He made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain and
brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Jeremiah 51:15-16
Jeremiah is also the author of Lamentations. During this book it continues to talk about the suffering of the Israelites, but also lifts up the people with praises of God's love for them (and us).
Yet this I call to mind and therefor I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefor I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:22-26
Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?
Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven, and say:
We have sinned and rebelled
and you have not forgiven.
Lamentations 3: 39-42
Joy is gone from our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Lamentations 5:15-16
I am now in Ezekiel. Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, was a prophet chosen to warn the Israelites that they would soon be punished for their sinful behavior. Ezekiel was sent to the area of Jerusalem. This falls in the same time period as the writings of Jeremiah.
Therefore as surely as I love, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. Ezekiel 5:11
Ezekiel is given many visions from the Lord. The are very interesting and I hope to research them further some day. Example: Ezekiel 8-10.
"But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel 12:16
It's really hard to not focus on the pain and torture that is experienced during this judgement. I try to focus on finding that "thread of redemption" that Pastor Jodi instructed me to look for. What I do now clearly see is the pleading that the Lord does to bring his people back to Him.
"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!"
I found Ch. 16: An Allegory of Unfaithful Jerusalem particularly interesting. It paints such a clear image of unfaithfulness and the pain that is caused by it.
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed,
and get a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel 19:31
Another thing that has been hard to read is when the sacrificing of children is mentioned. It has really made me think about the importance of these little people (who we call our own but they really belong to Him). It is making me evaluate the priorities in my life. I may never sacrifice their lives for an idol god....but I do sacrifice their well-being at times for my own reasons. -nic
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nicole and Julie,
ReplyDeleteYou continue to do an excellent job. I love the way you always relate it to your life. I am trying to do the same. I recently participated in a funeral service and the family chose Lamentations 3:22-26 as a reading. It fit the situation very well. Keep up the good work.