Running From God Jer. 52:1-11

The end of the earthly reign of the house of David came when Jerusalem fellto Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. The last descendant of David to rule as a king of a physical nation was Zedekiah. They fell because fellowship with God was lost. “For through the anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence.” (Jer. 52:3) 

As the Babylonian army closed in, he cut and ran.  “A]l the men of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king's garden...” (Jer. 52:7)  Ezekiel prophesied their escapee and their capture. “The prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall… I shall also spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare." (Ezk. 12:12,13) Jeremiah records, “The Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho…his army was scattered from him…they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon.” (Jer. 52:8,9)  

His sons were killed before his eyes. And so that this calamity would be the last thing he ever saw, Nebuchadnezzar “blinded the eyes of Zedekiah.”  Then he “bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon, and put him in prison until the day of his death.” (Jer. 52:10, 11)

The rebellious life always ends disastrously. You can no more run from God’s punishment than Jonah could run from His presence – yet many try. Men try to sow the wind without reaping the whirlwind.  They try to sow to the flesh and not reap corruption. They keep on trying to live a life of sin without going to hell. None will succeed. Zedekiah couldn’t run that fast. I can’t run that fast. You can’t run that fast.

Ps. 80:8-13 A Parable Of A Vineyard, A Confession

This parable is a confession of the goodness of God and the sins of His people. Israel was like a vine. God drove out seven wicked nations to plant it.  The ground was prepared, and it was easy for it to grow. The vine grew to cover great trees and mountains. It grew from the sea to the river – the geographic area of the height of the united kingdom. This is reminiscent of the prophecy made to Jacob, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall.” (Gen. 49:22)

But now the vine has lost its protection, the hedges that protected it have been broken down. Passers-by take its fruit and wild animals eat at its base.  This is same message as the prophets preached. The good vine God made corrupted itself and had to be pruned, and later removed. “Yet I planted you a choice vine, A completely faithful seed.  How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?” (Jer. 2:21) “Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, Planted by the waters; It was fruitful and full of branches Because of abundant waters… But it was plucked up in fury; It was cast down to the ground…” (Ezek. 19:10-14)

So the next section of this psalm (vss. 14-19) is aprayer for restoration. The nation God planted, but has now chastised, would be received back. Vs. 17 could first refer to the priests that their prayers might be heard again, to the king as God’s anointed, or even to the nation of Israel as the son of God.  But it is hard not to see this applying also to the Messiah, the ultimate “man of God’s right hand.”  That is when the full restoration came.

“Fired Up” Hos. 7:4-8

Hosea described those zealous for evil.  Their hearts were very passionate toward their idolatries.  They are as heated up and excited about these things as can be.  They are compared to bread in a baker’s oven.  They are burning to be involved. But what are they involved in? Anger, plotting, and consuming desires that destroy.    

Hosea’s indictment:  1.)  The used artificial devices to keep their passions up. (vs. 5)  Hosea speaks of those who fire themselves up with wine.  

2.)  They consumed others in their excited state. (vs. 7)  Here were people that plotted against, mulled over, and then burst out like flames against their rulers. They nursed their grudges until their anger overcame their fear of acting (vs. 6).  Its a dangerous thing to be to hot for too long. Paul said, “let not the sun go down upon your wrath,” (Eph. 4:26). The wrath of these never stopped. 

3.)  They ended up half baked. (vs. 8)  They were “a cake not turned.”  They were raw on one side and burned on the other.  There is a time and place for all parts of life (Eccl. 3). There is both weeping and rejoicing, joy and gladness, and repentance and lamenting.  The sinful life is an extremely unbalanced life.

In vs. 7 God lamented,  “None of them calls on Me.”  Those who get to fired up about their own feelings and desires and wants don’t care to much about God.  You can put God first, or you can put yourself first.  You can fire up your faith or your lusts.  It all depends on where you put your emphasis.

Hypocrites in Your Hearts

“Hypocrites in Your Hearts” is how the NKJV translates Jeremiah’s charge against the people in Jer. 42:20. The KJV says that they were “dissembling in your hearts.” The NASB says that they had “deceived yourselves,” and the ASV says that they were acting “deceitfully against your own souls” Additionally, the NIV calls it a “fatal mistake.” All of these carry the idea of a people who are lying hypocrites - not just in their dealings with others and God - but even with themselves.  What occasion brought such a charge?  

It was aimed at the remnant of God’s people who had come to ask Jeremiah to pray for them in a time of great difficulty. They had a perfectly worded expression of devotion to do whatever God revealed. “...Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.” (Jer. 42:2,3)  Should they stay or should they go? They submissively replied, “We’ll do what God says!” 

The problem they had already made up their mind as not only what they wanted to do, but had actually begun to do it. Before they ever thought to seek the Lord’s counsel they had already started heading to Egypt! “And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt.” (Jer. 41:17)

This attitude (of doing first and asking God later) is wicked, open, knowledgeable, purposeful, rebellion to God. They only pretend to consider God’s will. Only pray after they’ve already decided.

The Everlasting Father Of Isaiah 9:6

Isa. 9:6,7  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

        and his name shall be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    Of the increase of his government and of peace

        there will be no end,

    on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

        to establish it and to uphold it

    with justice and with righteousness

        from this time forth and forevermore.

    The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

We often think of Jesus as a son to the Father and as a brother to us, and these are His primary relationships. But these are not the only relationships that Jesus has with us. He is our Lord (1 Pet. 1:3), our priest (Heb. 7:26), our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5), a mediator (Heb. 9:15), an advocate (1 Jn. 2:1), and many other things to us. In Isaiah 9, He is also the “Everlasting Father.” We with absolute certainty that Jesus is the subject of this prophecy since He is the one who sits on the throne of David in the kingdom of God.

While a son to the Heavenly Father, He is a father to us. Jesus. A fatherever there, ever living, ever hearing, ever helping, every meditating, every lasting.

A Wonderful Story Of God’s People Doing As They Should 2 Chron. 20

In the days of Jehoshaphat, Judah was throated by a great horde of three countries from the east combining to invade. Jehoshaphat was afraid. Fear in similar situations has caused many godly people to do evil.  His father Asa turned to a foreign alliance when he faced less of a threat that this. (2 Chron. 16)  But Jehoshaphat sought the Lord. (16 times “seek, seeking or sought the LORD (Jehovah)” appears in 1 & 2 Chron.) He called the people of Judah to fast as they sought the Lord. They assembled in the Temple courtyard and the king led in prayer.

Jehoshaphat’s prayer acknowledged the sovereignty of God, His help in making them a nation, and that trouble should not come upon God’s people so long as they humbled themselves before God. So in faith, they asked for God’s help. A prophet stood up and said that God would fight their enemies for them. They were to go out as to battle on a mountain overlooking a plain and wait there to see the victory of the Lord. The people bowed in worship and loudly praised God.  

Led the priests and singers, they went out where God had told them. They watched as the combined armies broke into its separate parts and fought one another to the point of total annihilation.  

The victory for God’s people was so complete that all they had to do was go down and take the spoils of war.  It took three days to carry all of it off.  On the fourth day, they had a great service of thanks to God. Faith and trust worked a greater victory than the army of Judah could have,

Destroyed By The Old Prophet

1 Kings 13 contains a story of great grief. It tells of an unnamed “man of God,” a prophet from Judah, who acted with courage and boldness in carrying God’s message to the sinful, but who was destroyed by the deception of an older prophet, a man whom he thought he could trust. 

The first part of the story records the work and fidelity of a prophet from Judah sent north.  At God’s command, he went to the very alter of false religion and spoke God’s judgment against it and the king leading the sacrifices during their very first worship service.  

But in the second part, we are told that there was another prophet, an old man, whose sons were at that worship service and saw the courageous young man. The old man and his sons didn’t speak out against the evil in their midst, but they did want to visit with the man who had the courage to do so. So they lied to him and said that God said he should stay and eat with them when He clearly had not. The young man fell for the old man’s deception and was destroyed for disobeying God’s clear instruction.

The old man mourned greatly at the destruction of the young that he himself had brought. Had he destroyed a man just because of his curiosity and desire to meet him? We don’t know. But he honored him in death who he had destroyed in life. Not that helped the young man who had been destroyed.

Ps. 148 Let All Creation Praise Him

We do not know the background or authorship of the psalm.  It is a song of pure, exalted praise.  The only instruction is that all His creation, a number of parts of which are detailed, are told to praise God.  

This psalm is all about giving praise to God. Starting from the top down, let everything in Heaven praise Him (vss. 1-6), then in a long list of things on earth, concluding with young and old, men and women alike are to praise God. (vss. 7-12). 

All of the things detailed in the Psalm, from highest to lowest are made by Him. The heavens, the angels, the clouds, the snow, the wind, the mountains and hills, the treats, the beasts, all cattle and all kings and all people, old young, great and small are made by God.  It is only right that they all praise their creator. 

13     Let them praise the name of the LORD, 

    For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.

14     And He has lifted up a horn for His people, 

    Praise for all His godly ones; 

    Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. 

    Praise the LORD!

The angels and inanimate objects of creation praise Him. Sadly, we often fail to as we should.

Ps. 136: “The Lovingkindness Is Everlasting”

1     Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; 

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2     Give thanks to the God of gods, 

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

3     Give thanks to the Lord of lords, 

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Following a call to praise (vss. 1-3), Ps. 136 gives us 22 reasons to offer thanksgiving to God. This is one of the great history lesson psalms, but the notable the refrying “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

This is also variously translated as:

His love is eternal (HCSB)

His lovingkindness is everlasting. (NASB)

His steadfast love endures forever. (ESV)

His faithful love endures forever (NLT)

His mercy endureth for ever (KJV)

Repeated often, it is not a throw away line. It is the very heart of the psalm. We often tend to gloss over something repeated so much since we’ve already read it and its coming is predictable being every other line. 

Charles Spurgeon said, “We shall have this repeated in every verse of this song, but not once too often.  It is the sweetest stanza that man can sing. What joy that there is mercy, mercy with Jehovah, enduring mercy, mercy enduring for ever. We are ever needing it, trying it, praying for it, receiving it: therefore let us for ever sing of it.”  (Treasury of David, Ps. 136, vs. 1)

Psalm 94 Accepting God’s Discipline

12     Blessed is the man whom Thou dost chasten, 

    O LORD, And dost teach out of Thy law;

13     That Thou mayest grant him relief from the days of adversity, 

    Until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14     For the LORD will not abandon His people, 

    Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

15     For judgment will again be righteous; 

    And all the upright in heart will follow it.

This psalmist takes the same view of Godly discipline as the Hebrew writer. The chastened one is not hated, but he is loved and corrected so that he better follows God’s law.  This is the one who is cared for and protected. 

Heb. 12:5“and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;

6FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”

7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”

It is the unchastened who are unloved (in the peculiar sense of loved as children, since are are under the love of God generally for all mankind, Jn. 3:16), and who uncorrected go to destruction.

Psalm 5 Refuge Found In Worship And Prayer

In the fifth Psalm we find David again beset by many enemies. We often have the false notion that if we strive to be good and do what is right that most people will like us, or that at a minimum we will mostly be left alone.  But David’s experience does not bear this out. Certainly he was opposed because he was the king and all who have power will have opposition. But his troubles were more than simply political opposition. 

As the “anointed of God,” (2 Sam. 23:1) he was a constant public example and the living embodiment of service to God.  He was fiercely opposed for being a light in a dark world. Many have lost their faith because of this type of continual antagonism. Others have fallen into the temptation to sink to the ungodly tactics of their opponents once hostilities have begun.  But David shows the true way - reliance on God through prayer. 

David knew that these blessings were not for him alone. All who have the same faith can take refuge, be glad, sing for joy, find shelter and exalt in the Lord. Where did David find Him? In prayer and in worship. Love and fidelity to the great Creator are the right response when we consider His love toward us. But we are influenced daily by the evil world that surrounds us so that we don’t realize that the Invisible God is also present. The difference between David and his enemies – between the faithful and the unfaithful – came down to one walking by faith and the other walking by sight according the course of this world.  

How do you walk? Or maybe we should rather ask, how do you worship?And how do you pray?

Psalm 3 I Cried, He Answered

Christian have the monumental admonition to “pray without ceasing.”  Over a thousand years before this, under the lesser light of revelation of the Old Testament, there was a man who lived the same teaching, King David.

3:1    O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! 

    Many are rising up against me.

2     Many are saying of my soul, 

    "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah.

3     But Thou, O LORD, art a shield about me, 

    My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

4    I was crying to the LORD with my voice, 

    And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.

David was surrounded by an ever increasing number of enemies. They mock, they ridicule, and the specifically attack him for his faith in God. God is still the shield, glory, and power of David. These attacks did not drive David from God, but closer to Him.

David was not disappointed in his hope in God, but He was answered and could go in peace because of it. Selah — stop and think about God answering prayer. 

God is approachable in prayer. He answers prayer, He delivers the oppressed. Thus, as Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  (Jn. 14:27)

Ps. 1 How To Begin A Godly Life

As the psalms begins we are told that there are two types of men: 1.) those who delight in the law of the Lord and 2.) the ungodly.  

Notice that the godly man is describe in 3 way.  FIRST - What he does not do: He doesn’t walk, stand or sit with the ungodly, the sinners or the scornful. These corrupt good morals rather than promote them.  

SECOND - In order to build good qualities the godly man is described as delighting in and meditating on God’s law. He does this day and night.

THIRD - This man is secure and fruitful. The tree planted be the water never lacks for sustenance and has shelter. In much of Palestine (like the western parts of this country) the land is arid and rough. But down by the streams and water courses there are massive stands of trees. This is where the biggest and most fruitful trees are because of the abundance of water, and since water runs to low places, the trees down in the river bottoms are sheltered from the wind. So in the deserts of life, the godly man is a massive, well watered and sheltered tree. Truly he will “prosper in whatever he does.”

But what of the ungodly man, the sinner? He has no stability or fruitfulness at all. He is chaff - the dry, useless husk driven by the parching winds. He cannot last, the cannot stand. He cannot have his works judged, for then nothing would be left.  

So one will stand mightily, another fall completely.

Ps. 133 Pause To Reflect On Unity

1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

2 I t is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

3It is like the dew of Hermon, Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing--life forever.

If you are keeping up with the daily chronological Bible reading, you noticed that this week we had a very, very short reading. Instead of reading 8 short psalms, or up to 5 or 6 historical chapter, we just read one Psalm. A very short one. Just three verses. Why?

I think that the authors of our plan want to give us a short break. (Every regular routine, even one as wholly beneficial as scripture readings, can benefit from a bit of a period of rest or lighter activity). This section of the reading plan has covered the rather tedious section of nine chapter of genealogies that begin 1 Chron. The authors have obviously tried to break this up with lots of reading from Psalms.

But I think a second reason for this short reading is the make us think of this psalm’s message. If we’re doing our reading, our mind is set to read for a block of time 10, 15, 20 minutes. Now instead, we’ve only read for 2 and we’re done. We have more time to think on this text then than most others. And what do who have time to think about? The glorious blessing of unity. It’s like the most blessed day and most blessed things in Israel.

Ps. 6 A Troubled Soul Prays To God In Anguish And Hope

Ps. 6:1:1“O LORD, do not rebuke me in Thine anger, Nor chasten me in Thy wrath.

2Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.

3And my soul is greatly dismayed; But Thou, O LORD--how long?

Yet again David is greatly troubled. He pleads with the Lord as one who recognizes his unworthiness to come before God. David recognized his failings in this way and called out with complete dependence on God’s grace. David’s own strength was failing and he was greatly troubled, so he recognized his need and waited on the Lord. However long that was. 

8Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

9The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer.

10All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly dismayed; They shall turn back, they shall suddenly be ashamed.”

Sinners be warned: leave this righteous man alone. Will they? Probably not until they are totally consumed by the Lord, but David is still renewed. Confidence has returned because he has assurance πthe Lord has “heard and received” his prayers. All who strive to live faithfully have this same promise (2 Pet. 3:10-12).

Imprecatory Prayer

“Imprecation” means “invoking of evil, a curse.”  In descriptions of psalms or prayers, it means asking God to rightly punish those who are deserving of it.  Use of this type of prayer may not be a pleasant thought, but the grave sins of evil men make many things as we wish they were not. Imprecatory prayer is one of the helps God extends to us in times of such need.

When?  The situation in which to offer a righteous imprecatory prayer is 1) when it is a cause that God will support, 2) you are suffering a terrible harm and 3) other means of relief are not available.  These are not simply prayers of vengeance, but prayers of dependence on God as the only hope of help.

Who? All who would plead for God to relieve them from the evil of his enemies must truly make sure that their enemy cannot rightly ask for the same relief because of the pleader’s action. The righteous imprecatory prayer is a tool for the innocent only.

We read two psalms that were imprecatory prayers in our Bible reading this week (Ps. 35 & 52). There are nine others as well. (Ps. 12, 31, 55, 59, 64, 79, 83, 94, 140).

We hope that we never need to pray for the Lord to punish evildoers who are harming us, but sometimes that is the only way to find relief.  Righteous imprecatory prayer is the last hope of the patient, innocent, faithful saint.

Wicked Priests

Eli, the High Priest and judge of Israel, seemed to have been a man who was personally pious, was a tender guardian of young Samuel when he came to the tabernacle at a very young age, and who led Israel for many years. Yet Eli, along with his family, came to a tragic end.

1 Sam. 2:12“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD.”

In an age of Israel that was known for moral corruption, some of the most degenerate men came from highest house in the land. Hophni and Phineas were in open rebellion to both their father, the High Priest, and the God of heaven. They debauched the worshipers in God’s house. They robbed those who brought sacrifices over their protests that the priests observe the Law. They would not wait until the meat was cooked, they had to have it raw – probably so they could go and sell it. They didn’t care about God’s rules, only what they could get. They took advantage of the women servants who helped run the tabernacle. They were acting in Shiloh in the Lord’s house as if they were in a pagan temple.  

Thought they were openly and fully wicked, Eli rebuked them only gently (2:22-25). For this lack of action, lack of leadership, God rebuked Eli very harshly (2:29-34) and prophesied the bad end of the wicked sons. 

1 Sam. 4:11“And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”

The Time Of The Judges

The period of the Judges covers just shy of 300 years, from the death of Joshua and the end of the generation that was born in the wilderness and conquered the land until the appointment of King Saul. Adding up the years of peace and years of oppressions seems to add up to more than that, so the years of peace and oppression given in the book must overlap some, as they were taking place at the same time in different places.  

Part of the reason for this is that Israel was hardly one nation, but rather more like 12 separate tribes. Some of these tribes aren’t mentioned at all.  in Judges Others are hardly mentioned after the roll call like listings of the first chapters. What affected one group did not always affect the others.  The tribes took on different characters.  

The accounts of judges, therefore, do not have to be in a strict chronological order. Some of these things could have been taking place in different places at the same time.  To appreciate what can happen in the length of time that is covered by the book of Judges, consider a 290-year span of our history.  290 year ago, 1723, this country was only very lightly populated with a few cities on the east coast. There were 7 colonies with a population of approximately 80 thousand people in what would become the United States. St. Petersburg, Russia had just been founded by Peter the Great, and construction was just about to start at the Alamo. The industrial revolution was still 50 years off.  

In Judges, we have a highly compressed account of 300 years. At the end of the book, there are two incidents recorded in great detail to illustrate how sorry a state of affairs came to exist in the Promised Land. A lot can happen in 300 years, and in Israel it obviously wasn’t all good.

Achan’s Gain

After Israel’s victory at Jericho, they failed completely and lost 36 men in trying to take the village of Ai. The text tells the reason for their loss:

Josh 7:1“But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.”

We think (depending on conversion of shekels to ounces) Achan took about a pound of gold and 4 lbs. of silver [50 shekels of gold and 400 of silver], along with a what he viewed as an extremely beautiful cloak from Bablylon. (7:20,21) This wasn’t a huge heist, but it was certainly enough to be tempting, and his covetous mind thought it worth taking. The instruction of God was that the gold and silver should have been dedicated to God’s house (6:17-19), and the clothing destroyed as all the city was under a ban from personal looting. When God gives you the victory by having the walls fall down before you, its not your place to rush in a pick up gain for yourself. 

Achan never got to use his haul. He was exposed by God before he got to wear the cloak or spend the money. His sin didn’t even give the partial, temporary reward that sin sometimes gives — knowing that sins rewards are never more than partial or temporary. All he was able to do with his loot was sneak it home and hide it, let the consequences of it weigh on his conscience (I wonder how heavy that pound of gold felt then?) and then have it kill him. Such is the heavy, deceitful weight of sin.

Proverbs On Wealth And Possessions

Destitution For The Lazy: If you won’t work, save, and use wisely you surely won’t have much.  

6:9-11“How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

10A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest–

11And your poverty will come in like a vagabond, And your need like an armed man.”

13:4“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.”

20:4“The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.”

21:17“He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.”

Material Blessings That Many Righteous Receive: The righteous are not guaranteed wealth, but those who exercises wisdom and good stewardship will most always have more than those who don’t.  

10:4“Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

14:23“In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.”

22:4“The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.

24:3,4“By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established;

4And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.”

28:19“He who tills his land will have plenty of food, But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.”