Week #35 | "A How-To Lesson in Impropriety, and the Hope of a Better King"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Ezekiel 22-25, 29-31; Jeremiah 21-23, 33-34, 37-38, 48-52; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

If Christopher Nolan directed a movie about the promise of the Messiah (Jeremiah 21-23). One thing that we have discovered since January about reading the Bible in different orders (straight through, or chronologically, or back-and-forth between the Old and New Testaments) is that each method has something to show us that we would miss otherwise. Chronological reading has already shown us a lot about the links between the history of Israel and the different prophesies made during this time which help to shed light on each other. We would miss this by reading straight through. But right when we start to think that this might be a better way to read the Bible, we see a book like Jeremiah which is intentionally unchronological, in ways that remind me a little bit of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, or Christopher Nolan's--well, actually, most of Christopher Nolan's movies. In Jeremiah 22-25, we see a number of back-to-back words of God given through Jeremiah to the various kings of Judah throughout his time: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and to Zedekiah. But they're all grouped in one place here, because they size up the various offerings from David's line, and then lead up to the true, better, prophesied Promised Deliverer who will come from the line of David: "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!... Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land... And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD our righteousness'" (Jeremiah 23:1-6). This promise is reiterated again, in the same language and the same terms, in Jeremiah 33:14-22. There are many kings from the line of David, but only one who will fulfill the role of the Promised Deliverer whose arrival we have been told about since almost the beginning of the book of Genesis.

The imprisonment of Jeremiah for disloyalty to this fading world (Jeremiah 37-38). Jeremiah's reward for his faithfulness to God is, eventually, imprisonment and persecution for disloyalty to this passing world. He is locked up and treated harshly because of his prophesies which foretell that Judah will go into exile as a result of its spiritual waywardness. It's worth it to read about Jeremiah's experiences again and about the Fall of Jerusalem so soon after, and to ask ourselves--was it worth it? Can you imagine what would have happened if Jeremiah had tried to go along to get along, and tried to fit into the current thought of society in Jerusalem, knowing that it was all soon going to come to an end anyway? He might have had a more pleasant life. But would it have been worth it? I don't think so. It's worth it to ask in our own day, who we are living to be in harmony with, and whose approval are we chasing? Jeremiah was the greatest man of his generation; but no one, probably not even him, knew it at the time, while he was being beaten and imprisoned in jail (Jeremiah 37:15-16), and cast into a cistern (Jeremiah 38:6).

Lessons from the Fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 48-52; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36). The Fall of Jerusalem came slowly, and not all at once. It came in stages. Unfortunately the same graciousness of God that gives us the opportunity to see judgment come slowly so that we can change our ways, sometimes also lulls us into a false sense of security: sometimes it is so long in coming, or comes in so many stages, that we convince ourselves that there's nothing to worry about. But the fall of Jerusalem shows us that it will come. I think the lesson for us is to maintain a sensitive heart that causes us to continually examine ourselves: to ask, how can we continually grow in our walk with God? Is there anything that we need to repent of or change? Is there anything in our lives that might be an example of God warning us that something isn't right? We can learn from the fate of Jerusalem in this way--by avoiding it.

A Lesson in Impropriety (Ezekiel 23). This chapter alone might be the main reason why you do not see many sermon series go through the book of Ezekiel (which is a shame--it's a great book). And the reason is that it is highly graphic, and explicit, and contains a lot of impropriety in its description of the idolatry of Judah and Israel--and that's exactly the point. I once heard of a speaker who came to a Christian college campus who listed many examples of the brokenness and injustice present in North America, and then he said something like "I'm so sick of this ----. And most of you are probably more offended that I just said ---- than you are that this kind of thing is going on all around us and that no one is doing anything about it." It was a highly effective speech, because for a moment, they were more offended that he said an improper thing than they were about the things that he was describing. And his use of that word made that point for him. People who were there still remember what he said today, and it has continued to make an impression on them more than 20 years later. Ezekiel is almost doing the same thing. He is using explicit language to describe a heart-breaking reality, and it's almost like he's daring us: "What offends you more--that I'm saying it this way, or that this is what's actually happening?" Sometimes we avoid dealing with necessary truths by hiding them behind a wall of propriety, and then we create an impenetrable barrier of conditions which must be met before someone can tell us about what's behind the wall. Ezekiel tears that barrier down, and gives us a (how-to!) lesson in impropriety, by exposing the things that the genteel class of noble Judeans would prefer not to discuss in polite circles. I wonder what he would expose and confront in our country, our province, our city, and our churches today?

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I won't lay out exact responses in this space because the possibilities are often endless. But it is worth it to think about application in the categories of worship, attitude, and actions. Does this reading direct me to God in worship and thanksgiving and praise, or does it direct me towards a change that I need to make here and now? If it's about a change that I need to make, is this something inward in my attitude, or outward in my actions? This helps to rescue application from just being a series of how-to tips, or one-size-fits-all instructions that go beyond what the Bible actually states. Sometimes, the most helpful application we can make is to get a different perspective on what's the most important thing, or about how we should respond inwardly to the things going on around us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean