Commuter Bible OT

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 . 

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The prophecies of Jeremiah foretelling the devastation of Jerusalem have come to pass. Through it all the Lord has kept His promises and has protected Jeremiah from harm. With the blessing of the Chaldean captain of the guards, Jeremiah has elected to stay in Jerusalem. As Jeremiah continues to serve the Lord through this transition he must navigate new relationships and new authorities. After Ishmael leads an insurrection against Gedaliah, the new governor, Johanan rescues those taken captive in an effort to flee to Egypt. Through Jeremiah, the Lord warns Johanan and the others that they should stay in Judah, but they refuse to listen and in an ironic twist, Jeremiah is deported to Egypt by the remnant of Judah.

Jeremiah 41 - 1:08 . 

Jeremiah 42 - 4:59 . 

Jeremiah 43 - 11:00 . 

Jeremiah 44 - 14:11 . 

Proverbs 15 - 17:58 . 

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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instagram.com/commuter_bible

twitter.com/CommuterPod

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[email protected]