Zion dwellers

Jerusalem at night

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 25-27; Psalm 48


TO CHEW ON: "Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers; ....
For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death. Psalm 48:12, 14

Zion is the city of Jerusalem. This Bible dictionary description helps us see it in its natural setting:

"The city is set high in the hills of Judah, over 30 miles from the Mediterranean, and over 20 west of the north end of the Dead Sea. It rests on a none-too-level plateau, which slopes noticeably toward the southeast. To the east lies the ridge of Olivet. Access to the city on all sides except the north is hampered by three deep ravines" - New Bible Dictionary, p. 614.

The Sons of Korah here praise Zion for its beauty, its qualities as a refuge, the way its appearance instills fear in Israel's enemies, and its stability.

But it is more than a mere city. For in the Jewish mind of that day its grandeur and solidity seem to be equated in some way with God Himself. Jerusalem was the center of their worship and so its qualities become a reflection of Elohim, the God they worship:

"For this is God (Elohim)

Our God forever and ever

He will be our guide

Even to death" (vs. 14).

Metaphors for God abound in the Bible. He is compared to

• a bird covering us with its feathers (Psalm 91:4).

• a mother caring for her child (Isaiah 66:12,13)

• a father (Psalm 68:5; Matthew 6:9).

• a shepherd (Psalm 23:1-6).

• a fire (Hebrews 12:29).

... and many more.

I love this picture of God as the city of Jerusalem. The city's elements of beauty, safety, and solidity remind us of the security we have in Him.

The last line talks about God as a guide. It fits so well with the Numbers passage we read today where Moses asked God who would lead the people after he died, and God told him to anoint Joshua. Joshua, with Aaron's son Eleazar the priest, would guide the Israelites into the promised land (Numbers 27:11). For us too, God has people (parents, friends, pastors, teachers, authors) to act as His representative to guide us.

PRAYER: Dear God, this picture of You as Zion reminds me of the safety and hope I have in You. May my life as a Zion-dweller be a credit to You. Amen. 

 PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 48

MORE: A city on a hill

I wonder if Jesus was thinking of Jerusalem when He mentioned a city on a hill during the Sermon on the Mount. Reading the physical description of Jerusalem, above, made me think of this verse—something we can take into the day.

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ... Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14, 16. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jerusalem’s story - part 3

U-Turns allowed (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:44-63

TO CHEW ON: “And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth any more because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done, says the LORD GOD.’” Ezekiel 16:62,63


Jerusalem continued to deteriorate in God’s eyes. She had spurned Him as her husband and gone after idolatrous lovers. Her sins were worse than those of her sister cities (and their daughters—their suburbs and  surrounding villages), big sister Samaria and little sister Sodom.

God named specific sins: pride, gluttony, idleness, callousness to the poor, committing “abominations” [abomination: toebah = a disgusting thing, in a ritual sense of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages, in an ethical sense of wickedness etc.]

The Bible commenter Matthew Henry draws our attention to the height from which Jerusalem has fallen:

“Jerusalem had the temple, and the ark, and the priesthood, and kings of the house of David; and therefore the wickedness of that holy city, that was so dignified, so near, so dear to God, was more provoking to him than the wickedness of Sodom and Samaria, that had not Jerusalem’s privileges and means of grace.” - Matthew Henry Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com.

God saw only one solution for Jerusalem. It came from Him and was given not because Jerusalem deserved His mercy but because He doesn’t go back on His word—His covenant (Ezekiel 16:60). 

The atonement He will provide  (I believe a prophecy of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross) will pay for all they have done (Ezekiel 16:63). 

His grace will soften even Jerusalem’s rebellious heart (“Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed…”), a picture Ezekiel paints so beautifully in other places like Ezekiel 11:19,20:

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

Though this passage is a prophecy concerning a city in the Middle East and an ethnic people, it also shows us a side of God that relates to us. Though we may violate our covenant with Him, backslide, and commit the most awful sins, He is willing to accept us back (Isaiah 1:18). All it takes is our own repentance (“…remember your ways and be ashamed…” - Ezekiel 16:61, also Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19; 8:22). For us too the atonement He made is sufficient (1 Peter 3:18).

PRAYER: Dear father, help me to detect signs and symptoms of rebellion within me before they fruit into backsliding. Help me to be quick to repent. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jerusalem's story - part 2

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:23-43

TO CHEW ON: "You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband." Ezekiel 16:32

Yesterday we saw how God rescued Jerusalem from her hopeless beginnings as an unwanted newborn. He nourished her until she was grown, then took her as His wife. He dressed her in extravagant garments, adorned her with expensive jewelry, and pampered her with the finest food. She was His queen (Ezekiel 16:1-14).

Today we read her heartbreaking response. Confident in her beauty and secure in her position, she began misusing her husband's benefits to cheat on Him. Our reading is a list of how she did that.

• She flung herself at whoever would have her.

• She used her royal garments to decorate "high places"—shrines where she worshiped idols.

• She recast the precious metal of her jewelry into idol images.

• She used the cosmetics and food her Husband supplied as idol offerings.

• She offered the children of their union to idols.

• She wasn't a normal prostitute who took payment for her services. Instead she was so intent on getting new lovers, she paid whoever would come to her.

Yesterday we likened ourselves to Jerusalem, seeing how we are like that cast-out helpless newborn who God rescued, redeemed, and married.  But we would never act like today's unfaithful wife, would we?

How close we come. For don't we:

• Misuse God's benefits to us, employing them to gratify our desires and establish our own little empires. To impress? To be entertained?

• Push our children toward the idols we serve, idols of money, fame, beauty, success, sensuous gratification, leisure, sports, etc.?

And notice how innocently it all begins: by trusting in our own abilities and achievements, and misusing our blessings ("But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame…" Ezekiel 16:15) forgetting from whom they come and for what purpose they were given.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize within myself the tendencies toward unfaithfulness to You. May it never be said of me, "You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband." Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jerusalem's story - part 1

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "'Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendour which I had bestowed on you,' says the Lord God." Ezekiel 16:14

In allegory form Ezekiel tells the story of Jerusalem. Born in the land of Canaan of mixed parentage (Amorite and Hittite), she was neglected at birth. No one cut her umbilical cord or washed her skin with salt to keep bacteria from growing. She wasn't swaddled in cloths or nurtured—things parents do for a wanted baby. Instead "'you were thrown out into the open field when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born'" - Ezekiel 16:4.

Then God turned things around. "'And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, "Live!" Yes, I said to you in your blood, "Live!"'" - Ezekiel 16:6. Wow!

God nurtured her until she was mature and beautiful—also innocent and naive. For on seeing her developing beauty, He claimed her as His own, before anyone else could,  and clothed her. Notice the picture of the covering her with His wing (Ezekiel 16:8). We've seen that before—in the story of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 2:12; 3:9).

Again He washed her and anointed her with oil. He dressed her in the most expensive garments and she was adorned with dazzling jewelry. He gave her the best food. Her reputation for beauty was unmatched. She was His queen.

In addition to this allegory being the story of Jerusalem, I see in it the story of what God does for us.

Spiritually we're as helpless and neglected as baby Jerusalem. But God passes by and speaks "Live!" over us too. He nurtures us by human and divine means using our families, friends, the church, His word and prayer.

The decision to give Him our lives could be likened to accepting His proposal of marriage. Then He clothes us with the beautiful dress of righteousness and hides us under His protecting wing.

As we live with Him, feeding on the riches of His word and living by it, He makes us even more beautiful. How could Jerusalem—how could we—ever remove ourselves from such a delightful place? Yet, as we will see tomorrow, Jerusalem did.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for pronouncing "Live" over my life. Help me to appreciate my position in You. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Israel—a land in waiting

Jerusalem (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 49:14-26

TO CHEW ON: “… your walls are continually before Me … For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me” - Isaiah 49:16b, 23b

On December 27th the United Nations Security Council passed its latest resolution against Israel—passed because the U.S., which has in the past supported Israel by vetoing such resolutions, chose to abstain from voting.

The result has been a war of words between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israelite President Benjamin Netanyahu, and others.

The resolution is one of twenty the U.N. has adopted against Israel this year while passing just four for the rest of the world (one each for North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Russia). It seems obvious that anti-Semitic sentiments are again surfacing, indeed flourishing internationally.

In the context of the above, I find the prophecies in today’s passage reassuring. The first part of Isaiah 49 promises salvation for the Gentiles through God’s Servant (yesterday’s reading). Continuing on, God assures “Zion” (Jerusalem) who laments, “‘The LORD has forsaken me, / And my Lord has forgotten me”— that NO. God remembers like a mother remembers her child and "See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands" - Isaiah 49:15,16.

God’s promises to Israel in Isaiah 49 include:

• “Your walls are continually before Me” - Isaiah 49:16. This promise brings to mind a particularly onerous part of the recent U.N. resolution that labels Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem including the Western Wall as illegal. This assures us that God is up-to-the-minute aware.

• Victory over their enemies - Isaiah 49:17,18.

• Adequate space to live - Isaiah 49:19.

• Population growth - Isaiah 49:20.

• International respect and obeisance - Isaiah 49:22,23.

• God Himself as their defender - Isaiah 49:25.

What specific events loom in the immediate future for Israel are impossible to predict, though I don’t have a good feeling in light of prophecies such as all nations against Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2) and other predictions of terrible trouble ahead for her (Zechariah 13:8,9; Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21,22). But I know in the end, victory for Israel is sure because God keeps His promises!

PRAYER: Dear Father of Gentiles and Jews, I pray for the land of Israel (in waiting to realize her ultimate destiny), her people, her leaders and for the peace of Jerusalem. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God's arm

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 52:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."  Isaiah 52:10

In this prophecy of God redeeming and restoring Jerusalem, Isaiah uses the picturesque expression, "made bare His holy arm." My Bible's notes on Isaiah explain that this is a colloquialism meaning, "God will roll up His sleeves." In other words, really get down to business in saving Jerusalem.

Bible writers use God's arm as a figure of speech in other places. I've picked out a few. In each of the ones I'm citing, it refers to an aspect of His power.

• God, in conversation with Moses, promises to free Israel from bondage to the Egyptians with an "outstretched arm" - Exodus 6:6. Isaiah talks about God's "glorious arm" dividing the water for the Israelites as they leave Egypt - Isaiah 63:12. Paul also refers to God freeing Israel from slavery: "…and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it" - Acts 13:17.

• In Deuteronomy Moses reminds the people that God is unchanging. He shelters them in "everlasting arms" - Deuteronomy 33:27.

• Ethan the Ezrahite writes about God's "mighty arm," which scatters enemies, along with His strong hand and high right hand, giving us the picture of a victory stance - Psalm 89:10,13.

• Our reading isn't the only place God uses His arm on behalf of Jerusalem. God swears by "His right hand and the arm of His strength" to restore her in Isaiah 62:8.

• "To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" asks Isaiah (Isaiah 53:1). He goes on to answer his question by describing the One we interpret as Jesus, who became the lamb of God sacrificed for our sins (Isaiah 53:2 and on).

• Finally, Mary in her prayer of praise we call the Magnificat, sums up the significance of God's arm at work: "He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts" - Luke 1:51. And we recall that the occasion of Mary speaking the Magnificat (her pregnancy and visit to Elizabeth), ended in the birth of Jesus, God's arm of justice and love extended to save the world!
  

Like Israel needed God's arm to get away from Egypt; like the Israelites needed His arm to defend them against their enemies; like Jerusalem needed His arm to be redeemed and restored; like all of mankind needs Him for salvation, we need God to "bare His arm," to roll up His sleeves on our behalf. We need His arm for salvation and the challenges of life.

(It's interesting to note that the work we might consider arm-worthy—the creation of the earth and the universe—is described as the work of God's fingers [Psalm 8:3].)

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these pictures of Your powerful arm. Help me to turn to You for that power whenever life is too big for me—which is usually. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Fiery refining

Liquid gold - Courtesy RGBStock.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Zechariah 13:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "I will bring one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested
They will call on My name;
And I will answer them.
I will say, 'This is My people';
And each one will say, 'The Lord is my God' " - Zechariah 13:9

This chilling prophecy was fulfilled in the near term for Israel in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was overrun and sacked by the Romans. The connection is clear because of the picture of the struck shepherd and scattered sheep (Zechariah 13:7) that precedes it. Jesus, who referred to Himself as the shepherd (John 10) quoted words from Zechariah 13:7 to warn His disciples of what would happen with them when He would be struck down (Matthew 26:31). The disciples were scattered first at His crucifixion, and after the establishment of the church by persecution. Jerusalem was destroyed by fire, as predicted.

However, I believe we can view this prophecy of refining as something that is for the entire church age. "No clearer picture of Jesus and His suffering church is given in the Old Testament" says the Reformation Study Bible comments on verse 9.

As we look at some of the places the Bible mentions refining / testing, we see the methods  God uses to refine and what He wants to accomplish.

• Job's test (through a complete turnaround in fortunes and bad health to boot) was to prove what he was really made of (Job 23:10).

• The writer of Proverbs talked of God's correction as a proof of His parenthood and love (Proverbs 3:12).

• Isaiah spoke of God's "hand against you" that was meant to "purge away your dross and take away all your alloy" —a picturesque way of saying God's tests are a way to rid us of all that isn't the real thing (Isaiah 1:25).

• In another place Isaiah talked of testing in the furnace of "affliction" (Isaiah 48:10). "Affliction" - oniy -  means "affliction, poverty, misery."

• In our passage the refining through fire was meant to bring the tested ones back to God. They pray, He answers, and they are reunited in a new identity and loyalty (Zechariah 14:9).

• In Malachi the ministering tribe—Levites—were refined so that their ministry would be acceptable (Malachi 3:3).

• Peter talked about faith developing through testing—faith that showed itself to be genuine and that results in "praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

• Peter further reminded us to expect such testing rather than be surprised by it (1 Peter 4:12).

Testing, affliction, refining through fire… I don't particularly want them. You probably don't either. Still, such tests will probably come our way in one form or another.

I love the challenge in Paul Baloche's song "We Will Hold On." In the first stanza he speaks of the kind of tests we've listed above—being "persecuted and reviled ..."

In Stanza 2, he talks of another kind of test—one that might be more familiar to many of us: "We are tested by the blessing / With all the comforts of the world surrounding" (emphasis added).  That's a test that's much more to our liking, though probably as telling a test as any and as easy to fail.  For the temptation is to think we don't need Him and try to get by on our own.

Whatever test comes our way, let's accept the challenge of the Bible to stay with God. As Baloche puts it: "We will hold on to Your love" - Paul Baloche ("We Will Hold On" from the CD Glorious, Integrity Music, © 2009).

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to pass all the tests You send my way. Be very close to our brothers and sisters around the world whose lives are a series of fiery refinings. May I be prepared for a time when the same may be true of me. Amen.

MORE: "We Will Hold On"



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The great Jewish return

"Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod" by James Tissot

 
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Zechariah 8:1-123

TO CHEW ON: "Thus says the Lord of hosts:
'Behold I will save My people from the land of the east
And from the land of the west;
I will bring them back
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem,
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.' "  Zechariah 8:7,9


The Old Testament prophets Zechariah and Haggai preached to the people who had returned from exile. Their messages were meant to arouse the returned Jews to finish rebuilding the temple.

In addition Zechariah's writings contain many references to the coming Messiah. Some well-known Messianic prophecies in Zechariah are of Messiah entering Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) and of the Jews mourning over the One they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

Zechariah 8 is the prophecy of a restored Zion (a.k.a. Jerusalem). The prophet paints a picture of a future vibrant, safe, and peaceful city where:

"Old men and old women shall again sit
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of great age.
The streets of the city
Shall be full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets - Zechariah 8:4,5.

Our focus verse describes the return of the city's inhabitants. They come from all directions to live in Jerusalem. But they do more than just live there—they come to again be Yahweh's people:

"They shall be My people
And I will be their God."

It was a prophecy that was partially fulfilled in the exiles' return during and after Zechariah's time. But modern Bible scholars also interpret this passage as prophetic of events still to come. My Bible's notes say about chapter 8:

"Many Bible students believe the promises of a restored Zion are to apply primarily to a cleansed and invigorated church…"  and: "Some see this passage as partially fulfilled in God's building of a new people in the church age" David Warren Shibley, Introduction and study notes on Zechariah, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1248 &1256.

There may be some truth here, but I think we need to guard against taking a stand that removes the literal Jerusalem and the Jewish people from the equation. Though Replacement Theology (that says the church has replaced Israel in God's plan) is popular these days, I believe the Bible is unequivocal about the special place of the literal Jerusalem and the Jews in world events still to come.

Instead of writing off the Jews, let's pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and the day when the Jews will accept and follow their Messiah (Revelation 7:3-8; 14:1).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Jewish people through whom Jesus came. As world events unfold, with peoples fighting over Jerusalem, help me to continue to pray for its peace and the salvation of the Jewish people—the "apple of Your eye" (Zechariah 2:8). Amen.

MORE: Anti-semitism
Anti-semitism is on the rise again in the world. Global journalist Martin Himel has put together a series of documentaries called Jew Bashing that show the persecution and harassment of Jews in all quarters:  The Middle East, Anti-Semitism in Europe, Conspiracy of Anti-Semitism, and Canada.  Where anti-Semitism happens in the church, the belief in Replacement Theology is often a precursor to such a stand.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Divine Favor

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 60:1-22

 TO CHEW ON: "For behold darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you." Isaiah 60:2

On first reading this morning,  Isaiah 60:1-22 took my breath away. What is this? When is this?

My Bible's notes explain, cryptically, "While these glowing prophetic promises of restoration would bring hope to Israel in captivity, the fullest unfolding is messianic and eschatological" - Nathaneal M. Van Cleave, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 944.

["Eschatology: the branch of Christian theology that studies 'end things' whether the end of an individual life, the end of an age, the end of the world, and the nature of the Kingdom of God" - Dictionary definition.]

So yes, that makes sense. This prophecy foresees not only a time in Israel's history near to the prophet's lifetime, but also predicts end-time events concerning Israel and Jerusalem.

For me personally, though, this passage is a full-color illustration of what God's favor looks like at any time. (In fact, in her book of Scripture prayers Praying with Fire, Barbara Billette quotes freely from Isaiah 60 in her prayer for favor.)

According to Isaiah 60, God's favor:

• Brings light - Isaiah 60:1,19,20.

• Causes His glory to be seen upon the favored - Isaiah 60:2.

• Is a magnetic attraction - Isaiah 60:3.

• Unites and reunites families - Isaiah 60:4.

• Attracts wealth - Isaiah 60:5-9,11,16,17.

• Advances peace and security - Isaiah 60:10-12, 14, 18

• Exalts and builds up what is worthy of God's glory - "My sanctuary" and "The city of the Lord / Zion of the Holy One of Israel" (Jerusalem) - Isaiah 60:13,14.

• Brings joy - Isaiah 60:20.

• Comes with unlikely reversal: "A little one shall become a thousand, / And a small one a strong nation" - Isaiah 60:22.

What's the point of all this favor? To benefit the individual or nation favored? No. It's all to serve God's glory: "That I may be glorified" - Isaiah 60:21.

As we enter the new year, I don't think we're one bit out of line to pray for the favor shown in Isaiah 60 to be on our lives. But to always do so with one and only one motive—to advance the glory of the all-good, fair, all-seeing, just, loving One, the LORD in whom is not an atom of evil.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this vivid picture of Your favor. May I so live in the coming year that Your glory and favor rests on me. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.