Graves' This and That

I have chosen to move on to Daniel after weeks of Isaiah and Ezekiel.  Daniel was probably taken captive from Judah as a teen-ager. He also was probably a member of nobility. During his early years in Babylon, he has undergone a name change, Belteshazzar; he has been taught a new language; he has been taught their literature and history; and at the present, their food has been placed before him.  He has been thoroughly indoctrinated by their culture...but we will see some boundaries/non-negotiables that Daniel has set and we will see how he tactfully works through the challenges placed before him. Scripture does not record what the "royal food" was and why Daniel "resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine".   In all my years, I have not observed our nation and our people adopting such radical changes. As Christ followers, we have experienced great pressing and squeezing from the present culture which has been ramping up for at least 40 years....

  I am quickly working through Ezekiel.  Ezekiel has several key words and phrases which are so very Ezekiel:  "Sovereign Lord", "Son of Man", and "Then they will know I am God". Ezekiel is continuing the message that Jeremiah kept speaking to a rebellious people who consistently are not listening and will not obey.  The closing chapters are messages of hope, promises of restoration which they needed to hear and I need to hear today. Ezekiel, chapter 37, is taken by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley and what a sight..."full of bones", dry and scattered!  God asks Ezekiel, " Son of man, can these bones live?"  ( Interesting question for the INFINITE to be asking the finite! ) Ezekiel's reply, " O Sovereign Lord, You alone know."  Ezekiel begins to experience his own video game show as God speaks breath, tendons, flesh, skin, and life to the bones.  The vision was very symbolic of Israel and Judah...their hope, after 70...

As an aging senior, I hear much about dementia and short-term memory.  I try to stay alert to some precautionary methods to delay short-term memory.  HOWEVER, there is an area in my heart and mind that I would love for there to be a very short-term memory...in the area of having a FORGIVING SPIRIT toward self and others.  Presently, I am reading in Ezekiel 8.  The Spirit of God has transported Ezekiel to the temple where God had said that HE would dwell.  When Ezekiel comes into the temple, God points out the idols which are obviously present and then directs him into walled-off areas where idols are covertly and  secretively displayed.  There are the idols of the worship of the heavenly bodies, idols to the god of nature,  and idols to the images on the walls of animals.  I am taken aback at the mention of images and secret areas.  The worship is encouraged by the priests and the elders, who should have been the spiritual authorities ...

  Several years ago when I was still in the classroom, I first began to hear the term, O.D.D. which is a behavioral disorder.  The term is Oppositional Defiance Disorder which is usually expressed by anger against authority and that is VERY SIMPLY defined for there a many other expressions of ODD. Today's blog is not about any explanation of ODD, but my intro to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel is a priest-prophet who has been sent to the exiles from Judah in Babylon who are captive.  He too had been taken captive in 597 B.C. with the third assault against Jerusalem. He preaches among the people for 22 years.  The reading of Ezekiel, at least for me, is a head-scratcher because God gives to him so many visuals to speak to the people.  Ezekiel has been forewarned in chapters 2-3 with the mention of the word or a synonym of the word, REBELLION, some 10 times.  What an assignment!  God is giving Ezekiel who is basically a "street preacher" to speak HIS trut...

I have finished my reading of Jeremiah and now move on to his work in Lamentations.  Jerusalem has fallen, and the year is 586 B.C.  The people of Judah have been killed, tortured, or taken captive by Babylon.  Lamentations is more of Jeremiah's personal testimony of what he has felt and how he is coping through the loss.  The reading is like a funeral dirge or a funeral song.  Jeremiah is heavy hearted as he is grieving for Jerusalem, Judea, the people, and the Lord God.  Tears suggest a lot about a person, and Jeremiah's tears seems to link him to the heart of God. Chapter 3 and Jeremiah is DONE!  He has been obedient to preach to a stubborn people who have not listened, and he is weary from the rejection of truth.  He is recounting to the Lord  in gut-level honesty and transparency how he feels about the years he has spent and he is crying out to God, even perhaps, feeling forsaken by God.  Yet, in his painful complaints, he is will...

  Sometimes we get so pressed by life that we forget to REMEMBER.  Specifically to remember the faithfulness and the provision of our Father.  In Psalm 42, David is on the run from his son, Absolom, who is trying to usurp his father's throne.  David is stressed and depressed from the oppression of the circumstance, yet he is willing to REMEMBER.   In verse 4, he intentionally chooses to REMEMBER even though he is pouring out his soul (mind, will, and emotions) to God in prayer.  He REMEMBERS the festive times of going to the temple to praise and worship God.  He asks himself two valid questions:  Why am I downcast (depressed) and why do I feel like I am in tumult?  He answers back to himself with an affirmative action:  I will praise Him and I will put my hope in God.  Further in verse 5, he again affirms, he will REMEMBER.  What is he willing to REMEMBER:  God directs His love toward him in the day and at nigh...

    Do you ever feel like you are being pushed out or driven out?  I am taking a respite from the closing chapters of Jeremiah and resting in Psalm 42 for today and will finish tomorrow.  In this Psalm, King David is being driven out of his kingdom by his son, Absolom, who is very angry and has his heart set on betraying his father. Granted ole Dave will not be awarded "Father of the Year",  yet he was greatly used of God in Israel and was Israel's most successful king. (Thank the Lord that HE can use us in spite of our frailties!) These are my thoughts on David's transparent and humble prayer to God: 1.  Israel was known for its dry and almost desert-like climate, so to find a stream of water was a real treasure.  David compares the thirst that he has for Elohim to be a lot like the male deer who has finally found a watering hole.  The deer is panting and probably weary, but he still must be cautious because other animals also gather at t...

The best of the best of Judah have been transported to Babylon where they will be profitable to and for Babylon.  The very poor, a remnant of people, has been left in Jerusalem to work the fields and to keep the area from being further destroyed by animals moving into the city, and allowing it to become further destroyed by "rack and ruin".  Jeremiah has chosen to stay with the remnant in Jerusalem.  In spite of warnings about leaving Jerusalem to go to Egypt, many have fled anyway.  The remnant is weary after the siege, and are experiencing the aftermath of famine and a major food shortage.  They determine that a change of place, Egypt, will be more advantageous and productive to them. In a final attempt, the remnant is warned again NOT to leave Judah...to stay and work the fields, continue family life, yet be under the rule and reign of Babylon, but be safe.  Their reply, " We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lor...

  There are times that a refusal is the best decision, but as I have been reading in Jeremiah, the king, Zedekiah, has been given several opportunities to make the choices that Jeremiah has been suggesting from the Lord.  The choices of surrendering to Babylon and just settling down there and continue their routines, seems so offensive to fearful and stubborn Zedekiah.  He wants to gather his toys and run to Egypt before Babylon sacks Jerusalem.  Jeremiah's choices just may not have made good sense to Zedekiah.  Oh my goodness, how many times do we follow our logic that makes sense only for it to become nonsense?   Jeremiah has been imprisoned in a cistern, but at the present, he is in the courtyard of the prison guard. Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah again to be sure that God has not changed His mind about settling in Babylon and then returning to Israel and Judah after a long exile in Babylon.  Bad news, Zedekiah, God has not changed His mind, "If you ...

    I am the very first to confess that I am finite and that God's ways and thoughts are astounding to me at times...most of the time.  Bless Jeremiah's heart, in chapter 33, still imprisoned for doing what God has commanded him to do, Lord God speaks to him again with this promise: " Call to Me and I will answer you , and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  God has again promised Jeremiah that Israel and Judah will again be restored and will be brought back to their land.  I don't know about Jeremiah, but I know me and my ability to understand and I would probably ask the Lord God to tell me what HE needs me to know.  I am clueless about "great and unsearchable things I do not know".  Let's face it!  Every day is a reminder that my knowledge is finite!  However, I am willing to call to Him and He has promised to answer me.   The second promise regarding Israel and Judah, "The days are coming, declares the Lor...

        Having taught school some fifteen years, been a parent of sons for 49 years, and in my second marriage, altogether some 50 years, I get it, boys, girls, and men seem to have difficulty in hearing some voices.  Guess I get to take 3/4 of the blame for males not hearing, especially my tone of voice, but that is another subject to blog. I come to one of my most favorite truths from Scripture, Jeremiah 32:17 and 26, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm, 'Nothing is too hard for you."  WHAT A TRUTH! Jeremiah has faithfully given his message to Judah and to now the fifth king, Zedekiah, and all have turned a deaf ear.  False prophets were voicing that Judah would defeat Babylon and that Judah would not go into exile, ha!  Jeremiah has been voicing that Judah would fall to Babylon and that they would be in exile for 70 years and that God would bring them back to the land...

     As a child, I hated lectures, pain, and disappointment of parents.  More than likely, that which I hated as a child, I used on my own children...lectures and pain from either a spanking or a removal of privileges. Bless their dear dear forgiving hearts of this parent!  In my readings in Jeremiah, I constantly see and hear God speaking correction (repentance and confession), mercy, and grace to a disobedient nation of His children, Judah. That dreaded D word, discipline, does not always have to be negative.  Of course, the choice of discipline is usually based on the response of the child...whatever age.  In the Hebrew, discipline is the word chastisement or instruction.   As soon as we become Christ followers, we begin the learning process which I prefer to call child-training. Our loving Father has given several Instructors to "show 'n tell us".  The Instructors:  The Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and other Christ followers ...

    In Jeremiah 18, Jeremiah is told to go down to the potter's house and that God was going to give him a message.  I am always more inquisitive than the information given, and this time, especially about the potter and his work.  I ran over Google searches and several Scriptures and how precious that the information so fits what God has spoken and revealed in His Word. Some thoughts and info after the digging around: 1.  2 Timothy 2:20-21 reminds us that God has created us as vessels of purpose, some of gold and silver and some of wood and clay.  Key Word: Purpose!  I just may not be formed of silver and gold...LOL! 2.  Silver and gold vessels were found only in the upper class society during Jeremiah's day. 3.  In Palestine, clay was abundant, cheap, and adaptable.  Most pots, dishes, jars, and bowls, items for practical every day use were of clay. 4.  Clay was dug up, brought home by the potter, all foreign objects of...

Jeremiah and God are conversing and Jeremiah speaks, " When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear Your name, O Lord God Almighty."  Jeremiah 15:18  As Jeremiah is giving God's message to arrogant and disobedient Judah, he doesn't have a rehearsed message.  It is a message "hot off the press" of God's mouth to Jeremiah's ears.  God has sent him to a people who refuse to hear the message.  He is ostracized and rebuffed by them numerous times.  Is it no wonder that he was called the "weeping prophet"?  He is a given a message of judgment, repentance, and grace which stubborn hearts choose not to hear.   Out of obedience and his relationship with the Lord God Almighty, God's words to Jeremiah are ingested, digested, and brought forth to the people.  Because Jeremiah has the name of God on his character and behavior, HIS words are a joy and a delight to his heart.   Each morning, am I willin...

Sometimes as I am reading from Scripture, I will check out several other versions than the one I am reading at the present.  Jeremiah 10:5 caught my attention and I just had to check out King James, New American Standard, The Voice, The Message, and the New International Version.  The verse, " Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.  Do not fear them; they can do no harm, nor can they do any good."  Interesting and humorous!   In chapter 10, Jeremiah is comparing the Lord Almighty to the works of men's vain imaginations and their hands, in making idols.  All of these versions mention the scarecrow except for the King James Version.  The point is still well-taken, the works of our hands and minds which we have a tendency to give priority are powerless, useless, and dead-as-a-hammer without the Breath of God to give life!  I cannot trust in "things" for they too quickly become idol...

It is within our hearts, minds, and our mouths to boast.  Some may boast overtly, and then some may boast quietly because boasting is rated as blatant pride.  Isaiah 9:23-24, a diamond among the gems to collect for the Christ follower, " Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for in these I delight."  Ouch! Some thoughts which are NOT conclusive: 1.  Boast/praise or to shine forth.  Obviously, wisdom, strength, and riches are not as highly valued as we esteem them to be. 2.  We can praise or boast about understanding and knowing the Lord God.  That rather puts a kibosh on one's bragging. What is it that we can truly brag about of ourselves?  Does my insight or intellect understand God?  Oh me! Can the finite ...

In my reading of Jeremiah, I see a gem repeated numerous times.  In fact in Isaiah and Jeremiah, it is used over 200 times.  I get it!  I want to know why the title or the name of the Lord God Almighty is used repeatedly.  In Scripture, a name was given as a reminder of a circumstance, or as a revelation of that specific person, or the active presence of the person.   Jeremiah had served under five kings of Judah: Josiah was a good king, and from there, downhill toward destruction, with kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and finally, Zedekiah. The times were perilous and he was the voice of reason and warning to the kings of the coming doom on Judah by Babylon if they did not repent.  Judah had watched Israel continue in their sin and it should have been a major 911, red alert, but alas, Judah ignored, and will march headlong into Babylonia captivity. Jeremiah wanted the people to know when he spoke that he was speaking the message given to him by a...

For several weeks, I will be reading and mulling over my reads in Jeremiah, the prophet.  He followed the prophet Isaiah some 54 years later.  Jeremiah was a prophet to Judah.  By now, Israel had been taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC.  Judah had chosen the same wicked path of Israel by choosing to worship other gods committing spiritual adultery.  Jeremiah was the second great voice warning Judah not to walk this wicked road. The Lord, by way of Jeremiah, reminds Judah how as a young bride she loved her groom, God, and was willing to follow Him.  He asks Jeremiah a question to ask the people, " Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments?  Yet my people have forgotten Me, days without number."  Jeremiah 2:32. I recall some 50+ years ago receiving an engagement and wedding ring from a dear young man.  I wore it proudly for 31 years.  After his death, some four years, I chose to remarry, and I asked my "intended" ...

  I have never had much precious jewelry, but almost every time I am in the Word of God, I see a jewel that I would love to permanently wear as part of my identity as a Christ follower.  As I close out Isaiah and move into Jeremiah and his prophecy to Judah, my last gem from Isaiah is this, " Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being"  This is the one I esteem; he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."  Isaiah 66:2.   The NIV uses the word esteem, the King James Version uses the word, look.  I think I might prefer look.  In the Hebrew, the word, look, means to look intently or to scan.  The Lord Jesus is looking intently at His created humans.  His eyes seem to fasten on the one who is humble...lowly in circumstances, afflicted, needy.  Hey, needy?  Boy do, I qualify!  The more I realize how needy I am, the more I desperately fall on Him and trust Him.   The o...