our lives under God.
Let’s lift our hearts and hands at one and the same time,
    praying to God in heaven:
“We’ve been contrary and willful,
    and you haven’t forgiven.

^43-45 “You lost your temper with us, holding nothing back.
    You chased us and cut us down without mercy.
You wrapped yourself in thick blankets of clouds
    so no prayers could get through.
You treated us like dirty dishwater,
    threw us out in the backyard of the nations.

^46-48 “Our enemies shout abuse,
    their mouths full of derision, spitting invective.
We’ve been to hell and back.
    We’ve nowhere to turn, nowhere to go.
Rivers of tears pour from my eyes
    at the smashup of my dear people.

^49-51 “The tears stream from my eyes,
    an artesian well of tears,
Until you, God, look down from on high,
    look and see my tears.
When I see what’s happened to the young women in the city,
    the pain breaks my heart.

^52-54 “Enemies with no reason to be enemies
    hunted me down like a bird.
They threw me into a pit,
    then pelted me with stones.
Then the rains came and filled the pit.
    The water rose over my head. I said, ‘It’s all over.’

^55-57 “I called out your name, O God,
    called from the bottom of the pit.
You listened when I called out, ‘Don’t shut your ears!
    Get me out of here! Save me!’
You came close when I called out.
    You said, ‘It’s going to be all right.’

^58-60 “You took my side, Master;
    you brought me back alive!
God, you saw the wrongs heaped on me.
    Give me my day in court!
Yes, you saw their mean-minded schemes,
    their plots to destroy me.

^61-63 “You heard, God, their vicious gossip,
    their behind-my-back plots to ruin me.
They never quit, these enemies of mine, dreaming up mischief,
    hatching malice, day after day after day.
Sitting down or standing up—just look at them!—
    they mock me with vulgar doggerel.

^64-66 “Make them pay for what they’ve done, God.
    Give them their just deserts.
Break their miserable hearts!
    Damn their eyes!
Get good and angry. Hunt them down.
    Make a total demolition here under your heaven!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We sing a new song today because of God’s Son, Jesus, who is our Hope, Redeemer and Lord of our lives.  Matt Redman wrItes and sings a similar song of hope through the faithfulness of God:

You Never Let Go

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me…

Believe, Repent, Be saved with Hope for life eternal.

In Jesus Name, Amen!  I believe!

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Oh, You never let go, You never let go

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” writes Paul to the Roman church.  When we read the whole chapter (Romans 3) this truth is expanded to help all people understand the faithfulness of God to all that is right, holy and good for us who believe Him. Paul writes from the beginning of this letter; “the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!”  God is faithful no matter what we do.  We have a choice to reflect who God is or not.

Our behavior of faithfulness to God helps others see God faithfulness to all who believe and follow in His ways.  Jeremiah writes in this Lament that through bad, horrible times of suffering because of all sins of all people, God is faithful.  God turns his back on sin but he does not turn His back on people who cry out to Him, seeking Him with all their hearts.  The cry of the prophet to God’s people is to seek Him with all your hearts—And God will find us.

If Jeremiah has taught us anything at all through the trials of exile and destruction, it is this:  Our sin cuts us off from God and all His promises and blessings until we turn back to Him.  God does what He says He will do to bring us back to Him. God, indeed, walked away from the Holy Temple built by human hands but He is still God.  We learn that the sin of trying to put God in a box and bring Him out only on special occasions and feasts with empty, sin-filled hearts caused God’s exit!  What man had built for Him was destroyed by the sins of mankind that had replaced respect, awe, and fear of God. 

God cannot be contained.  God is everywhere and anywhere He wants to be.  God is present and omnipresent.  God is all knowing.  God, however, cannot and will not be where sin resides for God is holy.  God is Truth.  He cannot lie.  Knowing His created like He does, God made a plan to redeem us once and for all eternity.  That plan was Jesus, The Word made flesh, who came to seek and to save all lost humans and pay the debt of all sin once and for all who believe.  Yes, I used “all” more than once for emphasis because God’s desire is for all to be saved from sin.  God wants to come to us and abide in us. God loves us beyond our human thinking!  How can we walk out on a love like this?

Jeremiah tells God’s people how to repent: 

Give out heart-cries to the Master, dear repentant Zion.
    Let the tears roll like a river, day and night,
    and keep at it—no time-outs. Keep those tears flowing!

As each night watch begins, get up and cry out in prayer.
    Pour your heart out face-to-face with the Master.

In today’s words:  Get real, believe in Jesus’ power and authority to forgive, repent and be saved forever.  In Jesus Name, Amen

Our lament is in not believing and following our sin nature for far too long.

Lamentations 2, The Message

God Walked Away from His Holy Temple

Oh, oh, oh . . . 
How the Master has cut down Daughter Zion
    from the skies, dashed Israel’s glorious city to earth,
    in his anger treated his favorite as throwaway junk.

² The Master, without a second thought, took Israel in one gulp.
    Raging, he smashed Judah’s defenses,
    ground her king and princes to a pulp.

³ His anger blazing, he knocked Israel flat,
    broke Israel’s arm and turned his back just as the enemy approached,
    came on Jacob like a wildfire from every direction.

⁴ Like an enemy, he aimed his bow, bared his sword,
    and killed our young men, our pride and joy.
    His anger, like fire, burned down the homes in Zion.

⁵ The Master became the enemy. He had Israel for supper.
    He chewed up and spit out all the defenses.
    He left Daughter Judah moaning and groaning.

⁶ He plowed up his old trysting place, trashed his favorite rendezvous.
    God wiped out Zion’s memories of feast days and Sabbaths,
    angrily sacked king and priest alike.

⁷ God abandoned his altar, walked away from his holy Temple
    and turned the fortifications over to the enemy.
    As they cheered in God’s Temple, you’d have thought it was a feast day!

⁸ God drew up plans to tear down the walls of Daughter Zion.
    He assembled his crew, set to work and went at it.
    Total demolition! The stones wept!

⁹ Her city gates, iron bars and all, disappeared in the rubble:
    her kings and princes off to exile—no one left to instruct or lead;
    her prophets useless—they neither saw nor heard anything from God.

¹⁰ The elders of Daughter Zion sit silent on the ground.
    They throw dust on their heads, dress in rough penitential burlap—
    the young virgins of Jerusalem, their faces creased with the dirt.

¹¹ My eyes are blind with tears, my stomach in a knot.
    My insides have turned to jelly over my people’s fate.
    Babies and children are fainting all over the place,

¹² Calling to their mothers, “I’m hungry! I’m thirsty!”
    then fainting like dying soldiers in the streets,
    breathing their last in their mothers’ laps.

¹³ How can I understand your plight, dear Jerusalem?
    What can I say to give you comfort, dear Zion?
    Who can put you together again? This bust-up is past understanding.

¹⁴ Your prophets courted you with sweet talk.
    They didn’t face you with your sin so that you could repent.
    Their sermons were all wishful thinking, deceptive illusions.

¹⁵ Astonished, passersby can’t believe what they see.
    They rub their eyes, they shake their heads over Jerusalem.
    Is this the city voted “Most Beautiful” and “Best Place to Live”?

¹⁶ But now your enemies gape, slack-jawed.
    Then they rub their hands in glee: “We’ve got them!
    We’ve been waiting for this! Here it is!”

¹⁷ God did carry out, item by item, exactly what he said he’d do.
    He always said he’d do this. Now he’s done it—torn the place down.
    He’s let your enemies walk all over you, declared them world champions!

¹⁸ Give out heart-cries to the Master, dear repentant Zion.
    Let the tears roll like a river, day and night,
    and keep at it—no time-outs. Keep those tears flowing!

¹⁹ As each night watch begins, get up and cry out in prayer.
    Pour your heart out face-to-face with the Master.
    Lift high your hands. Beg for the lives of your children
    who are starving to death out on the streets.

²⁰ “Look at us, God. Think it over. Have you ever treated anyone like this?
    Should women eat their own babies, the very children they raised?
    Should priests and prophets be murdered in the Master’s own Sanctuary?

²¹ “Boys and old men lie in the gutters of the streets,
    my young men and women killed in their prime.
    Angry, you killed them in cold blood, cut them down without mercy.

²² “You invited, like friends to a party, men to swoop down in attack
    so that on the big day of God’s wrath no one would get away.
    The children I loved and reared—gone, gone, gone.”

Lord,

Forgive us our sins. Save us from ourselves.

In Jesus Name, Amen.  I believe.

Sometimes hearing about and helping others through tragic circumstances brings a sense of gratitude to us in a spiritual way because we consider that for a moment all is well with us and we are have more than we thought in our own reserve.  God can use our “wellness” to come alongside others who are not well.

We are going to dive into Lamentations together.  I’m praying wellness for us as we study the lament after the devastation of the city of Jerusalem.  This book of Lamentations, probably written by the prophet Jeremiah, is a dark but beautiful book that reflects the pain of injustice and human loss. It’s filled with crushing emotions: anger, desperation, fear, loneliness, hopelessness. If you are personally wounded when reading Lamentations, you may feel strangely understood and comforted. I know, weird, right?!

Lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.  To lament is to also having regret and remorse for past actions that led to tragic consequences.  Jeremiah will symbolically express frustration over Jerusalem’s slide from order to chaos.

Let’s begin!

Lamentations 1, The Message

Worthless, Cheap, Abject!

Oh, oh, oh . . . 
How empty the city, once teeming with people.
    A widow, this city, once in the front rank of nations,
    once queen of the ball, she’s now a drudge in the kitchen.

² She cries herself to sleep each night, tears soaking her pillow.
    No one’s left among her lovers to sit and hold her hand.
    Her friends have all dumped her.

³ After years of pain and hard labor, Judah has gone into exile.
    She camps out among the nations, never feels at home.
    Hunted by all, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.

⁴ Zion’s roads weep, empty of pilgrims headed to the feasts.
    All her city gates are deserted, her priests in despair.
    Her virgins are sad. How bitter her fate.

⁵ Her enemies have become her masters. Her foes are living it up
    because God laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions.
    Her children, prisoners of the enemy, trudge into exile.

⁶ All beauty has drained from Daughter Zion’s face.
    Her princes are like deer famished for food,
    chased to exhaustion by hunters.

⁷ Jerusalem remembers the day she lost everything,
    when her people fell into enemy hands, and not a soul there to help.
    Enemies looked on and laughed, laughed at her helpless silence.

⁸ Jerusalem, who outsinned the whole world, is an outcast.
    All who admired her despise her now that they see beneath the surface.
    Miserable, she groans and turns away in shame.

⁹ She played fast and loose with life, she never considered tomorrow,
    and now she’s crashed royally, with no one to hold her hand:
    “Look at my pain, O God! And how the enemy cruelly struts.”

¹⁰ The enemy reached out to take all her favorite things. She watched
    as pagans barged into her Sanctuary, those very people for whom
    you posted orders: keep out: this assembly off-limits.

¹¹ All the people groaned, so desperate for food, so desperate to stay alive
    that they bartered their favorite things for a bit of breakfast:
    “O God, look at me! Worthless, cheap, abject!

¹² “And you passersby, look at me! Have you ever seen anything like this?
    Ever seen pain like my pain, seen what he did to me,
    what God did to me in his rage?

¹³ “He struck me with lightning, skewered me from head to foot,
    then he set traps all around so I could hardly move.
    He left me with nothing—left me sick, and sick of living.

¹⁴ “He wove my sins into a rope
    and harnessed me to captivity’s yoke.
    I’m goaded by cruel taskmasters.

¹⁵ “The Master piled up my best soldiers in a heap,
    then called in thugs to break their fine young necks.
    The Master crushed the life out of fair virgin Judah.

¹⁶ “For all this I weep, weep buckets of tears,
    and not a soul within miles around cares for my soul.
    My children are wasted, my enemy got his way.”

¹⁷ Zion reached out for help, but no one helped.
    God ordered Jacob’s enemies to surround him,
    and now no one wants anything to do with Jerusalem.

¹⁸ “God has right on his side. I’m the one who did wrong.
    Listen everybody! Look at what I’m going through!
    My fair young women, my fine young men, all herded into exile!

¹⁹ “I called to my friends; they betrayed me.
    My priests and my leaders only looked after themselves,
    trying but failing to save their own skins.

²⁰ “O God, look at the trouble I’m in! My stomach in knots,
    my heart wrecked by a life of rebellion.
    Massacres in the streets, starvation in the houses.

²¹ “Oh, listen to my groans. No one listens, no one cares.
    When my enemies heard of the trouble you gave me, they cheered.
    Bring on Judgment Day! Let them get what I got!

²² “Take a good look at their evil ways and give it to them!
    Give them what you gave me for my sins.
    Groaning in pain, body and soul, I’ve had all I can take.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Jeremiah’s audience are the Jews in Babylonian exile who are lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem.  Notice that in the middle of the lament, they finally admit that they were wrong.  “God has right on his side. I’m the one who did wrong.

I must ask myself, what does God have to allow to happen in my life until He has my attention so He can help me realize what I am doing wrong—the sins that offend Him?

The NIV Quest Study Bible advises us to look for themes of tragic reversal—despair to hope, repentance to renewal—for individuals, cities and nations. Notice also the book’s careful construction.  God is not finished with His people yet.  God is not finished with you and me.

The Jewish people were proud of Jerusalem, for it was their capital city and the home of their holy temple.  But their hearts had turned away from God. the Jews thought their city was impregnable, particularly because the Lord’s house was there. But God would rather His city and temple be destroyed by pagans than to have His name disgraced by the wicked lives of His people.

Now that they were in trouble, the Jews were turning back to God’s Word. Unfortunately, they didn’t pay attention to that Word earlier to keep the trouble from coming.  But regret is seeping into their being with remorse building as they remember their sins against God.

Lord,

I confess, there are times I brush aside the sin of judgement on those who hurt me.  I have unholy thoughts of wanting to fight back, to get even.  Then I realize that is not what you want and I move on.  Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Forgive us our sins.  You are the One and Only who forgives our sins and remembers it no more.  I rely on your compassions that fail not” and on your eternal love because of Jesus in me.  Continue to transform me by correcting me. Do what you must, but be gentle.  I have no regrets for coming to you. I want to live with no regrets.  No turning back, no turning back…

In Jesus Name, Amen