Lamentable; Lamentations 2, Ps. 137

May the mumbling commence!

Welcome to a lamentable situation.  The dust had yet to settle from the journey to exile.  The psalmist wails, and Jeremiah made good on his title as the weeping prophet in the book of Lamentations.  Read first Psalm 137:

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

              when we remembered Zion. 

There on the poplars

              we hung our harps, 

for there our captors asked us for songs,

            our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 

How can we sing the songs of the Lord

            while in a foreign land? 

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

            may my right hand forget its skill. 

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

            if I do not remember you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem

            my highest joy. 

Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did

            on the day Jerusalem fell.

"Tear it down," they cried,

           "tear it down to its foundations!" 

O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,

happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us –   

he who seizes your infants

           and dashes them against the rocks.  

I read this psalm and think of the great hymns and spiritual songs that were written from the first half of the psalm.  I can almost hear the Jamaican-like rhythms of the song “By the waters of Babylon.”  Indeed, how could songs of joy be sung in captivity at the whim of oppressors? 

It is no wonder that tongues clung to the roofs of mouths.  No, joy was not bubbling forth in the foreign land.  Hatred and vengeance bubbled up instead.  Remember the violence of Edom and Babylon!  That was the rallying cry.  Happiness could only be dreamed of when vicious retribution would be brought down on the heads of Edom and Babylon. 

The psalm ends with some haunting words – happy is he who seizes your infants and dashes the against the rocks.  It is only human that we want revenge.  That is why I am glad that I am not God, that we are not God.

Lamentations speaks of a wound that seems incurable.  Read from Lamentations 2:13-14 –

What can I say for you?

          With what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem?

To what can I liken you,

           that I may comfort you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion?

Your wound is as deep as the sea.

           Who can heal you? 

The visions of your prophets

           were false and worthless;

they did not expose your sin

           to ward off your captivity.

The oracles they gave you

           were false and misleading.  

Can you imagine a wound as deep as the sea?  What trouble and strife!  Who can heal that level of wound?  Neither a band aide nor sutures would stem the flow of blood.  The visions and oracles of the prophets are false misleading and worthless.  Jeremiah tells us where to look later in chapter 2 of Lamentations:

The Lord has done what he planned;

           he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago.

He has overthrown you without pity,

           he has let the enemy gloat over you,

           he has exalted the horn of your foes. 

The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord.

O wall of the Daughter of Zion,

           let your tears flow like a river day and night;

give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest. 

Arise, cry out in the night,

           as the watches of the night begin;

pour out your heart like water

            in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to him

            for the lives of your children,

who faint from hunger

           at the head of every street. (Verses 17-19)

The answer is clear.  Cry out to the Lord.  Though it may be too late for this generation, cry out for the sake of your children – that they may return to the Lord.  Then, the seemingly incurable wound will be healed by God. 

Let us not dwell on our own grief.  Let us instead build a new day for our children and grandchildren.  This new day will not be built upon the foundation of hatred and vengeance.  This new day will be built upon love and faithfulness.  May it be so.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Exile Opens the Ears; Ps. 85

May the mumbling commence!

Entering exile is a number one way of opening clogged ears to listen to the Lord.  Psalm 85 says it quite well.  Read it below:

You showed favor to your land, O Lord;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 

You forgave the iniquity of your people

and covered all their sins.                                 Selah 

You set aside all your wrath

            and turned from your fierce anger. 

Restore us again, O God our Savior,

and put away your displeasure toward us. 

Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger through all generations? 

Will you not revive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you? 

Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation. 

I will listen to what God the Lord will say;

he promises peace to his people, his saints –

but let them not return to folly. 

Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land. 

Love and faithfulness meet together;

righteousness and peace kiss each other. 

Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,

and righteousness looks down from heaven. 

The Lord will indeed give what is good,

and our land will yield its harvest. 

Righteousness goes before him

and prepares the way for his steps.

I recall the Lord’s faithfulness to His chosen people, just as the psalmist does.  I recall the Lord’s faithfulness and promises to His chosen people in a time of distress.  My only hope lies in the Lord remembering His faithfulness and promises to His chosen people.  I ask: “Why does the Lord’s hand seem to be so heavily against us?” 

I expected the crumbling of world systems of economy and justice and peace.  But, why does the church of God seem to be dwindling in my neck of the woods?  I look around the church in North America, and I mainly see apathy.  Church bodies are shrinking.  Young adults seem to be abandoning ship. 

Wherein lays the hope for the future of the church?  Peace and passion and wisdom and salvation and glory come from listening to the Lord.  If our hope lies only in the Lord, then we must be vigilant and attentive to every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  The word of the Lord will sustain us much better than any food known to humanity.

So let’s work on rightful relationships to the Lord and to the people around us and to the creation we enjoy.  By helping to establish such righteousness by listening to the Lord, we prepare the way for the Lord to once again actively save us in the days to come. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Pay Attention! Jeremiah 34, 39 2 Chron. 36

May the mumbling commence!

It pays to pay attention to the Lord.  It was a hard lesson to learn by the experience of siege and impending exile for the people of Judah in the days of the prophet Jeremiah.  King Zedekiah made a half-hearted attempt at paying attention to the Lord.  Read from Jeremiah 34:8-17 –

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves.  Everyone was to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Jew in bondage.  So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free.  But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again. 

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:  "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, 'Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. After he has served you six years, you must let him go free.' Your fathers, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.  Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to his countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.  But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again. 

Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim 'freedom' for you, declares the Lord – 'freedom' to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Apparently, Israel never followed some of the Law that the Lord gave them through Moses.  When they were on the brink of exile, they made a half-hearted attempt only to turn from the wisdom of their actions.  Before this passage God had promised safety to Zedekiah and the people.  They would have a burial of honor and not fall by the sword.  Because of the peoples’ poor judgment in paying attention to the Lord, they were now to suffer the consequences of not paying attention to the Lord.

There were other laws that were ignored by the people of Israel.  Read from 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 –

He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.  The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.

Every seventh year the fields were to lay fallow.  What a concept!  Sabbath rest and care for nature!  But the land never got its sabbath rests.  That would change during the time of exile.  And the poor, too, would get what was rightfully theirs – for the Jubilee was never observed.  Read from Jeremiah 39:10 – “But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.” 

Yes, God rewarded His faithful.  Remember Ebed-Melech from yesterday?  He got his protection in this violent end to Jerusalem.  Read from Jeremiah 39:15-18 –

While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him:  "Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.  But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be handed over to those you fear.  I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.'"

Yes, the slaves were released.  The land had its sabbath rests.  The poor got land that they had been deprived of.  The wealthy got the sword and famine and plague.  Those that survived became servants.  Zedekiah was blinded after seeing all his family killed. 

God worked His designs without the help of the people He adopted.  God had been crying out to Israel, but they would not pay attention.  Yes, it pays to pay attention.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Exile Cannot Erase God's Promise; Jeremiah 32-33

May the mumbling commence!

Neither our unfaithfulness nor our exile can erase the promise of the Lord.  In fact, exile is a way to draw us nearer to the Lord.  When we draw near to the Lord, the Lord will draw near to us.  And we will receive the blessings of God’s promise to us.  When in the throes of anguish and separation, these words of comfort are needed.  Jeremiah knew this fact.  May we learn it, too.  Read from Jeremiah 32 and 33:

Jeremiah said, "The word of the Lord came to me:  Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, 'Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.' 

"Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, 'Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.'

I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.  I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.  I took the deed of purchase – the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy – and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 

In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions:  'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.  For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.'” (32:6-15)

This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them.  Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.'   Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord." (32:42-44)

While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:  "This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it – the Lord is his name:  'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'  For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword in the fight with the Babylonians: 'They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. 

Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.  I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.  I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.  Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.' 

This is what the Lord says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the Lord. (33:1-11)

Purchase the deed of God’s promises to us.  The mode of payment is faithfulness, and faithfulness will be rewarded under all circumstances – even as we walk in exile.  May your kingdom come, O Lord. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Then They Will Know; Ezekiel 25, 29 & Jeremiah 38

May the mumbling commence!

“Then they will know that I am the Lord.”  It is a recurring phrase in Ezekiel 25 and 29.  Though the Lord was pronouncing judgments on Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia for their part in desecrating Judah; the goal of the judgments was to allow them to know the Great I Am as the one and only Lord.  Though the Lord was pronouncing judgment on Egypt for helping Judah to deny the will of the Lord, the goal of the judgment was to allow them to know the Great I Am as the one and only Lord.  And, sometimes, those strange to Israel recognized the Great I Am as the one and only Lord well before the people of Judah.  Read from Jeremiah chapter 38:

Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said,  "This is what the Lord says: 'Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. He will escape with his life; he will live.'   And this is what the Lord says: 'This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.'" 

Then the officials said to the king, "This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin." 

"He is in your hands," King Zedekiah answered. "The king can do nothing to oppose you." 

So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. 

But Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to him, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city." 

Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies." 

So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.  Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes." Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. (Verses 1-13)

Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jehucal, and Pashhur had top-notch Jewish pedigrees.  But when they heard the word of the Lord through Jeremiah – the word of surrender and escape with your lives, they turned to the king and asked for Jeremiah’s death for discouraging the soldiers and people.

And King Zedekiah responded to them with all the strength of a limp noodle.  He told them that he could not prevent them from doing as they wished with Jeremiah.  Did he know that what they asked would be wrong?  Maybe and maybe not.  On his own, King Zedekiah was not willing to make a stand one way or the other.  He, too had a top-notch Jewish pedigree.

Then, Ebed-Melech (whose name means servant of the king or of the god Melech) comes along.  Ebed-Melech was the furthest thing from being Jewish.  In fact, he was likely a eunuch to King Zedekiah – a descendant of someone taken as spoils in a successful war against his home country.  He knew the wrong that was done to Jeremiah, so he made a stand for Jeremiah before the king.  Ebed-Melech knew the will of the Lord in the case of Jeremiah.

What a slap in the face to King Zedekiah!  The king gave Ebed-Melech thirty men to rescue Jeremiah from the cistern.  Ebed-Melech made the stand that the king was not willing to make for Jeremiah and for the word of the Lord.  Wisdom and faith comes from some unexpected places and people sometimes. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Surrendering to the Lord's Will; Jeremiah 21; Ezekiel 23

May the mumbling commence!

In the midst of trying times, the best thing to do is to surrender to the will of the Lord – even when that surrender would seem to lead to death.  Remember that Jesus said, “Those who seek to save their lives will lose them, and those who give up their lives for my sake will find them.”  That was the case as the forces of Babylon surrounded Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah.  Read from Jeremiah 21:8-10 –

"Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.  Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life.  I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.'

Surrender to the enemy?!?  Is that the way to walk with of the Lord?  In this case, yes, it is the way to walk with the Lord.  The city was set apart for destruction.  Its people had already surrendered to the nations around it – with their idols.  Jerusalem and Judah had sullied themselves beyond recognition in their lust for other gods (Read Ezekiel 23.).

Judah lusted after the gods of her enemies.  Jesus told us to love our enemies.  The Lord told Judah and Israel that the whole world would be blessed through them.  But this lust they displayed did not show the love and blessing that God commanded of His chosen people.  Judah was to share the blessings of obedience to God’s commands, which are a manifestation of God’s love for all people.  And God’s words have reached their apex in the life of Jesus Christ.

We have Jesus, and we need no other.  So, why do we still chase after the idols of this world?  We sully the pure light of Jesus that would shine through us otherwise.  We work against the Holy Spirit, which is given as a gift to all believers.  The idols of this world – like fame and fortune – are no better than spent batteries in the context of eternity.  They grant us neither the quantity nor the quality of life eternal.  They are but a shadow of what God has in store for His faithful.  We cannot take our earthly fame and fortune with us into God’s kingdom.  We must leave these things behind at the entrance gate.

Let us surrender our lusting after fame and fortune this day onward.  Let us be content to live abundantly with what God provides us.  Let us share God’s abundance joyfully with all others.  This living and this sharing are the essence of loving our enemies and blessing them – helping to usher them into the kingdom of heaven.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out   

Standing in the Gap; Ezekiel 22

May the mumbling commence!

Are you willing to stand in the gap?  In the days of Ezekiel, there was no one found to stand in the gap.  It can be a lonely place to be, when the rest of the world ignores its Creator.  Read from the end of Ezekiel 22:

There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.  Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.  Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.  Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says' – when the Lord has not spoken.  The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. 

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.  So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord." (Verses 25-31)

What a sad state of affairs!  At all levels, there is corruption and deceit.  Princes, priests and officials have no scruples; so it is no surprise when the people lack scruples, too.  And, to make matters worse, the prophets attempt to cover over the deeds with false visions and lying divinations.  It is no wonder that the poor, needy and alien are the most vulnerable in those days.  They are the most vulnerable today as well.

There are many undocumented immigrants working sweat-shop-like jobs for a meager wage.  They sweat in the fields at harvest, they sweat in the factories, and they sweat in the kitchens of restaurants.  They fill the jobs that no one else in this country would agree to do.  Employers take advantage of them in order to bring a less costly product.  Whether we know it or not, you and I benefit from the degradation of these vulnerable brothers and sisters of ours.

You and I may think: “Everyone is doing it.  What good can I do all by myself?”  It is easier to go on the path of the least resistance.  It is easier to be a part of the crowd.  To take a stand for justice would mean a significant adjustment in our lifestyles.  To take a stand for justice would mean being hated and scoffed at by most people.  It takes a lot of courage to stand in the gap as it continues to widen between the have and have nots.

But stand is what the Lord is calling us to do.  Will anyone answer the call?  Or will there be no one to answer the call like in the days of Ezekiel?

Let us begin the conversation for concrete ways to stand in the gap for the most vulnerable in our communities – the single parents, the widows (and widowers), the orphans, the undocumented immigrants, the working poor…  The list can go on and on.  It is not a question as to what shall we do.  It is a question of where can we start.  How can we have the most impact individually and corporately?

Guide us, O Holy Spirit.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out