Tag: salvation

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.   (Ezra 8:21-23 , NASB)

Ezra was a Jew exiled to Babylon, which had since been defeated by Persia.  Ezra was also a priest of the Most High God.  He received permission from the king to go to Jerusalem to participate in the rebuilding of the Temple, and to lead his people in worship.  Ezra assembled the people he needed to do the task, Levites and others, and led them to Jerusalem.  The passage above tells of what the people did before setting out on their journey. 

They did exactly what God wants us to do:  They humbled themselves and prayed, seeking His guidance and protection.  God had punished Israel and Judah for idol worship, and for not seeking Him.  Ezra was wise in teaching the people priorities.  He also says that since they were to rely on God for protection, that he rejected the offer of troops for the journey.  The Israelites were totally reliant on their God for provision and for protection while on their trip.  

God wants us to do the same.  That doesn’t mean that we should take unnecessary risks.  But He wants us to rely on Him.  He wants to be involved in the decisions we make.  He wants to be involved with everything we do.  God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to the earth, so that if we would believe in Him, we will have eternal life with Him in heaven! 

I prayed to the Lord and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.”  (Daniel 9:4-8, NASB)

The Prophet Daniel was among the exiles taken from Judah to Babylon.  He was among the Jews who were appointed to King Nebuchadnezzar’s staff.  Daniel discovered early on that he had a gift from God of interpreting dreams, and he interpreted one of the king’s dreams when no one else could.  The king appointed Daniel to a high position in his court.  Daniel was later framed by jealous Babylonians, and sentenced to the lion’s den, from which he emerged unscathed.  Through it all, Daniel was faithful to the Lord his God, and gave credit to Him for all his success.

 In the Bible passage above, Daniel had referenced the book of the Prophet Jeremiah, and discovered that Jeremiah had written that the exile would last for 70 years.  That time was almost done.  As you can see, he gave a great prayer for his nation.  This is a wonderful model for us as we pray for our Nation. 

In his prayer, Daniel acknowledges the sins of the people, and identifies with those sins.  He acknowledges that God is great, and that He has laid out His covenant, which the people have broken.  Daniel says that the people, and their kings, have ignored the voices of the prophets, God’s representatives.  Daniel agrees that those in exile have not learned their lessons, because they still have sinned against their God.  Lastly, Daniel acknowledges that everyone is at fault, kings, their fathers, everyone. 

This is a great template to use as we pray for our Nation.  We have sinned against God.  There’s enough blame to go around.  We’re all complicit in our Nation’s transgressions.  While we have fallen far, God is not done with us yet.  There’s still time for those of us who love Jesus to come together and pray for God to forgive us! 

“Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”  (Jeremiah 44:9-10, NASB)

In the Bible passage above, God is speaking through His Prophet Jeremiah.  The remnant of Jews who were left in Judah after its destruction and exile had come to Jeremiah to ask God for His direction.  What were they to do?  Jeremiah came back to them with God’s instructions:  Stay in the land of Judah.  The people remained rebellious and obstinate, however.  They had not learned the lessons of what happens when they disobeyed God’s word.  The people decided that they would go to Egypt to reside.  God takes them to task in this passage. As a result of the Jews’ obstinance, and the sins of Egypt, God promised to send Babylon to utterly destroy Egypt and the Jews within.  Egypt would be uninhabitable for 40 years. 

God leaves no one out of His indictment:  Their ancestors, their kings, their kings’ wives, themselves, and their wives.  God accuses them all of “wickedness.”  The people not only disobeyed God by going to Egypt, but when they got there, they served the gods of Egypt!  But as we’ve seen, these were a stubborn and obstinate people!  God further accuses His people:  “But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”

The Bible is full of lessons for us to learn.  But WE are a stubborn and obstinate people.  We have all these wonderful stories from which to learn, but we don’t.  And yet, God still loves us, and wants us to have fellowship with Him!  We can effect this through believing in His Son, Jesus.  And we’ll get to spend eternity with Him in heaven! 

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.  (Ezekiel 22:23-31, NASB)

In the Bible passage above, Prophet Ezekiel reports on a conversation with God.  God has apparently had it with the Kingdom of Judah, and He’s preparing to execute His long-promised judgment on them.  

God leaves no one out of His fury.  He blames the corrupt prophets who speak for God without His prompting; the lawless priests, who ignore God’s laws; the princes and kings who have led their people astray; and the people themselves, who have not treated the poor and needy as they should.  In fact, God “searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”  There was “no one who does good, not even one!”  

Sounds familiar!  The news is full of reports of corruption in all levels of society.  We’d do well to take a lesson from Judah.  God would soon destroy her, using Babylon to utterly destroy Jerusalem and carry its people into exile.  “Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads.”  Could we be next? 

On the personal level, we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.  But God has a plan of salvation.  He sent His Son Jesus to the earth to die for us.  If we would repent of our sins and accept Jesus’ sacrifice, then we’ll spend eternity with Him in heaven! 

. . . and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’ in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.” ’ ” Then I said, “Amen, O Lord.” . . . “They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them”.   (Jeremiah 11:3-5, 10-11, NASB)

In the passage above, God is speaking with His Prophet Jeremiah.  It seems that God is angry with His people Israel, both on a personal and on a national level.  People, and the nation, will be punished.

First, God directs His ire at “the man who does not heed the words of this covenant which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”  Ever since God delivered them from Egypt, He complained to Moses and other prophets, that they were a stubborn, obstinate people.  All they had to do was to follow God’s laws and commandments, and they could live in the Promised Land forever!  But people are stubborn.  Even now, God holds us accountable.  He wants our hearts so much.  He loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, and to take responsibility for our sins.  Thank you God!  And thank you Jesus!

God also held Israel to account.  “They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them.”  The consequence for Israel’s iniquities:  “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.”  Does God still hold nations accountable?  I think He does.  Our Nation was founded by godly people on godly principles.  How far we have fallen!  We as a Nation must look to Judah to see what it looks like when we hit rock bottom! 

It’s never too late for us to repent.  This is true for people and nations.  For people, we must come to Jesus.  For our Nation, we have to pray for forgiveness, for a Great Awakening, for a Jesus Revolution!  Of all the great national prayers in the Bible, those who prayed identified with the sins of the nation.  Let’s get on our knees, and get busy!

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. I will also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”  (Jeremiah 36:30-31, NASB)

King Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord, unlike his father, Josiah.  He undid all the good things his father did, bringing back idol worship.  The Prophet Jeremiah, who warned Judah during Josiah’s and Jehoiakim’s reigns, was commanded by God to write down everything that He had told him.  Jeremiah dictated to his scribe Baruch, who then took the scroll to the Temple, and read it in the presence of some of the king’s aides.  When they took the scroll to King Jehoiakim, he tossed the scroll into his fireplace.  Hence Jeremiah’s warning which you have read above. 

Jeremiah’s prophecy was indeed fulfilled.  Our God keeps His promises!  When Josiah died, Jehoiakim’s younger brother, Jehoahaz, became king.  But he reigned for only three months, when Pharaoh Neco captured him and took him to exile to Egypt.  Neco then placed Jehoiakim on the throne.  He reigned for 11 years.  Eventually, Judah was defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar, and the people were mostly deported to Babylon.  All because the people and their kings did not listen to the word of God though the prophets. 

God doesn’t like it when we ignore Him.  He wants to have a relationship with us, but according to His word, that’s only possible by believing in His Son, Jesus.  This is my hope:  Because I believe in Jesus, I’ll have eternal life in heaven with Him!

Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols; therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.’ ”  (2 Kings 21:10-15, NASB)

King Manassah was wicked in the sight of the Lord, so evil as to be compared to the Amorites, who God pushed out from the Promised Land before the Israelites.  And THEY were a wicked people! 

What were Manassah’s transgressions?  He encouraged idol worship among his subjects.  He forsook the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in favor of the worthless idols.  One of God’s names is “Jealous.”  At the same time, He is slow to anger.  God says that the Israelites had been obstinate since He brought them out of Egypt.  Yet He waited all this time before punishing them, despite endless warnings.

God promises calamity for Judah and Jerusalem because of Manassah’s sins.  He promises to “abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies.”  This would later come about when the Babylonians conquered Judah and carried the people into exile.  In fact, King Manassah was exiled to Babylon for a time, but he returned to Jerusalem after he repented to God.  

God expects us to repent as well.  He wants us to rely on Him, and not on worthless idols.  But anything that takes our attention away from God may be considered an “idol.”  God punished Judah for its transgressions, and He will do the same with us.  God sent His Son, Jesus, to do this for us, since we’re unable to do this on our own.  Call upon the name of Jesus, and be saved!