Jesus Christ. When Jesus asked His disciples who peo- It's a solemn responsibility for a people to claim to

Jesus Christ. When Jesus asked His disciples who peo- It's a solemn responsibility for a people to claim to

Jeremiah mere "furniture" of religion that was external and impotent.

hearts is a candidate for sorrow and a sense of failure. But God knows our hearts and sustains us.

I could go on, but the point is obvious: Jeremiah became like Jesus because he shared "the fellowship of his sufferings" (Phil. 3:10). In the furnaces of life, Jeremiah was "conformed to the image of [God's] Son" (Rom. 8:29). Jeremiah may not have realized that this process was going on in his life, and he might have denied it if it were pointed out to him, but the transformation was going on just the same.

5. The important thing isn't success; it's faithfulness. By today's human standards of ministry, Jeremiah was a dismal failure. He preached to the same people for over forty years, and yet few of them believed him or obeyed his message. He had few friends who stood with him and encouraged him. The nation he tried to save from ruin abandoned their God and plunged headlong into disaster. His record wouldn't have impressed the candidate committee of most missions or the pastoral search committee of the average church.

7. God is King, and the nations of the world are under His sovereign control. Nothing catches God by surprise. The nations that defy Him and disobey His Word eventually suffer for it. People who claim to know Him but who refuse to obey also suffer for it. In fact, the greater the light, the greater the responsibility. No nation was blessed the way God blessed the people of Israel, but that blessing brought chastening because they sinned against a flood of light.

Jeremiah may have thought he had failed, but God saw him as a faithful servant, and that's all that really counts. "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful" (1 Cor. 4:2 nkjv). He could have quit, but he didn't. As V. Raymond Edman used to say, "It's always too soon to quit."

6. The greatest reward of ministry is to become like Jesus Christ. When Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was, they replied, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets" (Matt. 16:14 nkjv). What a compliment it would be to have people say, "Jesus Christ is like you!"

It's a solemn responsibility for a people to claim to know God and profess to do His will. It isn't enough for a nation to put "In God We Trust" on its currency, to mention God in its pledge to the flag, or to "tip the hat to God" by quoting the Bible in political campaign speeches. It's righteousness, not religion, that exalts a nation. What pleases the Lord is that we "do justly … love mercy … and … walk humbly with [our] God" (Mic. 6:8).

The similarities between Jesus and Jeremiah are interesting. Their approaches to teaching and preaching were similar, using "action sermons" and a great deal of imagery from everyday life and from nature. Both spoke out against the commercial "surface" religion practiced in the temple. Both were accused of being traitors to their people, and both suffered physically, even being arrested, beaten, and confined. Both wept over Jerusalem. Both were rejected by their relatives. Both knew what it was to be misunderstood, lonely, and rejected. Both emphasized the need for faith in the heart, and both rejected the

The same Lord who enabled Jeremiah can enable us. The same world that opposed Jeremiah will oppose us. It's time for God's people to be decisive.

Notes

1 Dennis J. Hester, compiler, The Vance Havner Quotebook (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 179. 2 Charles E. Jefferson, Cardinal Ideas of Jeremiah (New York: Macmillan, 1928), 192.

G e n e s i s E x o d u s L e v i t i c u s N u m b e r s D e u t e r o n o m y J o s h u a J u d g e s R u t h

J o n a h M i c a h N a h u m H a b a k k u k Z e p h a n i a h H a g g a i Z e c h a r i a h M a l a c h i

1 S a m u e l 2 S a m u e l 1 K i n g s 2 K i n g s 1 C h r o n i c l e s 2 C h r o n i c l e s E z r a N e h e m i a h

E s t h e r J o b P s a l m s P r o v e r b s E c c l e s i a s t e s S o n g o f

J e r e m i a h Lamentations E z e k i e l D a n i e l H o s e a J o e l A m o s O b a d i a h

Name. The Hebrew title of the book is the first word of the text—'ekah—which is translated "how?" (see 2:1; 4:1). The title in the English Bible comes from the Latin Vulgate lamentia, "funeral dirges." The book consists of five laments that Jeremiah wrote after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587–86 BC. Lamentations is found in the third part of the Hebrew Bible, the Megilloth (scrolls), which also includes the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Esther, and Ecclesiastes. In the English Bible, it follows the book of Jeremiah.

OUTLINE Key theme: Suffering sometimes comes from the chastening hand of God. Key verses: Lamentations 2:17; 3:22–25

I. THE NATION'S DISGRACE (1:1–22)

II. THE CITY'S DESTRUCTION (2:1–22)

III. THE PROPHET'S DISTRESS (3:1–66)

Author. Tradition assigns the book to the prophet Jeremiah, "the weeping prophet." During his forty years of ministry, he sought to persuade the leaders of Judah to turn back to God and avoid national judgment, but they persisted in breaking God's covenant. When Babylon invaded Judah, Jeremiah begged the leaders to surrender and thus spare the people, the city, and the temple, and they arrested him as a traitor. But the prophet's words proved true, and the Babylonian army took the city and destroyed it and the temple.

IV. THE LORD'S DISCIPLINE (4:1–22)

V. THE JEWISH REMNANT'S DECLARATION

(5:1–22)

One evidence that Jeremiah wrote the book is the presence of similar phrases in both Lamentations and the prophecy of Jeremiah. Some of them are: "my eyes flow with tears" (1:16; 2:18; 3:48; Jer. 9:1,18; 13:17; 14:17); "laughingstock" (3:14; Jer. 20:7); "terrors on every side" (2:22; Jer. 6:25; 20:4, 10; 46:5; 49:5, 29); and "destruction" and "wound" (2:11, 13; 3:47–48; Jer. 4:6, 20; 6:1, 14; 8:11, 21). Lamentations reads as though it were written by an eyewitness, and Jeremiah certainly qualified.

Lamentations repeated part of it in 26:1–11. As for the third false hope—the intervention of Egypt—it was pure illusion. (See Lam. 4:17; 5:6; Isa. 31; Jer. 37:5–7; Ezek. 29:16.) Abraham had sought refuge in Egypt and gotten into trouble (Gen. 12), and during their wilderness journey, Israel had repeatedly wanted to go back (Ex. 14:11; 16:1–3; 17:3; Num. 14:1–5). But whenever Israel put faith in Egypt, the nation always proved to be a broken reed.

he basic theme of these five laments is the tragedy of the destruction of Jerusalem, a judgment God sent because His people had rebelled against Him and rejected His warnings (2 Chron. 36:11–21). So critical is this historic event that it's recorded four times in the Old Testament: 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36:11–21; and Jeremiah 39 and 52. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army first invaded Judah in 605 BC to punish King Jehoiakim, who had broken his covenant and revolted against Babylon. At that time Daniel and his three friends, along with many other Jews, were deported to Babylon. The army returned in March of 597 when they looted Jerusalem and deported more people. The actual siege of Jerusalem began on January 15, 588 BC; on July 18, 586, the walls were breached, and on August 14, the city was set ablaze.1 Each year on this date, the Jews remember the event and read Lamentation aloud in their synagogues.

We must keep in mind that God's chastening is an expression of His love (Heb. 12:1–13), a tool He uses to mature His children. A judge punishes a criminal in order to uphold the law, but a father chastens a child in order to build character into the child and assure the child of his love.

The Covenant Judah expected the Lord to protect the royal dynasty and keep the covenant He made with David, but they didn't want Him to keep the covenant He made with the nation before they entered the Promised Land (Lev. 26; Deut. 28—30). Israel's title to the land came through the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12:1–3; 13:14–18), but their possessing and enjoying the land depended on their obedience to the covenant in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28—30. The Lord made it very clear that Israel's obedience to this covenant would guarantee protection from their enemies, abundant blessing on their efforts, and peace and joy from the Lord. But if they disobeyed, one judgment after another would come to the people, until the Lord would take them off their land drive them to a foreign country. As we study Lamentations, we shall meet the very judgments that were predicted in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28—30. The Lord is always faithful to His covenant, either to bless the obedient or chasten the disobedient. His Word will never fail.

In writing this book, Jeremiah expressed his own sorrow at the destruction of the Holy City and the beautiful temple of the Lord. It looked to him as though forty years of faithful ministry were wasted, for the people didn't heed his messages. Using numerous similes and metaphors, Jeremiah described the terrible plight of the people, and he prayed to the Lord for assistance and deliverance. At the same time, he wrestled with the Lord over what He had allowed to happen, knowing fully that the sins of the people were to blame (1:5, 8; 5:7, 16). They had violated the terms of the covenant, knowing full well what the consequences would be (Lev. 26; Deut. 28—30; see 2 Kings 17:13–15; 2 Chron. 36:15–16). Jeremiah had warned that if Judah persisted in rebelling, God would send the Babylonians (Jer. 1:13–16; 4:5–9; 5:15; 6:22–26; 10:22; 50:41–43), and Isaiah had preached the same message (Isa. 13—14; 43:14ff.; 47:1ff.). But it was reasonable for a sensitive man of God like Jeremiah to raise theological questions as he beheld the ruins of the Holy City. Where was God? Did He no longer love His people, His house, and the city of Jerusalem? At the same time, the Jews exiled in Babylon were expressing similar feelings (Ps. 137). But the people of Judah had held to three false hopes: the Davidic dynasty, the sacred temple, and help of Egypt. God had made a covenant with David that his house would never perish and that one of his descendants would forever sit on his throne (2 Sam. 7). The Jewish people thought this meant that nothing could happen to David's throne (Lam. 4:20; 5:16). This covenant was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Luke 1:30–33, 67–75; Acts 2:29–36). David's house (family) didn't come to an end, for Joseph, husband to Mary, was descended from David (Luke 1:26–27).

The Laments Except for chapter 5, these laments are acrostics in which successive verses follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet.2 (Ps. 119 is another example.) There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and the twenty-two verses of chapters 1, 2, and 4 follow this alphabetical pattern. In chapter 3, which has sixty-six verses, three lines are assigned to each letter. Even though chapter 5 has twenty-two verses, it is not an acrostic. Jeremiah used the acrostic pattern perhaps as an aid to memorizing these laments. In the Hebrew text, 3:1 is the central verse of the book, and it certainly expresses the theme. Lamentations 3:22–39 is the spiritual heart of the book and records one of the great testimonies of faith found in Scripture. The familiar hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas O. Chisholm is based on verse 23. The fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the captivity of the nation were unbearable crises to the Jews, and they had every right to express their sorrow. But at the same time, Jeremiah called upon his people to be sorrowful

Judah's second false hope was that the Lord would not permit anything to happen to His holy temple. "Trust … not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, … the temple of the Lord are these" (Jer. 7:4). The entire message Jeremiah delivered in the temple focused on this false hope of Judah, and Jeremiah

Lamentations 1

2:36–37; 27:1–11; 37:5–10). The nation had been "married" to Jehovah at Mount Sinai, so the Lord considered her actions the equivalent of adultery. She had rejected the Lord, her allies had abandoned her, and therefore she had no comfort (vv. 2, 9, 16–17, 21). The Lord had set aside the nation of Israel for Himself and she was not "reckoned among the nations" (Num. 23:9), but now she had been taken into captivity and had to dwell with the Babylonians. God had given Israel rest in her own land (Ex. 33:14; Deut. 3:20; Josh. 1:13–15; 21:44), but she would have no rest in Babylon (Deut. 28:65). Year after year, the pilgrims had made their way to the city to celebrate the great feasts (Lev. 23), but now the roads were empty and there was nothing to celebrate. The priests had no temple, the people had no joy, and the virgins wept because there were no men available to marry them.

for their sins, confess them, and return to the Lord (3:37–51; chap. 5). Note that chapters 1, 2, and 3 end with prayers and that all of chapter 5 is a prayer.

Jeremiah and Jesus When Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was, among their answers was "Jeremiah" (Matt. 16:13–14). The ministries of both Jeremiah and Jesus were rejected by the people, and both men wept over the city of Jerusalem because they knew that destruction was coming. Both were hated without cause (Lam. 3:52; John 15:25; Ps. 69:4), and both were ridiculed by the leaders (Lam. 3:14; Ps. 69:12). Jeremiah was rejected by his family (Jer. 11:18–23) and Jesus by His family (John 7:1–8). Both Jeremiah and Jesus emphasized a "heart religion" and not just ritual, and both taught by means of visual images and used common objects and activities to instruct the people. The Jewish leaders rejected the messages of both Jeremiah and Jesus, and the prophet ended up in Egypt and Jesus on a Roman cross. In their day, both were considered miserable failures, but history has proved that both were right.

I. The Nation's disgrace (1:1–22)

The people of Judah shouldn't have been surprised at what happened to the nation and the city, because both Isaiah and Jeremiah had announced the coming invasion of the Babylonian army. In the terms of the covenant (Deut. 28—30), Moses had warned Israel that God would chasten them if they disobeyed. When she was faithful to God, Israel had been the "head," the chief nation; but now Babylon would be the "head" and Israel the "tail" (v. 5; Deut. 28:44). Israel's army would be defeated (Deut. 28:25) and the people would go into exile (Deut. 28:32). Why did God chasten Judah? Because of "the multitude of her transgressions" (v. 5; see 8–9, 18–20). Two facts stand out in this book: The nation had sinned and deserved chastening, and God was the one who chastened them (1:12–15,17; 2:1–8,17; 3:1,37–38,43–45; 4:11). When the enemy broke through the walls, the leaders fled like frightened deer, but they were caught and condemned (Jer. 38:14–28; 39:1–7). Had King Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah, the people, the city, and the temple would have been saved, but the king trusted his allies instead of the Lord (2 Chron. 26:2). Jerusalem became unclean (v. 8) and like a harlot was shamefully exposed (v. 17; Jer. 13:20–27). The people kept on sinning and didn't consider that their sins would lead to discipline and destruction (Deut. 32:28–29). "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). The enemy entered the temple precincts (Deut. 23:3) and took Israel's sacred treasures, and the people had to use their wealth to buy the bare necessities of life.

The Nation's Disgrace (1:1–22) The plight of the city (vv. 1–11). The Jewish people were proud of the city of Jerusalem, for it was their capital city and the home of their holy temple (Ps. 48; 84; 87; 122; 125; 137). The Jebusites originally controlled Zion, but David and Joab wrested it from them (2 Sam. 5:6–10; 1 Chron. 11:4–9). Though it was called "the city of David" (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Chron. 5:2), it was the Lord who was enthroned on Zion (Ps. 9:11; Isa. 8:18). Zion was "the mountain of the Lord" (Isa. 2:3). For this reason, the Jews thought their city was impregnable, particularly because the Lord's house was there. But God would rather His city and temple be destroyed by pagans than to have His name disgraced by the wicked lives of His people.

The image is that of a beautiful princess who has been violated and disgraced and left alone to lament her plight. The city is called "the daughter of Zion" (1:6; 2:1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 18), "the daughter of Judah" (1:15; 2:2), and "the daughter of Jerusalem" (2:13, 15).3 At one time, she cared for a large family, but now she was a lonely widow for whom nobody seemed to care (Ex. 22:22–24; Deut. 24:19–21; Isa. 1:17). Had God forgotten to protect the widows (Deut. 10:18)? She was desolate (vv. 4, 13), a word used to describe Tamar after she had been raped (2 Sam. 13:20). Once she was a princess who had collected tribute from other nations, but now she was a vassal nation herself and forced to give up her treasures ("pleasant things"; vv. 7, 10–11). Instead of trusting the Lord, Judah had trusted many "lovers" and "friends"—the heathen nations allied with her—but they had failed her, and now she was forsaken. Judah not only turned to other nations for help, but she even worshipped their gods (Jer.

The plea of the city for sympathy and help (vv. 12–19). Note the repetition of "the Lord" in this passage. The Lord afflicted Jerusalem (vv. 12–14a); the Lord delivered Jerusalem into enemy hands (v. 14b); the Lord trampled the people under the feet of the enemy (v. 15); the Lord commanded the enemy to attack (v. 17); and "the Lord is righteous" (v. 18). The prophet knew that God was in control of history and that the Babylonian army was serving Him. The enemy showed no mercy as the anger of the Lord was poured out during the invasion (1:12; 2:1, 3, 6, 21; 3:43; 4:11). God's anger is a holy anger, directed against sin.

Lamentations 1—2

50—51). But this prayer may also include God's promise that after seventy years, the Jews would be set free from captivity and allowed to return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple (Jer. 25:1–14; see Dan. 9:20–27). Now that they were in trouble, the Jews were turning back to God's Word. It's too bad they didn't pay attention to that Word much earlier and keep the trouble from coming! "Do to them as you have done to us!" is not exactly a Christian prayer, but it represented their true feelings (see Ps. 137:7–9).

According to the law of Moses, if a priest's daughter was guilty of immorality, she was burned to death (Lev. 21:9). Israel was a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6), but she had betrayed the Lord and consorted with idols.

Along with the image of fire, Jeremiah used other pictures to describe the terrible plight of the people. They were caught in a net like animals (v. 13; Ezek. 12:13) and left desolate and faint. The people who had been freed from bondage by the Lord were now under the yoke of a pagan foreign nation (v. 14). Both Jeremiah (Jer. 27—28) and Moses (Deut. 28:48) had warned them about yokes. Sin always promises freedom but brings bondage. The people were trodden underfoot and crushed, like grapes in a winepress (v. 15; see Rev. 14:17–20). The nation was drinking the cup of judgment as Jeremiah had warned (Jer. 25:15ff.). Their joy was turned into tears (v. 16; 2:11; 3:48), but nobody offered them comfort or dried their tears. Jeremiah had wept copiously because of the sins of his people (Jer. 9:1, 18; 13:17; 14:17), but they wouldn't listen to God's Word.

The City's Destruction (2:1–22) That the God of Israel would ever permit the Gentiles, and especially the Babylonians, to enter and destroy Jerusalem and the temple was something inconceivable to the Jewish people (see Hab. 1). By ignoring the covenant and depending on the presence of the temple and its sacred furnishings, especially the ark, the leaders and most of the people had replaced living faith with dead superstition. However, this was not the first time Jerusalem had been invaded. As a warning to His sinful people, the Lord had allowed other enemies to enter the city and plunder it: Egypt (1 Kings 14:25–26; 2 Kings 23:31–35), Israel, the northern kingdom (2 Kings 14:13–14; 2 Chron. 25:22–24), and the Philistines and Arabs (2 Chron. 21:16–17). Had Israel listened to her prophets and returned to the Lord, she would have been spared the humiliation and suffering of destruction and deportation.

II. The City's Destruction (2:1–22)

Once again, the sufferers called out for any passing stranger to show them sympathy and bring them help (v. 18), but nobody could save them. The rulers of Judah had sought help from their Gentile allies, especially Egypt and Assyria, but their friends and lovers had failed them and did not keep their promises. Isaiah had told them not to trust Egypt (Isa. 31), and Jeremiah had echoed that same message (Jer. 2:18, 36). What a tragedy it is when God's people look to the world for help instead of seeking the face of the Lord!

The cloud of anger (vv. 1–9). In the previous chapter, we found the word anger only once (v. 12), but in this chapter the word comfort is found only one time (v. 13), while anger and wrath are found eight times (vv. 1 [twice], 2, 3, 4, 6, 21, 22). The nation had once followed a cloud of glory in the wilderness (Ex. 13:21), and the glory of God had filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34) and the temple (1 Kings 8:11); but now God had sent them a cloud of His anger. Not only was there a storm cloud of judgment, but Zion was cast down like a falling star, thrown down her buildings and walls and brought down the nation and its leaders (vv. 1–2). "His footstool" refers not only to Zion itself (Ps. 99:5, 9) but also to the temple (Ps. 132:7) and the ark of the covenant, the throne of God that stood in the Holy of Holies (1 Chron. 28:2).

The Babylonian soldiers had no mercy for religious leaders, like the priests, or for older people, like the elders (v. 19; 2:10; 4:16; 5:12, 14). The priests were fed from the offerings of the people, but there could be no more offerings; and the elders were cared for by the younger people who had either been slain or deported to Babylon. All this was a fulfillment of the warnings in the covenant (Deut. 28:32, 50). Food became so scarce that mothers killed and ate their own children!

The prayer of the city (vv. 20–22). Each of the first three chapters ends with a prayer (1:20–22; 2:20–22; 3:50–66), and the entire fifth chapter is a prayer. The sufferers had cried out to God, "O Lord, behold my affliction" (v. 9), and to the passersby, "Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow" (v. 12), and now they pray, "Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress" (v. 20). They were tormented in their bodies, but even more in their hearts, for they had sinned. If they left the city, they would be slain by the sword; if they remained in the city, they would starve to death. (See Ezek. 7, especially v. 15.) Not only did Judah's allies ("lovers, friends") refuse to help them, but they even rejoiced that the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem had been taken by the Babylonians. (See Ps. 35:15; Jer. 48:27; 50:11.) Their prayer was that the Lord would "bring the day that He had announced" through the prophets, the day when Babylon would be defeated (Isa. 13—14; Jer.

God also put a cloud between Himself and His people so that their prayers would not reach Him (3:44). He had told Jeremiah not to pray for the people because they were so wicked that they were beyond his intercession (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11). In fact, it was futile for them even to pray for themselves (11:11). God had dishonored ("polluted") His people and their leaders in a way that couldn't be hidden. All the nations could see what the Lord had done to the people and the city.

"Every horn" in verse 3 means "every strength," that is, everything that Israel trusted: their king, their leaders, their walled city, and even their religion. The "right hand of God" represents His great power (Ex. 15:6, 12; Ps.

Lamentations 2 to deceitful physicians (6:14; 8:11), empty wind (5:13), peddlers of chaff (23:28), selfish shepherds (23:1–4), and toxic people spreading deadly infection (23:15 niv).

17:7; 44:3; 74:11), but that power had been withdrawn. Instead of using His right hand to defeat the enemy, God used it to chasten His people (v. 4). God "swallowed up" His people in terrible judgment (vv. 2, 5), although the attacking nations took credit for the victory (v. 16).

The false prophets refused to expose the sins of the people and call the nation to repentance. The prophet Ezekiel, with the captives in Babylon, compared them to men who whitewashed the wall instead of exposing its weaknesses and repairing it (Ezek. 13:10–16; 22:28). But even today we have religious leaders like these false prophets, people who want to be popular with the crowd instead of pleasing to God. Instead of getting their messages from God's Word, they dream up their own messages and lead people astray. Jesus called them "wolves in sheep's clothing" (Matt. 7:15) and Paul used similar language (Acts 20:28–31).

Jeremiah described the destruction of the buildings, especially the palaces, strongholds, and the temple itself (v. 5). The Babylonians treated the temple like a booth in a garden and not like the dwelling place of the Lord, but the Jews hadn't done much better. They polluted the sanctuary by their sin and hypocrisy (Isa. 1), and this led to the destruction of the temple. The altar and other furnishings were gone, the priests were gone, and there could be no more observance of the high and holy days. The outer and inner walls of the city, and the city gates, were destroyed as well. When the Jews built their temple, they used measuring lines to be sure they were accurately following God's plans, but now the Lord had used a measuring line to be just as accurate in destroying the temple and the city (Isa. 28:17; Amos 7:7–8).

One of the deepest cuts of all was the mockery of the Gentiles who walked past the devastated city (vv. 16–17). The Jews were proud of Jerusalem and called it "the perfection of beauty" (v. 15; Ps. 48:2; 50:2; Ezek. 16:14), but now it was a heap of rubble. The Gentiles vented their hatred against the Jews. "This is the day we have waited for," they shouted jubilantly, forgetting that God promised to curse all those who cursed His people (Gen. 12:1–3). All that the pious Jews could reply was, "The Lord has done what He purposed; He has fulfilled His word which He commanded in days of old" (v. 17 nkjv). Israel knew the terms of the covenant and had violated them. Now they were paying the price of having their own way and rejecting the messengers of the Lord.

The summary in verse 9 declares that the Jews had lost everything that was precious to them: the gates and walls, the leaders, the law, and the prophets. God sent no vision to the people to show them what to do. How gracious God had been to His people in giving them so many blessings (Rom. 9:1–5)! But they had taken these blessings for granted and now had lost them.

The suffering people (vv. 10–17). Both old (elders) and young (virgins), male and female, felt the suffering together. Instead of sitting at the gate in honor and managing the affairs of the city, the elders sat on the ground as in mourning, too overwhelmed to utter a word. The virgins (1:4) walked about in sorrow, with their eyes to the ground, knowing that they would never be married and have children. As Jeremiah beheld the suffering of the little children in the streets, he was consumed with agony and wept copiously. (See 4:3,6, 10.) If Israel had obeyed the covenant, there would have been no invasion and the people would have enjoyed plenty of food and drink (Deut. 28:1–14; Lev. 26:1–13). But now there was a famine so severe, the mothers even killed and ate their own children (Lam. 4:10; Deut. 28:56–57).

The plea for help (vv. 18–22). But God's people don't live on explanations; they live on promises. The people knew they were guilty of breaking the covenant, so all they could do was turn to the Lord and cry out to Him. The promise of forgiveness and restoration was also a part of God's covenant (Lev. 26:27–29; Deut. 28:53–57; 30:1–10), and seventy years later, God would bring His people back to their land (Jer. 25:1–14; Dan. 9:1ff.). Meanwhile, all they could do was cry out for mercy to the God whose Word they had spurned.

The sight of the suffering children broke their hearts, because it's the children who too often suffer most from the sins of the parents. The priests and prophets had sinned, and many of them were slain; but the children were innocent and deserved no punishment. Israel was suffering in the day of God's anger because they had sinned away the day of God's grace. God was calling various terrors to come to Jerusalem, just as if He were inviting them to a feast. The feast was an image of judgment. (See Jer. 51:39; Ezek. 39:17–20; Rev. 19:17–21.) The people were starving, but God's terrors were feasting on the people.

The suffering was so intense that the prophet ran out of things to say and comparisons to make (v. 13). He could neither comfort the people nor himself. God would have buried the nation's sins in the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19), but instead, their wound was as deep as the sea and incurable. What had caused such calamity and tragedy? The spiritual leaders had given the people a false message and they had believed it (v. 14; 4:13). For forty years, Jeremiah had openly opposed the false prophets who proclaimed, "Peace, peace when there is no peace" (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). They preached a popular message that the people wanted to hear (5:12; 14:13–16; 27:8–9; 28:1–17), while Jeremiah proclaimed the true message of the Lord and was rejected and persecuted. Jeremiah compared the false prophets

God's ear is open to the cries of His people, but He doesn't answer until His hand is finished with the discipline He promised (Heb. 12). "The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:30–31).

Lamentations 3 being." But the prophet experienced no "shalom," for peace and prosperity were far from him and his people (v. 17). He recorded the depths of his despair in verse 18 when he cried out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!" (nlt). The glory of the city had vanished and along with it, the hope in the heart of God's suffering servant. But this cry of despair was the turning point in Jeremiah's lament, for now he focused on the Lord and not on himself and he said, "I have hope" (v. 21).6

The Prophet's Distress (3:1–66)4 After describing in the first two laments the plight of the city and the people, the prophet now in this central chapter describes his own personal pain and distress. The pronouns "he" and "his" (referring to God) and "I" and "me" (referring to the prophet) are prominent in these sixty-six verses that form the heart of the book. Lamentations 3:1 is the central verse of the book, and verses 21–39 comprise the "theological heart" of the chapter and the book. From 1:1 to 3:18, Jeremiah has described "hopelessness," but verses 19–39 focus on the hope that we have in God, no matter how desperate our situation might be. Jeremiah speaks for himself, but as he does, he also reflects the feelings and faith of the godly remnant of Jews who heard God's Word and sought to obey Him.

III. The Prophet's Distress (3:1–66)

The Lord's promises (vv. 19–39). Jeremiah turned from contemplating his misery to remembering God's mercy. He still experienced pain and sorrow, but he also called to mind the faithfulness of the Lord, and this gave him hope (vv. 19–21). The pessimistic American newspaper editor Henry L. Mencken called hope "a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible," but no true child of God could accept that definition. A. W. Tozer said it better when he called hope "the divine alchemy that transmutes the base metal of adversity into gold." (See 1 Peter 1:6–8.) The realization of God's mercy, compassion, and faithfulness generated hope in Jeremiah's soul, and his contemplation of trouble became a confession of faith. Because the Lord loves us, He chastens us (Heb. 12:5–11), but He doesn't consume us; He disciplines, but He doesn't destroy.

The prophet's pain (vv. 1–18). Babylon was the rod of God's wrath to the Jewish nation (Isa. 14:3–8), but the sufferings of the people and the destruction of the city and the temple were the great causes of pain in Jeremiah's life. These tragic events would not have occurred if the people had listened to him and obeyed God's will. Jeremiah had faithfully proclaimed God's message for forty years, and yet the nation had turned a deaf ear. Is it any wonder he suffered?

The rod of discipline was bad enough, but the darkness made it even worse (v. 2). In Scripture, darkness is often a picture of defeat and despair (Ps. 107:10, 14; Isa. 9:2) because sitting in darkness is like dwelling with the dead (v. 6). The hand of God was against him (Ps. 32:4; 82:5), and the result of all this suffering was that Jeremiah looked very old (v. 4; see Job 16:8–9). He felt confined, hemmed in by walls, and hindered by chains (vv. 5–7).5 Even worse, when he looked up to pray, Jeremiah felt like God had slammed the door on him (v. 8; see v. 44). God was like a bear and a lion, and Jeremiah felt mangled and dragged away (vv. 10–11). The lion was a symbol of Babylon (Jer. 4:7; 5:6). God was like an enemy and His arrows were aimed at His servant (vv. 12–13; see Job 6:4; 7:20).

Unbelief causes us to look at God through our circumstances, and this creates hopelessness; but faith enables us to look at our circumstances through the reality of God, and this gives us hope. A radio listener once sent me a little rhyme that has encouraged me on more than one occasion.

Look at yourself and you'll be depressed. Look at circumstances and you'll be distressed. Look at the Lord and you'll be blessed!

If the Lord is "our portion" (Ps. 73:26; 142:5), then we are strengthened by that which cannot be used up or destroyed. God is our eternal source of strength, hope, and blessing (Ps. 46:1). Our circumstances change, and so do our feelings about them, but God is always good, loving, merciful, and kind, and He never changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8 nkjv). To build life on that which is always changing is to invite constant unrest and disappointment, but to build on the changeless and the eternal is to have peace and confidence.

Now that Jeremiah's words had been fulfilled, you would think the people would have respected him and listened to him, but they didn't. They ridiculed him and sang disrespectful songs about him (v. 14; see v. 63; Jer. 20:7–18). Once again, he was like the Lord Jesus, who was also ridiculed by the people (Ps. 69:12). We expect the Gentiles to mock the Jews (1:21; 2:15), but we don't expect the Jews to mock their own prophet. Jeremiah compared it to tasting the bitter herbs at the Passover feast or drinking bitter gall (vv. 15, 19; see Job 16:13; 20:25; Ps. 69:21). Myrrh mixed with wine was used as an anesthesia to deaden pain, but what Jeremiah "drank" only made his pain worse. Bitterness and brokenness went together, for he felt like a man with a mouth full of broken teeth and gravel! Most mourners put ashes only on their heads, but he was covered with ashes (v. 16).

As Jeremiah contemplated the character of God, he realized that the best thing he and his people could do was to wait patiently and silently for the Lord to work and accomplish His will in His time (vv. 25–28). God is gracious, God is great in faithfulness, and God is good—no matter how we feel or what we see. But it isn't enough just to sit and wait; we must also seek the Lord and draw closer to Him (vv. 25, 40). As for the children and youths who were suffering, even they could learn from this experience and grow up to be

A familiar word on the lips of Jewish people is shalom, which means "peace, prosperity, health, well-

Lamentations 3—4 prayer revealed a man with a broken heart who couldn't stop weeping over the sins of the people (see 1:16; 2:11, 18–19). Though the nation was but "scum and refuse" in the eyes of the Gentiles, the prophet knew that Israel was still God's chosen people, bound to Him by the very covenant they had broken. They had forsaken Him, but He would not forsake them, even though He chastened them severely. He had been longsuffering toward them but they had refused to heed His warnings (2 Chron. 36:11ff.).

strong men and women (v. 27). Jeremiah was now an old man, but he had suffered in his youth, so he knew what he was talking about (Jer. 1:8, 17–19; 15:10, 15–17). His youthful experiences of trial and opposition helped to prepare him for his present ministry.

The secret of victory in tough times is simply to submit to the Lord and accept the fact that "the Lord has laid it on him" (v. 28 niv). "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him" (1 Sam. 3:18 nkjv). We must bow before the Lord—even putting our faces in the dust—and submit to Him without complaining, knowing that in His time, He will see us through. In that hour of pain and perplexity, Jeremiah laid hold of some wonderful assurances that can encourage us today:

God's call for His people to repent is just as valid today. Are we listening?

The prophet's persecutors (vv. 52–66). These verses summarize much of what you read in Jeremiah's prophecy: his being hunted like a bird and being put into a pit (Jer. 37—38), insults and other verbal abuse, and plots to kill him (Jer. 11:18–23,26–28). Had the people listened to God's servant, their nation, city, and temple would have been saved and their lives spared. Jeremiah found his support and salvation in the Lord, and he called upon Him in times of trouble. "Fear not" was God's message of assurance (see Jer. 1:8). God saw the wrongs that were done to His servant and He heard all the lies that were told about him. But no matter what people may say about us or do to us, the Lord is on our side, even in times of chastening. God didn't desert His servant, nor will He desert us.

The Lord doesn't cast off His people and forget them (v. 31) • In the midst of pain, we know He loves us (v. 32) • God doesn't enjoy chastening His own and He feels our pain (v. 33) • God sees the way people treat us (vv. 34–36) • God is on the throne and in control of all events (vv. 37–38) • If He chastens us for our sins, we shouldn't complain, for even His chastening is evidence of His love (v. 39)

We aren't surprised that Jeremiah asked God to treat his persecutors the way they had treated him. Jeremiah was God's servant and spokesman, and their rejection of him meant their rejection of God's Word. You can't reject God's Word and escape eventual judgment. David prayed the same kind of prayer when he was going through persecution (Ps. 28:1–4). As Christians, we're instructed to pray for our persecutors and to do them good, in the name of Jesus (Matt. 5:10–12, 43–48). Our Lord is the greatest example in His treatment of His enemies (1 Peter 2:21–24), for He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

As I wrote this section of our study, I occasionally glanced at a picture on a nearby bookcase. It's a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting "Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem," which Rembrandt painted in 1630. It depicts a sad old man, seated on a rock, a copy of the Scriptures on his left and behind him on his right a scene of people fleeing a burning city. If I weren't a Christian believer, the painting would discourage me, but I see in it the truths Jeremiah shared in verses 19–39. Like the prophet, we must live a day at a time and each morning draw upon a new supply of God's mercy. No matter what the Enemy says to us, we must remind ourselves that "the Lord is good" and He is never closer to us than when He chastens us.

The Lord's Discipline (4:1–22) In this chapter, Jeremiah brought together a number of vivid images to describe what the people endured in the siege and fall of Jerusalem. These calamities had been announced in the terms of the covenant (Deut. 28—30), so the Jews shouldn't have been surprised when they occurred.

The nation's penitence (vv. 40–51). The phrase "punishment of his sins" in verse 39 naturally brings up the necessity for personal and national repentance. Jeremiah knew that the fall of Jerusalem was an act of chastening on the part of Jehovah (1:8–9, 12–15; 2:1–8; 4:6, 22) and that the purpose of that chastening was to bring the nation to her knees, confessing her sins. This meant searching their hearts, acknowledging their transgressions, and seeking the forgiveness of the Lord. Cleansing and restoration were promised in the covenant (Deut. 30) and also in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. 6:36–42; 7:11–14). God chastens us that He might be able to cleanse us when we tell Him we're sorry.

IV. THE LORD'S DISCIPLINE (4:1–22)

Gold and jewels (vv. 1–2, 7–8). These stand for the people of Israel, precious in the sight of the Lord. The tribes of Israel were represented as jewels set in gold on the breastplate of the high priest and also on his shoulders (Ex. 28:6–30; 39:1–21; see also Zech. 9:16–17; Mal. 3:6). But their sins had cheapened them and they had lost their beauty. The enemy treated God's precious sons and daughters like pieces of cheap, broken pottery that you would throw on the neighborhood trash heap. Nobody was ever made better, more attractive, or more valuable because they sinned.

In Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9, and Daniel 9, you find prayers of confession on behalf of the people of Israel. You also find similar prayers in the Psalms. Jeremiah's

Lamentations 4 trials, and shedding innocent blood (Jer. 2:34–35; 7:6; 19:4; 22:1–5, 17). Some of the wicked rulers were even prepared to shed the innocent blood of the prophet Jeremiah (chap. 26)!

Animals and birds (vv. 3–5, 10). "Sea monsters" can be translated "whales" or "jackals," and the meaning will not be lost. The mammals feed their young until they're able to care for themselves, but Jerusalem's mothers were heartless toward their young because they had nothing to feed them. In fact, the reverse became true: the babies fed the parents (v. 10; 2:20; and see Lev. 26:29; Deut. 28:53–57; Jer. 19:9). Ostriches were notorious for laying their eggs in the wilderness and then abandoning them (Job 39:13–18), and the Jewish mothers were abandoning their babies. The wealthy people, who were accustomed to eating delicacies, had to rummage in the garbage to find something to eat. God's special people were living like animals because they had turned their backs on their Maker and their God (Rom. 1:18ff.).

Because they rejected the light of God's law, the people were defiled and unable to see the truth, groping about like blind men in the streets, and crying out like lepers, "Unclean, unclean!" (See Lev. 13:45–46.) Not only would they wander in the city streets but they would become wanderers in the world at large, with no place to call home (Deut. 28:65–66). The sinful people became a scattered people, but the Lord promised that He would bring them back to their land (Deut. 30:1–10; Isa. 11:11–12; Jer. 23:3–8). Watchmen (vv. 17–19). Unwilling to trust the Lord for help, the leaders made agreements with other nations to secure their aid in fighting against the Babylonians, but their allies failed them. Israel's "lovers and friends" proved unfaithful (1:2; Jer. 2:15–17, 36–37; 37:7; Isa. 30:1–7). The false prophets assured the people that help was coming, but the watchmen on the walls looked in vain. Pharaoh Hophra's army did come to help King Zedekiah, and the siege was interrupted temporarily, but Nebuchadnezzar sent Hophra back to Egypt defeated. (See Jer. 37; Ezek. 30:20–26.) The brief cessation of the siege brought welcomed relief, but when the Babylonians returned to Jerusalem, things became even worse than before. It was impossible to escape the invaders, whether you walked on the streets or fled to the desert or the mountains. "Swifter than eagles" is a phrase quoted from the covenant (Deut. 28:49–52; see Jer. 4:13; 48:40). "Our end is near! Our end is come!" was the cry of the people. The prophet Ezekiel in Babylon delivered a message on the same theme (Ezek. 7).

Enemies (vv. 6, 9). For centuries, the Jewish nation had been the object of God's love and grace. He had delivered them from Egypt, brought them into the Promised Land, given them victory over their enemies, and graciously provided their every need; but now, He was pouring out His wrath upon them and their land. The siege was long and painful, and it would have been better if God had destroyed the city suddenly, as He did Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19). Israel's sins were greater than those of the cities of the plain, because Israel had seen the glory of God, been given His holy law and had entered into covenant with Him. Privileges always bring responsibilities, but the nation refused to obey the Lord and was punished for their rebellion. It would have been better for the people to be slain in battle than to starve to death slowly.

Fire (vv. 11–12). Fire is frequently used in Scripture as a picture of God's wrath, and "the Lord's anger burned" is a familiar image (Ex. 4:14; 15:7; 32:10–12; etc.). The Lord made it clear at Mount Sinai that He was "a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24; 5:1–5, 23–27; Heb. 12:29) and would not tolerate deliberate sins. The Babylonians looted the city and then burned its walls, gates, and buildings, including the palaces and the temple (2 Chron. 36:19). Jeremiah had warned Israel that God's wrath would "break out like fire" and their city burned down by the Babylonian army, but they refused to listen (Jer. 4:4; 7:20; 21:12; 32:26–29; 34:1–3). God "blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all around" (2:3 nkjv). The other nations and their rulers were aghast at the destruction of "the impregnable city."

Breath and shadows (v. 20). The false prophets assured the people that the Lord would never break His covenant with David, so there would always be one of his descendants on the throne (2 Sam. 7). They interpreted this to mean that the throne and the nation would always endure, but they were wrong. King Zedekiah, son of godly Josiah, was the last king of the Davidic line until the coming of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:30–33, 68–79). Zedekiah foolishly rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and then tried to escape, but he was caught, judged, and taken to Babylon, where he died (2 Kings 24—25; Jer. 34, 37—39). The Jews saw their king as the very breath of their lips, the rock in whose shadow they could hide; but he failed on both counts. Because of his unbelief and rebellion, Zedekiah brought death, not life, and proved to be no protection at all.

Blood (vv. 13–16). The blood of men and of animals was held in great respect in Israel. The Jews were not allowed to eat the blood with the meat (Lev. 17), and the shedding of innocent blood polluted the land and had to be vindicated (Num. 35:30–34). The Jews were very careful not to be defiled by the dead, but the sins of the false prophets and disobedient priests had defiled the land and its people, and Jeremiah had often cried out against their sins (Jer. 5:31; 6:13–15; 14:14–18; 23:9ff.). He was especially grieved because the leaders were ignoring God's law, conducting "fixed"

The cup (vv. 21–22). The Edomites were Judah's neighbors, the descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob who fathered the "fathers" of the twelve tribes of Israel. From before birth, Jacob and Esau fought against each other (Gen. 25:19–34; 27), and the Edomites perpetuated this feud. They rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusalem and encouraged the Babylonians and may

Lamentations 4—5 destroyed, by faith Jeremiah and the remnant saw the living and unchanging God on His throne in heaven, and this gave them courage (v. 19; Ps. 102:12). Yes, they felt forsaken and forgotten (v. 20; see 2:9; 3:37–39), but they knew God would return to them if they would return to Him. (See Lev. 26:40–45; Deut. 30:1–10.) "Return to us and renew us" is their final cry. Without God's presence and power, their lives could never be renewed, and they didn't want to go back to the old ways that had caused so much trouble. (For a similar prayer, see Jer. 14:19–22.)

even have assisted them in their work (Ps. 83:1–8; 137:7; Ezek. 25:12–14; Obad.). Israel had drunk the bitter cup of God's wrath, but one day the cup would be handed to Edom and her time of judgment would come (Jer. 25:15ff.; 49:7–22; Ezek. 35).

The Jewish Remnant's Declaration (5:1–22) This chapter has twenty-two verses, but it is not an acrostic. It is a prayer; the pronouns are plural, for the prophet prayed for himself and the suffering remnant that had survived the invasion. He asked the Lord to "remember … consider … behold" (v. 1). This means that he and the people wanted the Lord to act on their behalf and deliver them from their painful and humiliating situation. Jeremiah knew that the Babylonian captivity would not end for seventy years (Jer. 25:1–14; Dan. 9:1ff.), but he still asked the Lord to be merciful to the poor people left in the land and to the exiles in Babylon.

The final verse seems very pessimistic after such a sincere prayer for redemption and renewal. When the Jews read Lamentations publicly in the synagogue to remember the fall of Jerusalem, they repeat verse 21 so the reading won't end on a negative note. But the verse is still there, and it reminds us of the high cost of sin. God delights in His people and longs to bless them, but if we sin, He will chasten us. If we repent and confess our sins, He will forgive us (1 John 1:9) and give us a new beginning. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).

V. THE JEWISH REMNANT'S DECLARATION (5:1–22)

God had given His people their land ("inheritance"), their law, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple. They disobeyed the law and defiled the land, the city, and the temple because of their sins. Therefore, they lost the land, the city, and the temple, just as God had warned in His covenant. People were killed and families destroyed (v. 3); the economy was ruined (vv. 4, 9; see Deut. 29:11); and their freedom was taken from them (vv. 5–6, 8).

Living Lessons

The book of Lamentations vividly presents to us some important lessons that God's people must learn and never forget.

1. Privilege brings responsibility, and responsibility involves accountability.

It didn't seem fair that God punished the children for the sins of their parents (v. 7; Ex. 20:5; 34:7; Num. 14:18; see Jer. 31:29; Ezek. 18:2). But before the prayer ends, the people will confess, "We have sinned" (v. 16). To be sure, the ancestors of that suffering generation had indeed sinned against the Lord, but their sins helped to lead their descendants into sin. God visits His wrath on the fathers and their children when the children behave like their fathers!

2. God is longsuffering, but there comes a time when He must chasten His people.

3. When the blessings He gives are taken for granted and used selfishly, He takes those blessings from us. To enjoy the gifts but ignore the Giver is idolatry.

4. God is always faithful to the terms of His covenant, either to bless because we have obeyed, or to chasten because we have not.

They remembered that bread was scarce (v. 9) and that the famine caused terrible loss of weight, sickness, and ugliness (v. 10; Deut. 28:48). Their wives and daughters were raped by enemy soldiers (v. 11; Deut. 28:30), so that even if they did survive, they were unacceptable as wives. The leaders of the nation were treated with disrespect (v. 12), and the youths and children were forced to do the work of adults (v. 13). There was no more joy in the city (vv. 14–15). The "crown city" was fallen (v. 16; see 2:15), and the king who wore the crown was in exile (4:20).

5. When parents sin, the children also suffer. 6. When spiritual leaders refuse to hear and obey God's Word, they lead their followers into sin and judgment.

7. It's possible to declare God's Word faithfully and never see the Lord change the hearts of sinners. Jeremiah was faithful for over forty years, yet the nation became more and more wicked.

8. Jeremiah was a man with a broken heart, a man who suffered much; yet he was rewarded by being identified with Jesus (Matt. 16:13–14). Jeremiah's ministry may not have been "successful" as we measure success, but his character became more and more Christlike, "conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom. 8:29).

What was the cause of all this trouble, loss, and pain? The Babylonian army? The wrath of God? No, the sins of the people! Here we see the blinding effects of sin (v. 17; and see 4:14), the binding effects of sin (vv. 5, 8), and the grinding effects of sin (v. 13). The city of the great King was now a home for wild beasts (v. 18).

Notes 1 Jerusalem had been invaded and looted prior to this time, by Egypt in 926 (1 Kings 14:25–26); by Israel, the northern kingdom, in 790 (2 Kings 14:13–14); by Egypt again in 609 (2 Kings 23:31–35); by the Arabs and Philistines during the reign

But the book doesn't end with this recitation of the tragic losses of the people. It ends with a marvelous confession of faith and a humble confession of sin. Though the throne of Judah was disgraced and

Lamentations be restored to her Husband, the Lord (Jer. 3; Hos. 2:14— 3:5). 4 Keep in mind that in chapter 3, Jeremiah altered the acrostic and gave three verses to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As he did in 2:16–17, he reversed the letters ayin and pe in 3:46–51. 5 The Babylonians were actually very kind to Jeremiah. By mistake, he was chained with the prisoners but then released and given the freedom of the land (Jer. 40:1–6). 6 He names God—"the Lord"—for the first time in this chapter in v. 18. This is Jehovah, the covenant-making God who is faithful to His Word and His people.

of Jehoram, 849–41 (2 Chron. 21:16–17); and again by the northern kingdom of Israel in about 784 (2 Chron. 25:22–24). 2 In chapters 2, 3, and 4, the sixteenth and seventeenth Hebrew letters (ayin and pe) are reversed, but this order has been found in other Hebrew alphabet samples, so the order wasn't unknown. (See 2:16–17; 3:46–51; 4:16–17.) 3 How Jeremiah could call the apostate city a "virgin" in 1:15 and 2:13 is a mystery to us. A virgin daughter was a very valuable member of the family and held in high esteem, and the Jews had polluted themselves with foreign alliances and foreign gods. Such is the grace of God! Though He chastened His people, He never forsook them. One day, the nation shall

G e n e s i s E x o d u s L e v i t i c u s N u m b e r s D e u t e r o n o m y J o s h u a J u d g e s R u t h

J o n a h M i c a h N a h u m H a b a k k u k Z e p h a n i a h H a g g a i Z e c h a r i a h M a l a c h i

1 S a m u e l 2 S a m u e l 1 K i n g s 2 K i n g s 1 C h r o n i c l e s 2 C h r o n i c l e s E z r a N e h e m i a h

E s t h e r J o b P s a l m s P r o v e r b s E c c l e s i a s t e s S o n g o f

J e r e m i a h L a m e n t a t i o n s E z e k i e l D a n i e l H o s e a J o e l A m o s O b a d i a h

OUTLINE Key theme: Showing reverence for the name and

CONTENTS

Ezekiel 1—3 1276 From Priest to Prophet glory of God Key verse: "You will know that I am the Lord" (6:7 niv) (This statement is found seventy times in the book.)

Ezekiel 4—7 1281 The Death of a Great City

Ezekiel 8—11 1287 The Glory Has Departed

I. THE PROPHET'S CALL (1—3)

A. Seeing God's glory—1 B. Hearing God's Word—2 C. Becoming God's watchman—3

Ezekiel 12—14 1292 The Truth About the False

Ezekiel 15—17 1297 Pictures of Failure

II. THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (4—24)

A. The judgment predicted—4—7 B. God's glory departs—8—11 C. Godless leaders exposed—12—17 D. God's justice defended—18—21 E. The end of the city—22—24

Ezekiel 18—21 1301 God Is Just!

Ezekiel 22—24 1308 See the Sinful City!

Ezekiel 25—28 1314 God Judges the Nations

III. THE NATIONS JUDGED (25—32)

A. Ammon—25:1–7 B. Moab—25:8–11 C. Edom—25:12–14 D. Philistia—25:15–17 E. Tyre—26:1—28:19 F. Sidon—28:20–24 G. Egypt—29—32

Ezekiel 29—32 1319 Egypt Will Fall!

Ezekiel 33—35 1324 Warnings and Promises from the Watchman

Ezekiel 36—37 1327 From Restoration to Reunion

Ezekiel 38—39 1332 God Protects the Nation

IV. THE GLORIOUS FUTURE OF ISRAEL (33—48)

A. The city of Jerusalem restored—33—34 B. The land of Israel renewed—35—36 C. The nation of Israel resurrected and

Ezekiel 40—48 1335 Glory in the Temple reunited—37—39 D. The temple and the priesthood reestablished—40—48

Ezekiel 1

Isaac, and Jacob (see Ps. 74). Were the Jews not God's chosen people? Had not Jehovah defeated their enemies and given them the Promised Land? Was not Jerusalem His Holy City, and did He not dwell in their holy temple? Yet now His chosen people were exiles in a pagan land, their Promised Land was devastated, Jerusalem was in enemy hands, and the temple had been robbed of its precious treasures. It was a dark day for Israel, and the first thing Ezekiel needed to understand was that, no matter how discouraging the circumstances, God was still on the throne accomplishing His divine purposes in the world. There are many unexplained mysteries in the vision Ezekiel had, but one message comes through with clarity and power: Jehovah is the sovereign Lord of Israel and of all the nations of the earth.

CHAPTER ONE Ezekiel 1—3 FROM PRIEST TO PROPHET L

I. The prophet's call (1—3) A.Seeing God's glory—1 ike Jeremiah (1:2), Zechariah (1:1), and John the Baptist (Luke 1:5ff.), Ezekiel ("God strengthens") was called by God from being a priest to serving as a prophet. As God's spokesman to the Jewish exiles in the land of Babylon, he would rebuke them for their sins and expose their idolatry, but he would also reveal the glorious future the Lord had prepared for them. He was thirty years old at the time of his call (Ezek. 1:1), the normal age for a priest to begin his ministry (Num. 4:1–3, 23).1 It would have been much easier for Ezekiel to remain a priest, for priests were highly esteemed by the Jews, and a priest could read the law and learn everything he needed to know to do his work. Prophets were usually despised and persecuted. They received their messages and orders from the Lord as the occasion demanded and could never be sure what would happen next. It was dangerous to be a prophet. Most people resent being told about their sins and prefer to hear messages of cheer, not declarations of judgment.

The storm (vv. 3–4). The Chebar River (Kebar niv) or canal flowed from the Euphrates River, south of the city of Babylon, where the Jewish exiles gathered for prayer (see Acts 16:13). Ezekiel mentioned it in Ezekiel 1:1; 3:23; 10:15, 20, 22; and 43:3. Apparently Ezekiel was there interceding with the other captives when the Lord called him to his new ministry. Isaiah was worshipping in the temple when God called him (Isa. 6), and Paul and Barnabas were engaged in worship at Antioch when they received their call (Acts 13:1–3). When Ezekiel went to the prayer meeting, it was just like any other day; but the Lord made it a turning point in his life. We never know what a difference a day will make when we're in the path of duty.

Jeremiah had been ministering in Jerusalem for four years when Ezekiel was born in 622 BC, but surely as he grew up, he paid attention to what Jeremiah was saying.2 It's likely that Daniel and Ezekiel knew each other before the captivity, though there's no evidence they saw each other in Babylon. Ezekiel's prophetic ministry was greatly needed in Babylon because false prophets abounded and were giving the Jewish people false hopes of a quick deliverance (usually by Egypt) and a triumphant return to their land (Jer. 5:30–31; 27:1–11; 28:1–17). It's possible that King Zedekiah's visit to Babylon (51:59–61) and the arrival of Jeremiah's letter to the exiles (Jer. 29) both occurred the year Ezekiel received his call. Jeremiah's letter told the Jews that they would be in Babylon for seventy years and therefore should settle down, raise families, and pray for their captors. But Jeremiah also announced the ultimate fall of Babylon, a message the exiles were only too eager to hear.

The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel in the form of a vision, and the hand of the Lord laid hold of him and claimed him for special service. The phrase "the word of the Lord came" is used fifty times in his prophecy and speaks of the authority of his message; and "the hand of the Lord" is found also in Ezekiel 3:14, 22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; and 40:1. The word of the Lord brings enlightenment and the hand of the Lord enablement (see Eph. 1:15–23). In Scripture, a storm is often an image of divine judgment (Prov. 1:27; Isa. 66:15; Jer. 4:13; 23:19; Nah. 1:3). Since the immense whirlwind cloud Ezekiel beheld was coming from the north, it indicated the invasion of Judah by the Babylonian army and the destruction of the land, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple (Jer. 4:6; 6:1). For forty years, God had graciously led Israel by a fiery cloud; but now a fiery cloud was bringing chastening to His disobedient people. The prophet Jeremiah saw a similar vision at the beginning of his ministry (Jer. 1:13–16).

The most difficult task of a prophet is to change people's minds. This means pulling up the weeds of false theology and planting the good seed of the Word of God. It also means tearing down the flimsy thought structures that false prophets build and constructing in their place lasting buildings on solid foundations of truth (Ezek. 1:10; 2 Cor. 10:3–6). To prepare him for his difficult ministry, the Lord caused Ezekiel to participate in three dramatic experiences.

Ezekiel saw bright light around the cloud and an enfolding fire, like molten metal, within the cloud. Both are reminders of the holiness of God, for "our God is a consuming fire" (Ex. 19:16, 18; Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29). As he described this vision, Ezekiel used the words like and likeness at least twenty-five times, indicating that what he saw was symbolic of realities God wanted to reveal to him. Throughout the Bible, the Lord uses familiar things to illustrate spiritual truths that are beyond human vocabulary and description.

Beholding the Glory of the Lord (1) The kingdom of Judah had suffered greatly at the hands of victorious Babylon, and many Jewish people wondered if Jehovah was still the God of Abraham,

Ezekiel 1 sight, the huge wheels, the living creatures, the enfolding fire, and the eyes in the rims of the wheels. What an arresting picture of the providence of God, always at work, intricately designed, never wrong, and never late!

The cherubim (vv. 5–14). In 10:15 and 20, Ezekiel identified the living creatures as the cherubim, heavenly creatures first mentioned in Genesis 3:24. The tabernacle curtains were embroidered with images of the cherubim (Ex. 26:1), and two cherubim were on the golden covering of the ark, the mercy seat (Ex. 25:18–22). Cherubim were very much in evidence in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:23–29; 2 Chron. 3:10–13) and in John's visions in the book of Revelation (Rev. 4:6–9; 5:6–14; 6:1–11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4). The creatures had the body of a human, straight feet like those of a calf, four faces and four wings, with human hands under the wings. Their wings were so arranged that the creatures did not have to turn; they could fly straight forward and change directions quickly. Their wings touched so that each creature was at the corner of a square that would be outlined by their wings.

The firmament (vv. 22–25). This awesome expanse looked like sparkling ice (crystal) and stood over the heads of the cherubim. Now we get the total picture: a heavenly chariot with four wheels, moving quickly from place to place at the direction of the Lord. As it moved, the noise of the wings of the cherubim sounded like the noise of great waters coming together, "like the voice of the Almighty," and like the sound of a mighty army (3:13; 10:5; Ps. 46:3; Rev. 1:15; 14:2; 19:6). The wheels symbolize the omnipresence of God, while the eyes on their rims suggest the omniscience of God, seeing and knowing everything. Ezekiel was beholding a representation of the providence of God as He worked in His world. But one more item remained.

Of special interest are their four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (Ezek. 1:10). Man is the highest of God's creatures, being made in the image of God. The lion is the greatest of the untamed beasts of the forest, while the ox is the strongest of the domesticated beasts of the field. The eagle is the greatest of the birds and is even a picture of God (Deut. 32:11–12). But there is also a connection here with the covenant God made with Noah after the flood (Gen. 9:8–17). God promised not to destroy the world again with a flood, and He gave this promise to Noah (a man) and his descendants, the birds (the eagle), the livestock (the ox), and the wild animals (the lion). The presence of the cherubim before the throne of God is assurance that God remembers His promise and cares for His creatures. But it also reminds us that all of creation is used by the Lord to bless or to chasten His people. In this vision, they are a part of God's judgment on His sinful people.

The throne (vv. 26–28). The wheels depicted God's omnipresence and omniscience, and the throne speaks of God's omnipotent authority. The throne was azure blue, with flashes of fire within it (holiness; see Rev. 15:2) and a rainbow around it (covenant grace). Noah saw the rainbow after the storm (Gen. 9:13–16), the apostle John saw it before the storm (Rev. 4:3), but Ezekiel saw it over the storm and in control of the storm. In His wrath, God remembers mercy (Hab. 3:2). Ezekiel realized that he was beholding the glory of the Lord (Ezek. 1:28), and he fell on his face in awesome fear (3:23; Dan. 8:17; 10:9, 15, 17; Rev. 1:17). The "man" he saw upon the throne was probably a preincarnate appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Ezek. 8:2 and 40:3.) The glory of the Lord is one of the key themes in Ezekiel (3:12, 23; 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18–19; 11:22–23; 39:21; 43:2, 4–5; 44:4). The prophet will watch God's glory leave the temple and go over the Mount of Olives, and he will also see it return to the kingdom temple. Because of Israel's sins, the glory left the temple; but God's promise is that one day the city of Jerusalem and the temple will be blessed by the glorious presence of the Lord. The city will be called "Jehovah Shammah—the Lord is there" (48:35).

The life of these creatures came from the "spirit" (or Spirit)3 within the cloud (Ezek. 1:12, 20), and this life enabled them to move like lightning; in fact, in their movements, they even looked like flashes of lightning. When Ezekiel first saw these creatures, he compared them to fiery amber or molten metal (v. 4); but as he watched them closely, he compared them to sparkling bronze (v. 7), burning coals of fire, lamps, and lightning (vv. 13–14). Like the apostle John describing the beauty of the Holy City (Rev. 21–22), the prophet ran out of words and had to draw pictures!

Now we can begin to grasp the message that God was giving His prophet. Though His people were in exile and their nation was about to be destroyed, God was still on the throne and able to handle every situation. In His marvelous providence, He moves in the affairs of nations and works out His hidden plan. Israel wasn't the victim of Babylonian aggression. It was God who enabled the Babylonians to conquer His people and chasten them for their rebellion, but God would also bring the Medes and the Persians to conquer Babylon, and Cyrus, king of Persia, would permit the Jews to return to their land. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33 nkjv).

The wheels (vv. 15–21). There were four wheels (v. 16), each with an intersecting wheel and each associated with one of the cherubim. The intersecting wheels enabled the creatures and the cloud to move in any direction instantly without having to turn, moving like a flash of lightning. These wheels looked like chrysolite, a yellow or greenish-yellow precious stone; they were very high, as though reaching from earth to heaven, and their rims were awesome and full of eyes. The spirit (Spirit) of the living creatures was in the wheels, so that the living creatures moved in whatever direction the wheels moved. It was indeed an awesome

No matter what message God gave him to preach,

Ezekiel 1—2 nursing false hopes that Egypt would come to their rescue or the Lord would do a great miracle.

or what opposition arose from the people, Ezekiel would be encouraged and strengthened because he had seen the mighty throne of God in the midst of the fiery trial. He had seen the glory of God.

So rebellious were the Jewish people that God called them "a rebellious nation" and used the Hebrew word goy, which was usually reserved for the Gentiles! Israel was God's chosen people, a special nation, and yet they were acting like the Gentiles who didn't have all the blessings and privileges God had given the Jews. This wasn't a very encouraging word for the young prophet, but he needed to know in advance that his work would be difficult. God gave the same kind of message to Isaiah when He called him (Isa. 6:8–13). But whether the people listened and obeyed or turned a deaf ear, Ezekiel had to be faithful to his task (1 Cor. 4:2). Don't be afraid (2:6–7). Three times in verse 6 the Lord admonished the prophet not to be afraid of the people, and He repeated it again (3:9). He had given a similar caution to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:8), and Jesus gave the same warning to His disciples (Matt. 10:26, 28, 31). "Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?" (Isa. 51:12 nkjv). Ezekiel was to declare God's word boldly no matter how his listeners responded. His own people might act like briars and thorns,5 and even like painful scorpions, but that must not deter His servant.

Accepting the Burden of the Lord (2:1—3:3) Ezekiel was now to receive his official commission as a prophet of the Lord God, and the Lord told him he was facing a very difficult task. Whether it's raising a family, teaching a Sunday school class, shepherding a church, or evangelizing in a distant nation, we have to accept people as they are before we can lead them to what God wants them to be. God gave Ezekiel four important commandments to obey.

B.Hearing God's Word—2 C.Becoming God's watchman—3

Stand and listen (2:1–2). As a result of beholding the vision, Ezekiel fell to the ground, completely overwhelmed by the glory of the Lord and the wonder of His providential working in the world. Who but the sovereign Lord could have a throne like a chariot and move as quickly as He pleased? Who but the Lord could travel in the midst of a fiery whirlwind to accomplish His great purposes?

Ezekiel is called "son of man" ninety-three times in his book, a title that the Lord also gave to Daniel (Dan. 8:17). "Son of man" is also a messianic title (Ezek. 7:13), which the Lord Jesus applied to Himself at least eighty-two times when He was ministering on earth. But in the case of Daniel and Ezekiel, the title "son of man" emphasized their humanity and mortality. Ezekiel was facedown in the dust when God spoke to him, reminding him and us of mankind's humble beginning in the dust (Gen. 1:26; 3:19). "For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust" (Ps. 103:14 nkjv). God remembers, but sometimes we forget.

Receive the Word within (2:8—3:3). Being a priest, Ezekiel knew that the Hebrew Scriptures pictured God's Word as food to be received within the heart and digested inwardly. Job valued God's Word more than his "necessary food" (Job 23:12), and Moses admonished the Jews to live on God's Word as well as on the bread (manna) that the Lord supplied daily (Deut. 8:3; see Matt. 4:4). The prophet Jeremiah "ate" the Word of God (Jer. 15:16), and so did the apostle John (Rev. 10:8–10). God's prophets must speak from within their hearts or their messages will not be authentic.

There is a time to fall down in humble adoration, and there is a time to stand up and take orders (Josh. 7:6ff.). The command of the Word and the power of the Spirit enabled Ezekiel to stand to his feet, and the Spirit entered him and strengthened him. On many occasions, the Spirit would lift him up (Ezek. 2:2, 3:14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 37:1; 43:5) and give him special power for his tasks (3:24; 11:5). The important thing was that Ezekiel stand obediently before the Lord and listen to His word.

A hand stretched out and handed Ezekiel a scroll that didn't have any good news written on it, because it was filled on both sides with "words of lament and mourning and woe" (Ezek. 2:10 niv). Perhaps it contained the messages that are recorded in chapters 4 through 32, God's judgments on Jerusalem and the Gentile nations. (See the suggested outline of the book.) God commanded him to eat the scroll, and it tasted sweet like honey (Ps. 19:10; 119:103), although later he tasted bitterness (Ezek. 3:14), not unlike the apostle John (Rev. 10:8–11). It's a great honor to be a spokesperson for the Lord, but we must be able to handle both the bitter and the sweet.

Go and speak (2:3–5). Prophets weren't people who majored only in foretelling the future, although that was part of their ministry. They were primarily forth-tellers who declared God's Word to the people. Sometimes they gave a message of judgment, but it was usually followed by a message of hope and forgiveness. The Jews needed to hear Ezekiel's messages because they were rebellious, stiff-necked, and hard-hearted.4 At least sixteen times in this book you find the Jews described as "rebellious." They had revolted against the Lord and were obstinate in their refusal to submit to His will. Their refusal to obey the terms of the covenant had led to their defeat and capture by the Babylonian army. Even in their captivity, they were

Had Ezekiel heard the description of the hardness of his people before he saw the vision of God's glory, he might have had a difficult time accepting his call. But having seen the glorious throne of the sovereign Lord, Ezekiel knew that he had all the help he needed to obey the will of God. In his difficult ministry to the Israelites, Moses was encouraged by meeting God on the mountaintop and seeing the display of His glory,

Ezekiel 2—3 and the prophet Isaiah saw the glory of Christ in the temple before he launched into his ministry (Isa. 6; John 12:37–41). The prophet Habakkuk was lifted from the valley of despair to the mountain peak of victory by contemplating the glory of God in the history of Israel (Hab. 3). Before Stephen laid down his life for the sake of Jesus Christ, he saw the glory of the Son of God in heaven (Acts 7:55–60). The only motivation that never fails is doing all for the glory of God.

them or give them good advice. He expects us to obey what He commands. Unfortunately, the nation of Israel had a tragic history of disobedience to the law of God and rebellion against the will of God. That was their record during forty years in the wilderness (Deut. 9:7) as well as during over eight hundred years in their own land (2 Chron. 36:11–21). No other nation has been blessed by God as Israel has been blessed, for the Jews had God's holy law, the covenants, a wealthy land, the temple, and the prophets to give them warnings and promises as they needed them (Rom. 9:1–5). Like the people of Israel, many people today hear God's Word but won't try to understand, or if they do understand, they refuse to obey.

Declaring the Word of the Lord (3:4–27) What the people needed more than anything else was to hear the Word of the Lord. Even before the nation fell, Jeremiah had warned them not to listen to the false prophets, but neither the leaders nor the common people would obey (Jer. 5:30–31; 6:14; 7:8; 8:10). God had spoken loudly in Israel's shameful defeat and captivity, but now the Jews were still clinging to empty hopes and listening to the lying words of false prophets in Babylon (Jer. 29:15–32). The human heart would rather hear lies that bring comfort than truths that bring conviction and cleansing. Ezekiel declared God's word as a messenger (Ezek. 3:4–10), a sufferer (vv. 10–15), a watchman (vv. 16–21), and a sign (vv. 22–27). The messenger (vv. 4–9). Three elements are involved here: speaking, receiving (understanding) the message, and obeying. "Go ... and speak ... my words" (v. 4) was God's commission. Ezekiel was the messenger, the people of Israel were the audience, and the word of God was the message to be delivered. The prophet wasn't allowed to send a substitute messenger, nor was he permitted to alter the message or go to a different audience. One of the New Testament words for preaching is kerusso, which means "to proclaim as a herald." In ancient days, rulers would send out royal heralds to convey their messages to the people, and the herald was obligated to deliver the message just as he received it. If Ezekiel wanted to be a faithful herald, every part of God's commission had to be obeyed to the last detail.

God assured His prophet that He would give him all he needed to withstand their opposition and disobedience. In Ezekiel 3:8, there is a play on words involving Ezekiel's name, which means "God is strong" or "God strengthens." It also means "God hardens." If the people harden their hearts and faces, God will harden His servant and keep him faithful to his mission. He gave a similar promise to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:17).

The sufferer (vv. 10–15). Ezekiel was by the river Chebar when he saw the vision and heard God's word (1:3), but now he was commanded to join the other exiles at a place called Tel-Abib. This site hasn't been identified, but it was not at the same location as the modern Tel-Aviv. There were a number of villages along the river (Ezra 2:59; 8:17), and some of the Jewish captives had been settled there by the Babylonians. The Spirit of God lifted the prophet up (Ezek. 3:12, 14)6 and took him to the place where the captives were gathered together and probably praying. This remarkable experience would be repeated (8:3; 43:5), and Ezekiel would no doubt recall that the prophet Elijah had been caught away by God (2 Kings 2:11, 16; see 1 Kings 18:12; Acts 8:39). The prophet had received God's word, and now he must take it to God's people.

As the Spirit began to work, Ezekiel heard behind him several sounds: the rustling of the cherubim's wings, the whirring of the wheels, and "a loud rumbling sound" (niv), like an earthquake. He knew that God's glorious throne was moving and that the Lord was working out His purposes. What was the origin of the praise statement, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place" (Ezek. 3:12)? Both the KJV and the NASB translate it as coming from the cherubim, but the NIV suggests that it was Ezekiel himself who spoke it. However, it could also be translated "as the glory of the Lord arose from its place," a description rather than a declaration. As we shall see in chapters 8—11, the movement of God's glory is a key theme in this book.

The second element is receiving (vv. 5–7). To receive the Word of God means to understand it and take it into the heart and mind (Matt. 13:19). Since Ezekiel was a chosen prophet of the Lord, what he said was important, and the people were obligated to receive it. He was speaking their own language, so they couldn't make excuses and say, "We don't understand what you're saying." He understood their speech and they understood his. If God had sent Ezekiel to a nation where he had to use an interpreter, they would have understood his message and received it; but his own people turned a deaf ear to him. Jesus used a similar approach in 11:21–24 when He condemned the Jewish cities for rejecting Him. Had He done those same miracles in heathen cities, they would have repented and turned to the Lord.

The Lord brought His servant to Tel-Abib so he could sit with the captives and feel their burden of disappointment and grief. Psalm 137 reveals both their misery and their hatred for the Babylonians. When they should have been repenting and seeking God's face, the Jews were regretting what had happened and praying that one day they might be able to retaliate and

The third element is obeying (Ezek. 3:7–9). God doesn't send His messengers to His people to entertain

Ezekiel 3 righteous person from sinning; but that doesn't excuse the watchman from being alert and giving warning.

defeat their Babylonian captors who taunted them. As Ezekiel sat there with the people, overwhelmed by what the Lord had said to him and done for him, he realized the seriousness of his calling and how great was the responsibility God had placed on his shoulders. It's a good thing for the servant of God to be among his people, to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, for he can better minister to them when he knows their hearts and feels their pain.7 It isn't enough simply to proclaim the message of God; we must also seek to have the caring heart of God.

The final scenario is that of the righteous heeding the watchman's warning and not being judged (v. 21). It was a serious thing for the Jewish people to treat lightly the covenant that had been accepted and sealed at Sinai (Ex. 19—20). If the watchman-prophet saw faithful people about to break the covenant, he had to warn them that they would be judged. Sometimes godly people get the idea that their obedience has "earned" them the right to do as they please, but that idea is a great lie. God gives His people many privileges, but He never gives the privilege to sin.

The watchman (vv. 16–21). The watchmen on the walls were important to the safety of the city, and the image shows up frequently in the Scriptures (Isa. 21:11–12; 56:10; 62:6; Jer. 6:17; Ps. 127:1; 130:6; Heb. 13:17). The emphasis here is on judgment, while in Ezekiel 33 it is on hope, but the message is the same: the prophet must be faithful to warn the people of judgment, and the people must heed the warning and turn from their sin. Spiritually speaking, the "wall" that protected Israel was their covenant relationship with the Lord. If they obeyed the terms of the covenant declared by Moses, God would care for His people, protect them, and bless them; but if they disobeyed, God would chasten them. But whether He was chastening or blessing, God would always be faithful to His covenant. (See Lev. 26 and Deut. 28.)

These four examples were given to Jewish people under the old covenant and have to do with obedience to the law and the danger of physical death. The righteousness of the law was external, but the righteousness we have through faith in Jesus Christ is internal, and the two must not be confused (Rom. 9:30—10:13). Faith righteousness is God's gift to those who believe in Jesus Christ, and their righteous standing before God doesn't depend on their good works (Rom. 3—4). However, our fellowship with the Father depends on a heart of obedience (2 Cor. 6:14—7:1), and He will discipline those of His children who deliberately oppose His will (Heb. 12:1–11). If they persist in resisting His will, He may take their lives (Heb. 12:9). "There is a sin unto death " (1 John 5:16–17). Personal responsibility is the key here, both of the watchman and of the people. If the Jews under the old covenant were held responsible for their actions, how much more responsible are believers today who have the complete Bible, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the revelation of God through Jesus Christ? (See Hebrews 12:12–28.)

Ezekiel is the prophet of human responsibility. Some of the captives were blaming God for their sad plight, while others blamed their ancestors. Ezekiel made it clear that each individual is held responsible and accountable before God (see Ezek. 18). He presented four scenarios. The first is that of the people dying because the watchman was unfaithful and didn't warn them (3:18). Their blood would be on the watchman's hands and he would be held accountable (see v. 20; 18:13; 33:4–8). The image of blood on the hands (or the head) goes back to Genesis 9:5 and appears in the law of Moses (Lev. 20; see also Josh. 2:19; 2 Sam. 1:16; 3:29; Isa. 1:15; 59:3. Jesus used this image in Matt. 23:35 and Luke 11:50–51; and see Acts 5:28; 18:6; 20:26.) A second scenario pictures the watchman being faithful to warn the wicked but they refuse to listen (Ezek. 3:19). That was the problem Ezekiel faced as he preached to the hardhearted Jewish captives in Babylon. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people would not come to Him (Matt. 23:37–39). The third scenario describes the righteous dying because they turned from their covenant obedience and the watchman did not warn them (Ezek. 3:20). The watchmanprophet should not only warn sinners to turn from their sin, but he must also warn those who are obeying the covenant ("the righteous") not to turn from it and disobey God. No matter how much obedience they had practiced, it would mean nothing if they deliberately rebelled against God. However, their blood would be on the watchman's hands if he didn't warn them. By putting a barrier in the way, God seeks to prevent the

The sign (vv. 22–27). Ezekiel not only spoke God's word to the people, but he also lived before them in such a way that they saw God's message portrayed before their very eyes. God said to him, "I have made you a sign to the house of Israel" (12:6 niv; see 4:4; 14:8; 24:24, 27). You will find the prophet performing twelve "action sermons" to convey God's truth to people who were becoming more and more deaf to the voice of God.8 Pharaoh wouldn't listen to God's word, so the Lord spoke to him through a series of miracles and plagues. The prophet Jeremiah also tried to reach the people through "action sermons," such as burying a new belt (Jer. 13), refusing to take a wife (Jer. 16), and breaking clay jars (Jer. 19).

It's likely that there is a break between Ezekiel 3:21 and 22. Ezekiel did go to the people and give them God's warning, but they would not listen. God told him to leave the gathering by the river and go out into the plain for a new set of instructions. What do you do when the people close their ears to the Word of God? God certainly could have judged them for their wickedness, but in His grace He gave them further opportunities to hear His saving word. Jesus took the same approach when He began to teach in parables. He clothed the truth in interesting images and in that way sought to reach the

Ezekiel 3—4 people (Matt. 13:10–17). The careless would hear and brush it aside, but the concerned would ponder the parable and learn God's truth.

twenty-five, but during the first five years, they were "learning the ropes" in preparation for their twenty years of ministry (thirty to fifty). According to our calendar, Ezekiel was called on July 31, 593 BC He had spent his first five years as an exile in Babylon and was now ready for service. 2 Some students see some significant parallels between Ezekiel and Jeremiah: Ezekiel 2:8–9—Jeremiah 1:9; Ezekiel 3:3— Jeremiah 15:16; Ezekiel 3:8—Jeremiah 1:8, 17; 15:20; Ezekiel 3:14—Jeremiah 6:11; 15:17; Ezekiel 3:17—Jeremiah 6:17; Ezekiel 4:3—Jeremiah 15:12; Ezekiel 5:6—Jeremiah 2:10–13; Ezekiel 5:11—Jeremiah 13:14; Ezekiel 7:26—Jeremiah 4:20. There are numerous parallels between the book of Ezekiel and the priestly code in the Pentateuch, as well as the book of Revelation. 3 The Hebrew word ruah means spirit, Spirit, or wind, and in his book, Ezekiel used the word in all three senses. 4 The theme of Israel's rebellion and hardness of heart is found often in the book of Ezekiel: 2:3–7; 3:26–27; 5:6; 12:2–3, 9, 25; 17:12, 15; 20:8, 13, 21; 21:24; 24:3; 44:6. 5 The Lord used this image to describe the heathen people left in the land of Canaan (Num. 33:55). Once again, God classified His rebellious people with the pagan Gentiles. 6 Was this experience a vision, or did God actually transport Ezekiel to Tel-Abib? The scholars are divided in their interpretation. That this was a literal moving of the prophet and not merely a vision seems to be the plain reading of the text. The fact that the prophet sat among the exiles for seven days suggests a physical move. (See 8:1; 11:1, 24; 43:5.) 7 The suggestion here is that Ezekiel was silent for those seven days. Under the Levitical law, it took seven days for a priest to be ordained and installed into his ministry (Lev. 8:35). Ezekiel the priest spent seven days being ordained as a prophet. 8 The symbolic "action sermons" are found in 3:22–26; 4:1–3, 4–8, 9–11, 12–14; 5:1–3; 12:1–16, 17–20; 21:6–7, 18–24, 15–24; 37:15–28. 9 A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1977), 102.

The word of God may not have penetrated the hearts of the people, but the glory of God and the Spirit of God were still with God's servant. If the people wouldn't respond to Ezekiel's public ministry, perhaps he could reach them in his own house. The elders of the people could come to hear his messages (Ezek. 8:1; 14:1; 20:1) and then share them with the people. The prophet shut himself up in his house, although at times he did leave for special reasons (5:2; 12:3), and he never spoke unless he had a message from the Lord. When the news came of the destruction of Jerusalem, this command of silence was removed, and he was able to speak as other people (24:25–27; 33:21–22). From the time this command was given to the time it was removed, seven years elapsed (from 593 BC to 586 BC).

Ezekiel's silence was a sign to the Jews that God's Word is not to be taken for granted or treated lightly like trivial daily conversation. When God speaks, we had better listen and obey! "He that hears, let him hear" (3:27 niv) is a familiar and important phrase in Scripture because it indicates that we have the responsibility to pay attention to God's Word, cherish what He says, meditate on it, and obey it. At least five times in Deuteronomy Moses said, "Hear, O Israel!" as he repeated the law and reminded them of the great privilege Israel had to hear the very voice of God at Sinai (Deut. 4:1–13). At least eight times in the gospels Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear," (nasb) or similar words (Matt. 11:15, 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35). What about the "binding" of the prophet (Ezek. 3:25)? This is probably a figurative statement, because there's no evidence that Ezekiel was literally bound and forced to remain in his house. As we have seen, he did leave the house (5:2; 12:3) and nobody prevented him. The Jewish people "bound" Ezekiel in the sense that their sins made it necessary for him to remain home in silence until God gave him a message. The attitude of the people wasn't that of militant opposition but rather passive indifference; hence, the necessity for Ezekiel to use "action sermons" to get their attention.

CHAPTER TWO Ezekiel 4—7 THE DEATH OF A GREAT CITY W

II. The fall of Jerusalem (4—24) hen the sons of Asaph wanted to describe the city of Jerusalem, they wrote, "Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King" (Ps. 48:2 nkjv). The Babylonian Talmud says, "Of the ten measures of beauty that came down to the world, Jerusalem took nine" (Kidushin 49b), and, "Whoever has not seen Jerusalem in its splendor has never seen a lovely city" (Succah 51b). Of modern Jerusalem, Samuel Heilman wrote, "It is a place in which people actually live; it is a place that lives in them."1 One of the Jewish exiles in Babylonian wrote: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—if I do not exalt Jerusalem

"I am the Lord!" is repeated fifty-nine times in this book, because it was Ezekiel's task to remind his people who was in charge. The name of God used almost exclusively in the book is "Jehovah Adonai—the Sovereign Lord." A.W. Tozer was right when he wrote, "God being who and what he is, and we being who and what we are, the only thinkable relation between us is one of full lordship on His part and complete submission on ours."9

Are we a rebellious people, or, like Ezekiel, are we obedient servants?

Notes

1 Numbers 8:23 states that the priests began their work at age

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