Gospel of the Kingdom

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5. Share the Gospel + Life Group Discussion Questions

Week 6 • Day 5

Week 6 • Day 5

Congratulations on making it through the prophets! Next week, we will conclude the Hebrew Bible by touching on the writings section!

Share the Gospel Video:

Week 6 Life Group Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: Have you thought any more about the OT book for our project?
Question: What observations / reflections / or prayers stood out to you this week?

Solomon: Even though Solomon seems to be the closest candidate we’ve seen to the great “serpent-crusher”, he is simultaneously the closest image of the “serpent-king” we’ve seen since Pharaoh in Egypt. However, just like we received a glimpse of the gospel of the kingdom through David’s life, we now receive a fuller picture of what the kingdom of God might look like when we reflect on Israel’s golden age under the reign of king Solomon.

Question: What stands out to you the most about the kingdom during Solomon’s reign and why? What have you learned about the coming Messiah when you look at David and Solomon?

The Divided Kingdom: Who is this royal descendant of David who will take the everlasting throne over God’s people and faithfully follow God’s rule? Will Israel ever find a human king who would use his power to trust in God and lead people back into God’s kingdom space?

Question: What have you learned through this study in terms of trying to follow the history of Israel (such as the long list of kings)? If there was a book documenting the rest of human history from the end of the Bible to us today, what do you think it would look like or say?

The Prophets: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

Question: Who in your life needs to hear about the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant, the Messiah who will eventually come to make a way for us to be in relationship with God? Who in your life needs to hear that the Kingdom is a good place that God will set everything right?

Question: Out of the relatively unknown minor prophets, which book stood out to you as your favorite and why? Why do you believe the authors of the Hebrew Bible included Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi in the prophets section? What is the most challenging thing for you when it comes to approaching the minor prophets?

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4. The 12 Prophets and Kingdom Living

Week 6 • Day 4

Week 6 • Day 4

Day 2 of our journey through the prophets takes us to some of the most unread parts of the Hebrew Bible known as the minor prophets. One approach that has been taken to better grasp the message of the 12 minor prophets is by rearranging them in historical order. While we HIGHLY encourage you to do this exercise, we will contend that the order we have received these prophets was an intentional choice by those who compiled the ancient Hebrew scriptures. This intentionality revolves around...you guessed it…the story of the Kingdom of God - God’s powerful rule in God’s place over God’s kingdom people. Let’s dive in!

HOSEA (c. 760 - 722 B.C.) - GOD’S PEOPLE

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” - Hosea 1:2

Hosea (meaning “salvation” or “deliverance” in Hebrew) was penned during a time when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were outwardly prospering, but were spiritually bankrupt. Hosea is called to marry Gomer, a prostitute, in order to personify the people of God who had “whored” themselves out to other god’s. Israel had broken her covenant marriage with God and given herself to idolatry, sought the comfort of foreigners, grew distant from the Lord, and eventually became spiritually bankrupt. However, Hosea is called to counteract this unfaithfulness with hesed (meaning “steadfast covenant love” in Hebrew) toward Gomer. In the same way YHWH mercifully pursues Israel and brings them toward repentance.

Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. - Hosea 3:4–5

JOEL (c. 835 B.C. / 609-586 B.C. / 515-350 B.C.) - GOD’S PLACE

Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten…What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. - Joel 1:2, 4

Did you know that a single locust can travel up to 3,000 miles and a swarm of locusts can consume in one day what 40,000 people eat in one year?

Very little is revealed about Joel (“Yahweh is God” in Hebrew). We do know that Joel speaks following the aforementioned swarm of locusts that plagued the Israelites. Joel sees this catastrophe as a symbol of the coming Day of the Lord, a day in which judgment will fall upon the enemies of God like locusts. God’s people, however, will be delivered into the renewed kingdom place of God described below!

“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” - Joel 3:17–21

AMOS (c. 760 B.C.) - GOD’S RULE vs. OUR DELEGATED RULE

Because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. - Amos 5:11–13

Amos (meaning “burden-bearer” in Hebrew) speaks specifically to the northern kingdom of Israel after they had expanded their borders through succesful conquests. However, Amos accuses Israel and her neighbors of departing from God’s law and attaching themselves to idols. He foreshadows the coming destruction at the hands of the Assyrian army and compares God’s judgment to locusts, a plumb line, fire, and over-ripened fruit. In the end, Amos still offers a vision of hope through the coming ruler of the Davidic line.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. - Amos 9:13–15

OBADIAH (c. 845 B.C. / 586 B.C) - GOD’S NATIONAL JUSTICE

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. - Obadiah 12–16

The relatively unknown prophet Obadiah (meaning “servant of God” in Hebrew) offers the shortest prophecy regarding the relationship between Israel and her south-eastern mountain dwelling neighbors - the Edomites. Scriptures inform us that Edom is the name given to the descendants of Esau, sparking our memories of the age-old feud between Jacob (Israel - Gen, 32:22-32) and Esau (Edom - Gen. 36:1,9). Whether it was refusing to let the Israelites pass through their land during the Exodus (Num. 20:14-21, Jdg. 11:17-18), their fighting against king Saul (1 Sam. 14:47), King David (2 Sam. 8:13-14), and the rest of the kings (2 Kgs. 8:20-22; 2 Chr. 20:1-2), the Edomites shared a long rivalry with Israel. One source outside the Bible even suggests that during the Babylonian destruction, the Edomites were responsible for burning down the temple in Jerusalem (1 Esdras 4:45). This detail is not confirmed within the Hebrew cannon, but is another piece of the puzzle that confirms the long-lasting hostility between Edom and Israel. This leads Obadiah to prophesy words of impending judgment on Edom, fulfilling the oracle of Balaam against Edom way back when they refused passage to Israel (Nu. 24:18).

Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. - Obadiah 21

JONAH (c. 760 B.C.) - GOD’S NATIONAL BLESSING

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. - Jonah 1:1-3, 17

A contemporary of the prophet Amos, the prophet Jonah (meaning “dove” in Hebrew) would be commissioned to go to Nineveh, which according to ancient mythology, was the “fish town”. Even though God’s people had rebellious hearts, God continued to break through with the gospel of the kingdom. God’s people were always intended to be a blessing to the nations so that even the wicked nations could experience God’s grace. After Jonah offers a nonchalant 5-word message regarding the destruction of Nineveh, the entire city repents! Yet Jonah continues to struggle with God’s grace for the nations.

And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” - Jonah 4:10–11

MICAH (c. 743 - 687 B.C.) - TOTAL KINGDOM REPENTANCE

For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem. - Micah 1:8–9

The prophet Micah (abbreviated version of Mika-YHWH or “Who is like Yahweh?” in Hebrew) is known as the naked prophet whose message is the only prophecy geared toward both the northern and southern kingdoms. In 3 prophetic sermons, Micah predicts judgment on the nations (God’s Powerful Rule), destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (God’s Place), and denounces the greed and theft of the religious leaders, priests, and prophets (God’s People). Eventually, Micah provides a silver lining of hope for the surviving “remnant”, including a vision of a new kingdom led by a shepherd king from Bethlehem…if they repent!

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together, like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men…Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head. - Micah 2:12–13

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. - Micah 5:2

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice [follow God’s Rule], and to love kindness [care for God’s People], and to walk humbly with your God [enter God’s place]? - Micah 6:8

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love [hesed] to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. - Micah 7:18–20

NAHUM (c. 663 - 612 B.C.) GOD’S NATIONAL JUSTICE

Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!

The prophet Nahum (meaning “comfort” or “consolation" in Hebrew) writes to the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh about one century after Jonah goes to the Ninevites and leads them to a mass revival. The message of Nahum - a message that probably would’ve made Jonah very happy - details the inevitable destruction of Nineveh who had presumably turned back to their wicked ways and grown dependent on their own strength. Nahum applies this imagery to the nation of Babylon, a nation that God will use to purify the faithful remnant of Israel but also one that would be brought to its knees on behalf of their wicked behavior.

Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. - Nahum 1:15

HABAKKUK (c. 609 - 587 B.C) - GOD’S JUDGMENT OF EVIL

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. - Habakkuk 1:2–4

I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. - Habakkuk 2:1

The prophecy of Habakkuk (“embrace” or “embracer” in Hebrew) coincides with the growing threat of the Babylonians. At this time, king Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon was growing in power and would soon make his march toward Jerusalem around 586 B.C.. Habakkuk expresses his doubts and frustrations to the Lord about why evil was prevailing in Israel and why God would ever allow a wicked nation to destroy God’s chosen people. God responds with 5 different woes upon Babylon for their violence, injustice, dishonest gain, and other wicked acts showing that regardless of the events that were about to take place, God is still the one ruling over all!

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. - Habakkuk 3:17–19

ZEPHANIAH (c. 640 - 621 B.C.) - GOD’S JUDGMENT IN ISRAEL

I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.” - Zephaniah 1:4–6

The prophet Zephaniah (meaning “Yahweh hides” in Hebrew) highlights the destruction of the wicked within the walls of Jerusalem. Zephaniah compares the destruction of unfaithful Israelites in the kingdom of Judah to the demise of the surrounding nations who do not honor the Lord. Zephaniah denounces the misguidance of Judah’s arrogant leaders and predicts that the Lord will in fact “hide” a humble remnant of faithful kingdom people.

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. - Zephaniah 3:15–19

Almost there! We have made it through 9 of the 12 prophets. The final 3 prophets speak into a situation that we have yet to read about!

Recall that in the Hebrew Bible order, we have only read about Israel’s Babylonian and Assyrian captivity. In order to cement the idea that God has kingdom restoration plans in mind, the Hebrew Bible offers us one final window into a time in which God’s people would return to the promised place and establish God’s rule once more!

HAGGAI (*Post-Exile* - c. 520 B.C.) - GOD’S PLACE

Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” - Haggai 1:9–11

The prophet Haggai (meaning “festival” in Hebrew) is the first of the post-exilic prophets who returns with the first wave of refugees from Babylon. Haggai’s main message points out that “now” is the time for Israel to restore and rebuild the temple place which lies in ruins. Haggai also encourages Zerubbabel (the governor), Joshua (the priest), and the remnant of refugees (the people) that if they obey the rule of God, the Lord would once again bring His glory to the slowly-progressing temple and restore the kingdom through Zerubbabel (from the line of David) who would rise to become the long awaited kingdom ruler!

“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders…On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you” - Haggai 2:21–23

ZECHARIAH (*Post-Exile* - c. 520 B.C.) - GOD’S RULE

Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. - Zechariah 1:3–4

The prophet Zechariah (meaning “Yahweh Remembers” in Hebrew) urges the post-exilic Israelites to not be like their forefathers and return to God’s rule in this new iteration of Israel. God gives Zechariah a series of 8 different visions which all detail God’s future kingdom rule. Specifically, Zechariah predicts the coming of a priest-king who would remove the iniquities of God’s people and rule as a humble king. This king would ride to his new kingdom throne on a colt, be rejected as a shepherd, pierced in the side, and sold out for 30 pieces of silver.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. - Zechariah 12:10

There shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. - Zechariah 13:1

Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle….And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.…Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts - Zechariah 14:3, 9, 16

MALACHI (*Post-Exile* - c. 450 B.C.) - GOD’S PEOPLE

I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” Malachi 1:2–3

The prophet Malachi (meaning “my messenger” in Hebrew) begins his ministry nearly 100 years after the Israelites return to the promised land. Malachi, who remains anonymous, offers 6 different arguments that expose how this new generation of God’s people had succumbed to the serpent and neglected the Lord. God’s people were (1) doubting God’s hesed, (2) offering unacceptable sacrifices, (3) divorcing their wives in the name of foreign marriage and idolatry, (4) doubting God's distribution of justice, (5) abusing their power by withholding temple provisions, and (6) lacking faith by rendering God’s commands fruitless. After God exposes these issues, Malachi ends with a picture of hope for the faithful remnant.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. - Malachi 4:1–3

Congratulations on making it to the end of ALL the prophets!

Before you celebrate, pay careful attention to how the prophets section concludes.

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” - Malachi 4:4–6

God’s people are encouraged to remember the law of Moses as they look out for the prophet Elijah, harkening back to two of the most important figures in the Law and the Prophets section of the Bible. Deuteronomy laments the fact that we have never seen anyone like Moses. The book of Kings also tells us that Elijah had been taken into heaven before he died. Perhaps, in this time of desperation in the Kingdom story of God, we will soon see the prophet like Moses who would shepherd God’s people back to the promised place under the rule of God’s law!

Perhaps we will soon find the prophet of God like Elijah who would crush the enemies of God and secure God’s faithful remnant in the Kingdom of God!

Share the Gospel: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

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3. The Major Prophets and Kingdom Living

Week 6 • Day 3

Week 6 • Day 3

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him… - 1 Kings 19:11–13

As a new parent, I remember hearing from those more experienced that I should “enjoy it; they grow up so fast!” Initially, I highly valued this wise advice. But a funny thing happened--after two weeks, it was like our newborn was a totally different person. After six weeks, he had grown into yet another stage, and at six months old, he was new again! Six more months went by, and we had a walking, talking human, completely different to my newborn. Everything had gone by SO FAST and in our opinion, we hadn’t been able to catch up enough to “enjoy it” well.

When life happens so fast, it can become difficult for us to hear wise counsel. If only we could have stopped to remember the “low whispers” given by those who had gone before us, who had truth to tell us from their experience, and submitted ourselves to do what we KNEW was right!

This is what I imagine the prophets felt like in their ministry during the complete downfall of Israel. The role of the prophet was sort of like that of the experienced parent – they had an intuitive understanding of the heart of God through special revelation and a lifetime of ministry. They tried to speak the wise counsel of God’s truth to the kings, priests, and people of Israel; truths that they should have already known – that they DID already know! They tried to remind them of what it looked like for God’s people to live under God’s rule in God’s kingdom place. They tried to share how they needed to change their serpent-like ways in every way possible. They tried to share how God would inevitably build His Kingdom anyway.

However, the majority of Israel - during the tumultuous era of the Kings - did not have the ears to hear nor the heart to seek the whispers of the Lord from the mouths of His prophets. Are you and I the same today? Are we living such fast-paced lives that we completely miss the quiet whispers from the Lord?

Fortunately for us, these whispers have been collected for us! The prophets reveal that God was trying to speak to His people in the midst of their steady decline. Over the next two days, we invite you to lean in and listen carefully to the whispers of God through the prophets who spoke God’s truth to anyone who would listen during the era of Kings! So if you have ears to hear, let’s start our 2-day journey looking at the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel!

ISAIAH (c. 740-700 B.C.) - GOD’S KINGDOM RULE

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” - Isaiah 1:16–20

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah were written before the Assyrian empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.. Isaiah (meaning “Yahweh is salvation” in Hebrew”) opens his prophetic word by calling out the sins of the northern kingdom whose delegated rule would be purified by the fire of the Assyrian army in order to make way for a new Israel. Underneath this rather bleak vision, Isaiah receives the Lord’s purity by being touched by a “holy coal” so that he could articulate a vision of hope for the long-awaited Messianic “serpent crusher” who would be named Immanuel, born of a virgin, and rule with justice, righteousness, and faithfulness.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. - Isaiah 9:6–7

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. - Isaiah 11:1-5

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. - Isaiah 11:10

What is fascinating about the book of Isaiah is that while the book is written in the 700’s B.C., chapters 40-66 are written from the perspective of someone living after the Babylonian exile of Judah in 586 B.C.! Regardless of whether Isaiah experienced a futuristic revelation in this moment or Isaiah’s followers carried on his message for the southern kingdom, this particular section of scripture infamously describes the remnant of faithful Israelites led by someone known as God’s servant, a shepherd who would rule the nations with justice, return God’s family to their place, suffer to bear the sins of God’s people, and rescue them from the kingdom of the serpent.

1. GOD’S SERVANT RULES BY BRINGING JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. - Isaiah 42:1–4

2. GOD’S SERVANT RULES BY SHEPHERDING HIS PEOPLE TO HIS KINGDOM

Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” … And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength. - Isaiah 49:1–3, 5

3. GOD’S SERVANT RULES BY SUFFERING FOR THE SINS OF HIS PEOPLE

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:4-6

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. - Isaiah 53:10-11

In light of the rule of God reestablished through this “suffering servant”, the quiet whisper of the Lord reminds us to humbly repent and seek God’s kingdom rule!

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:6–9

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. - Isaiah 66:1–2

JEREMIAH (c. 628 - 587 B.C.) - GOD’S KINGDOM PEOPLE

Jeremiah 1:14–16. “For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.”

If you have ever wondered, “what was so bad that God led His people into exile,” Jeremiah (meaning “Yahweh will exalt” in Hebrew) offers realistic insight into the life of God’s kingdom people leading up to the Babylonian siege.

This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. - Jeremiah 32:30–35

Jeremiah lays out the choice that Judah faced. Would they choose to continue to walk in their wicked ways? Or would they choose repentance?

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. - Jeremiah 7:5–7

Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel…Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’ - Jeremiah 18:6–11

Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. - Jeremiah 22:3–5

Unfortunately, the people of Judah chose not to listen to the whispers of God spoken by Jeremiah, resulting in God not listening to the cries of His people

As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? - Jeremiah 7:16–17

“Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. - Jeremiah 11:14

One reason God’s people had drifted so far was the corruption of the prophets, priests, and kings who were responsible for shepherding God’s people.

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord…Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord…But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” - Jeremiah 23:1, 11-14

This is the total rebellion of God’s people for which God brought judgment through Babylon. Yet, God’s rule dictated that this period of exile would only last 70 years.

This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. - Jeremiah 25:11–12

In the midst of Israel’s complete rebellion, YHWH whispers that He would ultimately restore His kingdom people through a new covenant and a new heart!

1. GOD RESTORES HIS KINGDOM PEOPLE TO HIS KINGDOM LAND

Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” - Jeremiah 11:3–5

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. - Jeremiah 16:14–15

2. GOD RESTORES HIS KINGDOM PEOPLE UNDER THE RULE OF A GOOD KING

“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. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ - Jeremiah 23:5–6, 33:14-18

3. GOD RESTORES HIS KINGDOM PEOPLE WITH A NEW COVENANT / HEART

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” - Jeremiah 31:31–34

“Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. - Jeremiah 32:36–41

Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding the Babylonian exile as well as his words refuting many other false prophets did not please Israel’s elite class. While Jeremiah is routinely persecuted, he is able to escape the threats under God’s protection.

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! - Jeremiah 26:7–8

And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. - Jeremiah 37:15

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. - Jeremiah 38:6

Jeremiah’s personal ministry encouraged God’s people to remain faithful no matter how deeply entrenched they were in their troubles. In the foreign kingdom of Babylon, Jeremiah calls the faithful remnant to seek the welfare of the city because God’s people will always be under God’s rule and will always make up God’s place!

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. - Jeremiah 29:4–7, 10-14

The book of Jeremiah closes by documenting the situation leading up to the Babylonian exile (see 2 Kgs. 24-25). However, the faithfulness of God is remembered as we remember how King Jehoiachin (from the line of David) is freed and treated with dignity in Babylon. The hope for the Davidic messiah who would crush the serpent still remains alive in Jeremiah’s mind so long as God’s people would remain faithful, like a tree planted by streams of living water!

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” - Jeremiah 17:7–10

EZEKIEL (c. 582-570 B.C.) - GOD’S KINGDOM PLACE

The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. - Ezekiel 11:22–24

The eccentric prophet named Ezekiel (meaning “God strengthens” in Hebrew) finds himself amongst the Israelites who had been “plucked” from the land and “scattered” across the Babylonian empire. Ezekiel receives his first set of visions at a place called the Kebar canal - a place in the kingdom of Babylon - five years after the first group of exiles were deported out of Jerusalem. In this particular vision, Ezekiel sees God’s “mobile throne” of glory moving up out of His “permanent” space in Jerusalem and toward the “east” where the exiles are currently scattered.

And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. - Ezekiel 2:3-7

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you… Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. - Ezekiel 5:5-11

After receiving the bizarre command to remain mute, Ezekiel constructs several elaborate prophetic action sequences to act out God’s message to His people. This included miming the siege of Jerusalem, cutting his hair to symbolize the coming judgment on Jerusalem, and cooking meals over cow dung to symbolize the unclean food they will eat as exiles! Then, Ezekiel sees a vision in which he witnesses idolatry in the courtyard of the temple, seventy elders burning incense to more carvings of creatures and idols, women wailing to the Babylonian god of fertility at the entrance of the Lord’s house, and twenty-five men with their backs to the altar of the Lord worshiping the sun toward the east. The vision affirms a major Ezekiel’s concern with the corruption that took place in God’s designated place.

“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see. - Ezekiel 9:3-9

I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God…Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. - Ezekiel 24:14, 21-23

When you read through Ezekiel, you will be confronted with the atrocious sins in the land. Innocent blood has been shed, idolatry runs rampant, parents are disrespected, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow are neglected, the Sabbath is profaned, the holy instruments of the temple are defiled, lewdness prevails, sons uncover their father’s nakedness, men violate women, incestuous sex is practiced, bribes are accepted, and extortion runs rampant. The rule of YHWH is utterly forgotten and the stench of death pollutes the kingdom place. Ezekiel places a large burden of blame at the hands of Israel’s leaders.

The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. - Ezekiel 22:25-29

However, even in her harlotry (Ezk. 16), God remains true to His covenant people.

“For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth… I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 16:60-63

Internally, God is determined to handle Israel’s sin. Yet atop the mountains of a national perspective, YHWH continues to show His steadfast love toward Israel.

Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession… - Ezekiel 25:3-4

Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab… - Ezekiel 25:8-9

Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate…- Ezekiel 25:12-13

Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines…- Ezekiel 25:15-16

Because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. - Ezekiel 26:2-4

Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’… “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation…” - Ezekiel 29:3c, 9-10

At the point of Jerusalem’s last stand (Ezk. 33:21) Ezekiel is finally able to open his mouth and communicate a message of hope. As opposed to the shepherds who neglected to care and feed the sheep, God promises to take the initiative and become the Good Shepherd Himself. This Good Shepherd would gather the scattered Israelites, judge the goats, and care for the injured sheep. He would be installed as the promised Davidic Messiah on the throne to bring a new covenant of peace in which God’s place would experience no more hostility.

1. RETURNING GOD’S PEOPLE WITH RENEWED HEARTS

I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 11:17-21, (see 36:22-27)

2. RETURNING GOD’S RULE THROUGH THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. - Ezekiel 34:11-16

I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. - Ezekiel 34:23-26

3. RETURNING TO GOD’S PLACE

You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God….And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. - Ezekiel 36:28-30

And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ - Ezekiel 36:35

“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel - Ezekiel 37:11–12

Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand….Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. - Ezekiel 37:15–22

Finally, Ezekiel is transported to a vision that reveals a new Jerusalem and a restored temple place. This go around, Ezekiel sees the Lord’s “mobile throne” returning to its rightful place in Jerusalem. The priesthood has been reformed, acceptable offerings are being performed, and distinctions are made between the holy and the unclean. For the prophet Ezekiel - who began his ministry as a priest-in-training - the temple place being restored would have been one of the most critical pieces of society for God’s people and their success in the land.

In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. - Ezekiel 40:2

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever… - Ezekiel 43:1-7a

The heart of worship is revived in the temple and Israel becomes the place of God where all other nations are blessed by the rivers flowing out of this new Eden!

And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 43:27

They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. - Ezekiel 44:23

Thus says the Lord God: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God. - Ezekiel 45:9

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar… And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. - Ezekiel 47:1, 8-9a

And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” - Ezekiel 47:12

This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. - Ezekiel 48:11

Ezekiel is finally able to point the exiles in the direction of this newly restored kingdom place! Ezekiel is able to say that “the Lord is over there” in this new Israel!

Ezekiel 48:35b “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

Share the Gospel: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

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2. King after King after King

Week 6 • Day 2

Week 6 • Day 2

“The Greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” - The Usual Suspects

“What are your thoughts about Christianity?” This question was posed to me and my work buddies during a casual conversation. As the only Christian in the room, I remember being excited to respond, but also feeling a tinge of fear. “Lord, help me say the right things and not misrepresent the message of the gospel,” I prayed.

Over the course of the conversation, I realized that most of my non-believing friends struggled with Christianity because they had a hard time recognizing any “sin” in their life. Why would they need a “savior” in their lives if there was nothing to save them from? Why even bother with a God who might change everything about your life if you feel like your life is already relatively good and enjoyable?

Recognizing our own sin continues to be a huge leap for humanity. God’s word, however, relentlessly points to our sinful nature.

We have just witnessed Solomon, the son of David, fall prey to a very similar pattern of sins as his father. Have we seen something like this before? Here we go again!

 

Just as Isaac follows in Abraham’s sinful footsteps and launches an ugly cycle of sin, we are now left to wonder whether Solomon’s actions would lead to a similar demise. Lo and behold, God decides to tear the kingdom away from the hands of Solomon and splits the kingdom territory between Jeroboam (a servant of Solomon and King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel) and Rehoboam (a son of Solomon and King of the Southern Kingdom of Judah).

And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” - 1 Kings 12:26–28

 

Throughout the book of Kings, God’s kingdom people are divided and are ruled by countless monarchs who would drag the nation further away from YHWH’s powerful rule. In the northern kingdom of Israel , all 20 of their kings stray away from the good rule of God. As a result, God hands over the northern territory of Israel to exile from the kingdom place via the Assyrians in 722 B.C..

And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced… - 2 Kings 17:7-8

Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God - 2 Kings 17:13-14

They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. - 2 Kings 17:17-18

The Assyrians would use this newly conquered territory to house their many dispossessed captives creating a “melting-pot” of people and religious traditions. Thus, the descendants of the north would become known as the “Samaritans” with the reputation of impurity and corruption in the northern capital of Samaria.

THE SEARCH FOR THE SERPENT CRUSHER

The search for the promised Messiah, however, continues through the southern Kingdom of Judah ruled by the biological descendants of David and Solomon. In the Southern kingdom, only 8 out of their 20 kings were considered to be “good” in the eyes of YHWH. Would any of these 8 kings be the Messiah we are longing for?

 

In short, the answer is a resounding NO! Like Solomon, these sons would follow the lord in some things and compromise in others. The book of Kings ends by highlighting the last 2 “good” Davidic kings of Judah whose stories summarize the pattern of the previous 20 generations of rulers. First, Hezekiah shows promise by remaining faithful to God under siege and praying for healing. However, he eventually falters and leads a convoy of Babylonians to the wealth of resources stored inside the God’s temple place foreshadowing the conquest that is to come.

“Hear the word of the Lord: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. - 2 Kings 20:16–17

After Hezekiah, Manasseh brings the kingdom to the pinnacle of rebellion against God’s rule with his idol-worship, child sacrifice, sorcery, and murder.

Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle….Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. - 1 Kings 21:11-12, 16

It is at this point that God finally decides He is going to bring the same fate to the people of Judah as he did to Israel: exile out of the land by the hands of the Babylonian empire. Before He does that, the author highlights king Josiah. As Josiah’s priest Hilkiah cleans out God’s temple from a long history of abuse and neglect, he comes across the buried book of the laws of Moses. Josiah’s reaction…

Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us. - 2 Kings 22:13

The tragedy is that none of these kings were the royal seed of David we had hoped for. If you have ever read 1st and 2nd Kings all the way through, you know the difficulty of reading about king after king after king and never finding one who could escape from the kingdom of the serpent. Instead, the kings used their delegated rule to mislead God’s people and to literally bury the ruling commandments of God in God’s temple place after neglecting it for years. The result would be the loss of the kingdom.

GOD’S MERCY THROUGH THE PROPHETS

In the midst of the endless cycle of rebellion, God never fails to reveal His mercy! In fact, it’s as if God’s voice grew louder and louder through the prophets as His people drifted further and further away from Him. The most famous prophets in the book of kings - Elijah and Elisha - stood face to face with wickedness and will forever be remembered for bringing about some of the most memorable acts of God including (but not limited to) raising people from the dead!

(Elijah) “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” - 1 Kings 17:21–24.

(Elijah) Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” - 1 Kings 18:38-39

(Elisha) When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” - 2 Kings 2:9

(Elisha) When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. - 2 Kings 4:32–37

Like a Father pursuing His lost family of people, the God of Israel uses His voice of truth and His incomparable rule to confront wickedness. When this does not work, He uses the discipline of exile from the promised place as a punishment meant to correct the ways of His beloved people. Sure enough, the Babylonian empire would carry the southern kingdom of Judah to exile in 586 B.C..

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, carried into exile. - 2 Kings 25:8–11

 

Do you see sin as a big issue in your life? God has given us these Old Testament stories to come face to face with humanity’s LONG history of rebellion! Ironically, this is a great starting point for the gospel message because we as Christians have hope in God’s mercy! There is hope that no matter how bad it gets, God still rules and will continue to pursue His people and will return them to the promised place!

Believe it or not, there is still hope in the gospel of the kingdom! Need proof?

While Israel was completely down-and-out and all hope seemed to be lost, the last passage in the book of Kings shares how God continues to work to preserve the lineage of David through king Jehoiachin right under the nose of the Babylonians.

And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. - 2 Kings 25:27-30

Even in exile, the search continues and there is still hope that a Messiah from the line of David would rise from the pit of exile to take the scepter and crush the serpent once and for all! From the book of Kings, we are left to wonder who would God choose as the next deliverer and representative of the gospel of the kingdom?

 

Share the Gospel: Who is this royal descendant of David who will take the everlasting throne over God’s people and faithfully follow God’s rule? Will Israel ever have a human king who would use his delegated rule to trust in God and lead God’s people back into God’s kingdom place?

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Week 6 3Crosses Church Week 6 3Crosses Church

1. The Golden Age of Israel

Week 6 • Day 1

Week 6 • Day 1

Last week, we met Israel in their “honeymoon” phase! They were excited to renew their devotion to God’s powerful rule as the new generation of God’s people entering God’s promised place. Yet as they settled into this promised place, the chosen people of Israel began to drift away from the rule of God as they used their own delegated rule to bow their knee to the serpent kingdom by adopting the customs of the neighboring Canaanites. As a result of the ensuing chaos caused by this progressive drift, Israel grew a desire to become like their neighbors and inaugurate a king to unify their nation to bring law and order to their society.

We then walked alongside Israel as they rebelled against the rule of God in favor of anointing their very own king. Saul, the first anointed king of Israel, would eventually succumb to his own pride. In response, God would eventually choose a humble ruddy shepherd boy named David. YHWH worked through David in mighty ways and elevated him from a position of humility to become one of the most prominent figures in Israel’s history. At the height of his reign, God promised David that one of his offspring would rule forever as king over God’s people who would be planted securely in the promised place!

Yet even David was a willing participant of the serpent kingdom. The opening scene of the book of Kings reminds us of David’s “good” desire to follow God’s rule as well as David’s “evil” desire to use his own delegated rule to secure his throne by sending his successor to murder his opponents.

“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies

Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace…Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.” - 1 Kings 2:1-3, 6, 9

If not David, then who would be able to use their delegated rule to follow God’s rule 100% faithfully? If not David, then who would be the seed of the woman, the king of Israel from the tribe of Judah, and the descendant of David who would FINALLY crush the serpent and his kingdom?!?

The search for this messiah (“anointed one”) begins with David’s immediate offspring!

SOLOMON: THE SERPENT CRUSHER?

When Solomon (son of Bathsheba) was inaugurated as king, one of his first moves was to humbly ask God for His wisdom and discernment to rule the people of Israel based on YHWH’s understanding of good and evil!

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” - 1 Kings 3:9-14

King Solomon’s wisdom would become legendary around the world. Under Solomon’s reign, Israel grew a powerful army, increased their wealth, and created alliances with other kingdoms to ensure the shalom of the God’s kingdom people.

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. - 1 Kings 4:29-30, 34

Solomon’s greatest achievement, however, was the construction of the temple. No longer would God’s presence need to be transported in a portable tabernacle. Instead, The city of David would become God’s kingdom place forever!

The Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.” - 1 Kings 8:15-21

Israel has a permanent place to host God’s presence in the promised land, God is granting wisdom to Solomon to rule over His people, and God is immeasurably blessing His people with wealth so the whole earth would be blessed!

Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. - 1 Kings 10:23-25

God’s powerful rule, over God’s family of people, in God’s kingdom place!

Could Solomon – an offspring of Eve, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah and from the royal line of David – be the Messiah (“anointed one”) that Israel and all of humanity was looking for to take the scepter and crush the serpent?

SOLOMON: THE SERPENT KING?

Even though the book of Kings highlights the gospel of the kingdom breaking through in tremendous ways under Solomon, it also highlights Solomon’s serpent-like actions. Watch how Nathan and Bathsheba scheme to make Solomon king over Adonijah and how Solomon actually follows through with David’s “hit list”.

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’ Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.” - 1 Kings 1:11–14

The king [Solomon] replied to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause….Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. - 1 Kings 2:31, 34–35.

The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head. But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. - 1 Kings 2:44–46.

Unfortunately, even King Solomon’s success and wisdom would not be enough to defeat the serpent and his kingdom of sin. The book of Kings showcases that Solomon completely failed to live up to Moses’ standards for Israel’s king.

(Law in Question) Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.” - Deuteronomy 17:14-20

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. - 1 Kings 3:1

King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. - 1 Kings 5:13

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. - 1 Kings 10:14-15

And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price. A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. - 1 Kings 10:28-29

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. - 1 Kings 11:1-8

Even though Solomon seems to be the closest candidate we’ve seen to the great “serpent-crusher”, he is simultaneously the closest image of the “serpent-king” we’ve seen since Pharaoh in Egypt.

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. - 1 Kings 11:1-8

However, just like we received a glimpse of the gospel of the kingdom through David’s life, we now receive a fuller picture of what the kingdom of God might look like when we reflect on Israel’s golden age under the reign of king Solomon. Notice how God’s rule was firmly established when king Solomon surrendered his own delegated rule in favor of trusting God’s definition of “good” and “evil”. This led to tremendous blessings. Notice how God’s people had been rescued as they experienced these blessings of peace and fortune which spread the glory of YHWH to the surrounding nations. Finally, notice how God made the temple of Jerusalem and the promised land of Canaan into His unique kingdom place on earth!

All the pieces are right there! Yet all of humanity up to this point have used their delegated rule to bend the knee to the serpent and His kingdom of sin. Thus, God tears the kingdom away from Solomon and foreshadows what is to come.

If you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever…But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the

land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. - 1 Kings 11:1-8

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”- 1 Kings 11:11-13

If not David or Solomon, then who? Who would be the descendant whose heart is perfectly aligned with the rule of God? Who would be the successor who would usher forth a reign of God’s prosperity, wisdom, and blessing amongst His people in the promised place? Would this messiah come soon to crush the kingdom of the serpent before God’s people would be divided and vulnerable? Or will we see yet another free-falling spiral deeper and deeper into the kingdom of sin?

Share the Gospel: Even though Solomon seems to be the closest candidate we’ve seen to the great “serpent-crusher”, he is simultaneously the closest image of the “serpent-king” we’ve seen since Pharaoh in Egypt. However, just like we received a glimpse of the gospel of the kingdom through David’s life, we now receive a fuller picture of what the kingdom of God might look like when we reflect on Israel’s golden age under the reign of king Solomon.

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