For the coming week, both of Ezra and Nehemiah will be read one after another because they represent a different season in Israel's life as a nation. Up till Ezekiel, the emphasis was on the exile and repentance, now it is about the return from exile with restoration is the goal. Israel as a nation has faced various consequences for their failure in keeping their obligations to the covenant but none was as severe as the exile, the very promised land which was their dream since the exodus from Egypt is now taken forcefully away from them! Read Leviticus 26:31-35 which outlined the exile as a penalty for disobedience. Here's what's interesting - do you know why the Babylonian exile was for 70 years? Connecting the dots The Jews had been in the promised land for roughly 800 years, and for 490 years, they disobeyed his Sabbath rest and based on the law that the land is to be "rested" every 7th year (Lev 25:2-4; 26:33-35), there is an accumulated 70 years of "unfu...

Ezekiel is one of those books which may evoke feelings of apprehension rather than comprehension, filled with incredible, even distasteful acts and perplexing symbolism. Furthermore, with the first 24 chapters focusing on messages of doom and gloom, it can be a difficult read. 48 chapters may seem like a lot but instead of reading to gain "a devotional lesson for the day," read it to gain a deeper understanding of who God is, both His goodness and also His severity. Romans 11:22 - "Behold then the kindness and severity of God..." It is important that we do not limit God to any one-sided plane of understanding but to allow the book of Ezekiel to speak for itself and examine the prophet based upon his calling and ministry.  Furthermore, the context of Ezekiel living in Babylon, witnessing the displacement of his people, and the destruction of Jerusalem certainly paints a situation of desperateness. Ezekiel's vision and mannerism may seem eccentric to us now but we...

The Greek translation of the title to Lamentation is called "tears." You cannot read this book without having your heart drawn into the experience of the physical and spiritual trauma caused by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC. The fact that it is written as a structured poem reveals that there is a sacred dignity to human suffering. When my wife and I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC last week, we witnessed not only just the memory of the suffering of the Jews but also the need to memorialize their sufferings so that it is not forgotten especially in this age of instant gratification and quick forgetfulness. Read Lamentations aloud because the cry of suffering of the people of Jerusalem is not to be experienced in silence. This pain needs to be articulated. Connecting the dots Lamentation is not a work of passive resignation. Although the author understands the justice of God, the agony and bewilderment of the event can be free...