Let’s read Ezekiel 37, 39, 39, and 32:1-16. Lots going on – big day!  Let’s visit:

There is too much in 37 to cover in a minute!

 ^“God, the Master, told the dry bones, ‘Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am God!’ ” (Ezekiel 37:5-6 MSG)

Still through the passages, we can underline the phrase “then they shall know I am the Lord” – God never acts without purpose.

All in one place today – that makes it easy!  Please read Ezekiel 34, 35, and 36 and come on back!  Leave a comment – I’d love to hear what you think!

I love Ezekiel 34 and the tenderness of the True Shepherd.  

“‘I’ll make a covenant of peace with them. I’ll banish fierce animals from the country so the sheep can live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. I’ll make them and everything around my hill a blessing. I’ll send down plenty of rain in season—showers of blessing! The trees in the orchards will bear fruit, the ground will produce, they’ll feel content and safe on their land, and they’ll realize that I am God” (Ezekiel 34:25-26 MSG)

Such a picture of comfort in the midst of judgment. Brings to my mind Psalm 23, and Psalm 119:176. The mention of David (Ezekiel 34:23-24) always stands out to me – at this point, he’s been dead for more than 400 years and his covenant is still being honored (and that reference is to Jesus, the Shepherd from the Davidic line).  

Ezekiel 36:33 is such an encouragement:

“Message of God, the Master: On the day I scrub you clean from all your filthy living, I’ll also make your cities livable. The ruins will be rebuilt. The neglected land will be worked again, no longer overgrown with weeds and thistles, worthless in the eyes of passersby. People will exclaim, “Why, this weed patch has been turned into a Garden of Eden! And the ruined cities, smashed into oblivion, are now thriving!” The nations around you that are still in existence will realize that I, God, rebuild ruins and replant empty waste places. I, God, said so, and I’ll do it” (36:33 MSG)

As God’s judgement – as God’s judgement was being carried out, He was simultaneously enabling the people to live and continue in faithfulness. Always about restoration!

Let’s read Jeremiah 42, 43, 44, and Ezekiel 33:21-33. Come on back when you’ve finished and let’s visit!

“All the army officers…. accompanied by all the people, small and great, came to Jeremiah the prophet and said, “We have a request. Please listen. Pray to your God for us, what’s left of us. You can see for yourself how few we are! Pray that your God will tell us the way we should go and what we should do.

Jeremiah the prophet said, “I hear your request. And I will pray to your God as you have asked. Whatever God says, I’ll pass on to you. I’ll tell you everything, holding nothing back.”

They said to Jeremiah, “Let God be our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don’t do everything that your God directs you to tell us. Whether we like it or not, we’ll do it. We’ll obey whatever our God tells us. Yes, count on us. We’ll do it.” (Jeremiah 42:1-6 MSG)

I’m so grateful for people in my life who can pray and hear from God – but I’m mostly thankful that I don’t have to depend on others to hear from God for me.  God can and does speak to us directly!

Twelve years into the exile – remember when God told them He would come for them in 70 years?  

Today we are reading Lamentations 5, Obadiah 1, 2 Kings 25:22-26, Jeremiah 40:7-16, and Jeremiah 41.  It’s remarkable how we can always apply the Word in a practical way.  What stands out to you today? Here’s my take-a-way:

In Lamentations 5, the people connect their circumstance to their own sin – we haven’t heard that happen in a long time.

“Bring us back to you, God—we’re ready to come back.
    Give us a fresh start” (Lamentations 5:21 MSG)

Our actions carry consequences, our actions have repercussions – let’s not blame God when we are disobedient.

Today, we are reading Lamentations 2, 3, and 4.  Even though the name is “lamentations” and bible scholars traditionally attribute this book to the “weeping prophet” Jeremiah, we will still find cause for joy!  What’s your highlight from today?  Here’s mine:

Lamentations 2:8 MSG says the “stones wept” – in Luke 19:40 (we’ll get there sometime, I promise!), the Bible tells us that rocks will cry out in praise. God will get a reaction from somewhere, if not from us.

Lam. 3:22-23 is familiar to us:

I like how the MSG translates 3:21 “I keep a grip on hope”. After chapters 1 and 2, it’s hard to imagine hope – BUT GOD. With God, there is always hope.

Today we are reading Jeremiah 39:11-18, Jeremiah 40:1-6, 2 Kings 25:8-21, Jeremiah 52:12-27, 2 Chronicles 36:15-21, Lamentations 1.  Come on back and let’s visit a little bit.  What stands out to you today?  What’s your take-a-way for the morning? Here’s mine, a few snapshots:

While Jeremiah was still in custody, he received a word from the Lord –

“Yes, I’ll most certainly save you. You won’t be killed. You’ll walk out of there safe and sound because you trusted me.” (Jeremiah 39:18 MSG)

Deliverance because of the trust placed on the Lord in the gap between seeking and revealing, unknowing and knowing.️  Sometimes, like Jeremiah, we have to trust while we are still in the middle of a situation.

Jeremiah 52:12-27 and 2 Chronicles 36:15-21 – Do you recognize these items from Moses and the tabernacle, from David setting aside items and materials for Solomon, from Solomon building the temple? Heartbreaking when the king of Babylon “carries them away captive”… now the stage is set for Lamentations.

Let’s read Ezekiel 26:15-21, Ezekiel 27, 28, 2 Kings 25:3-7, Jeremiah 52:6-11, Jeremiah 39:2-10 today.  Here we go!

“God, the Master, says, ‘When I gather Israel from the peoples among whom they’ve been scattered and put my holiness on display among them with all the nations looking on, then they’ll live in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. They’ll live there in safety. They’ll build houses. They’ll plant vineyards, living in safety. Meanwhile, I’ll bring judgment on all the neighbors who have treated them with such contempt. And they’ll realize that I am God.’ ” Ezekiel 28:25-26 MSG

And there it is, the restoration, praise the Lord. It was always there, always in the Lord’s heart toward us.  Once we can accept that restoration is the Lord’s desire, we need to develop trust between our seeking and the Lord’s revealing, between the unknowing and the knowing.

Thank You Lord!

Please read Jeremiah 32 and 33; and then Ezekiel 26:1-14. 

I love Jeremiah 32:17-19 (but you might love it in the NKJV – read it there too if you have a minute!):

“I prayed to God, ‘Dear God, my Master, you created earth and sky by your great power—by merely stretching out your arm! There is nothing you can’t do. You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands—but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins. Great and powerful God, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, determined in purpose and relentless in following through, you see everything that men and women do and respond appropriately to the way they live, to the things they do” (Jeremiah 32:17-19 MSG)

God responds appropriately to the way we live, remember that.

“Yes, this is God’s Message: ‘I will certainly bring this huge catastrophe on this people, but I will also usher in a wonderful life of prosperity. I promise” (Jeremiah 32:42 MSG)

Just as the Lord sent calamity, He will send good! What a comfort!

“This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own” (Jeremiah 33:3 MSG)

The Lord will show us things we don’t know. We have to trust the Lord in the gap between unknowing and knowing. There must be trust between our seeking of Him and His revealing to us.

Today we are reading Ezekiel 24:15-27, Ezekiel 25, Jeremiah 34, Jeremiah 21, Ezekiel 29:1-16, Ezekiel 30:20-26, and Ezekiel 31. Got a highlight?  Here’s mine:

When this happens you’ll recognize that I am God Ezekiel 24:24 MSG

“they’ll recognize that I am God” (Ezekiel 24:27)

“Then you’ll realize that I am God” (Ezekiel 25:5)

“And you’ll realize that I am God” (Ezekiel 25:7)

“And they’ll realize that I am God” (Ezekiel 25:11)

(and that’s just a few of those statements) Over and over, God tells His people why: ALL of this was done so people would recognize and know the Lord. They didn’t respond to His love or His kindness or His protection or His correction BUT STILL God desires the people to know Him.

He could have said “Well, you don’t want Me, so I’ll leave you alone. Y’all won’t listen to Me, so you won’t hear from Me again” and it actually would have been OVER. (When God gets done, it will be DONE). The point is to know God – He knows how desperately we need Him, even when we don’t know it ourselves.

If God is taking ANY action AT ALL, the point is always to make Himself known to us and restore us back to Him.

We’re in Ezekiel and a few other places today.  Here we go; and Ezekiel 22:17-31, Ezekiel 23, 2 Kings 24:20, 2 Kings 25:1-2, Jeremiah 52:3-5, Jeremiah 39:1, Ezekiel 24:1-14.  What stands out to you in the Word today?  I’d love to hear from you – here’s what I am thinking about:

“I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. So I’ll…. serve them with the consequences of all they’ve done. Decree of GOD, the Master” (Ezekiel 22:30, 31 MSG)

Before we call God unjust or unkind, we have to realize that these are consequences of actions initiated by man, not reactions initiated by God.