Scripture Notes: The Message of the Prophets, Part 2

But God’s warnings go unheeded. The people even scorn the prophets, hating their words and their call to repentance. So God disciplines His people. He allows the covenant curses to fall on His rebellious family. The prophets describe what happens. In chapter 10, Ezekiel watches as God’s glory leaves the Temple. In chapter 33, the same prophet describes the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah adds significant details in his chapters 39 and 52, and Lamentations and Baruch paint a dire portrait of suffering and loss. Joel speaks of a plague of locusts while Obadiah describes the downfall of Edom (a related neighbor who dares to scorn Israel). None of this seems much like love. Famine and the sword, plague and captivity, fire and destruction and exile. These seem more like hatred. But God does not hate His people. They have refused to learn from God’s instructions, so now they have to learn the hard way. This is what a parent does. Children must face the consequences of their choices, as horrible as they may be. They have to understand the horrors of sin, the effects of their rebellion. God’s justice is part of His love, and it falls heavily when people refuse to accept His mercy.
    
Yet God does not forget His people. After all, He continues to send them messages through the prophets. He could have gone silent, but He does not. Instead He tells them that He will help them in the midst of their sufferings. He says through Isiah, “fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand” (Isa 41:10). Hosea, too, shows by his very action of taking back his own unfaithful wife and loving her that God will do the same for His people. Daniel tells how this is done in practice as God remembers him and his companions in the midst of their trials as they remain faithful to him in the face of death. Jonah even reveals how God remembers the pagan Ninevites, reaches out to them, and has mercy when they repent. God has not forgotten. His love remains even in the midst of suffering. 
    
What is more, God promises through His prophets a time of restoration beyond the people’s wildest dreams. This restoration takes many forms throughout the prophetic books. Isaiah speaks of Immanuel, the king who will rule, the shoot and branch from David’s line (Isa 7, 9, 11) as well as the return of the remnant to Israel (Isa 11) and the in-gathering of the nations for an extended, eternal covenant that will go beyond anything they have ever known (Isa 60, 54, 56). Jeremiah, too, speaks of the righteous branch and a new covenant. God declares through him, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” a covenant that will be written right in their hearts (Jer 31:31, 33). Ezekiel prophesies about the true shepherd who will come, and this is God Himself (Ez 34). He sees a vision of the dry bones come back to life through God’s Spirit (Ez 37) and the new Temple with its flowing river of life (Ez 40ff.). Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man before the Ancient of Days (Dan 7) and his prophecies of resurrection (Dan 12) add further detail, and Daniel even offers a timeline for the coming of this Son, this Messiah, this King Who will rule the whole world. Micah says that He will arise from Bethlehem (Mic 5). Malachai announces a messenger to prepare the way for the “sun of righteousness, with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2). Zechariah points to the victory of the pierced one and the fountain that will open to cleanse the people (Zech 12-13). Joel speaks of the Spirit poured out “on all flesh” (Joel 2:28). In other words, God’s love will triumph. God’s love will reign. After the horrors of sin and the covenant curses, renewal will come, and it will be better than ever before. God has a plan for His people’s good, and it is a plan that will extend to the whole world. Israel, God’s first-born, will have siblings, lots of siblings, and God Himself will mysteriously come to His people in a whole new way.
    
We Christians know how this plays out. We know that Jesus has fulfilled the prophets, bringing the new covenant. We see God’s love in action among us. Yet the prophets still speak to us today, for we still sin. We still spurn God’s love. We still need warnings, for we must understand that our sins have consequences and our covenant comes with curses, too, curses that could mean eternal separation from God if we fail to repent of our sins and turn to Him. God does not change; He still loves, warns, punishes, forgives, and restores His people. We all experience this love, and the prophets help us understand it. Further, the prophets point well beyond their day, well beyond our day, to a final restoration that we still await. We can turn to the prophets for hope that God’s plans are still in place and still unfolding no matter how bad our world seems. For God loves us in many wonderful ways, and the prophets allow us to see that love in action both for the people of their day and for the Church right now, right here, God’s new covenant people.

Scripture Notes: The Message of the Prophets, Part 1

The prophets send many messages: doom and hope, destruction and restoration, warnings and reassurances. Sometimes these messages seem contradictory, complex, even overwhelming. But when we look for one thread to tie them together, one theme that binds up all these apparently conflicting communications, one overarching message that gives all the rest their meaning, we find nothing less than God’s infinite love. This love is expressed in many diverse ways throughout the prophets, and admittedly, some of the prophets’ words do not look or sound much like love, at least from a human perspective. Yet if we read the prophets with an open mind and an open heart, we soon see that they continually declare God’s love for His people, both for their own times and for ours.
    
God’s love shines forth when the prophets speak of the covenant God has made with His people, that family bond that makes Israel God’s first-born son and royal priestly household. In Hosea, for instance, God identifies Israel as both His wife, the one He chose and took to Himself, and His son, the infant He took into His arms and led with “cords of compassion” and “bands of love” and held up to His cheek and bent down to feed (Hos 11:3-4). This tender love appears in Ezekiel 16, too, when God describes His people as an abandoned child that He cared for and bound to Himself by covenant. 
    
What does Israel do in response to God’s great love? The people sin. They turn away to idols. They break the covenant. They follow their own paths and turn their backs on God. The prophets have the special task of calling out the people for their sins, of telling them straight that they are offending God. Ezekiel shows in chapter 16 how the bride of God turns into a harlot who chases after other lovers, the idols. He reveals in chapter 8 that idolatry has found its way right into God’s Temple where the priests and leaders worship the sun and other “gods.” Isaiah calls Israel an unfruitful vineyard that responds to God’s loving care with only “wild grapes” (Isa 5:2). Jeremiah declares God’s accusation toward His people, who have said that they will not serve him, that they will continue to go after their idols and deliberately spurn God’s law (Jer 2). They have become corrupt. Amos speaks of that corruption to the idolatrous northern kingdom that worships golden calves and combines their sacrifices to God with sacrifices to the Baals. Micah points out how the people are even unfaithful to each other, not behaving like a family but cheating and lying and treating each other with the greatest of injustice. God wants His people to be aware of what they are doing so that they can repent and change their hearts. He is offended, and His people are destroying themselves, and because He loves them, He wants to prevent that.

So God warns His people through His prophets. Punishment will come if they fail to repent. He is not threatening for the sake of threats; rather He is warning out of love. His people should be so much more, for they are His covenant family. Amos warns the northern kingdom of its coming doom. Micah warns both north and south. Isaiah makes it quite clear that Jerusalem will be destroyed if the people do not return to God (Isa 22). Jeremiah speaks of imminent invasion from Babylon as well as the fall of Jerusalem and captivity for the people (Jer 6, 21. 25). Habakkuk wonders why God has not punished His people sooner, but God assures Him that He is “doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told” (Hab 1:5). The Babylonians will come and destroy Judah. In Zephaniah 1, God declares “I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem” because of their idol worship (Zeph 1:4). Even after the exile, God continues to warn His people to follow His laws, as in Malachai and Haggai. God even extends His warnings to the rest of the world through Isaiah (Isa 14, 34), Jeremiah (Jer 47ff.), Ezekiel (Ez 25ff.), and Nahum (against Nineveh). They, too, are His people, for He has created them, and while they are not in a covenant with Him, they are potential members of His covenant family whom He loves and whom He warns. They, too, must stop sinning.

Scripture Notes: Happy (Psalm 146)

Everyone is searching for happiness, looking high and low, here and there. Many people do not find it. Some think they do only to be disappointed when it quickly fades. Then they chase after the next possibility, and the cycle continues. Yet they never discover the happiness they long for.

Psalm 146 tells us where we can find true and lasting happiness. “Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5). Real happiness comes from God, from relying on God, from hoping in God, from believing in God, from loving God, from putting God at the center of our lives. There really is no other way to be truly happy in this life. Everything else fades away. Only God remains. 

It is as simple as that (although not easy to do). When we put the true God front and center in our lives, we will be truly happy.

Scripture Notes: Esther’s Plight (Esther 2)

The young Jewish woman Esther finds herself in quite a fix...and not through any fault of hers. The king has put Queen Vashti aside in disgrace, and Esther enters the palace harem with many other young women to compete for the title of queen. She does not want this; it happens against her will. She has no choice but to obey the royal order or face the consequences for herself and her family.

Esther has already known hardship. She is part of a people in exile in a foreign land, and while she has never seen Judea or Jerusalem, she has heard stories from her adopted father, Mordecai, who is actually her cousin. Esther lost both her parents when she was very young.

Now Esther is trapped within the king’s court, essentially a prisoner. The eunuch in charge of the women decides, though, that he likes this girl, and he gives her a favored position, rich cosmetics, good food, and maids to serve her. Her physical needs are met, but emotionally, Esther must be suffering. For she knows what is going to happen. Each maiden takes a turn going in to the king, and she does not come back. Instead, she goes to a second harem. This visit with the king is not an interview. The king is not just looking at the girls and judging their beauty and demeanor. Rather, he violates them sexually, thinking he has the right.

Esther likely understands this full well. But there is nothing she can do. When the king calls her, she will lose her virginity. It has to prey on her mind as she waits. Finally, her turn comes. She goes in. She experiences the horror. But the king decides he wants Esther for his queen. Again, there is nothing she can do but go along and bow as he places the crown on her head. 

What Esther does not know, however, is that God is allowing this for a reason. He is putting her in position to be able to save her people from certain death. What she goes through is not pleasant, and she suffers. Yet without Esther as queen, right where she needs to be to intercede with the king who favors her, all the Jews would die in a single day. God has His reasons, and Esther obeys and offers herself up to His plan.

Scripture Notes: The Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5)

The writing on the wall has become a cultural expression referring to something bound to come to pass, something that a person should have known yet overlooked, something unpleasant that must now be faced. But fewer people these days probably know and understand the original context of the phrase. It comes from the book of the prophet Daniel. Daniel was taken into exile in Babylon about 605 BC and selected for service to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. This young man rose quickly through the ranks, for God had gifted him with faith and wisdom, and he took a leading role in court life and government while always remaining loyal to God.

After Nebuchadnezzar passed, one of his successors, Belshazzar, decided to throw a party, perhaps better described as an orgy. The pagan Belshazzar had no respect for God and called for the vessels his predecessor had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem so that he and his guests could drink from them and use them to offer wine to their idols. This sacrilegious use of holy things led to the writing on the wall.

Right in the middle of the party, a hand appeared and begin to write a few words. No one could read them. No one could understand. But the very sight of this hand and its writing terrified Belshazzar. He called for all his wise men, offering fantastic gifts of wealth and power to anyone who could interpret the message.

Finally, on the advice of the queen-mother, Daniel was called in. He was older now and wiser than ever, and he realized at once what was going on. He told the king that he could keep his gifts or give them to someone else, but he would certainly read the words and interpret them. They meant simply this: the days of Belshazzar’s kingdom were coming to a quick end; the king himself has been weighed and found wanting; and the Babylonian kingdom would be handed over to the Medes and Persians.

It was not a message Belshazzar wanted to hear, but Daniel did not hesitate to remind him of the sin that led to it. The king had made his choice and did not wish to repent. God had also made His choice. Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall came true that very night.

Scripture Notes: Why, God? (Habakkuk)

The book of the prophet Habakkuk is quite different from the writings of other prophets. Habakkuk does not spend much time railing at people about their sins (although he is extremely conscious of them) or delivering messages of doom (although those stand in the background). Instead, Habakkuk is a prophet of questions. He asks, openly and honestly, “Why, God?” 

Why, God, does sin seem to go unpunished? Why do people still practice idolatry and injustice? Why aren’t they chastised? How can they get away with their crimes again and again?

God answers that the time will come. He will punish the sins of the people. He will bring chastisement down upon them. He will enact the covenant curses. Justice will prevail. But it will be in His own time and His own way. He has a plan, and while Habakkuk may not see the details or even understand what he does see, that plan is perfect.

God reveals some of His plan to Habakkuk: He will use the Babylonians to bring down punishment for the people’s sins. Habakkuk is horrified. Again, he asks, “Why, God?” The Babylonians are even more wicked than the Judahites. How could God allow such a thing, that a worse people conquers a better one?

God answers again. The Babylonians are merely His instrument. They, too, will be punished for their sins. God can and does use the tools He wills for His purposes, and His plan works out as He has determined it.

Habakkuk is satisfied, and he ends his book with a psalm of praise to God, the Divine Warrior, Who is perfectly just and perfectly loving and perfectly trustworthy and perfectly open to the question of “Why, God?”

Scripture Notes: The Sins of Edom (Obadiah)

The Book of the Prophet Obadiah is the shortest book in the Bible, with just one chapter, but it contains a critical warning that continues to apply even to this day. The prophet speaks against Edom, Israel’s southern neighbor that descended from the patriarch Jacob’s twin brother, Esau. The relationship between the two nations was strained at best for centuries and often deteriorated into out and out warfare. 

The most likely circumstances behind this brief but powerful prophetic message involves the Babylonian exile of Judea in 586 BC. As the Jews were conquered by Babylon, as Jerusalem and the Temple burned, as the people fled in terror or died in the streets or were carried off into captivity, Edom laughed. 

Obadiah calls out Edom for its sins. It sat by and did nothing while its brother Jacob suffered and died. It refused to lift a finger to defend or comfort. In fact, it rejoiced at Jerusalem’s downfall and swept in to grab as much land and wealth as it could. It gloated and snickered and mocked. It even rounded up fugitive Jews and handed them over to be enslaved or killed.

In other words, Edom had no pity, no compassion, no mercy. It cared nothing for the horrors experienced by its neighbor, its brother really, for Edom and Israel were linked by ties of blood. So, the prophet warns, Edom will get back what it gave. It, too, will be destroyed without mercy. It, too, will suffer. It, too, will be mistreated and scorned. It will learn the hard way as it experiences the punishments that are simply the consequences of unrepented sin.