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Israel and Judah have incited the Lord’s wrath by their wanton disregard for His statutes, and the Lord intends to pour His wrath out on His people. Even so, He will continue to stand by His promise to save a remnant and bring them back into the land. This is not the case for the surrounding nations, who have shown contempt for Jerusalem and disregard for the Holy One of Israel. With today’s episode, we begin a new section in Ezekiel which focuses on prophecies against other nations.  A majority of today’s passage focuses on the esteemed port city of Tyre, located on an island just off the coast. Though Nebuchadnezzar was unsuccessful in his siege, Alexander the Great was eventually successful after creating a causeway of timber and stone, wiping them out, never to exist again. Ezekiel 25 - 1:06 .  Ezekiel 26 - 4:48 .  Ezekiel 27 - 11:03 .  Proverbs 22:17 - 17:53 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

The Word of God sometimes shocks us with the imagery it gives to describe the sins of mankind, and today’s passage is no exception. As you might imagine, today’s podcast includes sexually explicit content, so parents, use discretion as you see fit. The Lord tells a parable of sorts, describing Samaria (aka Israel) and Jerusalem as two sisters named Oholah and Oholibah. With scandalous and sordid depictions of their rebellion against God, they stand condemned before the one who called them to faithfulness and purity. A second parable describes a boiling pot where meat is cooked. Though choice meat has gone into the pot, the pot itself is corroded, which means the food is not edible. It must be emptied and set on the coals until it is purified. Ezekiel 23 - 1:06 .  Ezekiel 24 - 12:27 .  Proverbs 22:1-16 - 18:17 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

In our last reading, some of the elders of Israel had gathered around Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord, but God denied them counsel and began to recount the history of Israel’s rebellion and idolatry. Time and again, the Lord would have been justified in exhausting His wrath against Israel, but over and over He relented from disaster so that His name wouldn’t be profaned among the nations. The Lord will not answer them, but one day, God’s people will humble themselves and return to him. Later, Ezekiel prophesies of the impending judgment that is coming against Jerusalem. The sword of Babylon will come, bringing devastation and destruction. All of this will serve as righteous judgment against God’s people for their rampant sinfulness. Ezekiel 20:32-49 - 1:10 .  Ezekiel 21 - 4:54 .  Ezekiel 22 - 13:28 .  Proverbs 21:17-31 - 20:18 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

Our reading opens with a consideration of personal responsibility for sin. The Lord says that each man is responsible for his own sins; no man will be charged as guilty for the sins of his father, but will certainly be judged for his own actions. Moreover, a sinful man can be restored when he turns in repentance toward God, but the one who turns away from righteousness to live in unrighteousness will be condemned. Later we’ll read a lament for the princes of Israel, who are compared to lions that grow up to devour people, and are therefore captured and taken away. Finally, some of the elders of Israel gather around Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord, but God denies them and recounts the history of Israel’s rebellion and idolatry.   ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

Today’s episode contains sexual themes, so parental discretion is advised. Today we get a glimpse of God’s lovingkindness toward Israel as God describes Himself as a Father who adopts an unwanted baby, then as a man who redeems the life of a woman by claiming her as His bride. This woman becomes beautiful through the nurturing love of God, and as she grows in beauty, she begins to trust her beauty more than her husband. This bride is more anxious to please other men than to please her own husband, and therefore His anger is kindled against her. Later, the Lord gives Ezekiel a riddle that finds its answer in future fulfillment, making it more like a parable for us today, wherein Nebuchadnezzar is represented by the first eagle, Jehoiachin is the top of the cedar, the king of Egypt is the second eagle, and King Zedekiah is the vine. Ezekiel 16 - 1:02 .  Ezekiel 17 - 15:41 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

We begin today’s passage with prophecies against false teachers who make up things to say from the Lord even though he didn’t actually say them. These prophets are figuratively like those who don’t repair the structure of a weakened wall so that it is strong once again, but who simply whitewash over it to make it look nice. Women who practice sorcery and sell bracelets as magic charms are condemned here as well. Later, the Lord God says that no one from Israel will be saved simply because there are some who live it in who are holy; in fact, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were residents, not even their family would be saved by their association with the righteous. Ezekiel 13 - 1:03 .  Ezekiel 14 - 7:36 .  Ezekiel 15 - 13:11 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

In our last episode, while meeting with Judah’s elders, Ezekiel was carried off in a vision by the Lord. In one scene after another, the Lord showed Ezekiel the abhorrent practices of idolatry that the people were committing, especially those in the Lord’s temple. Today, the prophet sees an otherworldly visual representation of the Lord’s sovereign decrees as judgment is declared upon Jerusalem and upon the temple where God once lived among His people. He is then carried off to see a conversation between the elders of Jerusalem who boast in their self-worth and who plot to take Israel’s land soon after they have been exiled. Ezekiel 9 - 1:06 .  Ezekiel 10 - 3:55 .  Ezekiel 11 - 8:55 .  Ezekiel 12 - 13:59 .  Proverbs 20:16 - 19:57 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

When we last left Ezekiel, the Lord had given him prophetic acts to perform before the people of Jerusalem. In one he drew the city of Jerusalem on a brick and then laid siege to it. In another, he was commanded to lay on his left side for 390 days, and then 40 days on his right, all while eating bread baked over cow dung. Today, at the Lord’s direction, Ezekiel shaves his head and beard, a look that was considered shameful, and then proceeds to destroy most of the hair that had been removed. Later, Ezekiel is carried away in a vision and given a tour of Jerusalem’s detestable acts of idolatry. Ezekiel 5 - 1:02 .  Ezekiel 6 - 5:40 .  Ezekiel 7 - 9:55 .  Ezekiel 8 - 16:47 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

Ezekiel is on his way to Babylon with a group of exiles when suddenly, the heavens are opened and he sees a vision from God. The symbolism here is pretty deep. Coming from the north, like the Chaldean armies, the Lord’s angels are fourfold with four faces and four wings, communicating the Lord’s sovereignty over the fourfold directions of the earth (north, south, east, and west) over every mighty creature, and over every man. The cherubim were the enforcers of divine judgment and were accompanied by wheels full of eyes communicating that God is omniscient and omnipresent seeing and knowing all things. Ezekiel 1 - 1:05 .  Ezekiel 2 - 6:42 .  Ezekiel 3 - 8:47 .  Ezekiel 4 - 15:23 .  Proverbs 20 - 19:13 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

Today, we complete the book of Lamentations, a work of suffering, shame, horror, and defeat, but centered in the middle of the work, we read of Jeremiah’s confident hope in the Lord (that section occurs in today’s reading near the end of chapter 3). As a whole, Lamentations is presented in a series of five poems, of which the first four are acrostics of the Hebrew alphabet, much like Psalm 119, only shorter. The first poem focuses outside the city, the second: inside the city (we covered these in the last episode); the third poem is directed toward God, the fourth poem toward the vanity of human glory, and the fifth poem looks to the future. ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

The book of Lamentations has some pretty harrowing imagery, especially as it relates to children, so parental discretion is advised . We have concluded the book Jeremiah but we have not yet exhausted his writings; church history carries tradition that it is Jeremiah who wrote the book of Lamentations after the desolation of Judah had come to pass. Remember that Chaldeans laid siege to Jerusalem, basically surrounding them and starving them out until there was no more bread. A combination of evil and desperation led women of the city to eat their own children, as was predicted by the curses of abandoning the law recorded in Deuteronomy 28:53. Lamentations 1 - 1:03 .  Lamentations 2 - 8:09 .  Proverbs 18 - 14:42 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

The prophecy against Babylon continues from our last episode today as we read the rest of  chapter 51. In it, the Lord calls upon several nations to wage war against Babylon, bringing devastation and destruction. When that time of judgment comes, the Lord calls his people out of Babylon, telling them not to be fearful. When the prophecy concludes, Jeremiah instructs Seraiah to go to Babylon, declare the prophecy, then tie the scroll to a rock and throw into the Euphrates River, thus symbolizing that Babylon will sink and never rise again. After the words of Jeremiah are concluded, the book ends with historic accounts very similar to those found in 2 Kings 24-25. Jeremiah 51:24-64 - 1:09 .  Jeremiah 52 - 11:45 .  Proverbs 17 - 18:44 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

The final prophecy against a particular nation is a doozy, proclaiming total annihilation and ruin and spanning two long chapters, (50, 51) one of which is the sixth longest chapter in Scripture. Who could this prophecy be against? What nation’s actions would merit such a rebuke? If you guessed Babylon, you are right! Though the Lord allowed Babylon to attack His own people and send them into exile, Babylon is still responsible for their own sin and their own actions. By God’s design, his people are punished because of their ongoing sin and rebellion, but Babylon is punished more so because of their idolatry and wickedness. We’ll only read part of chapter 51, concluding Jeremiah’s prophecy in our next episode. Jeremiah 50 - 1:08 .  Jeremiah 51 - 13:22 .  Proverbs 16:17-33 - 18:42 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

We’re now in the section of Jeremiah that includes prophecies against individual nations. These prophecies were gathered over the course of Jeremiah’s life and have been collected here at the end of his account. The overarching theme of these chapters is that the Lord sees the injustice and disgrace of the surrounding nations, and they will not escape his wrath and judgment. In some cases, the Lord says that he will restore the nation, but in other cases, the nation will become a perpetual ruin. In our last episode, Jeremiah prophesied against Egypt, Philistia, and Moab. Today we continue in the prophecy against Moab, and continue through prophesies against Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. Jeremiah 48:21 - 1:09 .  Jeremiah 49 - 7:08 .  Proverbs 16 - 17:05 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]

Following the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah had elected to stay in the land with permission from the Chaldeans. After an insurrection and no small tumult within the remnant who stayed in the land, the skittish group asked for direction from the Lord. Jeremiah told them plainly that staying in the land would result in blessing but fleeing to Egypt would result in hardship, violence, and famine. They rejected the Lord’s command and went to Egypt anyway, taking Jeremiah with them. When we last left Jeremiah, he was in Egypt and had just rebuked the people for burning incense to other gods. Our reading opens with their response to the prophet concerning this rebuke. We’ll then begin a section of prophecies that Jeremiah spoke against other nations. Jeremiah 44:15 - 1:09 .  Jeremiah 45 - 5:45 .  Jeremiah 46 - 6:58 .  Jeremiah 47 - 14:33 .  Jeremiah 48 - 16:15 .  Proverbs 15:18 - 20:16 .  ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible. facebook.com/commuterbible instagram.com/commuter_bible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible [email protected]