Scripture Notes: Return and Renewal (Ezekiel 36)

Ezekiel was a prophet of the Babylonian exile. As a member of the priesthood, he was carried away to Babylon about 597 BC, and it was there that his prophetic mission began. When the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and the rest of Jerusalem in 586, carrying off many more people into exile at the same time, the situation appeared hopeless. The Promised Land was far away. The proper worship of God seemed like a thing of the past. And, perhaps worst of all, the people were coming to realize that it was all their fault. They had broken their covenant with God by disobeying Him and worshiping idols.

But God never gives up on His people, even when He chastises them. So He told Ezekiel to speak a message of hope. God would show His holiness. He would vindicate His Name. The people did not deserve God’s mercy, but He would give it anyway. When the time was right, God would gather His people and bring them back to their own land. He would “sprinkle clean water” upon them, purifying them from their sins and from their idols. He would give them a new heart and a new spirit, His own Spirit, which would help them keep His laws and adhere to His will. He would renew the covenant, assuring them “you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” 

The people must have been relieved to hear God’s message through Ezekiel. God had not abandoned them. He still loved them and cared for them. He was still guiding their destiny, shaping them, correcting them, even when they had to learn the hard way.  

Scripture Notes: The Rebellious Vineyard (Isaiah 5)

Through the prophet Isaiah, God sings to His covenant people Israel. He tells them how He planted a vineyard on a fertile hill. It was the best possible place for vines to grow and produce rich, delicious fruit. He did everything He could to make this vineyard perfect, digging it out, clearing away the stones, planting the choicest vines, building a watchtower, and hewing out a wine vat. Then He awaited the fruit. But what did He get? Wild grapes. Sour grapes that were no good for eating or wine-making.

The vineyard, of course, is Israel. God planted them in the Promised Land, clearing away obstacles that would threaten or distract them. He gave them His Law so they could flourish. He provided the Tabernacle and then the Temple where He could dwell with them in a special way. He even swore an oath to them, creating a covenant that made them His own people, His family. But what did Israel do? They broke that covenant. They sinned. They refused to follow God’s Law. They worshiped idols. They bore wild grapes.

God continues through Isaiah, “And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?” The correct answer, of course, is “nothing.” God did everything possible for His people. The problem lies with them and their misuse of God’s gift of free will. They have chosen to sin.

And now they must face the consequences of that choice. God says that He will break down the wall of His vineyard and leave it to be trampled and destroyed. He will allow the people to experience the covenant curses that they have brought upon themselves by their rebellion. But God will never completely abandon His vineyard. He chastises His people, punishing them and correcting them, but He remains perfectly faithful. The rebellious vineyard, when it has learned to obey, will flourish and, by God’s grace, produce good fruit in the end.

Scripture Notes: The Small Things (1 Kings 19)

Elijah is exhausted. On the run from Queen Jezebel after killing her 450 pet prophets of Baal, the prophet of God simply wants to throw in the towel. Enough is enough, he tells God, just kill me now. But that is decidedly not God’s plan for Elijah. Far from it. Instead, God sends an angel with food and drink and instructions. Elijah must go to Mount Horeb, the very place where Moses had entered the shekinah, the glory cloud, and received the Law from God.

Elijah gets up, eats and drinks, and obeys, traveling forty days and forty nights to Horeb. When he gets there, he tucks himself into a cave and waits. He is still rather pouty, for when God asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” the prophet complains that he is the only one left who is worshiping God in all of the northern kingdom of Israel. Everyone wants to kill him. It is a very big deal, and he feels like a very small man.

God tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain before the Lord. Elijah obeys. A great wind whips through, breaking rocks in its wake. Then an earthquake shakes the place where the prophet stands. Then a fire roars by. But God is not in any of these major catastrophic events. Elijah is still standing somehow, and soon he hears a small sound, a tiny voice. He hides his face in his cloak, for God is present in that small voice.

God asks again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Once again, the prophet whines that he is the only one left loyal to God and that everyone wants to kill him. At that point, God reveals that it is not so. There are, He says, seven thousand people in Israel who do not worship Baal. Elijah is not alone. And he still has tasks to do. They may seem like small things, simply anointing the right people, but they will make a huge difference in the history of Israel and the world. And as small as he is, there will be other small people who love and worship God, and together, they will be great because God is great, even when He speaks in that small voice.

Scripture Notes: You Duped Me! (Jeremiah 20)

“You duped me, Lord,” Jeremiah cries out in frustration. The life of a prophet is not at all what he expected it to be. No one wants to listen to the message God gives through Jeremiah. In fact, most people despise the prophet for daring to speak God’s words, words they do not want to hear, words that warn them of dreadful things to come unless they repent and turn back to God.

But they do not want to repent. They do not want to abandon their idols and sins. They do not want to turn back to God. They have become entrenched in their own ideas and desires, in their passions and conflicts. They have long been hedging their bets with other “gods,” hoping that if God will not listen to them, someone else might give them what they long for, worldly wealth, worldly honor, worldly power.

So Jeremiah’s prophetic efforts are met with ridicule and even violence. He finds himself locked up in the guardhouse, threatened and mistreated. He even ends up down a cistern, sunk into the muck at the bottom. So his cries to God are perfectly understandable.

Yet Jeremiah also knows that God has supported him throughout his prophetic journey. Every time God has given the prophet words to speak, He has also given him strength to speak and to bear the consequences, however unpleasant those may be. Deep down, Jeremiah loves and trusts God immensely, and this is one of the reasons he feels like he can express his frustration, complaints, and even anger in prayer. God listens and responds.

In the end, Jeremiah breaks out into praise. He is still frustrated, still upset, still completely miffed that his prophetic efforts have produced so little fruit and so much scorn. Yet even in his grumbles, he knows God loves him and loves His sinful people. Otherwise, He would not be sending a prophet at all.