pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: prophet


by Leave a comment

To Change Hearts and Lives

Reading: Luke 4:14-5

Luke 5:32 – “I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”

Photo credit: Robert Linder

Jesus begins his public ministry teaching in the local synagogues. In his hometown of Nazareth he reads from the scroll of Isaiah. Jesus claims these words as the focus of his ministry. At first the audience is “raving” about Jesus but then someone asks, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?” Jesus quotes a saying about prophets not being welcome in their hometown. He then reminds them of the story of the widow of Zarephath and of Naaman the Syrian. They are filled with anger. They do not want the Gentiles included in God’s plan.

Jesus travels to Capernaum and heals a man with a demon. News spreads. That evening he heals many, touching each. Crowds gather along the seashore. Jesus asks Simon to row out a bit so that he can teach. After he’s done teaching he asks Simon to row out and to drop the nets. A miraculous catch is followed by a sinner’s confession. Jesus tells Simon, “From now on you’ll be fishing for people.” Simon, along with James and John, leaves everything behind to follow Jesus.

After healing a man with a skin disease, again touching someone considered unclean by Jewish religion, Jesus has a public confrontation with the Pharisees and legal experts. In response to the faith shown by the friends lowering their paralyzed friend through the roof, Jesus says, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The religious leaders mutter about this. Jesus asks them which is easier: to say your sins are forgiven or to say get up and walk? Proving his authority to forgive sins, Jesus heals the man, who picks up his cot and walks home.

Jesus then calls Levi the tax collector. Levi throws a banquet. The religious leaders question Jesus about eating with tax collectors and other known sinners. His reply: “I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.” Thanks be to God – Jesus came for you and for me!

Prayer: Lord God, your touch healed many and your words changed hearts and lives. Continue to speak into our hearts and lives each day. You also healed the wounds and separation caused by sin. Continue to heal us in this way, making us whole. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Patience, Faithful Love

Reading: Jonah 1-2

Jonah 1:6 – “Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps the god will give some thought to us so that we won’t perish.”

Photo credit: Einar Storsul

Our story today begins with God calling Jonah to go to Nineveh. He is to cry out against the city’s evil. Jonah went – just in the opposite direction. He did not want to go to prophesy to Nineveh, the capital city of Judah’s enemy. God has other plans. A storm rages and the sailors cry out to their gods. They wake up Jonah and say to him, “Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps the god will give some thought to us so that we won’t perish.” Perhaps? Give some thought? They do not know God. Yet.

The sailors cast lots and it falls on Jonah. As instructed, they hurl Jonah into the sea. These pagan sailors pray to God, hoping to survive. The sea calms. The sailors worship God and offer a sacrifice. They have met God. God’s plan continues as a fish swallows Jonah, providing him a place to pray. Sinking down, Jonah has accepted his fate. Then God “brought me out of the pit.” Inside the fish, Jonah realizes that God heard his prayer. He offers thanks and pledges obedience: “That which I promised, I will pay.” Accepting his role as prophet, he commits to that life. God then has the fish vomit Jonah out on dry land.

I can be like Jonah, hearing a call or feeling a nudge, then deciding to ignore it or even go the other way. I can allow pride or anger or other things to get in the way of obedience. Yet God remains faithful. Maybe a storm is my wake up call. Maybe it’s something else that gets my attention. But then God doesn’t make me go. It’s my choice to respond. It’s my choice to surrender to the storm or to choose obedience. And even then, when I’m still stubborn or prideful or…, God still is faithful and loving. God provides another chance for me to respond faithfully. And then another if needed. Thanks be to God for God’s patience and faithful love.

Prayer: Lord God, today I take pause at your great love and faithfulness. When I choose plan B, C, D… instead of your plan A, you don’t ever give up. You go to B1, C1 and C2, D1 – whatever it takes to keep working me to your will and way. Thank you for not giving up, for shaping and reshaping me, for continuing to lead and guide my life, my witness, my service. You are an awesome and almighty God. Amen.


by Leave a comment

God Has Spoken

Reading: Ezekiel 1-5

Ezekiel 3:4 and 7 – “Human one, go! Go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them… they will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me.”

The book of Ezekiel begins with the prophet in exile. He was brought to Babylon in the first wave of exiles, five years before the fall of Jerusalem. On his 30th birthday he is called by God to speak God’s word to these hardheaded and hard-hearted people. If not for exile, Ezekiel would’ve begun his formal duty as a priest in the temple on this day. He sees a vision – four magnificent creatures, each with four spinning wheels. Above them is a dome with a throne. On the throne is the glory of God. Ezekiel can feel God’s power and might in this scene.

God commissions Ezekiel to be the prophet to Israel, saying, “Human one, go! Go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them… they will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me.” God prepared Ezekiel, hardening his face so that he can speak to these rebellious people. God appoints Ezekiel as a lookout. His duty is to warn the people – no more, no less. Obedience falls on them. Or punishment for disobedience. God declares to Ezekiel that the prophet will speak when God speaks and will be silent when God is silent.

Chapters 4 and 5 describe Jerusalem’s fate using “sign acts.” These vivid visuals have a strong impact, amplifying his message. First, Ezekiel depicts the coming siege on Jerusalem. He then lies on his left side for 390 days then on his right side for 40 days – one day for each year of Israel’s and Judah’s rebellion, respectively. Ezekiel then makes bread from scraps. He eats and drinks a small ration of bread and water each day, representing the famine that will befall Jerusalem. The prophet then shaved his head and beard and divides the hair into thirds. He burns the first third. One third of Jerusalem will die by famine and plague. Ezekiel cuts up the next third. One third will die by the sword. Lastly, he scatters one third to the wind. The last third of Jerusalem will be taken into exile. The few strands in his pocket represent the very small remnant that will be left behind. When all of this literally happens to Judah, then God’s “anger will be complete.” Then Israel and Judah will know that God has spoken.

Prayer: Lord God, what a call and what a way to show your people what is about to happen to Jerusalem and Judah. These images raise up a level of awe and fear of you. It is good to recognize your power and might and justice. Help us to see the signs and to hear the words of warning and correction that you speak into our lives today. Soften our too often hard hearts and pry open our too regularly closed ears. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Lamenting Suffering

Reading: Lamentations 3-5

Lamentations 3:22 – “Certainly the faithful love of the LORD hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!”

Photo credit: Falaq Lazuardi

Today’s key verse summarizes the feel of Lamentations 3-5. There is hope in these words of lament. There is a hope that God isn’t utterly done with Israel. Yes, the author knows the promises of rescue and restoration, but in the depths of the suffering, hope can flicker.

Lamentations 3 is in the first person. It reads as if Jeremiah were reflecting on the hardships and trials of his life as a prophet. He has felt God’s hand against him. He has felt like God “silences my prayer.” These memories of suffering bring bitterness. He muses, “Certainly the faithful love of the LORD hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!” Hope arises, though, as he declares, “Great is your faithfulness… The Lord is my portion! Therefore I’ll wait for God.” As the chapter continues, there is an invitation to “examine our ways” and to recognize, “We rebelled.” This is step one to forgiveness.

Chapter 4 reflects on the people’s suffering. The children are thirsty and hungry. The author laments that their fate wasn’t like Sodom’s – quick and final. He laments, death by the sword would be better than death by famine. The false prophets draw some of the blame. There is reality in verse 12: “Our end had definitely come.”

The last chapter is a communal lament. They invite God to notice their disgrace. They recognize that they are burdened by past sins. Their joy is gone. They are “doomed because we have sinned.” Hope surfaces again as the community recalls how God reigns from one generation to the next. With that hope, they offer this request: “Return us, Lord, to yourself. Please let us return!” May it ever be so.

Prayer: Lord God, we too lament when we suffer justly for our sins and for our choices to be of the world. We too long to end these seasons and to return to you, our God and king. In the suffering and trial, refine us as you are working to rescue us. Draw us to you, O Lord, again and again. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Trustworthy and True

Reading: Jeremiah 50-52

Jeremiah 51:11 – “The LORD is stirring up the spirit of kings from Media. He intends to destroy Babylon… a day of reckoning for his temple.”

The judgment oracles turn to Babylon today. Chapters 50 and 51 detail the fall of Babylon. Interwoven are words of hope for God’s people. God raises up an army from the north. This army will “decimate her land.” All living things will flee. The people of Israel and Judah will “come out together” as they seek God and “search for Zion.” They will return to the Promised Land and will “unite with the Lord in an everlasting covenant.”

Babylon – the one who gloated and plundered – will fall mightily. Her towers will collapse and her walls will come down. The “scattered sheep” of Israel will be restored to their pasture. Their sin and wrongdoing will be gone. The Lord will forgive them. But Babylon will fall! The arrogant one will stumble and be consumed by an army that is “cruel and shows no mercy.” In 51:11 we read, “The LORD is stirring up the spirit of kings from Media. He intends to destroy Babylon… a day of reckoning for his temple.” Babylon’s time has come. They will be repaid for the things they did to Zion and to the temple.

Chapter 52 is an “appendix.” Jeremiah’s words ended with chapter 51. Similar words can be found in 2nd Kings 24-25 and in Jeremiah 39. This repetition serves to reinforce Jeremiah’s role as a true prophet of God. What he spoke of about the time leading into exile came true. Therefore, all that he said about the exile and return from exile can be trusted as well. Those days are yet to come for his contemporary audience. The hope that he laid out for the exiles will help carry them through this challenging time. The same is true for us. God is trustworthy and true. We too can stand upon God’s word.

Prayer: Lord God, you bring down the proud and humble those who exalt themselves. You stand with the oppressed and the downtrodden. You redeem the wayward and cleanse the guilty. You called Israel and Judah back to covenant faithfulness and you call us to this life too. Fill us with your Holy Spirit as we seek to walk in the way of life. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Good Plans

Reading: Jeremiah 25-29

Jeremiah 29:11 – “I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.”

We begin with a summary. For 23 years Jeremiah has spoken God’s word. The people wouldn’t listen or pay attention. God is mustering Babylon. For seventy years, Judah will serve Babylon. Jeremiah takes the cup of God’s wrath and forces many nations to drink of it. Disaster is coming to many nations.

We rewind in chapter 26. Jeremiah revisits his temple sermon of chapter 7, adding some more detail. The priests and prophets wanted to kill him because of the words he spoke. The officials and people stand up for Jeremiah, saving his life. Chapter 27 moves forward to king Zedekiah. Jeremiah makes a wooden yoke, symbolizing the new relationship that Judah will have under Nebuchadnezzar. He warns against listening to the false prophets. The remaining temple equipment will go to Babylon, until God is ready to bring it home. We get examples of these false prophets here and at the end of chapter 29. The false prophet Hananiah says the exile will only last two years. He is confronted by Jeremiah. Hananiah breaks the wooden yoke. It will become a yoke of iron, says God. Three more false prophets are dealt with in chapter 29. As always, the word of God prevails.

Chapter 29 begins with a word of great hope. In a letter to the exiles in Babylon, Jeremiah tells them to settle down, to build houses, to marry and have children, to pray for their cities of exile. As they prosper so will Judah prosper. In 70 years God will bring them home. In verse 11 we read, “I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.” What words of hope!

Prayer: Lord God, you reign over all the earth. Your word is ever true. Cut through the lies of this world, drawing us to the good plans that you have for those who love you. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Hope Even Then

Readings: Jeremiah 21-24

Jeremiah 23:3 – “I myself will gather the few remaining sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back.”

Today’s words from Jeremiah and God are mostly addressed to the kings and priests – the leaders. Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to go to God on their behalf because Nebuchadnezzar is besieging the city. God’s response is that God will join in the fight against Zedekiah and Jerusalem. God will send a plague, destroying them from within the city. They are told that surrender is the only way to live. Almost all will die instead.

Jeremiah elevates the correct behavior of kings. Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the oppressed. Don’t mistreat the refugee, immigrant, orphan, or widow. Don’t spill innocent blood. Defend the rights of the poor and needy. Care well for the flock. Be fresh, good figs. Instead, the leaders chose to be evil, selfish, greedy, willful. God’s efforts will join theirs in scattering the flock.

Jeremiah also addresses the priests or “prophets.” They are telling lies and selling false security. They commit adultery with idols and teach in the name of Baal. God declares them no better than Sodom – a city completely destroyed by God because of their sin. The prophets have “destroyed the very word of God.” They too will join the kings and other leaders in exile, becoming objects of disgrace and shame.

We also find hope within these oracles and judgments. God still longs for the people to know and to love God. God’s love for them remains strong and steadfast. In 23:3 we read, “I myself will gather the few remaining sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back.” Thanks be to God for unfailing mercy and unending grace.

Prayer: Lord God, I am grateful for your standards and expectations. You call us to justice and righteousness, to mercy and compassion. You call us to love all people. You ask us to be who you are. It is good. Amen.


by Leave a comment

A Fire in the Heart

Reading: Jeremiah 17-20

Jeremiah 17:10 – “I, the LORD, probe the heart and discern hidden motives, to give everyone what they deserve, the consequences of their deeds.”

Chapter 17 begins with a condemnation of the sinful. Judah’s sin is “engraved” on their hearts. God will give their land, wealth, and “all that you treasure” to their enemies. They are cursed because they have trusted in human strength. Contrasted to these are the people who trust in and rely on God. They will be like trees planted by the water – ever fruitful. Verse 10 cuts to the heart of the outcome of Judah’s and our choices: “I, the LORD, probe the heart and discern hidden motives, to give everyone what they deserve, the consequences of their deeds.”

In today’s readings we find a few laments from Jeremiah. Often he expresses trust in God and asks for his tormentors to be punished. In chapter 20 his despair is deeper. He regrets being called by God. He ponders quitting. Yet there is “an intense fire in my heart, trapped in my bones.” He knows well his love of God. Yet he is also weary of the abuse, ridicule… He closes this lament cursing the day he was born. It has led to much “suffering and misery.”

We also have two great visuals in today’s readings: the potter and the clay and the clay jar. At the potter’s house, Jeremiah watches the piece become flawed. The potter smashed it down and starts over. God proclaims the power to “dig up, pull down, and destroy”sinful nations. God also claims the power to “build and plant” new nations. It is the people’s choice which they will be. God responds for them rhetorically, saying, “What’s the use?” They have hardened, willful, evil hearts.

God then uses the clay jar as reinforcement. Jeremiah again speaks of their sins and the coming disaster. The siege will be horrific. In desperation they will eat one another’s flesh. He smashes the jar, saying this is what God will do to Judah. He then repeats these words in the temple. The high priest beats and then imprisons Jeremiah. The life of a prophet is not easy.

Prayer: Lord God, we too are called to speak your word and to offer hard truths at times. It is not easy. We can expect to face trials as Jeremiah did. May you become a fire in our hearts, a passion trapped in our bones. Lead us to stand for you and to be a part of your building the kingdom here on earth. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Good, Evil, Good, Evil…

Readings: 2nd Chronicles 25, 2nd Chronicles 26, 2nd Chronicles 27, 2nd Chronicles 28

2nd Chronicles 25:15 – “Why do you seek the gods of this people? They couldn’t even deliver their own people from you!”

Amaziah begins today’s readings about the kings of Judah. He did what was right in God’s eyes – mostly. In verse 2 we read, “but not with all his heart.” I think this is typical of most Christians today, myself included. We want to and try to follow God faithfully and obediently but the flesh inside each of us rises to the top now and then. This seems to be a part of being human.

Amaziah leads and administers well. He has successes. Then he decides to worship false gods. A prophet comes to him and asks, “Why do you seek the gods of this people? They couldn’t even deliver their own people from you!” Great questions. He gets angry at the prophet. In arrogance and foolishness he challenges King Joash of Israel. Judah and Amaziah are soundly defeated, humiliated, and looted. Amaziah is killed by his own people. Uzziah succeeds him. As long as the prophet Hezekiah is instructing him, Uzziah is faithful and has success. He becomes powerful and wealthy and famous. Arrogance sets in and he begins to worship false gods. The priest Azariah confronts Uzziah burning incense in the temple. Uzziah gets angry and God gives him a skin disease. Uzziah lives isolated the rest of his life. His son Jotham runs the kingdom.

Jotham becomes king next and does right by God. He rebuilds and wins battles. Ahaz succeeds him as king after 16 years. Ahaz is thoroughly evil. He worships Baal. He burns his sons alive in the altar of a pagan god. He suffers massive defeats. Israel shows great mercy and faithfulness, caring for and returning prisoners taken in battle. Even this faithful act does not change Ahaz’s evil heart. He instead aligns himself with Assyria, inviting disaster upon Judah. His reign ends by closing up the temple and the destruction of the temple equipment – by Ahaz. He is not buried with the other kings.

Prayer: Lord God, lessons learned: faithful -> good things… disobedient -> bad things. These are connections we know and understand. Yet we can struggle to be faithful and obedient. Lord, help us in our daily walks of faith. Strengthen us in our moments of weakness and temptation. Help us through. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Clear Outcomes

Readings: 2nd Chronicles 21, 2nd Chronicles 22, 2nd Chronicles 23, 2nd Chronicles 24

2nd Chronicles 24:20 – “Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you!”

Jehoram succeeds Jehoshaphat. He does evil in God’s eyes. Edom and Libnah rebel, weakening Judah. Jehoram builds shrines and leads Judah astray. Via letter Elijah confronts Jehoram and predicts a family downfall and a deadly illness. Both occur quickly. In verse 21:20 we read, “No one was sorry he died.” He is not buried with the other kings of David’s line.

Ahaziah rules next, for one year. He allies himself with Israel’s King Joram. This brings him into the path of Jehu’s decimation of Ahab’s family. Ahaziah’s mother, Queen Athaliah, quickly seizes power. This evil queen kills all but one member of the royal family. Jehoash (or Joash) is hidden away and then raised in the temple for six years. Jehoiada, the priest, organizes a successful coup. Jehoash is crowned and Athaliah is killed. For a season, Judah returns to God. The priests are reassigned. Temple worship resumes. The temple tax is collected – the people give gladly and generously. The temple is restored to its glory days. And then Jehoiada dies. His leadership is honored by the people as he is buried with the kings of Judah.

Under the influence of Judah’s leaders, Jehoash abandons the temple and Judah again worships idols at the sacred poles. An angry God sends Zechariah. He declares, “Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you!” He is then stoned to death. Aram once again invades and defeats Judah. Jehoash is injured and then is finished off by his own officials. He is also not buried with the kings of David’s city.

Today we again see the clear outcomes of being faithful to God or of being disobedient to God. May these insights guide us well.

Prayer: Lord God, lead us to walk in your ways. When evil voices speak and when other temptations arise, raise up the voice of your Holy Spirit. Remind us of our call to faith and trust. Empower us to walk the long road with you instead of against you. Amen.