Basic Facts from Ezekiel (Part 2)
In Ezekiel 25-32 God presents a series of declarations of impending judgement against the various heathen neighbors of His people (the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, the Phoenicians/city of Tyre, the Sidonians, and the Egyptians). There are many important points and valuable lessons we should learn from these chapters; here are two that should “stand out” among them: First, the fact that God declares His judgement against these pagan, idolatrous peoples shows that even though they did not worship or acknowledge…
Basic Facts from Ezekiel
The prophet Ezekiel was a contemporary of both Jeremiah and Daniel, as well as Habakkuk and Zephaniah. He was a priest as well as a prophet, and the focus of his “ministry” was mainly among the common people of Judah. Like Daniel, he was taken into captivity in Babylon, where he lived by the river Chebar among the “middle class” captives (unlike Daniel, who served in king Nebuchadnezzar’s palace). Some biblical scholars identify the Chebar as one of the large…
Basic Facts from Lamentations
The book of Lamentations is sometimes described as a five-stanza dirge (a funeral song) over the death of a city (Jerusalem) and a nation (Judah). In the original Hebrew language, there are mnemonic (memory) aids in each chapter: In chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5, each verse begins with a letter of the alphabet (thus, 22 verses in each chapter because there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet). In chapter 3, each group of three verses begins with a…
Basic Facts from Jeremiah (Part 4)
One of the truly vivid lessons presented by Jeremiah comes in chapter 35, and it concerns the descendants of a man named Rechab. Rechab was the father of Jehonadab, who participated with Jehu in slaughtering the worshipers of Baal after the death of king Ahab (2 Kings 10:15-28). Rechab’s “claim to fame” was his decree that none of his descendants should ever live in a house, nor plant a field or vine- yard, nor drink grape juice/wine in any form…
Basic Facts from Jeremiah (Part 3)
One of the most valuable lessons we can learn from the prophet Jeremiah comes from his own experience in faithfully serving the Lord. True commitment to the Almighty means persisting in His way, with His message even when those around us don’t want to hear it. In Jeremiah 20:7-9, the servant of the Lord laments that he “got more than he bargained for” in obeying the Lord’s call to be His prophet: The people mocked him for his message, until…
Basic Facts from Jeremiah (Part 2)
“Do not pray for this people… for I will not hear you.” What an incredibly hard, harsh-sounding decree! Yet this was God’s explicit instruction to Jeremiah, in chapter 7:16. The bible critic, and the skeptic would respond, “See; the God of the bible is a mean, cruel despot!” Some background information is in order, however, so as to understand the context of the Lord’s words here; He first instructed Jeremiah to go to the main entrance of the temple and…
Basic Facts from Jeremiah (Part 1)
The prophet Jeremiah has often been described as the “weeping” prophet of Judah because of the sorrow he experienced in the course of performing his task. Jeremiah was sent to warn a wayward, rebellious, and impenitent people about the Lord’s coming judgement upon them. A patriotic Jew, but also a tender-hearted man, there were times when Jeremiah felt his prophetic burden was more than he could bear. His service spans the reigns of the last five kings of Judah, and…
Are we ready?
Making preparations are a part of life. People make preparations all the time for various things: Christmas, vacations, tests in school, etc. Secular preparations are important, but spiritual preparation is more important. Let us notice some things for which we ought to be getting ready. We should be ready to follow the Lord. Every person alive today should be ready to follow the Lord. It’s obvious that not everyone is following the Lord, in fact, some members of the church…
6 Lessons From 1 Corinthians 1-4
In the teen class on Wednesday nights, we have been studying the book of 1 Corinthians. Paul is the one who established the church at Corinth, and in his first letter to the Corinthians, he is writing to them because he has received word of several problems within the congregation. He is writing to correct them because he loved them as a father loves his own child. There are several problems that Paul will address throughout the letter, however, in…
How to Enjoy a Sermon More
How long an average sermon lasts may depend on how “squirmy” your child is, whether you remembered turn off the oven, or what time the football game kicks off! A typical sermon has between 4,000 and 5,000 words (that adds up to about half a million words from the pulpit each year). I generally take copious notes when someone else preaches, because I don’t get much “practice” at listening to sermons! From the standpoint of someone who has to really…
God Has A Place For You
One of the many amazing facts of our existence (cf. Psalm 139:14) is that we are each made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), but no two of us are alike! Each has different abilities and potential in God’s kingdom (Romans 12:3-8), and each Christian should be appreciated and enabled to serve within the range of those abilities! Every Christian belongs somewhere, but we’re not interchangeable. Paul stressed that “…the body is not one member, but many”(1 Corinthians 12:14). We don’t all have…