Category: Babylonian captivity

The Word Wearied With the Wicked’s Words

Saturday, January 31, 2015

“Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?” (Malachi 2:17 KJV).

Today’s Scripture could have been written to our profligate society today!

The Prophet Malachi had a ministry to Israel about 400 years before Christ. Post-Babylonian-exile Israel, while not as wicked as it was centuries before God sent them away captive to Assyria and Babylon, is nonetheless still plagued with spiritual, economic, and societal problems.

Through the Prophet, the Holy Spirit rebukes His people—especially the priests in chapter 2 (today’s Scripture)—of their wayward behavior. They then ask Him what they are doing wrong, and God replies each time. Malachi’s short book, only four chapters, is compiled around six objections and six divine answers. Today’s Scripture is the fifth. God never grows tired in the sense of doing work and then feeling “drained.” Existing outside of our universe, He is not bound by our time-space continuum. But, today’s Scripture says that God can and does grow tired of people talking about Him in a very foolish way.

Just as you eventually have enough of someone slandering you, or trampling your name underfoot, and you finally react, God has grown sick of the Jews saying that He approves evil, them saying that He delights in those workers of iniquity. Furthermore, God has grown sick of the Jews asking where He is, if He will show Himself and punish them for their wrongdoings. They challenge JEHOVAH to retaliate! Chapters 3 and 4 proceed to explain how Messiah Jesus is coming: “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purge the sons of Levi…” (3:2,3).

Messiah Jesus came once, and He will be back again one day! He will punish the additional 2,000 years of man’s “wearisome words!”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Will we know if a loved one is not in heaven with us?”

The Messiah Is Coming!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:5,6 KJV).

Jerusalem, the Messiah is coming, the Messiah is coming!

The Old Testament “Major Prophets” (the five “large” books of Isaiah through Daniel) and the “Minor Prophets” (the 12 “small” books of Hosea through Malachi) have two main themes—God’s judgment on the Jews in response to their centuries of pagan idolatry by forcing them out of His land, and God’s forgiving and restoring Israel to return to that Promised Land and enjoy His earthly kingdom forever. Although Jeremiah (the prophet of today’s Scripture) devoted large portions of his ministry and book to that impending divine wrath, the Holy Spirit moved him to also preach and write verses that declared that God’s Messiah would come to deliver Israel from the religious (spiritual), social, and political mess in which she put herself (see today’s Scripture).

While Judah was captive in Babylon, JEHOVAH revealed to the Prophet Daniel that in addition to 70 years necessary for the Promised Land’s cleansing, 70 weeks of years (or 490 years) were needed to cleanse the Jewish people (Daniel 9:24-27). After this 490-year period, Messiah would come and deliver Israel from her sins and her enemies. Once Jesus Christ came, Israel had the prospect to be a redeemed people in a cleansed land. Just as that 69th week of years expired, they delivered Him to the Romans to have Him die on an awful Roman cross. He resurrected and returned to heaven rejected.

Now, one seven-year period (Daniel’s 70th week) remains on the prophetic calendar before Jesus Christ can return for Israel and establish her kingdom (today’s Scripture). When He comes the second time, He will use His blood shed at Calvary to establish a New Covenant to take away Israel’s sins (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Acts 3:19; Romans 11:26,27; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:15-17). Yes, Jeremiah 29:11 is still true—God’s wonderful plans for Israel are to be fulfilled in His own time! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is grace a ‘license to sin?’”

The Jews Are Coming!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

“And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive” (Jeremiah 29:14 KJV).

Jerusalem, the Jews are coming, the Jews are coming!

From 606 B.C. to 536 B.C., Judah was captive in Babylon. JEHOVAH told them that after those 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; cf. Daniel 9:2), He would bring these Jews back to Jerusalem; He would not leave them hopeless, for He still had marvelous plans for them despite their unbelief and disobedience (Jeremiah 29:10-11, the context of today’s Scripture).

The Jewish Bible, which ends with 2 Chronicles, concludes with Israel back in her homeland (chapter 36): “[20] And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: [21] To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. [22] Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, [23] Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.”

These two Jewish expeditions from exile to Jerusalem are recorded in the Bible books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Still, many Jews are still scattered worldwide today, and certainly not enjoying God’s earthly kingdom as they should have.

Jeremiah 29:11 is Israel’s hope in such a hopeless condition!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why do the wicked prosper?”

The Babylonians Are Coming!

Friday, December 12, 2014

“For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire” (Jeremiah 21:10 KJV).

Jerusalem, the Babylonians are coming, the Babylonians are coming!

We hear Jeremiah 29:11 quoted quite often in today’s lukewarm Christianity: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” However, who quotes today’s Scripture (found in the same Bible book)?

Before JEHOVAH God could have good thoughts toward Jerusalem and the nation Israel, He had to first deal with their sins. Rather than relying on God’s grace—God freely giving them everything they needed—they agreed to enter into a covenant with Him. This was the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law (part of it was the Ten Commandments). Israel contracted to perform perfectly to gain His blessings and acceptance; to fail in a single point was to merit His wrath and curses. Israel was doomed to fail right from day 1, but God loves freedom so much that He gave them exactly what they wanted. They wanted religion, and they got just that, along with the consequences of weak human nature.

So, we reach the time of today’s Scripture. Nine hundred years after the ratification of the Mosaic system, and Israel (technically, the southern kingdom of Judah) is entering the fifth course of judgment. What began in the book of Judges (because of her pagan idolatry) is now in its fifth and final phase—after four previous attempts of JEHOVAH trying to reform them with chastisement, Leviticus 26:27-39 says Israel must now be removed from the Promised Land. Today’s Scripture is Jeremiah’s message from God to warn Judah that the Babylonian armies are coming: Jerusalem will be sacked, its walls burned to the ground, the Temple destroyed, and the Jews will be led away captive to present-day Iraq. The Jews are instructed not to fight but rather capitulate to their enemies’ desires. In 586 B.C., Jerusalem was decimated—the Babylonians cleansed JEHOVAH’S land of idolatry.

Jeremiah 29:11 is Israel’s hope in such a hopeless condition!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is the Holy Spirit a Person or a force?”

NOTE: All 9 messages (~12 hours) of the 2014 Slidell Grace Bible Conference are now available on YouTube! Speakers were Richard Jordan, Ed Yarber, Frank Redman, and myself (Shawn Brasseaux). You may find all those videos here.

The Three E’s of Bible Study

Sunday, November 9, 2014

“So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8 KJV).

Can you name the three “E’s” of Bible study?

In Nehemiah’s day, 150 years after God deported Judah and Jerusalem to Babylon (their chastisement for centuries of pagan idolatry), the priest-scribe Ezra led some Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem. After Jerusalem’s wall is completed under Nehemiah’s supervision, Ezra preaches to Israel from Moses’ writings (probably Leviticus and/or Deuteronomy). Men are standing with Ezra, explaining God’s Word to Israel. The people are moved, convicted, realizing their sins before God; they are instructed to do right in God’s sight; and they finally obey JEHOVAH’S words by keeping His Feast of Tabernacles (verses 9-18).

Hence, whenever God’s Word is opened and thoughtfully read, these three events should always occur:

  1. ENLIGHTENMENT—“to give spiritual light to; instruct.” Paul prayed for all believers: “[17] That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: [18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,…” (Ephesians 1:17,18).
  2. EDIFICATION—“to instruct or benefit; uplift.” “Edify” is derived from two roots, the first meaning, “to build,” and the second, “house, temple.” The idea is building a structure of sound doctrine inside a person’s soul. Paul and Timothy wrote, “…we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying” (2 Corinthians 12:19). “For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord giveth us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed” (10:8).
  3. ENCOURAGEMENT—“to put courage in; to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.” Paul wrote to downcast Timothy, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). “[S]tand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries…” (Philippians 1:27,28).

Abounding Grace

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV).

What a timeless verse; what a faithful Creator God!

The political, economic, medical, social, religious, and moral issues facing our beloved United States of America are causing Christians here to want to leave this planet. Several Bible believers have expressed this heartfelt attitude to me in the recent past: “I wish the Lord would come and take us out of here!”

Beloved, while we should be “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), we should not be so anxious for the Lord to return that we ignore why He left us in the first place. He did not save us so we could beg Him to come and get us; He left us here to be His “vessels,” His “lights in the world,” His “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20; Philippians 2:15; Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 2:21). May we not be lax in sharing with others the Gospel and God’s Word rightly divided.

Think about it. If the Lord Jesus Christ really came today to remove His Body from Earth, the most glorious dispensation ever, would end! All those who heard us preach the Gospel of Grace, and rejected it, would have no chance to be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). God would just give them over to Satan’s lie; they did not want His truth so He would give them their preference—error, the Antichrist.

Yes, with each passing day, our Dispensation of Grace is growing shorter and shorter and shorter. To have operated almost 2,000 years now is quite a miracle; that it still operates even now despite all of the wickedness, is another fact our human mind cannot grasp. Just as Jeremiah wept over the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), God’s punishment on Judah’s prolonged spiritual wickedness, he still praised JEHOVAH God for not completely wiping out His (Jewish) people. That same faithful God is the only reason any of us even remain here! “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20b).

The LORD’S Great Love for Israel

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

“Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine [grape/raisin cakes]” (Hosea 3:1 KJV).

JEHOVAH commissions the Prophet Hosea to live out his message so the children of Israel can see His great love for them!

From Hosea’s perspective, the Jews’ Assyrian and Babylonian captivities are approaching, JEHOVAH’S response to their centuries of idolatry (Leviticus 26:28-39). With a broken heart, He must now rid His Holy Land of the nation Israel, and send them away to foreign lands. His people have not honored His Word but rather have trampled it under foot. They do not believe His Word to them: they have willfully abandoned His Covenant of Law. They have defiled His land with their child sacrifices, violence, injustice, and idols of wood and stone. Like a wife cheating on her husband, the houses of Israel and Judah have been so unfaithful to the God who delivered them from Egyptian, satanic, and sin’s bondage. They have ignored Him and worshipped dead idols!

In chapter 1, God instructed Hosea to marry Gomer. It is soon apparent that she is a prostitute, for, after giving birth to Hosea’s first child, Gomer delivers two children whose paternal origin is unclear. In the context of today’s Scripture, Gomer has since left Hosea and is now prostituting on the streets. Hosea is instructed of God to purchase Gomer back, and God orders him to love Gomer in the same manner He loves adulterous Israel. The children of Israel are to see Hosea’s life and learn the doctrine being communicated.

From our perspective, JEHOVAH—some seven centuries after Hosea—shed His blood on Calvary’s cross to—beyond our day—redeem Israel, buy her back from her satanic and idolatrous captivity, forgive and cleanse her, and despite her infidelity, re-marry her and return her to her Promised Land forever (Hosea 2:14-23). The Apostle Paul affirms that Hosea’s prophecy—Israel’s restoration and redemption—will occur after our program ends (Romans 11:15-36). Saints, what a loving God we serve!

Our latest Bible Q&A’s: “Who will accompany Jesus at His Second Coming?” and “When will the Old Testament saints be resurrected?”

Unappreciative Apostates

Sunday, July 20, 2014

“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images” (Hosea 11:1,2 KJV).

Israel is not the only nation in history to abandon the one true God….

I recently read that, according to one poll, 10 percent of Americans read their Bible daily. While this is most assuredly not shocking (we know the reason for the rapid moral decay!), it is a troubling reality. The first book ever printed here in the United States was the Bay Psalm Book, the Bible’s book of Psalms in English (printed in 1640). Now, the Bible is the least of most Americans’ daily concern!

A nation once known for its Bible missionaries, Bible-teaching universities, and Bible-supporting legal system, now has “better” things to offer the world than Jesus Christ—“education” and entertainment. Just as sure as Israel rose for God’s glory, and fell when she abandoned Him, so our great American nation will surely fall in due time (yea, the current deterioration is just a precursor!). We should truly thank God that, unlike Israel of old, we live in this the Dispensation of Grace, and His grace is temporarily withholding that wrath (2 Corinthians 5:18,19)!

Today’s Scripture is JEHOVAH’S testimony through the Prophet Hosea about how much Israel’s God loved her. He had rescued her so miraculously from Egyptian bondage, that she would forever serve Him in the land that He had given her forefathers. Israel was to be God’s “son,” a nation of people who would not only know God’s will, but who would also delight in accomplishing it with Him; out of the riches of His grace, He would bless them immeasurably, spiritually and materially. Yet, Israel refused; they did not want God’s love, God’s commandments, God’s will. Instead, Israel became a spiritual prostitute, worshipping and serving pagan idols, their own will. (Sound familiar?) Not too long after Hosea preached, the Assyrians and Babylonians took Israel away!

Yea, Israel’s history confirms, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

Iniquity Not Yet Full #3

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:16 KJV).

Today’s Scripture expressly declares why the God of the Bible “takes His time” when dealing with sinful mankind.

  • Through the Prophet Jonah, JEHOVAH warned wicked Assyrian capital city Nineveh that His judgment was coming in 40 days; Nineveh quickly repented, changed their behavior, and God postponed His wrath (Jonah 3:4-10). (Historically, during the next few centuries, Nineveh returned to its wickedness. It took a long time, but God’s wrath came—the Babylonians and others invaded and overthrew it!)
  • For 200 years, JEHOVAH tolerated the sins of the kings of Israel (the northern kingdom). Jeroboam, the northern kingdom’s first king, introduced false idols (pagan religion) into Israel’s land. From 1 Kings 12:26 to 2 Kings 17:18, some 16 of the 20 kings of the northern kingdom led “God’s people” to worship heathen idols! As per the Mosaic Covenant (Leviticus 26:27-39), this progressively worse behavior of Israel caused JEHOVAH to allow the Assyrians to defeat, capture, and deport the northern kingdom to Assyria circa 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17:6-23).
  • JEHOVAH, for 300 years, tolerated the sins of the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom). Unlike the northern kingdom, Judah had JEHOVAH’S Temple (in Jerusalem), so there was less apostasy there; however, pagan idolatry gradually infiltrated the southern kingdom. God was bound by His Word to chastise them just as He had judged their northern counterpart (Leviticus 26:27-39). From 606 to 586 B.C., JEHOVAH permitted the Babylonians to defeat, capture, and deport the southern kingdom to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:5-21; Jeremiah 52:1-34).

When godly kings arose, or when wicked kings reformed, God delayed the Jews’ punishment for their sakes (1 Kings 21:25-29; 2 Kings 8:17-19; 2 Kings 22:15-20). Finally, however, there came a time when JEHOVAH instructed the Prophet Jeremiah not to pray for Israel, for He would not listen to intercessory prayer for Israel (7:16). A closing verse of 2 Chronicles summarizes, “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy” (36:16).

God had finally had enough….

A Holy Nation #6

Saturday, January 25, 2014

“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45 KJV).

Today’s Scripture summarizes a book most burdensome to many.

As per the Old Covenant, increasingly sinful Israel would endure five rounds of escalating chastisement from God, many divine attempts to reform the wayward nation (see Leviticus 26:14-39). The last course of judgment (verses 27-39) involved Gentile armies (Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Medes, Persians, and Romans) overrunning and defeating Israel, killing her people, taking off to foreign lands most of the rest of the Jews as prisoners of war. The Promised Land would be desolate of Jews. Israel would lose her Davidic kingdom, and the pagan Gentiles would rule over her instead. God was bound by His Word to weaken and curse His beloved nation!

Just before, during, and after that fifth course of judgment began, God sent His prophets to speak and write to Israel. The “Major Prophets” (Isaiah through Daniel) and the “Minor Prophets” (Hosea through Malachi) concentrate on two general themes: God’s judgment and Israel’s deliverance. These prophets clearly warned that, due to her disobedience, Israel would have many terrible days ahead (and the worst are yet to come!). Yet, these prophets surely comforted that, due to JEHOVAH’S faithfulness, Israel would have many wonderful days ahead (and the best are yet to come!).

Israel had forsaken JEHOVAH and His covenant, worshipped pagan idols, and legally, God declared her as sinful, worthy of His wrath and unworthy of His blessings—she had become Satan’s people. She was everything but the “holy nation” God wanted her to be (see today’s Scripture). The devil surely thought he had JEHOVAH defeated: “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children” (Isaiah 49:24,25).

There was hope: JEHOVAH promised that Messiah would come and deliver Israel from Satan….