Biblical History

What was Cyrus thinking?

Dan

It has been my observation that we can know for sure Cyrus was called by God to move against Babylon. Consider how thick the walls were (you could ride six chariots side by side on top of the wall). Consider how long the Babylonians ruled (centuries). Yet our God says – there is no God beside me, I have prepared you to attack and subdue Babylon. Then we hear the message of God that tells Cyrus — it is not your idols that made this happen. They did not prepare you; they did not give you authority to attack, and they did not give you the ability to succeed. I, the Lord God did this.

Over and over, we are told that God can use anyone for anything. The allegiance of the person does not matter, only the will of God matters. The idols of Cyrus are inert — made by ordinary men. God knows Cyrus. God empowers Cyrus.

Isaiah 44:9-11 says — All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing? People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame (NIV).

I wonder what Cyrus thought about this. More than likely, he took it in stride, pleased it was happening, but I bet he struggled to wrap his mind around this stuff. Isaiah was talking to any city that would have him. He put the message out. The known world became aware by God’s providence, and by the testimony of the suffering Jews in Babylon. Every person, from the east and from the west, sunrise, and sunset, was hearing the message — Our Lord is God and there is none else. The wonderful deliverance that authenticated the message proclaimed to all who would listen — there is none like the God of Jeshurun, that rides on the heavens for their help.

Isaiah 44: 24-28 says — I am the Lord, Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, It shall be inhabited, of the towns of Judah, They shall be rebuilt, and of their ruins, I will restore them, who says to the watery deep, Be dry, and I will dry up your streams, who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, Let it be rebuilt, and of the temple, Let its foundations be laid (NIV)

I think about wandering about the city in the university area. There are musicians playing songs about every subject under the sun. Occasionally there is a street preacher or a Harikrishna group on the corner speaking out for all to listen. In a previous life I was one of those street musicians making a little music for pocket change, talking with listeners, watching little kids dance to the sounds I was making. Then I grew into festivals and concerts. Still the same message. People listened, transported someplace else for a bit of a rest; and so, it was with Isaiah. He went out, found an audience, and started talking. People were curious, they listened. Things started happening. They listened a little closer. People found the answers. They knew that Cyrus was coming to emancipate them from Babylon. It was true.

Fast forward three thousand years and it is Billy Graham, delivering the same message Isaiah delivered to the curious and the downtrodden. People want answers. The message we responded to is the answer given by Isaiah – God’s grace and redemption. Make haste, the time is close. Yield, God is calling.

I choose Jesus.

What has been Hid in your Heart? (part 2)

Dan

It was my observation when digging into the message of Ezekiel chapter 14, that God usually responds to idolatry by returning them to the idol for answers rather than providing the answer as requested. They ask the idol for help, then stand expectantly in front of their idol, waiting for help to be dispatched from the Idol Help desk and resolve their issue (see Judges 10:13-14). In this passage, God sends the inquiries to the god they have chosen. This coy judgement is just what they request. They receive what they want. The unmitigated support and attention from the idol they serve no matter what their walk in life is or their profession. You can guess the outcome.  Eventual despair.

Their trouble is heightened because they refuse to narrow the gap between themselves and God; they have yielded to some creature from the valley of death and gave that creature dominion over their heart. This is the sad endgame for those who mock God and his ways. Their heart is at war with him. We do not see the war, but we can see the effect of the war on their life and their families.  Despair.

Ezekiel 14:6-8 says — This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord. [NIV]

This message from Ezekiel is not directed like a shotgun towards all Hebrews in earshot, rather it is a nuanced message directed at a specific type of sin, a specific group of people. It brings to mind a despondent soul drifting because his anchors of society and power have been destroyed. Our target group is hiding in plain sight, thinking that their absence from the shadow of the temple gives license to drift from the truth in their heart.

In private, he worships the idols of his father, yet he is publicly a Hebrew, an alleged worshiper of Elohim. He has learned to not expect any useful or pertinent message from Elohim’s prophets, even his friends who have their secrets and their own demons; they may not be aware of his drifting. He is gradually separating himself from God, the temple, and the people of God. His service (no matter how distracted and lame the service was) is diminishing in importance, like a distant whiff of incense, it fades.

But we see there is even a smaller crowd that have all but separated themselves from God, yet they come and hang out with ‘God’s people’ looking for scraps of advice and messages that might be useful. Not because they want to repent but because they are looking for a way out of the mess they created. They want out on their terms, not God’s terms. They want a clue, a light in the distance they can target to wander and get away from their problems but not solve their problems and climb into the light.

This kind of behavior is dangerous. We should not trifle with God or his people. Hoping to leverage their kindness into an edge that gets them past the issues they face. If you make a mess, own it, don’t tiptoe through the facts to find a few facts that can be used to extract help from the faithful.

For people who are maneuvering amongst God’s people they are the target of this message from Ezekiel. It is necessary to repent. This person may be thinking they can save their situation, but Ezekiel says God will make him a sign and inflict such judgements on him as to make him contemptable in the eyes of his friends (see Matthew 24:51). His life will be a warning to others to get close to God, cling to God, never waver in your gaze. Avoid the misery. Stay close to him in all your ways! I choose Jesus.

What has been Hid in your Heart? (part 1)

Dan

It was my observation when evaluating the 14th chapter of Ezekiel that a few things of interest emerged. First of all, let us state a universal truth – hearing the word of God and communication with God (prayer) are wonderful ordinances of God, useful to grow us and comfort us. In both of these activities we give honor to him. They lead us to acceptance and favor from him in times of strife. We seek these things to find solutions for problems and answers to questions. So, it is with some aghast I find this chapter addressing those who wait on God for a few things but not all things. The elders come to Ezekiel in all their finery, heads held high, expecting Ezekiel to pay homage to their obvious strength and position in the community. Yet, because they are not qualified to consult with Ezekiel, they hear a rebuke rather than acceptance. Then Ezekiel quickly takes to the offensive (rather than a ‘follower’ role) and calls on them to repent and reform their lifestyle; else it will be a perilous adventure to enquire of God’s wisdom.

Ezekiel 14:1-5 says — Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. Then the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire about me at all? Therefore, speak to them and tell them, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: when any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols. [NIV]

I think we can assume that the elders who dropped in on Ezekiel were not regulars. They were not people who heard him speak very often, if ever. I think they were the social elite of those stranded in Babylon near the river. They may have even been on business, like an emissary from a local Hebrew leader (inside the slave community). They called upon the prophet, wanting to know if he had a specific message for them that might give them an edge with the leaders of Babylon.

Ezekiel was riled up when he replies. He feels God’s indignation. Perhaps the elders were on the job, getting feedback from Ezekiel and comparing it to Jeremiah looking for places to discount their respective messages. Of course, Ezekiel was stern in his reply. He knew the elders to be idolater’s, they were treating Ezekiel as they would treat any local oracle. They were curious and probing into his message and authenticity.

They pretend to put away their idolatry to entice Ezekiel to start talking. They kept them in their hearts and had every intention of returning to their vomit. This is how it flows with spiritual idolatry. They respond to the pull of their sensual patterns wallowing in their mind with thoughts of the economy and their businesses. Some look to idols to provide power, some look to idols to provide wealth, others look to idols to provide companions.  I suspect that in their days the pull on their heart would be power and companionship. Today I suspect we are allured by the beauty of wealth and economic power. With this stumbling block we often fall into sin and land in ruin. I should note that we are our own worst trouble. Every person has these temptations, and for those who step into the snare, they are taken down by their own hand, their own mind, their own bank account.

The deeper truth – sin and shame are our own doing. We create the mess by ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We die from 1000 small infractions that gradually tear our character down, shredding our dignity. The process is gradual, once we realize what happened we often find it difficult to repent because of pride. But repent we must, that is the first step to healing, the first step to mercy, the first step to restoration. I choose Jesus.

Condemnation does not seem like Enough (Part 2)

Dan

It was my observation while reading and processing Ezekiel 13 that the message delivered was not the usual prose they were accustom to hearing. This was a much stronger message similar to what we read in 1 John 1:1 — That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life [NIV]. Just as the readers of Johns letter felt, the Hebrews were feeling as Ezekiel is talking. He is firmly saying to walk away from the false prophets. Get away. Their dreams and visions are homemade. They are not real. They are mere vanity and divination, stuff made up and presented as something they heard or saw when in fact nothing happened.

Ezekiel 13:6-9 says — Their visions are false and their divinations a lie Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, the Lord declares, and expects him to fulfill their words. Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, The Lord declares, though I have not spoken? Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord [NIV].

It goes without saying – the message from Lucifer is false, he is the father of lies, he will never change. He will work hard to prove that God has lied, God is no longer relevant, God’s form of moral judgement is outdated and no longer pertinent to the issues we face. We need a new message from a new kind of God. Perhaps a well-meaning software program known as AI (or perhaps we call it HAL?). Lucifer has many new shades of the same old tricks. Expect him to exploit the woke community and redefine God’s character and attributes to match their needs. In the end they reshape God (1000 small edits to his character) until we no longer have confidence in the one true living God.

They are like the coyotes of the desert, good hunters, skillful at finding our weakness, attacking when we are at our most vulnerable position. They run to-and-fro, giving the appearance of being in a great hurry, but they are working to snare us. They flatter people into a vain kind of hope, not well defined, not easy to gauge when you have achieved the goal. They suggest that we can have hope and have all our vices at the same time. They suggest we are not shackled by the tired outdated rules of Ozzy and Harriet. They suggest we have woken from a great slumber in antiquity and we are now free of God’s oppression.

They are pretenders. They spew their woke concepts in a neat package as some new and improved truth. But, the one true living God has made it clear – I am the Lord your God – I change not. Goodness, what folly we engage in when we think that absolute truth is not so absolute.

We read in Matthew 5:19 — anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven [NIV]. In a woke world, at the very least, followers of the one true living God are discounted by the community, at worst they are pushed out of the community, ashamed to lift their head in the midst of their friends, the woke people who are deceived find it necessary to hold believers at bay, being careful to avoid their message.

No one wants to be trapped in captivity, marginalized in their woe. Once the truth comes out, when God’s word prevails, the mercy and grace of God play a dominate role. For the troubled who repent from wokeness, forgiveness is always available. God’s mercy is renewed every morning. Restoration is possible. I choose Jesus.

Condemnation does not seem like Enough (Part 1)

Dan

It was my observation that Ezekiel chapter 13 is addressing the vain vision and divinations that were floating around the Hebrew culture. They were hunting for some scrap of truth they could rest their life decisions upon. This chapter is focused on the impact of aimless wandering. In this case the message from God expressed through his prophets is very clear when speaking about false prophets.

Every day we hear people comment on what will happen in the future if some event or policy is implemented. The soothsayers (talking heads) abound in their message of woe or hope depending upon their situation. When the talking heads are passionate and judgmental against others, they sometimes move into the realm of prophecy. They set themselves up as judge and jury.

This is God’s job not ours. God tells us — Get it right or close your mouth (Deuteronomy 18:22). Do not flatter others, do not present illusions as truth, stay away from deceptive messaging. Get it right! Why, because true wisdom and strength are sourced in God; we learn how to live from him, we learn what to live for by listening to the message (implied in Job 12:16).

Esekiel 13:2-5 says — Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolishprophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. [NIV].

Some of the receptors for this message were local to Jerusalem and the immediate area surrounding Jerusalem (see Jeremiah 23:14). Others were among the captives in Babylon. Ezekiel and Jeremiah addressed the problem of false prophets (see Jeremiah 29:8) when Jeremiah said — Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed [NIV].

This specific dual message is reasonable evidence they were guided by the same Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the false prophets worked hard to create a unique message that set them apart from the heard and drew listeners to their events. As you might guess there was little hope the false prophets would repent, but God made the provision, offering grace to all. At the same time the message went out to the remnant to caution them from embracing the false messages.

The deeper truth – I cannot recall a time in Hebrew history that God’s people rejected false prophets and God did not shower them with grace. Furthermore, the examples of false prophets operating rarely occurred until the true prophets of the one true living God were ignored and maligned. Arrogance led to the magnification of counterfeit messages and troublesome guidance. The false prophets were exposed to the word of God, some repented, most did not. They were trying to make a living.

They made a folly of their own message (see 2 Timothy 3:9). They are blocked by the Holy Spirit from rendering too much damage for the people of God (the remnant). nature of the false message. Thus, the listeners who ascribed to the false prophet rendered These false voices were called foolish prophecies, their followers did not ascertain the serious damage to their own soul. How do the listeners recover? They should repent! I choose Jesus.

I’m done with the Delays

Dan

It was my observation while reading Ezekiel 12 that God had employed an assortment of themes to get the attention of the careless Hebrews to understand the Judgement that was at the doorstep. They needed to focus, repent and walk away from their crazy ways to halt the judgement. Unfortunately, they resolved to stand behind their stone safeguard, stand behind the walls of the city to protect them; they were adamant, the one true living God was not going to protect them.

Instead, they kept reassuring each other they were on the right path. Elohim was an ancient relic, no longer relevant to their modern thinking and ideas. Elohim was not coming. Ezekiel was just another soothsayer trying to make a living peddling bad news. They wondered out loud, where is this God, he is not so tough. He hides behind hacks and mystics. He had no real power. Then God says — Enough!

Ezekiel 12: 22-25 says — Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: The days go by and every vision comes to nothing? Say to them, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel. Say to them, the days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord [NIV].

Goodness, how these Hebrews have made a mess out of things. There is a remnant present, but the leadership and most of the community are rebellious. They have no real belief that God is a God of his word. They use what they want from his message but refuse the full counsel of Scripture and his teachers. They make up new proverbs to support their position. Enough, says God! Enough! Yet, they continue in their rebellion. Even if they were remotely aware of the message, they feel the end was a long way down the road. Therefore, they need not be troubled by the threat or prepare for the threat. More than likely, they will die of natural causes from old age in honor and peace rather than some kind of threat to the city walls. But this turned out to be a massive mistake on their part. God was putting his foot down. He was done with the preparations. The time was now!

Their quaint sayings had morphed into proverbs, it was as if they had been on the evening news day after day until they became accepted as truth and spoke by all at the dinner table and at the workplace. I think this demonstration of degeneracy by the Hebrews revealed the depth of corruption in their heart. This thing became a tricky artifice used by Lucifer to reinforce the corruption in our heart and make us feel like we are in safe ground. Yet, it is a clear tool of the woke Hebrew community, a clear tool creating prejudice against the way of God. This progressive idea ‘woke up’ the Hebrews to a false reality. They move in their woke state and deliver a great offence to the one true living God.

The deeper truth – when our life and message demonstrate the truth of heaven and paints a contrast between heaven and hell; we are a persuader. We are being used by God. He provides opportunities to answer the questions, he provides the answers. We simply become available. It is not our place to view them as infidels, even if they rail against God’s plan. We are to love them with everything inside of us. We are to be patient with them as they struggle to walk away from the old ways and embrace the new.

Some decide that the cost is too great. For them, we still love them. Why? Because we may be the last person who speaks Jesus into them. We may be the last time they hear God speak to them through another human. We do not know. Just love them. Our message must always be one of life with Jesus and death without Jesus. Our compassion and mercy must reflect the gravity of their poor decisions. For even if the return of Jesus is more than a few weeks away, it is near, very near indeed. I choose Jesus.

Give Them an Undivided Heart (Part 1)

Dan

It was my observation that Ezekiel was given an interesting sense of how the remnant was to be treated while they were in captivity. In Chapter 10 we see the shekinah glory of God leave Jerusalem. Now, in Chapter 11, we see the plan for the remnant that leads to the new covenant.

This is what I think – prophecy is a simple concept – every person in the valley is given an exit plan they can choose to follow, every person standing on self-made mountains are soon to be knee capped (see Isaiah 40:4). The exit plans are full of hope, the kneecapping can be avoided. This is simple stuff.

God’s prophets such as Ezekiel speak with conviction, they warn the presumptuous and secure and bring comfort to the despised and despondent. He that tremble at God’s word and God’s voice has nothing to fear from the message of a Prophet. And so, we see Ezekiel in the service of the one true living God, bringing these words of comfort to the remnant by the Kabar River as they mourned over Zion.

Ezekiel 11:14-16 says — The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, they are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession. Therefore say: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone. [NIV]

When we read that the people of Jerusalem have said they (the remnant) are far away from the Lord, this land was given to us (not to the remnant), we find the audacity of the stiff-necked Hebrews at a high point. The revelers cut themselves off from the remnant. This was done in reaction to the remnant separating themselves from the local leaders in Jerusalem and demonstrating allegiance to God by willingly heading to Babylon as a slave.

The one true living God used this specific message to respond to the shunning of his remnant by the rebellious Hebrews. He speaks of his protection and comfort extended to his remnant even while they are working as a slave for the city of Babylon (see Isaiah 66:5-6). Then he takes ownership of the judgements rendered in Jerusalem. He reminds them the remnant may look abandoned, but they are still connected by grace to the one true living God. Their current state is temporary. Mercy is on the way. Those who remain in Jerusalem may have the Temple but they do not have God. On the other hand, those who left for Babylon have the shekinah glory of God overseeing them, but they do not have the temple. I think it is obvious who is the winner.

Go back and read the last sentence of the cited Ezekiel passage closely. Notice the phrase “I have been a sanctuary for them” (Ezekiel 11:16). Specifically, they have been provided with a place of refuge, a refuge within God himself, while in Babylon. They still had communion with God even when in captivity. The rebellious people remaining in Jerusalem were stuck on the notion they could only know the presence of God within the confines of the temple. They could not be further from the truth.

So, now we find the key point. The sanctuary provided by God is scattered about to be sure each person within the remnant has a place of respite (see 1 Kings 9:6-9). Compared to the Hebrews remaining in Jerusalem (think about those who will not be raptured, who remain on earth), the number of people in the remnant is small. God is aware of the low status of his people, he fusses over their wellbeing, He brings little things along to let them know he loves them still. The God of this universe becomes their sanctuary. Oh my, this reminds me of the stable in Bethlehem.  I choose Jesus.