November 2023 – Judgement, Exile, & Return

Fall is upon us. That means harvest time on a farm. The work is almost done, and it’s about time to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

That may be how the Israelites felt at this point in our journey through the Bible.

Life was good They had a great king, they had subdued their enemies, and they had plans to build an amazing temple. It was time to sit back and enjoy all the blessings God had promised their ancestors before they entered the Promised Land.

Not so fast…. Those blessing in Deuteronomy chapter 28 were for obedience, and Moses followed them with curses for disobedience. Moses had even told them what was going to happen in Deuteronomy 31:29 – “For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the works of you hands.” The Israelites were about to head into generation after generation of idol worship and disobedience.

Here is the quick version:

After David’s son Solomon died, his son Rehoboam made a big mistake in listening to his younger friends rather than the older, wiser advisors of his father. As a result, God split the tribes in two and gave the Northern Kingdom to Jeroboam. Although Jeroboam knew the people were to offer sacrifices to God at the temple, he was afraid the northern tribes would go back to Rehoboam if he let them go to Jerusalem to worship. Therefore, he set up places for the people to worship in the northern and southern tips of Israel (now separate from Judah, the Southern Kingdom). Eventually, the people set up idols in all the “high places” to worship. King after king in Israel “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.”

The Southern Kingdom did not fare much better. Although they did have some kings who loved the Lord and obeyed his commands, many of them also “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” It took them longer to fall away, but, when they did, it was even worse than the Northern Kingdom. God said it was like a wife leaving her husband.

But God…is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

God warned them and called them to repent over and over and over – prophet after prophet after prophet, but the people would not listen. Times were good. They were God’s chosen people enjoying His blessings…..the harvest was plentiful. Who wanted to hear the “doom and gloom” of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Joel, and the rest of the prophets who kept pointing out their sins, calling them to repentance, and warning them punishment was coming if they did repent.

We see it in several places in the Bible:

2 Chronicles 24:19 – “Yet he (God) sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified again them, but they would not pay attention.”

God told Jeremiah when he called him that the people would never listen to Jeremiah.

Matthew 23:37 – Jesus would eventually call the Jews out on this and remind them their ancestors had actually killed the prophets God sent – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together has a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.”

And God…keeps his word.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 – And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end is shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

In other words, the time had come for the curses – disaster, drought, and defeat…

It happened first in Israel when the Assyrians took over Israel and scattered the Northern tribes all over their territory. God spared the Southern Kingdom at the time, but they continued to ignore their sins, worship their idols, and neglect their poor. God eventually sent Babylon to conquer them, and the Southern Kingdom found themselves in exile. (Note: We have some amazing books of the Bible from this time – Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ezekiel, Daniel and some other minor prophets.)

In captivity, the prophet Ezekiel actually had a vision of God’s spirit leaving the temple – the spirit that led them in the desert, the spirit that filled the tabernacle, and the spirit that filled the temple. It is one the saddest events in the Bible.

There were still false prophets telling the people the calamity would not last, but God’s true prophets told the people “he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce” – Jeremiah 29:28.

But God….had a plan all along.

He knew this was going to happen. God told them through Jeremiah “I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” – Jeremiah 29:11.

He planned to bring the people back to Jerusalem, and he did through Cyrus – his shepherd according to Isaiah 44:28 – the king of their captors who sent them back to Jerusalem with instructions to rebuild their temple -Ezra 5:13 – which the Babylonians had destroyed.

Nevertheless, it took them years to rebuild. When they finally finished the temple, half the the people rejoiced and half of them cried because they knew the new temple did not even begin to compare to the splendor of Solomon’s original temple. I think maybe they finally realized a little bit of what they had lost due to their rebellion.

This time, it’s “but the people”.

But the people only followed God with their actions. Their hearts were not in their worship. God said their hearts were like stone.

I don’t know if you feel the same way, but, by the time I get to the end of the Old Testament having read of Israels’ rebellion and failure over and over and over, my only thought is where is Jesus? Come Jesus. They cannot do this right. They need you. …….I cannot do this right. I need you.

Thankfully, God had a plan all along.

“I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules…you shall be my people, and I will be your God” – Ezekiel 36:26 – 28.

Praise the Lord. He told us the way, and when we couldn’t get it right, he did it himself and still let us enjoy the “harvest”. That is GRACE!!

So this season, as you see fields and orchards being harvested or even reap the harvest of you own work, remember God’s plan of redemption. He did all the work – he sent his son, he sacrificed his son, he raised his son, and he sent his Spirit – and we get to enjoy the bountiful harvest of his steadfast love and forgiveness for eternity. I am so thankful “grace reigns”!

Georgia Agriculture

Check out the following websites for some interesting information about Georgia Agriculture.

 Georgia Department of Agriculture

Georgia Grown

 2022 USDA GA Quick Stats

Ray’s Pecan Orchard

Ray City, GA

Nov 16th – 10 AM

Suggested Projects/Activities:

• Research Georgia Agriculture

• Have a scavenger hunt to see who can find the most products in your home that came from and/or include agricultural products produces in Georgia.

• Drive some country roads and identify any crops you see.

• Visit a local farmers market or you-pick location.

Bible Verses

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end is shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 KJV (NOT a Bible Drill verse)

For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”

Jeremiah 29:28 ESV (NOT a Bible Drill verse)

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat…

Isaiah 65:21-22a ESV (NOT a Bible Drill verse)

Complete these fun family challenges as a way to help illustrate the Biblical accounts we study each month.

Seed Art

Object

 Enjoy and celebrate the beauty of harvest time.

Materials

Several different types of seeds (a bag of bean soup works great!)

What To Do

• Use you seed to make pictures.  You can print a black and white copy and glue seeds over the design or make your own.