Sheep In Need of a Shepherd

1 Ask rain from the Lord
    in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
    and he will give them showers of rain,
    to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For the household gods utter nonsense,
    and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
    and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.

3 “My anger is hot against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come the cornerstone,
    from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
    from him every ruler—all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
    for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
    their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.

8 “I will whistle for them and gather them in,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and they shall be as many as they were before.
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far countries they shall remember me,
    and with their children they shall live and return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
    and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
    till there is no room for them.
11 He shall pass through the sea of troubles
    and strike down the waves of the sea,
    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
    and they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord. – Zechariah 10:1-12 ESV

Chapter 9 prophesied the coming of the King who would reunite Israel and Judah under His rule and re-establish the Jewish people as Yahweh’s treasured possession. This prophecy was partially fulfilled during the kingship of Judas Maccabeus, a Jewish priest who led a rebellion against  Antiochus IV,  king of the Seleucid Empire. In 164 B.C., Judas Macabeus and his ragtag army of insurrectionists regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple. Despite his successful retaking of Jerusalem, Judas Macabeus ruled for just three years and was succeeded by his son Jonathan. Their dynasty was short-lived and remained under Seleucid control the entire time. While peace was made with the Seleucids, the Jews never enjoyed the prominence and power described in chapter 9. That is reserved for the time of the Messiah’s coming when He will return and set up His earthly Kingdom.

Chapter 10 picks up the prophecy by focusing on the people of Israel and their relationship with Yahweh in the coming Kingdom of His Son. Because Christ’s Kingdom will be an earthly one, life will go on as usual. Crops will need to be planted and cared for. Rain will be necessary for proper plant growth. So, the future people of Israel will do as they have always done and ask Yahweh to send rain at the proper time so their crops will thrive. This verse also served as a much-needed reminder to Zechariah and his fellow Judahites that God was sovereign over all things, including the storm clouds. He was the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17) who “sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Matthew 5:35 NLT). And the same God who provides rain in season can shower His covenant people with spiritual blessings beyond their wildest imaginations. All of this is in keeping with the promise from God that Moses delivered to the people of Israel in the wilderness.

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

“Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed.” – Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NLT

Verse 2 brings the focus back to the remnant of God’s people living in the land of Judah during the time of Zechariah. God alludes to the fact that, despite His gracious provision of their return to Judah, they remained idolatrous. During their lengthy stay in Babylonian captivity, they had compromised their convictions and embraced the false gods of their captors. Many who returned to Judah with Zerubbabel likely brought their household idols along. Not only that, they returned with a predilection for the occult, including sorcery, magic, and fortune-telling. But Yahweh leaves little doubt about His opinion on the matter.

“Household gods give worthless advice,
    fortune-tellers predict only lies,
and interpreters of dreams pronounce
    falsehoods that give no comfort.” – Zechariah 10:2 NLT

The prophet Habakkuk recorded a similar assessment from God concerning the futility of idolatry.

“What good is an idol carved by man,
    or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
    a god that can’t even talk!
What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
    ‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
    ‘Rise up and teach us!’
    Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
    but they are lifeless inside.” – Habakkuk 2:18-19 NLT

It was idolatry and spiritual infidelity that had led to Judah’s fall in the first place. Their destruction at the hands of the Babylonians had been due to their unfaithfulness to Yahweh. False prophets had dared to provide them with false hope. Impious priests had turned a blind eye to their spiritual adultery. Self-centered kings had sold their souls to false gods and made alliances with pagan nations in an attempt to protect and prolong their reigns. As a result, the people had become like shepherdless sheep.

“So my people are wandering like lost sheep;
    they are attacked because they have no shepherd.” – Zechariah 10:2 NLT

Idols are an unreliable source of guidance because they are non-existent. They are the figments of men’s imaginations. Those who attempt to lead based on input from a lifeless idol will be unreliable shepherds. Their leadership will be damaging and detrimental to the flock that Yahweh has placed under their care, and He had strong words for these sheep-destroying shepherds.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.” – Ezekiel 34:2-6 NLT

“My people have been lost sheep.
    Their shepherds have led them astray
    and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
    and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.” – Jeremiah 50:6 NLT

“Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.” – Jeremiah 23:2-3 NLT

But in that same passage in Jeremiah 23, God goes on to promise to rectify the problem created by these uncaring and disobedient shepherds.

“For the time is coming,”
    says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
    from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Israel will live in safety.” – Jeremiah 23:5-6 NLT

This prophecy ties back into chapter 9. Despite the lack of godly leadership and the ongoing problem of shepherdless sheep, Yahweh has plans to step in and resolve the issue.

“My anger burns against your shepherds,
    and I will punish these leaders.
For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived
    to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
    like a proud warhorse in battle.” – Zechariah 10:3 NLT

God would send His Son to serve as the consummate Shepherd who would willingly lay down His life for the sheep of God’s fold.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” – John 10:11-14 NLT

But there is a time when God will send the Good Shepherd again. He will return to earth to seek out and restore the lost sheep of Israel.

“I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord.” – Ezekiel 34:11-15 NLT

And God makes it clear that this regathering of His lost sheep will be the work of the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21).

“I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Ezekiel 34:23-24 NLT

Under the leadership of this future Son of David, the people of Israel will prosper as never before. The lost sheep will be restored and transformed into mighty warriors. Their relationship with Yahweh will be restored and it will be as if they never strayed at all. The Great Shepherd will call His sheep and they will respond (John 10:27). Their days of apostasy and spiritual infidelity will be over because Yahweh will remove their propensity for unfaithfulness by transforming their disposition through the power of His Spirit.

”I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:23-27 NLT

Yahweh wanted Zechariah to know that Israel’s best days were ahead of them. Despite the circumstances surrounding them, they could rest assured that His plans for them were “plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God Intentions Are Never Good Enough

1 On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. 9 And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 10 and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. 14 The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

28 “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, 29 join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. 30 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31 And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

32 “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. 34 We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law. 35 We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; 36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; 37 and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. 38 And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.” – Nehemiah 10:1-39 ESV

For 70 years, God set the people of Judah aside and forced them to live as exiles in the land of Babylon. He warned them about the consequences of their disobedience, and this was the fulfillment of the warning they received when He first gave them His Law. Centuries earlier, Moses had shared the blessings and curses that accompanied God’s commands. If the people willingly obeyed God’s holy code of conduct, they would experience His abundant blessings. But disobedience would prove costly.

“…if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.” – Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV

“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 28:25 ESV

“The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away.” – Deuteronomy 28:36-37 ESV

“The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.” – Deuteronomy 28:49-5-7 ESV

When the returned exiles stood for six hours listening to Ezra recite the Mosaic Law, they recognized that God had kept His word. Every warning had become a reality. The threats were no longer faint possibilities; they were history. Everything had happened just as God said it would. God had fulfilled His warning of punishment but had also kept His promise of restoration. The 70 years had passed and God allowed a remnant of His people to return to the land of Judah. These descendants of the original exiles had made their way to Jerusalem and, against all odds, rebuilt the Temple and restored the city’s walls. They had re-established the Levitical priesthood, reinstituted the sacrificial system, and reacquainted themselves with the Mosaic Law. Now it was time to commit.

A covenant was drawn up and written down. This document was then ratified and signed by Nehemiah and other prominent leaders. These men affixed their names to the document on behalf of the people of Judah, committing the entire community to live according to God’s commands. This official signing ceremony was followed by a corporate oath of commitment.

They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the LORD our Lord. – Nehemiah 10:29 NLT

The curse they swore reflects their understanding of Deuteronomy 28:15-68). They understood that nothing about the Law had changed. During their time in captivity, God had not revised the Law or lessened the intensity of the curses. Obedience would still result in blessings and disobedience would bring about curses. By swearing an oath, they acknowledged their understanding of the covenant’s conditions. They were willing to accept the consequences.

Their oath contained the following verbal commitments:

1. They agreed to maintain the purity of their community by refusing to give their sons and daughters in marriage to outsiders.

2. They agreed to honor the sabbath day by keeping it holy.

3. They agreed to restore the observance of the sabbatical year.

4. They agreed to fund the care and maintenance of God’s house by paying the Temple tax.

5. They agreed to give their firstborn and firstfruits to God.

6. They agreed to supply the needs of the Levitical priests.

7. They agreed to never neglect the Temple of God.

It’s impossible to know whether the people understood the gravity of the oath they were swearing. The mention of the curses reveals that they understood the consequences but it is difficult to believe that they fully grasped the weight of their commitment. Perhaps they assumed they had no choice. The Law had been read and explained and its requirements were non-negotiable. It wasn’t a list of options from which to choose. They couldn’t opt out or self-select the laws they wanted to obey. It was all or nothing.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” – Deuteronomy 30:15-16 ESV

Their ancestors had also made an oath to keep God’s law.

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” – Exodus 24:3 NLT

But they failed miserably. From the moment they entered the land of Canaan to the day God cast them out, they had lived in disobedience to His laws. Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be held captive for 70 years because of their disobedience to God's laws, including the Sabbath-rest ordinance.

“When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the Lord every seventh year. For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.” – Leviticus 25:2-5 NLT

From the time of Israel’s first king to the Babylonian captivity, 490 years passed. During that time, the people of Israel failed to observe a single sabbatical year and their 70-year captivity was God’s way of allowing the land to “rest” in their absence. God had warned the Israelites that all His laws must be obeyed.

“You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 18:4 ESV

Failure to obey would result in their forceful rejection, a sudden and violent act that God compares to vomiting.

“…do not defile the land and give it a reason to vomit you out, as it will vomit out the people who live there now.” – Leviticus 18:28 NLT

Nehemiah and the people knew that if God had done it once, He could do it again. So, they swore an oath to keep His commands. They meant well. But their well-intentioned efforts were doomed to fall short. The apostle Paul later wrote “no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are” (Romans 3:20 NLT).

As a former Pharisee, Paul was an expert in the Mosaic Law. He had been a faithful law-keeper. But upon coming to faith in Christ, he realized the futility of trying to gain a right standing with God through obedience to the law. He wrote the following insight to the believers in Galatia:

But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” – Galatians 3:10-12 NLT

Moses had told the people of Israel, “Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice” (Deuteronomy 27:26 BSB). But Paul revealed the good news that the curse has been lifted by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. – Galatians 3:13 NLT

The law can't save, it can only convict. Obedience to the law can’t justify, it can only condemn. So, while the people of Judah sincerely meant to fulfill their oath, they would never be able to pull it off. God required complete obedience. There could be no grey areas. To disobey one law was to disobey them all (James 2:10). 

God knew the people of Judah would never keep their oath. He was well aware of their shortcomings and the law’s impossible standards. But in His grace and mercy, God has promised a future day when He will do for His chosen people what they could never have done for themselves.

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Jeremiah 31:31-33 NLT

The people of Judah ratified a covenant and swore an oath. But without God’s help, they would never be able to keep their commitment. No one can earn a right standing with God through human effort. No one can live up to His holy standards in their own strength. That’s why He sent His Son to take on human flesh and do what no other man had ever done: Live a sinless life that reflected full obedience to the law of God. It was His sinlessness that made Him the perfect sacrifice. He became the unblemished Lamb of God who paid for the sins of the world (John 1:29).

The people of Judah meant well, but God knew the truth.

“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

They didn’t just need the law, they needed a lawkeeper. They needed the Messiah, the Savior who would come to make righteousness and holiness available through the offering of His sinless life as a substitute for their own.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Never Again

25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. 29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 39:25-29 ESV

In verse 25, God singles out the patriarch, Jacob, for special attention, and God makes it a point to use Jacob’s old name. Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, whose name (yaʿăqōḇ) means “heel-holder” or “supplanter.” According to the Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, it can also mean “layer of snares.” And Jacob lived up to his name. He was a deceiver, an old-fashioned con artist who repeatedly used his uncanny ability to manipulate others for self-promotion. He somehow convinced his slightly older twin brother, Esau, to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew. Later on, with advice from his mother, Jacob tricked his own father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn that rightfully belonged to Esau. Years later, Jacob would use further subterfuge against his unsuspecting father-in-law in order to build his own flock while decimating the flock of Laban.

It was not long after leaving the land of Haran where he had lived as part of Laban’s family for 20 years, that Jacob received his new name from God.

“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” – Genesis 32:28 ESV

At this encounter with God, Jacob received far more than a new name; he was given a new identity. Just moments earlier, he had been engaged in a wrestling match with an unidentified “man” who he later recognized as none other than God.

“I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” – Genesis 32:30 ESV

Jacob had literally wrestled with God, who had appeared to him in human form. But Jacob had not bested God. There was no cry of “uncle” from the lips of God. Jacob had tried to manipulate God by demanding a blessing from Him, but the blessing had been Jacob’s all along. No manipulation was necessary. Jacob didn’t need to try and manhandle God to get what he wanted. It was already his. So, based on the context, Jacob’s new name, Israel, would be best translated “let God rule.” The Almighty was placing on Jacob an expectation of willful submission to His sovereign authority. 

The new name given to Jacob is Israel, and the explanation following is that Jacob has struggled with God, and with men have succeeded. There is a play on sound in yiśrā'ēl (“Israel”) and śāritā (“you have struggled”). The original meaning of Israel is much debated (“God rules?”, “God heals?”, “God judges?”), as is the relationship between yiśrā'ēl and the verb śārâ (“struggled”). Uncertaintly about the meaning of śārâ is engendered by the fact that it occurs only one other time in the OT, Hos. 12:4. Hosea’s reference to Jacob, “he strove with [śārâ ‘et] God.” The ancient versions disagreed on the meaning of śāritā in Gen. 32:29. LXX, Vulg., and Pesh. derive it from srr (Aramaic), “be strong.” Aquila and Symm. derive it from śārâr, “to rule.” As already noted, Targ. Onqelos attempts to eliminate the idea of a mortal engaged in combat with God: “For you are great [or: ‘a prince,’ reading sar for śāritā] before the Lord and among men, therefore you have prevailed.

It seems that in Gen. 32 one must interpret Israel as “El will rule or strive,” or “Let El rule,” rather than as “he has striven with El. For one thing, it is very unusual for the theophoric element in a personal name to serve as anything but subject. Up to this point in Jacob’s life Jacob may well have been called “Israjacob,” “Jacob shall rule” or “let Jacob rule.” In every confrontation he has emerged as the victor; over Esau, over Isaac, over Laban, and even more startingly over this “man.” – Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis

In verse 25 of Ezekiel 39, God uses both names to drive home an important point.

“Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel.” – Ezekiel 39:25 ESV

The “fortunes of Jacob” refers to God’s promise of a land, a seed, and a blessing. It was the same promise given to Abraham and Isaac.

“I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.” – Genesis 28:13-14 NLT

Jacob, the deceiver, and manipulator, had been graciously given the promise of the inheritance offered to Abraham and Isaac, and he had done nothing to deserve it. In fact, his progeny had continued to follow his deceptive practices, living in open rebellion against God. They feigned obedience through the observance of His required feasts and festivals but, all the while, their lives were marked by idolatry and immorality. Yet, God promises to restore their fortunes by returning them to the land and restoring them to a right relationship with Himself.

And God states that He will “have mercy on the whole house of Israel.” By using Jacob’s new name, God is including all 12 tribes of Israel, the descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons. Even though the kingdom of Israel was divided immediately after the reign of King Solomon and remained two separate kingdoms for centuries, God announces that there will be a grand reunion and reunification of His chosen people. He will show mercy to them all and, for the first time since their inception as a nation, they will “let God rule.”

“For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:24-27 NLT

“I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” – Jeremiah 24:7 NLT

God has punished His people for their sins. The audience to whom Ezekiel spoke and for whom he penned the words of this book were experiencing the reality of God’s judgment. They were living as exiles in Babylon, as divine punishment for their failure to “let God rule.” And even when future generations of Israelites find themselves graciously relocated and restored to the land of promise, they will fully recognize how undeserving they are of this marvelous act of mercy from God.

“They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them.” – Ezekiel 39:26 NLT

God states that He will vindicate His holiness in the sight of many nations. How does He intend to do that? By making the unholy holy. By transforming His unrighteous and disobedient children into faithful sons and daughters of God. And this miraculous transformation of His people will allow Him to take up residence among them – for eternity.

“I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.” – Ezekiel 37:22-23 NLT

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the LORD, who makes Israel holy.” – Ezekiel 37:26-28 NLT

There is a day coming when God will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. God’s people will no longer suffer division, dispersion, attack, or mistreatment. They will no longer be apostate, idolatrous, and immoral. And they will never have to fear falling from God’s grace again.

“And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” – Ezekiel 39:29 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

From Retribution to Restoration

27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.)

30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

32 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.’

33 “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 20:27-44 NLT

God goes on to reveal that, even after the second generation of Israelites successfully conquered the land of Canaan and established it as their homeland, their apostasy continued. He helped them to defeat their enemies and provided them with cities and homes to live in that they didn’t have to build. He blessed them with vineyards and fields they neither tilled nor planted. And yet, despite God’s gracious provision of their promised inheritance, they continued to blaspheme and betray Him.

“…for when I brought them into the land I had promised them, they offered sacrifices on every high hill and under every green tree they saw! They roused my fury as they offered up sacrifices to their gods. They brought their perfumes and incense and poured out their liquid offerings to them.” – Ezekiel 20:18 NLT

The delegation of Jewish dignitaries who had come to Ezekiel’s home had been hoping that the prophet would provide them with a positive message from Yahweh. They were of the mistaken opinion that God’s intentions to punish Judah was undeserved and, therefore, unjust. In their minds, God was punishing the wrong people. They truly believed that God was acting unfairly by visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children, and they were hoping Ezekiel would intercede on their behalf and get God to change His mind. But God was adamant in declaring their culpability and guilt.

“Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images? For when you offer gifts to them and give your little children to be burned as sacrifices, you continue to pollute yourselves with idols to this day. Should I allow you to ask for a message from me, O people of Israel? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing.” – Ezekiel 20:30-31 NLT

They were far from innocent. In fact, their sins were actually worse than those of their forefathers. Their idolatrous behavior had degraded to the point that they were actually offering up their own children as blood sacrifices to their false gods. The prophet, Jeremiah, a contemporary of Ezekiel, had declared God’s disdain for this pagan and perverse practice.

“The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes,” says the Lord. “They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears my name, defiling it. They have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!” – Jeremiah 7:30-31 NLT

Just like the northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah was guilty of embracing the false gods of the nations who surrounded them. And, according to God, this was a premeditated and calculated plan on their part. They willingly and wholeheartedly embrace the gods of their enemies in the hopes that they could provide them with an added measure of protection and provision.

“You say, ‘We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen. As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power.” – Ezekiel 20:32-33 NLT

But God was not going to allow them to continue their pattern of spiritual adultery. He was no longer willing to tolerate their wandering eyes and unfaithful hearts. So, He had Ezekiel tell them the devastating news of a coming judgment that would include the exiles living in the land of Babylon.

“I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord. I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant. I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” – Ezekiel 20:36-38 NLT

Even those living in captivity in Babylon would have to face the music because they were no less guilty of apostasy. In an attempt to acclimate to their new surroundings, many of them had chosen to embrace the gods of Babylon. Believing that Yahweh had abandoned them, the exiles decided to try their luck with the gods of their captors, and there was no shortage of options. The Babylonians worshiped a veritable pantheon of deities that included Ishtar, Nabu, Apshu, Shamash, Ea, Tiamat, Nergal, Marduk, and Adad. To the exiled Jews, it appeared as if these pagan gods had provided Babylon with unprecedented success over their enemies, so it only made sense to test their effectiveness. But like their counterparts in Judah, they were going to discover the painful lesson that their false gods were powerless to deliver them from the coming judgment of Yahweh.

“Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.” – Ezekiel 20:39 NLT

God reveals His plan for the future restoration of the nation of Israel. He predicts a day when their idolatry will come to an end, but it will only take place after their judgment and with the advent of a new covenant.

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. – Jeremiah 31:31-32 NLT

And later in the book of Ezekiel, God describes what He will do to make this new covenant possible.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT

God makes it painfully clear that there will be retribution for their idolatry, but He also promised a time of restoration and renewal.

“For on my holy mountain, the great mountain of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, the people of Israel will someday worship me, and I will accept them. There I will require that you bring me all your offerings and choice gifts and sacrifices.” – Ezekiel 20:40 NLT

The fulfillment of this prophecy has not yet been fully realized. While Israel has been restored as a nation, it does not enjoy unbroken fellowship with Yahweh. There is no temple in Jerusalem, so there is no means for offering sacrifices to God. There is no king sitting on the throne of David, ruling in righteousness over God’s redeemed and restored people. But the day is coming when all those things will come about. And when they do, God says, “You will look back on all the ways you defiled yourselves and will hate yourselves because of the evil you have done. You will know that I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken” (Ezekiel 20:43-44 NLT).

God will do for them what they were unwilling and incapable of doing for themselves. He will restore and reestablish them as His chosen people and revitalize their affection for Him. Centuries will pass and their apostasy will continue. But God will be faithful to keep His covenant promises and restore His people to their rightful place as His sons and daughters. 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Faithful to the End

53 “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, 54 that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. 58 You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 16:53-63 ESV

Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem are each accused of wickedness. Sodom is intended to represent the pagan nations with its blatant immorality and subsequent judgment and annihilation by God. Sodom and its sister city, Gomorrah, were the two poster cities for moral decadence and excess, and God destroyed them both. Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. It was comprised of the ten northern tribes that God had split apart from Solomon’s kingdom as a result of his wicked behavior in the latter part of his reign. This son of David had chosen to erect idols to false gods all across his kingdom and, as a result, God divided his kingdom in half.

Jeroboam, who became the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, proved to be a less-than-ideal leader. In an attempt to eliminate any allegiance the people might have to their former kingdom and to prevent them from returning to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, Jeroboam created his own capital in Shechem and then created two alternative worship centers dedicated to false gods.

…on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.

Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. – 1 Kings 12:28-32 NLT

Decades later, Omri would ascend to the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel, and he would relocate the capital city to Samaria.

Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver. He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer.

But Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. The people provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols. – 1 Kings 16:24-26 NLT

Omri was succeeded by his son, Ahab, who managed to exceed his father in terms of wickedness. Early on his reign, Ahab “built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him” (1 Kings 16:32-33 NLT).

Yet as morally decadent and spiritually vacuous as Sodom and Samaria may have been, God declares that their wickedness paled in comparison to that of the city of Jerusalem. The capital city of the southern kingdom had become so evil that it made the deeds committed in Sodom and Samaria appear righteous in contrast. But despite this stark assessment, God declares that He will one day restore the fortunes of all three cities.

“But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too. Then you will be truly ashamed of everything you have done, for your sins make them feel good in comparison.” – Ezekiel 16:53-54 NLT

This astounding statement ties directly back to a promise given to the people of Israel long before they entered the land of Canaan. God had given the people of Israel His commands and ordered them to obey them. He even outlined the blessings they could expect if they obeyed and the curses that would befall them if they disobeyed. And then, Moses assured them that even if they failed to obey, they could experience God’s forgiveness and restoration if they returned to Him in humility and contrition.

…then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors! – Deuteronomy 30:3-5 NLT

God was informing Ezekiel that the judgment for the sins of Jerusalem was about to come upon them. The Babylonians would soon arrive and bring devastation and destruction to the land of Judah. The capital of Jerusalem would fall and the temple would be destroyed. Then the exiles living in Babylon would see their ranks swell as the tens of thousands of captives began to arrive after their long march from Jerusalem. 

And yet, God declares that He will one day restore the fortunes of all those living in the land of Canaan, including Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem.

“Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored.” – Ezekiel 16:55 NLT

This prophetic statement has yet to be fulfilled. While Ezra and Nehemiah eventually led the people of Israel out of their captivity in Babylon and back to the land of Judah, their fortunes were not completely restored. They did rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restored the temple to a semblance of its former glory, but Israel would never rise to its former state of power and prominence in the region. They would never have a king who would reign over them as David or Solomon had. In fact, their lowly status as a nation would be a constant reminder of just how egregious their sin had been.

“…now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned—by Edom and all her neighbors and by Philistia. This is your punishment for all your lewdness and detestable sins, says the Lord.” – Ezekiel 16:57-58 NLT

They would be back in the land, but their fortunes would be far from fully restored. God warns them, “I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant” (Ezekiel 16:59 NLT). They will reap the consequences of their sin. He will graciously restore them to the land but they will have to suffer the constant reminder of their unfaithfulness in the form of their diminished status as a nation. No longer would they reflect their former lofty position as God’s chosen people. And they will remain in that state for centuries.

But God points to a future time when He will fully restore His wayward people. He will do for them what they were incapable of doing for themselves. He will heal their sick and sinful hearts and restore them to a right relationship with Himself.

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” – Ezekiel 16:62-63 NLT

They will grieve, but only for a little while. God’s faithful adherence to His covenant commitments will cause the people of Israel to mourn their past behavior. They will regret their long history of rebellion against God, but God promises full restoration and a complete renewal of their relationship with Him. God will later provide Ezekiel with further details concerning this amazing transformation.

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.” – Ezekiel 36:22-28 NLT

Despite the unfaithfulness of His people, God will remain fully committed to His covenant promises. He will do all that He has promised to do, down to the smallest detail. While He had been forced to punish them for their sins, He had never stopped being their God, and He would never fail to fulfill each and every promise He had made.

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? – Numbers 23:19 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Times of Refreshing.

17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” – Acts 3:17-26 ESV

The Messiah had come, but the Jews had refused to acknowledge Him as such. That’s the gist of the message Peter gave to the crowd of Jews who had gathered at Solomon’s Portico on the Temple grounds. He was unapologetic in his accusation against them:

14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. – Acts 3:14-15 ESV

But he did cut them some slack by acknowledging that what they did, they did in ignorance. The Greek word used is agnoia, and it refers to a lack of knowledge. They didn’t know what they were doing. They were guilty of having done it, but were not aware of the significance of their actions. They were legitimately convinced that Jesus was not the Messiah and so, they rejected Him as such. And their ignorance of who Jesus was extended from their lack of knowledge regarding God and the Holy Scriptures. At one point, during His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke these words to a group of Pharisees:

37 “And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.

39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.” – John 5:37-40 NLT

They longed for eternal life. They devoured the Old Testament Scriptures in search of the key to eternal life. But they failed to see the countless prophecies regarding the Messiah. They refused to acknowledge the prophecies that foretold of the Messiah coming as a suffering servant. The ignored or reinterpreted passages like those found in Isaiah.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV

The Messiah that Isaiah prophesied about was destined by God to suffer and die, because He was coming to free the Jews from the condemnation they faced as a result of their rebellion against God. He was coming to free them from slavery to sin, not from the oppression of Roman rule. And it was all part of God’s divine plan for the redemption of mankind.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. – Isaiah 53:10 ESV

And they missed it. And in missing Jesus as their Messiah, they had missed their opportunity to truly know God as their Father. It was Jesus, as the Messiah, who had come to restore sinful mankind, Jews and Gentiles, to a right relationship with God. But Jesus had told the Pharisees that day:

“Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” – John 8:19 NLT

They were ignorant. And, as a result, they were missing out on an incredible opportunity, provided to them by Jesus. And those very same Pharisees whom Jesus reproached for failing to see Him as their Messiah, had asked Him a follow-up question:

25 “Who are you?” they demanded.

Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.

28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” – John 8:25-29 NLT

Even while He was alive, Jesus had made it perfectly clear that His death was part of God’s plan. He even predicted the means of His death: by crucifixion. And Jesus infers that it will be after His death, when He has been raised back to life by the Spirit of God, that they will begin to see and understand that He was who He had claimed to be.

And Peter reminds the Jews standing within range of his voice, “what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18 ESV). Jesus had done what He had been sent to do. He had fulfilled the will of His Father, pleasing Him by obeying Him, even to the point of death, death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). And the only proper response on the part of the Jews in Peter’s audience was repentance. They were to change their minds about who Jesus was and turn to Him as their Messiah and Savior. It was only through Him that they could be restored to a right relationship with God.

19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. – Acts 3:19-20 NLT

What is Peter offering them? What does he mean by “times of refreshment”? Why does he say that, if they repent, God will “again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah”? There are many opinions regarding the meaning behind Peter’s statements, but it would appear that Peter is speaking of a future restoration of the nation of Israel. He is offering the individual Jews in his audience the opportunity to repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah. And we know from the opening lines of chapter four, that many did.

But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. – Acts 4:4 ESV

But Peter was also addressing the nation of Israel as a whole. He has already said that Jesus came as their Messiah, was rejected and put to death by them. But God raised Jesus back to life and had Him return to His proper place at His Father’s side in heaven. And Peter states, “he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21 NLT). There is going to be a future repentance on the part of the Jewish people. God will send His Son a second time, and on that occasion, there will be a corporate restoration of the people of God. The apostle Paul speaks of that day.

25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
    and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
27 And this is my covenant with them,
    that I will take away their sins.” – Romans 11:25-27 NLT

Paul went on to remind the Gentile Christians to whom he was writing that it was because of the failure of the Jews to accept the good news regarding their Messiah, that the gospel was sent to the nations.

Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. – Romans 11:30 NLT

But God has not turned His back on the Jews.

28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. – Romans 11:28-29 NLT

And that seems to be Peter’s point. Times of refreshing were coming. The Messiah had come and gone, but He was coming back some day. And His role as the Messiah of the Jewish people was not yet fulfilled. He had more to do and it would be done – all in God’s preordained, perfect timing.

25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. – Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT

Peter goes on to point out that the Jews in his audience were still God’s covenant people. And Jesus, one of their own, was the servant of God who had been predicted by the prophets. He had come. And God had sent Him to the Jewish people first.

“When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”– Acts 3:26 NLT

Jesus had come preaching repentance and the Kingdom of God. He had offered times of refreshing, but His message had been rejected. Now, He was offering the same message through Peter and the apostles. They could change their minds regarding Jesus and enjoy the offer of a new relationship with God made possible through His sacrificial death. Or they could reject Him once again. As individuals, their opportunity to experience time of refreshment was right at that moment. But as a nation, Israel has been promised a time of refreshment that has yet to come.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

He Will Satisfy the Weary Soul.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes:

“‘The Lord bless you, O habitation of righteousness,
    O holy hill!’

And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:

“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children's teeth are set on edge.’

But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.  – Jeremiah 31:24-30 ESV

God continues to speak of the future restoration of Judah. Their fortunes were going to change dramatically. Just a few chapters earlier we read of God’s pronouncement of Judah’s demise for their unfaithfulness:

“I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them.” – Jeremiah 29:18 ESV

Their sins would be punished and, as a result, they would become “an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery” (NLT). The nations that watched their fall from God’s grace would stand by ridiculing and cursing them. The once mighty nation of Judah would no longer be a threat to them. But God promises that a day is coming when that scenario will change drastically. Rather than the curses of its enemies, the streets of Judah will resound with the blessings of its people once again.

“The Lord bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!” – Jeremiah 31:23 NLT

Curses will be turned to blessing. The weary will find rest and satisfaction. Joy will replace sorrow. But why? What will have changed to make all this come about? This won’t all come about just because the people get to return to the land from their exile in Babylon. In fact, when they did eventually return from captivity, they found a land filled with destruction. The city of Jerusalem was empty and its walls and once-great structures were lay in ruins. Even fourteen years after the first wave of exiles returned under the leadership of Ezra and Zerubbabel, Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and found that little had changed.

I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. – Nehemiah 2:13-14 ESV

The walls had yet to be rebuilt. The city was still not occupied. They would eventually complete the walls and repopulate the city, but the glory days of Judah and Jerusalem would still remain a memory. All of this was because of their sin and rebellion against God.

How the faithful city
    has become a whore,
    she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
    but now murderers. – Isaiah 1:21 ESV

So what was going to change to make Judah a place of blessing and hope? God was going to restore their fortunes. And notice what the words of those living in the land at that time will use to describe the city of Jerusalem: “habitation of righteousness”. God will return righteousness to the land. Justice will once again reign. And the prophet Isaiah describes how that will happen.

Look, a king will promote fairness;
officials will promote justice.
Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from a rainstorm;
like streams of water in a dry region
and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
Eyes will no longer be blind
and ears will be attentive.
The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment
and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled. – Isaiah 32:1-5 NLT

The Messiah will rule and reign in Jerusalem. The Son of God will take His place on the throne of David, bringing justice and righteousness back to the land. When the people arrived back in Judah after their return from exile, something was missing. They were still the same rebellious and stubborn people that went into exile in the first place. Their hearts had not changed. Their allegiance to God had not increased over time. They found themselves back in the land, but without a king and with no real hope for the future. But in this passage, God is giving Jeremiah a glimpse into what is coming. And when he woke up from his sleep where this vision appeared to him, he was well rested and satisfied. 

God had given Jeremiah renewed hope. The day was coming when God would bless the lands of Judah and Israel by making the people and the livestock fruitful. They would multiply and fill the land once again. The barrenness left in the wake of the Babylonian siege would be replaced with abundance. God promises Jeremiah that “in the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up” (Jeremiah 31:28 NLT). God’s choice of words would have had a special impact on Jeremiah, because they were reminiscent of what He had said to the prophet on the day He called him.

“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
Today I appoint you to stand up
    against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
    destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
    and plant.” – Jeremiah 1:9-10 NLT

Jeremiah had been given the unenviable task of bringing God’s message of destruction to the people of Judah. Rarely did he get to build up and plant. His was predominantly a message of doom and gloom. But now God was giving him a glimpse into what the distant future held for the people of Judah and Israel. The bad news was going to be followed by unbelievable good news.

In that day, justice will take place because the Messiah will rule. There will be no more injustice and unrighteousness flowing down from the throne. The King of kings and Lord of lords will serve up justice. Everyone will be responsible for their own sins. There would be no passing the buck or placing blame. There was a popular proverb in Jeremiah’s day that said, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste” (Jeremiah 31:29 NLT). It was basically a way for one generation to blame their suffering on the sins of their ancestors. This sentiment is expressed in the book of Lamentations:

Our forefathers sinned and are dead,
but we suffer their punishment. – Lamentations 5:7 NLT

And while the people of Judah could easily point their fingers at the previous generations and accuse them of causing their suffering, the day was coming when each person would have to be accountable for their own sins. Even during the ministry of Jeremiah, he had warned the people that they were responsible for their own sins. They couldn’t blame their troubles on their parents and grandparents. God had made that point perfectly clear.

“When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ Then tell them that the Lord says, ‘It is because your ancestors rejected me and paid allegiance to other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me.” – Jeremiah 16:10-12 NLT

Once again, God reminds Jeremiah and the people that a day is coming when perfect justice will rule in the land. “All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker” (Jeremiah 31:30 NLT). In this future state of Israel, things will be radically different. God seems to be indicating that sin will be rare in this future kingdom. There will not be the mass rejection of Him as had taken place in Israel for generations. The book of Ezekiel contains God’s promise to give the people of Israel new hearts and a new desire to serve Him.

“I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did.” – Ezekiel 36:29-31 NLT

No passing blame. No denial of culpability. The people, whose hearts have been softened by God, will own their own sin and repent. They will take full responsibility for their rebellion against God. And their future behavior will be righteous, not rebellious. Their relationship with God will be marked by fidelity, not adultery. God will satisfy the weary soul, restore joy to sorrowful, and replace the life of sinfulness with that of righteousness.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

The Days Are Coming.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.” – Jeremiah 23:1-8 ESV

Up till this point, the book of Jeremiah has been filled with a lot of doom and gloom. There hasn’t been a lot of good news or words of encouragement for the people of Judah, and rightfully so. They didn’t exactly didn’t deserve it. Their guilt has been adequately and unequivocally proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. And the judgment God has pronounced will take place just as He has said. But there is a bit of good news. In fact, it is actually very good news. The people of Judah were going to one day receive a major break from God. Yes, they would be defeated by the Babylonians and end up in captivity, but God would not allow them to remain in that sad state forever. He tells them of an as-yet-future event that will bring about their restoration. Even after all the lousy leadership provided by the shepherds of Judah, God was not going to leave them shepherd-less. They were guilty of having scattered the flock of God by their self-centered and godless leadership. And God has some serious words of warning for them:

“Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.” – Jeremiah 23:2 NLT

They were going to experience the wrath of God in full measure. But as for the people of Judah, God is going to one day shower them with His undeserved mercy and grace.

“I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.” – Jeremiah 23:3 NLT

God will not tolerate poor leadership. He had given the kings, priests and prophets of Judah the responsibility of caring for His people. They were to have guided and protected them. They were to have been examples of godliness and faithfulness. But they had failed miserably. So, there is a day coming when God will give the people of Judah the kind of shepherd they had needed all along. But this won’t any ordinary leader. God isn’t going to give them a king like they’ve had before or a priest who follows the pattern of their current crop of unfaithful and scrupulous spiritual role models. This was going to be a one-of-a-kind, never-seen-before leader who would have all the character traits God looked for in a leader.

“For the time is coming,”
    says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
    from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Israel will live in safety.” – Jeremiah 23:5-6 NLT

This is an obvious reference to Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Messiah of Israel. Notice that He will do what is just and right. His very name will be “The Lord Is Our Righteousness.” He will save, redeem, lead, and rule over the nation of Judah as no one has ever done before. This promise has yet to be fulfilled, but it will be, because God always accomplish what He says He will do. Just as Judah would go into captivity, they will one day be returned to the land of Judah. That portion of God’s promise will be fulfilled partially after a remnant returns to the land after 70 years of captivity. But they will have no king, and even up until the days of Jesus, the Jews had no legitimate king who was a descendant of David. And that holds true for today as well. But the day is coming when all that will change. And when that days comes, things will be dramatically different for the people of God, the Jews. The prophet Ezekiel provides us with a glimpse into some of what will happen.

“‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be prey for the nations and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid. I will prepare for them a healthy planting. They will no longer be victims of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’” – Ezekiel 34:25-31 NLT

As followers of God, we are always to live with our eyes focused on the future. We live in days that will not last. At this moment it appears that evil is winning and the enemy is having his way in the world. But God is still sovereign and in complete control. He knows things of which Satan is oblivious and unprepared to handle when they come. The liar will discover the truth of God’s majesty and glory. The great deceiver will find he has been deceived all along and only operating under the limiting power of God. And as for God’s people, the Jews, God is going to keep the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is going to fulfill all that He promised to David. God will accomplish all that He has said He would do, and we must never lose sight of that reality. In His Word, God has given us insights into how the story ends. His plan for His creation culminates in victory. The final days will be glorious and victorious. God will rid the world of sin and death. He will renew His creation and reestablish His people as His chosen ones on this earth. His Son will rule over them with justice, righteousness and mercy. And they will obey God gladly and completely because He will provide them with new hearts that are free from sin. That day is coming.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

New Hearts.

“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”– Jeremiah 17:1-4 ESV

These verses are filled with irony. They reflect the sad state of the people of God and are intended to illustrate how ironic it is that God’s chosen ones stand ready to lose their inheritance, their freedom and all their worldly possession – all because of sin. In these verses, God speaks of Judah’s sin being etched on their hearts, and it required an iron chisel with a diamond point because their hearts were so hardened. They had hearts of stone. It is important to recall that when God gave them the Ten Commandments, He had etched them in stone with His own finger.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” – Exodus 24:12 NLT

When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God. – Exodus 31:18 NLT

God’s commands had been permanently chiseled into stone, signifying their permanence and irrevocable nature. They contained His instructions and expectations for living holy lives before Him. And, ironically, the very first one had been “You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3 NLT). And just so they would understand exactly what He meant, God had chiseled the following clarification into the stone tablets:

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.” – Exodus 20:4-5 NLT

And yet, here they were, generations later, hearing God describe them as having hearts of stone engraved with nothing but sin. Their sin was permanent in nature and seemingly irrevocable. It marked their very nature. They were transgressors of God’s laws. They were law-breakers and it was permanently etched into their characters. And if we look back at the days before the people of Israel entered into the promised land, Moses had warned them.

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-7 NLT

And God would later reiterate this warning: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19 NLT). But sadly, the people of God had failed to heed the warning. They had not taught their children the ways of God. Instead, they had modeled unfaithfulness and lawlessness. And God indicts them for it. “Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill” (Jeremiah 17:2 NLT). The law of God, including His command to worship no other gods but Him, had never made it from the tablets into their hearts. It had remained an external law that they had never internalized and made a part of their very nature. And on top of that, they had failed to pass on a love for God’s laws to their children. So, as a result, they had raised a generation of rebels and idolaters. They had grown up worshiping false gods and living as blatant transgressors of God’s commands. They had inherited their parents’ hard hearts and predisposition for unfaithfulness. And God warns them, along with their parents, “The wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from your hands. I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever” (Jeremiah 17:4 NLT). They would lose the very land God had given them. And again, what is so ironic is that God had promised to give them this land, undeserved and unmerited. And all they had to do to remain in it and enjoy the blessings of it was remain faithful to God.

“The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.” – Deuteronomy 6:10-13 NLT

But they had failed. Their hearts had become hardened toward Him. His commands written on tablets of stone had never made it into their hearts of stone. And yet, God was not going to completely abandon them. In spite of their sin and transgressions, their unfaithfulness and open rebellion against Him, God will one day do for them what they had failed to do for themselves. They had failed to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. They had failed to teach their children the ways of God. Their hearts had become hardened toward God. So, one day, God is going to make a new covenant with His people. And unlike the Mosaic covenant, this one will be unilateral, not bilateral. In other words, it will non-conditional. They had already revealed their inability to keep their end of the Mosaic covenant. So, God will institute a new covenant with them that requires nothing of them. It will all be His doing.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” – Jeremiah 31:33-34 NLT

Notice what God says: “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.” Rather than giving them external laws to keep, God will etch His laws on their hearts. He will internalize His will and His ways. And the prophet Ezekiel tells us exactly how God will do it.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior.” – Ezekiel 36:25-29 NLT

New hearts. No more hearts of stone. No more transgression and law-breaking. Instead of stubborn rebellion, they will exhibit Spirit-empowered obedience and love for the will and the ways of God. The commands of God will become part of their very nature. Rather than having a predisposition to sin, they will have a God-given desire to live righteously before God. No more sin. No more stubborn rebellion. And all due to the gracious love of God.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Good News. Bad News.

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.

“Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. But first I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.” – Jeremiah 16:14-18 ESV

God is reliable. He can be counted on to do what He says. His character is unchanging and while His ways are difficult to understand at times, He is consistently faithful in all that He does. God had warned the people of Israel that if they failed to remain faithful to Him, He would bring curses upon them. They failed and He was going to faithfully keep His word. He was going to do exactly what He said He would do. He hadn’t been lying. He had meant what He said. And they were about to learn the trustworthiness of God the hard way. They were going to go into exile. And God compares their pending judgment to fish being caught by a fishermen or prey being stalked by a hunter. The prophet Ezekiel used this same kind of terminology when he described the pending fall of Jerusalem and the capture of the king, Zedekiah.

“And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there.” – Ezekiel 12:13 NLT

Later on in his book, Jeremiah will chronicle the actual capture of Zedekiah after he attempted to escape from the city as King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians invaded.

But the Babylonian troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. He made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons and all the nobles of Judah. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. – Jeremiah 39:3-7 NLT

Exactly what God had said would happen took place. Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon, but never saw it, because his eyes had been gouged out.

The prophet Habakkuk, like Jeremiah, had a hard time understanding why God was going to allow the Babylonians to take His people captive. And he uses the same imagery of fishermen catching fish to convey his concern.

Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
    Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?
Must we be strung up on their hooks
    and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?
Then they will worship their nets
    and burn incense in front of them.
“These nets are the gods who have made us rich!”
    they will claim. – Habakkuk 1:14-16 NLT

Judah was going to fall. They would be as helpless as fish caught in a net. Any attempt to escape their fate would prove useless because God had ordained it. It was going to happen just as He said it would. But that should also be a comfort to them. While it was difficult for them to see the good news in the midst of all the bad, God informed Jeremiah that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was not a train. It was the goodness and graciousness of God. He reminded His prophet that He had long-term plans for the people of Judah.

“As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their ancestors.” – Jeremiah 16:15 NLT

Yes, they would go into exile. Because God had said they would. But they would also return from exile, because said they would. Both events would occur, because God said they would. He could be trusted to keep His word. And when we read these passages that contain examples of God’s judgment upon His people, rather than question the ways of God, we should be reminded of the faithfulness of God. He doesn’t lie. He never fails to follow through on what He has said. And when He tells the people of Judah that they will one day return to the land of promise, He means it. His word means something. His threats are never idle. His words are never cheap. His promises are never prove false. Even before the people of Israel entered into the land of Canaan, promised to them by God, He had told them that if they failed to obey Him and remain faithful to Him, they would suffer the consequences of their disobedience and experience capture and exile. But He had also promised to restore them.

Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

“The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!” – Deuteronomy 30:4-6 NLT

This prophecy has been fulfilled in part. The people of Judah were restored to the land of Canaan. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record exactly how God kept His word. But there is a part of God’s promise that has yet to be fulfilled. He has not yet changed the hearts of the people of Israel so that they might love him will all their heart and soul. That part of His promise has yet to take place. The prophet Ezekiel provides us with further insight into what God has in store for the nation of Israel some time in the future.

For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior.” – Ezekiel 36:24-29 NLT

That has not yet happened. But we can be certain that it will. Why? Because God has promised it. Jeremiah could rest on the certainty that God would one day return the people of Judah back to Jerusalem. Because He had promised it. And one day, God is going to give the people of Israel new hearts. He is going remove their stubborn hearts and replace them with tender, responsive hearts. He is going to put His Spirit within them so that they will love and serve Him faithfully. And the truly amazing thing is that God is going to do all this, not because they deserve it, but because He has promised it.

“I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.’” – Ezekiel 36:22 NLT

“But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!” – Ezekiel 36:32 NLT

But how can we know that this is going to happen? How can we be so sure that God is going to do what He has promised? He answers those questions for us.

“For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.” – Ezekiel 36:36 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Redemption, Not Reform.

 2 Kings 23-24, Ephesians 2

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. – Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV

Josiah made a herculean effort to restore and reform the nation of Judah to a right relationship with God. Convicted by what he had read in the book of the Law, he began a series of sweeping reforms, all based on a renewed covenant with God pledging to “walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book” (2 Kings 23:3 ESV). And all the people vowed to join him in keeping the covenant. Josiah then began an aggressive and sweeping purging campaign, removing all the vestiges of idol worship from the land. And he had his work cut out for him. The kings of Judah had left a staggering number of idols, high places, altars and shrines to their false gods. Many of them were in the temple itself. There were cult prostitutes actually living in the temple. There were mediums, necromancers and household gods everywhere. There were altars and high places dedicated to a wide range of gods, including Baal, Molech, Ashtoreth, and more. It seems that everywhere he turned, there were shrines, altars, and idols erected to just about every false god imaginable. He even went so far as to remove the false gods erected by Jeroboam in Bethel. In other words, Josiah took pains to enter the land of Israel, which had already fallen to the Assyrians, and he removed the vestiges of idol worship that had led to their downfall. Josiah was thorough in his efforts. He even reinstituted the Passover, which had not been practiced since the time of the Judges. But all his efforts at reform did nothing to assuage the anger of God. It was too little, too late. “Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah” (2 Kings 23:26 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

God knew the hearts of His people. He knew that these reforms, in spite of all of Josiah's efforts, were merely external changes. Not long after Josiah's death, the wickedness would resurface and the idolatry would continue as before. Josiah's own son, Jehoahaz, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 23:32 ESV). God knew that all the external reforms in the world would not change their hearts. They were addicted to sin and incapable of changing their behavior. The reading of the book of the Law may have convicted them, but it could not transform them. They could remove all the idols, altars, high places, and shrines from the land, but they couldn't remove the idolatry from their own hearts. The fall of Jerusalem and the coming captivity of the people of Judah was necessary. It was all part of God's divine plan. “Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done … and the Lord would not pardon” (2 KIngs 24:3-4 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man is incapable of truly reforming himself. Any efforts we make at change are always limited and short-lived. Any attempts we make at transforming our behavior in order to comply with God's righteous standards will always fall short, because we can't change our hearts. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the condition of man's heart and he didn't paint a very pretty picture. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV). Jesus Himself echoed these same thoughts when He said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23 ESV). Josiah meant well. He had every intention of reforming and restoring the land of Judah to faithfulness to God. He sincerely wanted to see every last idol removed and the people of God restored to a right relationship with Him. But God knew that nothing was really going to change. Their hearts were wicked. They didn't truly love Him. He had warned them and pleaded with them to return to Him. He had sent His prophets over and over again, calling them to repentance, but they would not listen. They refused to change. Because they couldn't. And God was not surprised.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Rather than stand back and criticize the Israelites for their stubbornness and stupidity, I must constantly remind myself that I am no different than they were. I would have done the same thing if I had been in their sandals. I would have proven to be just as unfaithful and disobedient. The Bible makes it clear that all men stand guilty before God. “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV). “They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good” (Psalm 53:1 ESV). “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV). Paul reminds me that even I was once “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is not at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV). Even those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, used to live “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3 ESV). But here is the good news! “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV). God showed us mercy and grace. He didn't ask us to reform ourselves or correct our behavior before He would love us. He loved us while we were at our worst. He reconciled us to Himself through the death of His son, not through some form of self-reformation. We couldn't have saved ourselves any more than the Jews of Josiah's day could. There is a day coming when God will completely restore His people. He will reform their behavior, but He will do so by changing their hearts. He will do for them what they could never have done for themselves. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses” (Ezekiel 36:26-29 ESV).

Father, You are a faithful, loving, gracious God. When we couldn't do anything to save ourselves, You stepped in and provided salvation for us through Your own Son's death. You did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. And one day, You are going to do for the people of Israel what they have never been able to do on their own. You are going to complete restore, renew, and reform them, from the inside out. You will reconcile them to Yourself and make them a people after Your own heart. Amen

New & Improved.

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?. – 2 Corinthians 3:8 NLT

In this section of his letter, Paul addresses the differences between the old covenant, represented by the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets, and the new covenant, written on the hearts of men through the power of the Holy Spirit. He compares one to the other, using the word glory 19 times in an attempt to prove the new covenant superior to the old. The old covenant was given by God and, therefore, was good. But it has been replaced by the new covenant. Both were marked by God's glory, but the glory of the new covenant was greater. The old covenant, or way, was dependent on man keeping the laws of God, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The problem was that man, because of his sin nature, was incapable of keeping his part of the covenant. He continually sinned, breaking God's commands and failing to keep God's holy standards for righteousness. The old covenant ended up condemning man, exposing his sin and revealing his failure to meet God's requirements for holiness and acceptance.

Paul understood the purpose of the law in the lives of men. He wrote about it extensively in his letter to the believers in Rome. In fact, Paul was constantly having to fight against those who wanted to demand that the keeping of the law was still a requirement, even on Christians. There were those who followed Paul on his missionary journeys, teaching new converts that their salvation was incomplete unless they also kept all the Jewish laws and religious rituals like circumcision. These individuals were a constant thorn in Paul's side and he had to deal with their false teachings everywhere he went. He told the Roman believers, "it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, 'You must not covet.' But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power…sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me" (Romans 7:7-8, 11 NLT).

But what made the new covenant of Christ's death so much more glorious was that it nullified the need for men to keep the law as a requirement for being made right with God. Paul wrote, "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are" (Romans 3:21-22 NLT). Paul told the Corinthians, "how much more glorious the new way, which makes us right with God!" (2 Corinthians 3:9b NLT). The objectives of both the old and new covenants were to make men right with God. Sin had separated man from God. Sin is nothing more or nothing less than rebellion against God's authority. It is rejection of his rule over our lives and refusal to acknowledge Him as our Lord and Master. God's law revealed His holy standards for righteous living. It put down in writing what God required for men to have a right relationship with Him. But all it did was reveal man's inability to live up to that standard. For generations, man attempted to restore his relationship with God through self-effort and better behavior, only to fail miserably. That's why God sent His Son. That's why the new covenant is more glorious than the old. Because the new covenant provided a fail-proof way for man to be restored to God. Jesus Christ provided a means by which sinful man can be cleansed, forgiven and given new life. We have a Spirit-empowered capacity to obey God that we didn't have before. We have been given new hearts that desire to live according to God's standard. And God is slowly, but surely transforming us into the likeness of His Son. "And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image" (2 Corinthians 3:18b NLT). And it just doesn't get any better than that!

Father, I can't thank You enough for the new way You provided so that I might be made right with You. I never could have kept the law and lived up to Your holy standard. I was doomed to defeat, a product and a victim of my own sinfulness. But while I was stuck in my sin, You sent Your Son to die for me. He took my place on the cross and suffered the penalty and the punishment that was meant for me. He took my sins on Himself and, in exchange, He gave me His righteousness. So I stand before You as holy and righteous, uncondemned and totally forgiven. I am right with You because of what Your Son did for me. Thank You! Amen.