Bible In One Year Day 235 (Jeremiah 14-15, Ezekiel 43-44, Proverbs 15:13-16)

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Day 235: Lying Prophets 

A Daily Defense 
Jeremiah 14 - 15 

Jeremiah 14:1-6 ~ Jeremiah Prophesizes the Great Drought

Chapter 14 forms a dialogue between Jeremiah and Yahweh that continues to the end of Chapter 15:4. Verse 1 is in prose followed by Jeremiah's poetic lament for the covenant curse-judgment of drought foretold in Deuteronomy 28:22-24. The unit is divided into three corresponding parts between 14:2-16 and 14:17-15:1-3:

1. Two laments (14:2-6 and verses 17-19)
2. Two communal confessions and petitions (14:7-9 and verses 20-22)
3. Two judgment oracles (14:10-16 and 15:1-3)

1 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah on the occasion of the drought.
14:1 is the introduction to the unit and 15:4 is the postscript. Both verses are references to the curse-judgments in Deuteronomy 28; this time to verses 22-24, Yahweh will strike you down with consumption, fever, inflammation, burning fever, drought, wind-blast, milder, and these will pursue you to your ruin. The heavens above you like brass, the earth beneath you iron. Your country's rain Yahweh will turn into dust and sand; it will fall on you from the heavens until you perish.

2 "Judah is in mourning, her towns are pining, sinking to the ground; a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
The first lament in verses 2-6 is concerned with the curse-judgment of a drought on the land. The second in verses 17-19b is about Jeremiah's own spiritual drought, caused by his visions of war, siege, and famine. Notice the poetic contrast between the going down or "sinking" of Judah and the cry that "goes up" from the city of Jerusalem. The cry is from the people's distress, but it is apparently not a crying out to Yahweh for deliverance.

3 The nobles send their servants for water, they come to the water-tanks, find no water, and return with their pitchers empty. Dismayed and bewildered, they cover their heads.
The cisterns built to collect rainwater are empty. Unlike Egypt that had a constant source of water from the Nile, the Jordan River was not a plentiful source of water. The Promised Land had to depend on Yahweh to send the rains at the right seasons: For you Yahweh will open his treasury of rain, the heavens, to give your country its rain at the right time, and to bless all your labors (Dt 28:12; also see Lev 26:4). Unable to understand why the drought is happening to them, the people are both dismayed and bewildered. They cover their heads, which is a sign of mourning but evidently not repentance. The people ask "Why is all this happening to me?" God's answer is "it is because of your great guilt." (see Jer 13:22)

5 Even the doe in the countryside giving birth abandons her young, for there is no grass; 6 the wild donkeys standing on the bare heights gasp for air like jackals: their eyes grow dim for lack of pasture.
The people and the animals are suffering because of the drought. The problem is, as the prophet Amos wrote, that the droughts in the past have failed to bring the people to repentance in turning back to Yahweh (Amos 4:7-8).

Jeremiah 14:7-9 ~ Jeremiah's First Petition for Yahweh's Intervention

In the poem in verses 7-9, Jeremiah ignores God's command not to intercede for the people. He responds to the drought oracle by offering both a communal confession and a petition for Yahweh to intervene to end the drought that is causing such suffering. This passage moves from confession and petition to affirmation to questioning to affirmation and ends in petition.

1. He offers a corporate confession of sin coupled with a petition (verse 7).
2. He expresses an affirmation of faith in God (verse 8a).
3. He questions God's actions (verses 8b-9a).
4. He affirms God's unity with the people (verse 9b).
5. He offers a petition for deliverance and Yahweh's continuing presence with the people (verse 9c).

Jeremiah's confession sounds like Isaiah's in 59:12. Jeremiah is acting as the people's intercessor as he identifies with the people and their sinfulness.
Question: What are the two rhetorical questions he asks Yahweh?
Answer: Jeremiah asks why God is not acting like the Father of the people He has called His own, and why is He not using His powers to rescue them.

7b we have sinned against you! Jeremiah's communal confession recalls David's confession in Psalm 51:4/6 when he cried out, Against you, you alone, I have sinned... Confession begins with the admission that sins have been committed that testify against the repentant sinner.

9b And yet, Yahweh, you are among us, we are called by your name. Do not desert us!
Jeremiah reminds Yahweh that they are a people "called by your name" out of all the other peoples of the earth (Ex 19:8). It is as Moses told the Israelites, From you Yahweh will make a people consecrated to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and follow his ways. The peoples of the world, seeing that you bear Yahweh's name, will all be afraid of you (Dt 28:10). Jeremiah's argument is that Yahweh must save the people called by His name for the sake of His honor. He ends with a plea for deliverance: "Do not desert us!"

Jeremiah 14:10-12 ~ Yahweh's Response to Jeremiah's First Petition

Yahweh's response to Jeremiah's first petition is in prose. He gives a negative answer, and again, for the third time, God forbids Jeremiah to intercede for the citizens of Judah and Jerusalem (see Jer 7:16; 11:14).
Question: In addition to the curse-judgment of drought, what other judgments does God add?
Answer: In addition to the curse-judgment of drought, He adds war, famine, and sickness.

Jeremiah 14:13-16 ~ Jeremiah's Excuse for the People and Yahweh's Response

Jeremiah's second petition and the first part of Yahweh's answer to Jeremiah are in a prose format. Jeremiah pleads for the people, saying it is not entirely their fault for not listening to Yahweh's voice in his oracles because false prophets are telling them what Jeremiah says is untrue; peace will prevail.
Question: What was the test of a true prophet according to Deuteronomy 18:20-22?
Answer: The prophecy of a true prophet who spoke God's word always came true; if a prophet's prophecy was not fulfilled, then his prophecy was not from God.

Yahweh answers Jeremiah's objection in verses 14-18. He rejects the false prophets and gives His judgment on them and on the people who are so easily deceived, allowing themselves to believe their comforting false oracles. An old Irish proverb wisely asks, "Let me have the courage to believe the ugly truth over the beautiful lie."

Jeremiah 14:17-22 ~ Jeremiah's Second Confession and Petition on Behalf of the People

Jeremiah is the speaker in this dialogue with God. Jeremiah is experiencing a spiritual crisis that threatens his calling. He speaks of the horrors he has witnessed in verse 18. That Jeremiah says the people suffer in the city and in the country repeats the same judgment mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:16 that warns, if the people apostatize from the covenant, they will reap the curse judgments in the city and in the country.

Jeremiah 15:1-4 ~ Yahweh Answers Jeremiah's Petition

Chapter 15:1-4 is the last section of the unit that began in Chapter 14. It is Yahweh's answer to Jeremiah's question in 14:19, his confession of the people's sins and the sins of their ancestors in 14:20, and Jeremiah's plea for God not to break His covenant with Israel. The passage is in prose except for Yahweh's curse-judgment in verse 2. These verses are divided into three parts:

1. The rejection of Jeremiah's petition of mercy for the people in verse 1.
2. The two judgment oracles in verses 2b-3.
3. A reference to the Deuteronomic judgment and the prophecy in 2 Kings 23:26-27 in verse 4.

Even if Moses and Samuel pleaded [stood] before me...
Moses and Samuel the prophet were Israel's great intercessors of the past that "stood before" Yahweh.

Question: When do we "stand before the Lord"?
Answer: We stand before God in the Mass:

1. in worship
2. to hear the Word of God in the Gospel
3. in communal prayer
4. to offer intercessory prayer
5. to praise the Lord in song

"Standing before Yahweh" in verse 1 can mean standing as Yahweh's divine messenger who waits to receive the divine word (i.e., Jer 15:19; 23:18, 22; Ez 2:1-2), and it can also mean "standing" before Yahweh for the purpose of making intercession (i.e., Gen 18:22; Jer 18:20). Jeremiah does both.

Chapter 15 is the continuation of the poetic dialogue between Jeremiah and Yahweh that began in Chapter 14. The suffering that is the result of divine judgment described in 15:7-9 must date to the war years of 601-598/7 BC. The devastation began with the bands of brigands who ravaged Judah in the last years of King Jehoiakim's reign (described in 2 Kng 24:2) that culminated in Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem. The shift from the past to the future in 15:9c gives the impression of a war still in progress and probably points to the time just before the Babylonian subjugation of Jerusalem in 598/7 BC.

The Flight from Jerusalem (Tissot) 

Jeremiah 15:5-9 ~ The Disaster Jerusalem Brought on Herself

Jeremiah begins the first part of the poem in verses 5 by reminding Yahweh (with his rhetorical question) that Jerusalem can only look forward to a desolate existence and there is no one who cares enough to inquire concerning her suffering or her welfare. Yahweh responds by repeating the indictment against Judah and His sentence of judgment. Jeremiah has heard this before, and God is tired of repeating it, but it is the nation of Judah who abandoned Yahweh, and so He has withdrawn His divine protection. God has stretched out His hand that was intended to give blessings to an obedient people (Lev 26:1-15; Dt 28:1-14) and, instead, withdrew His divine protection and allowed their destruction through the worldly events common in all wars: bad decisions by leaders resulting in war, death by the sword, famine resulting in destroyed crops, unburied corpses, and disease. The wording is similar to Deuteronomy 32:15b-16, He [Judah] has disowned the God who made him, and dishonored the Rock, his salvation, whose jealousy they aroused with foreigners; with things detestable they angered him.

Verse 7 begins a litany of judgments. All the verbs in verses 7-9 are in the past tense until the future imperfect "I shall consign" in verse 9, and the rest of them I shall consign to the sword, to their enemies. Yahweh declares."

Jeremiah 15:10-21 ~ Jeremiah's Lament and Second Confession
Jeremiah's lament:
10 A disaster for me, mother, that you bore me to be a man of strife and dissension for the whole country. I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me. 11 Have I not genuinely done my best to serve you, Yahweh? Have I not interceded with you in time of disaster and distress!

Yahweh's response:
12 "Can iron break the iron of the north and the bronze? 13 Your wealth and your treasures I shall hand over to plunder, without repayment, because of all your sins, throughout your territory. 14 I shall enslave you to your enemies in a country which you do not know, for my anger has kindled a fire that will burn you up."

Jeremiah's lament continues:
15 Yahweh, you know! Remember me, take care of me, and avenge me on my persecutors. However long your anger endures, do not snatch me away. Realize that I suffer insult for your sake. 16 When your words came, I devoured them: your word was my delight and the joy of my heart; for I was called by your Name, Yahweh, God Sabaoth. 17 I never sat in the company of scoffers amusing myself; with your hands on me I held myself aloof, since you had filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my suffering continual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, for me you are a deceptive stream with uncertain waters!

Yahweh's response and Jeremiah's recommissioning:
19 To which Yahweh replied, "If you repent, I shall restore you to plead before me. If you distinguish between the precious and the base, you shall be as my own mouth. They will come back to you, but you must not go back to them. 20 As far as these people are concerned, I shall make you a fortified wall of bronze. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, because I am with you to save you and rescue you, Yahweh declares. 21 I shall rescue you from the clutches of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the violent."

Agape Bible Study 
Ezekiel 43-44 

Chapter 43: The Return of Yahweh and the Consecration of the Altar

Ezekiel 43:1-5 ~ The Return of Yahweh to the Temple

You may recall that Ezekiel saw the vision of Yahweh departing from the doomed Jerusalem Temple in his earlier Temple vision (Ez Chapter 10).
Question: How did Ezekiel see God departing the doomed Temple and what is similar about His return? See Ez 10:18-19.
Answer: In the earlier Temple vision, the Glory of God departing the Temple moving from the Holy of Holies in the west and across the Temple complex to exit the Temple from the east gate. God's Divine Present returns in the same way by entering the east gate (verse 4).

In verse 2, sound and visual imagery come together in the appearance of the Divine (e.g., Ex 19:16-19). The term "many waters" or "abundant waters" is a more literal translation of what is polus hydra in the Greek text of the Old and New Testaments. "Many waters" is a key Biblical phrase, set within God's covenant relationships and reflecting the "abundant" blessings God bestows on His people and His liturgical interaction with them, as mentioned in our first lesson where the same expression appears in Ezekiel's inaugural vision in 1:24. 

Ezekiel 43:6-12 ~ Yahweh's Message to Ezekiel

For the first time in this final vision, Yahweh addressed His prophet directly. Yahweh speaks to Ezekiel from inside the Temple while the angelic guide stands beside him. God's speech to Ezekiel divides into two major parts that begin with God's familiar form of address to the prophet as "son of man" (verses 7 and 10). First, there is an explanation for Ezekiel in verses 7-9, and next, there is God's charge to the prophet in verses 10-11. The address begins with a formal announcement, "Son of man, this is the dais of my throne, the step on which I rest my feet. As the Divine King, Yahweh is declaring that the Temple is His palace and is asserting His claims to kingship over Israel. What is surprising is the claim that the Temple rather than the Ark of the Covenant is the throne of Yahweh. However, there is no longer an Arc of the Covenant. Jeremiah hid it before the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, and it was never recovered (2 Mac 2:4-6). Perhaps the absence of any mention of the Ark fulfills Jeremiah's prophecy in (3:16-17 that the time would come when no one would miss the Ark of the Covenant, and When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called: The Throne of Yahweh..." (Jer 3:17a).

Ezekiel 43:13-17 ~ The Altar

In 40:47, Ezekiel barely mentioned the presence of an altar in front of the Temple and without giving any details. The location of the altar in the inner court at the exact center of the 500-cubit-square Temple complex indicates its importance. Verses 13-17 give a description of the altar, while verses 18-27 give instructions for the ritual consecration of the altar.

The altar's dimensions are in verse 14a. It consists of a 14-cubit square (verse 17), rising 4 cubits above the base (verse 14). The word har'el (verse 15) or ha ariel (verse 16) identifies the site where the priests perform the sacrificial rites. The word "ariel" appears elsewhere in Scripture as the personal name of two individuals (2 Sam 23:20/1 Chr 11:22 and Ezra 8:16), and it appears as a cryptic name for Jerusalem in Isaiah 29:1-2, 7. However, the other passages do not shed any light on the use of the word in our passage. From the base to the top of the altar, the dimensions decrease.

The dimensions of the desert Sanctuary's altar formed a square 5 cubits long by 5 cubits high and 3 cubits high (Ex 27:1-8; 38:1-7). Like the desert Sanctuary altar and Solomon's altar, Ezekiel's altar had "horns," protrusions at each corner (Ex 29:12; Lev 4:7, 18; 1 Kng 1:50-53; 2:28-29). The officiating priest smeared the blood on the altar horns during the sacrificial rites (i.e., Lev 4:7). The hearth was approached by steps on the east side in violation to Yahweh's prohibition in Exodus 20:26. Notice that both the prophet and his guide seem to have disappeared at this point.

Desert Sanctuary Altar Exodus 27:1-8	Solomon's Temple Altar 2 Chronicles 4:1	Ezekiel's Temple Altar Ezekiel 43:13-17
5 cubits square by 3 cubits tall. It is unknown if the measurements are the short or long cubit.	20 cubits square (c. 17 ft.) by 10 cubits high (c. 8.5 ft.) using the short 17.5 inch cubit.	20 cubits square at the base (c. 34 feet); altar proper was 14x14 cubits (c. 24 ft.); hearth was 12 x 12 cubits (c. 20.5 ft. or 420 square ft.). From the bottom of the gutter to the top of the altar it was 6 cubits (c. 10 ft.) using the long cubit of c. 21 inches.

Ezekiel 43:18-27 ~ The Consecration of the Altar

The function of the altar was to symbolize Yahweh's desire to commune with His people by providing expiation for their sins and unity in the sacred meal of the Toda (thanksgiving) communion sacrifices (Lev 7:11-15). This section is framed by the introductory formula, "the Lord Yahweh says this" (verse 18) and the concluding formula saying "declares the Lord Yahweh" (verse 27).

Chapter 44: Liturgical Observances

Ezekiel 44:1-3 ~ The Use of the East Gate

This passage divides into two parts:

1. An observation concerning the closed east gate (verses 1-2).
2. A regulation concerning "the Prince" (verse 3).

The "he" is probably the guide who was standing beside Ezekiel while he received God's instructions (43:6). Ezekiel has returned to the east gate, and he notices that the gate is closed. In answer to Ezekiel's observation, Yahweh's voice comes from the Temple telling him why the gate is closed and why it will remain closed.

The closed gate is significant for two reasons:

1. Since Yahweh has passed through this gate, it will remain barred to all human traffic (as Yahweh explains in verse 2).
2. No profane human may walk in Yahweh's steps, suggesting that the closed gate symbolizes the sanctity of the permanent dwelling place of God among His people.

The Fathers of the Church made the comparison between the closed gate that must remain closed because God passed through it and the continuing virginity of the Virgin Mary (Jerome, Theodoret, Ambrose, and Cyril of Alexandria).

3 The prince himself, however, may sit there to take his meal in the presence of Yahweh. He must enter and leave through the porch of the gate.
Verse 3 introduces the mysterious figure of "the prince." We will receive more information about him in 45:21-46:12. However, we can make several observations concerning "the prince":

1. Only "the prince" can occupy the gateway through which Yahweh entered the Temple.
2. Only he can eat a communion meal in Yahweh's presence within the gate.
3. However, since he is mortal, he cannot enter the east gate but must come and go another way.

The exiles would have greeted this announcement concerning "the prince" with great joy, interpreting the message as referring to a Davidic prince who would have pride of place in the new Temple. As far as they knew, the line of the Davidic heirs and the Davidic covenant ended with the murder of King Zedekiah's sons (2 Kng 25:6-7; Jer 39:6).

Ezekiel 44:4-9 ~ Rules of Admission to the Temple

Unable to enter by the main east gate, the guide takes Ezekiel through the north gate up to the front of the Temple where he sees the glory of God filling the main Sanctuary. Once again, Ezekiel's reaction in the presence of the Divine is to fall to the ground (1:28; 43:3).

The reason Ezekiel prostrates himself is not only a demonstration of his reverence but perhaps also because of fear.

Ezekiel 44:10-14 ~ The Regulations Concerning the Levitical Lesser Ministers

This passage reminds the Levitical lesser ministers of the past defection from Yahweh and His covenant. This condemnation for past sins may be the reason many of the Levitical lesser ministers, as opposed to the chief priests, were reluctant to return after the exile (Ezra 2:40; 8:15-19). The duties of the Levites in ministerial service appear in Numbers 3:5-10. They were never allowed to serve at the Altar of Sacrifice.

Ezekiel 44:15-31 ~ The Regulations Concerning the Chief Priests

These regulations repeat of the rules for priests in Exodus 28:1-43; Leviticus 6:3-4; 21:1-5; 10:9; 21:7, 14; Numbers 18:1-24; and Deuteronomy 18:1-2. The liturgical garments were limited to linen fabric, and they could not wear their liturgical garments outside of the inner courts of the Temple complex. This restriction identifies Jesus' seamless liturgical garment worn to the Last Supper as a priestly garment worn in a liturgical service (Jn 19:23 describes His tunic as a seamless garment).

The service and regulations concerning the priests in 44:15-31:

1. Their main duty is liturgical service in the Temple and Holy Place.
2. They must wear linen vestments, caps, and undergarments.
3. They must observe the regulation concerning the length of their hair and a prohibition against shaving the head (consider that this means Jesus would not have worn His hair long).
4. They will observe the prohibition against drinking wine when in service (see Lev 10:9).
5. They will observe the prohibition against marrying divorced women or widows unless the woman is the widow of a priest.
6. They will instruct the people in the ritual purity laws.
7. They will judge law-suits.
8. They will observe all God's laws and ordinances, including observing all feasts and Sabbaths and the special ritual purity laws concerning contamination from the dead (see Lev 21:1-4; Num 5:1-3; 19:11-16).
9. They will not inherit ancestral lands since God is their heritage (Num 18:20-24; Dt 18:1-2; Josh 13:14). However, priests and Levites were assigned Levitical cities (Num 35:1-8; 1 Chr 6:39-66; Josh 21:1-42; Ez 45:6).
10. They will eat from the people's offerings assigned to them, and, like all Israelites, they will not eat anything that is ritually unclean according to the Law (Lev 2:10; 6:9-11, 22-23; 7:6, 7-10, 24; 11:1-47).

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A Daily Defense
DAY 235 Born with Temptations

CHALLENG: “Why would a good God allow people to be born with temptations to sin?”

DEFENSE: This is a subcase of the problem of evil. It’s mysterious, but we can still discern the outlines of the solution.

Elsewhere we have covered other aspects of the problem of evil (see Days 7, 38, and 151). Here we look at the specific question of why God allows people to be born with temptations to sin.

One way of putting the answer is: God created mankind in a state of original justice or holiness. However, when our first parents turned away from God and committed original sin, they lost this holiness and human nature was corrupted in a way that made us prone to sin (CCC 375, 379, 405).

Although the causes were on the spiritual rather than the purely physical level, the situation is similar to that of a person with a healthy genetic code who, by recklessly exposing himself to radioactive material, damages his genes in a way that causes his offspring to be born with birth defects. In other words: We are born with temptations because we inherit the damage done to human nature by sin.

Although this answers the question on one level, it leaves the question of why God would allow this to happen. Here there is an element of mystery, because God could have prevented us from inheriting temptations. However, we can say the following:

1. God takes our inborn weaknesses into account in assessing how culpable we are. Our culpability for sin is diminished when we are under strong internal pressures. “The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders” (CCC 1860).

2. God will not allow us to be separated from him except by a truly free choice of the kind involved in mortal sin (CCC 1037).

3. God gives us his grace to deal with temptations (1 Cor. 10:13). 

4. God subjects himself to our weakness. In the person of Jesus, he subjected himself to conditions like those we experience. “For we do not have a high priest [i.e., Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15, NABRE).

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist