Sad ending

inhale01.11.16

2 Kings 25:1-3

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.

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Some descriptions of the terror that ensued within the walls of Jerusalem …

Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the LORD? Lamentations 2:20

They that be slain with sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. Lamentations 4:9

Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat the fathers; and I will execute judgements in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. Ezekiel 5:10

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These gruesome events were foretold in scripture as judgement upon God’s people who forget and reject Him …

And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.  Leviticus 27:29

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies  shall distress thee. Deuteronomy 28:53                           

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Sad ending to the people of promise.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

The judgement of God was inevitable

inhale01.09.16

2 Kings 24:17-20

Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Hamutal the daughter of Libnah.

He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence.

Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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It is a wonder to me that these foreign leaders, who are actually acting under the permission and direction of the LORD, rename their subjects with godly names.

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What is their motive ?

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Are they truly hearing from God in these names? Were they actually sensitive to Jewish culture? Why rename them at all? Is it just a ploy to foster allegiance?

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So Zedekiah is just another rotten king inside of a rotting corpse of what Israel was and was supposed to be.

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The judgement of God was inevitable.

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And this situation of the unrighteous ruling over God’s unrighteous people is also all from God.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

neglecting and rejecting

inhale01.08.2016

2 Kings 24:13-16

And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and all the treasures the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.

Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths.

None remained except the poorest people of the land.

And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon.

The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carries into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

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Nebuchadnezzar comes in to Jerusalem and now just cleans house.

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He takes all the most valuable resources, the most valuable assets, even the most valuable and the best skilled people he takes for himself.

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Nebuchadnezzar takes all of these as his own property now.

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So whatever worldly value God’s people have had is now all under the authority of people who should have been under the Israel’s authority.

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All this is the result of of God’s people neglecting and rejecting their God.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

God honors His covenant

inhale01.07.16

2 Kings 10-12

At that timothy servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city as his servants were besieging it.

Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

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First the servants of king Nebuchadnezzar make the siege against Jerusalem, then comes the king himself to finish the job.

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The siege is where the city is surrounded by the enemy who allow nothing to come or go into or out of the city.

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This basically starves out the city inhabitants, who end up either surrendering or dying.

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So those enslaved by the king of Babylon begin this siege of Jerusalem, then the king himself comes to the city to finish it.

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The response of Jerusalem’s leadership to this siege from Babylon is to surrender.

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When God’s people had cried out to God in the past, they experienced His miraculous deliverance and salvation.

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When God made His covenant with His people, He gave them divine protection and made His weak people dominant like a superpower.

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Now His people have been constantly and persistently turning their back on God, forgetting and forsaking Him. They worship false gods instead.

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God can no longer honor His people with blessings and power.

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Now God honors His covenant by chastening and judging His people.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

promise of judgement

Inhale03.20.15

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promise of judgement

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2 Kings 24:7-9

And the king of Egypt

did not come out of his land anymore,

for the king of Babylon had taken all

that belonged to the king of Egypt

from the Brook of Egypt

to the River Euphrates.

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Jehoiachin was eighteen years old

when he became king,

and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.

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His mother’s name was Nehushta

the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

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And he did evil in the sight of the LORD,

according to all that his father had done.

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Nehushta “brass”

Elnathan “God has given”

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Jehoiachin’s kingship

lasted for 3 months and 10 days

before he surrendered

to Nebuchadnezzar

who took him to Babylon

and imprisoned him for 36 years

when he was finally released

TSK

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As this man reigned only three months,

and was a mere vassal

of the king of Babylon,

his reign is scarcely reckoned;

and therefore Jeremiah 31:30;

says of Jehoiakim,

‘he shall have none

to sit upon the throne of David.’

TSK

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Does Nehushta sound familiar?

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2 Kings 18:1

Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea

the son of Elah, king of Israel,

that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah,

began to reign.

He was twenty-five years old

when he became king,

and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.

His mother’s name was Abi

the daughter of Zechariah.

And he did what was right

in the sight of the LORD,

according to all that his father David had done.

He removed the high places

and broke the sacred pillars,

cut down the wooden image

and broke in pieces the bronze serpent

that Moses had made;

for until those days

the children of Israel burned incense to it,

and called it Nehushtan.

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Nehushtan “a thing of brass”

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Of course this refers

to the monument of a brass serpent

which was erected in obedience to God.

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This is that which

those complainers against God,

who were bitten by deadly snakes

for thier criticizing God,

had to look on

in order to be healed

from the snakes poison.

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A fitting placement of this

to remember our need for Jesus.

How we need Jesus

to escape the judgement of God

for our sins.

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How fitting that we here must recall,

that brass was symbolic for judgement.

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How could king Josiah

be so righteous

and his sons so wicked?!

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God’s own people

had repetitiously forsaken their God.

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God had many times

made them aware

of the consequences of this.

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So we now see how patient

and longsuffering God has been,

yet He must now follow through

with His promise of judgement.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

Married man again !

I enjoyed my brief hiatus of honeymooning everybody.

I like that sentence … so open to interpretation … haaaaa.

Anyway it has been moderately chaotic moving my new bride into our home and I fell off of my daily blogpost.

Good to be back.

Hope you enjoy watching our wedding video.

a bad burial

Inhale03.19.15

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a bad burial

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2 Kings 24:5,6

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,

and all that he did,

are they not written in the book

of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

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So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers.

Then Jehoiachin his son

reigned in his place.

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Jehoiakim “Jehovah raises up”

Jehoiachin “Jehovah establishes”

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Jeremiah 22:18-19

Therefore thus says the LORD

concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah,

king of Judah:

“They shall not lament for him,

Saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’

or ‘Alas, my sister!’

They shall not lament for him,

Saying, ‘Alas, master!’

or ‘Alas, his glory!’

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He shall be buried

with the burial of a donkey,

Dragged and cast out

beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

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As Jehoiakim was

‘buried with the burial of an ass,’

by being

‘drawn and cast forth

beyond the gates of Jerusalem,’

without internment,

the expression ‘slept with his fathers,’

can only mean that the died,

or slept the sleep of death.

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In the East,

a body exposed during the night

would be a prey to wild animals;

if any of it were left till the morning,

the carnivorous birds would devour it.

TSK

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So a bad burial for Jehoiakim.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

The mess of Manasseh

Inhale03.11.15

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The mess of Manasseh

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2 Kings 24:3,4

Surely at the commandment of the LORD

this came upon Judah,

to remove them from His sight

because of the sins of Manasseh,

according to all that he had done,

and also because of the innocent blood

that he had shed;

for he had filled Jerusalem

with innocent blood,

which the LORD would not pardon.

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pardon calach to forgive, pardon

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The mess of Manasseh

has insured this

judgement of Judah …

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2 Kings 21:1-9

Manasseh was twelve years old

when he became king,

and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD,

according to the abominations of the nations

whom the LORD had cast out

before the children of Israel.

For he rebuilt the high places

which Hezekiah his father had destroyed;

he raised up altars for Baal,

and made a wooden image,

as Ahab king of Israel had done;

and he worshiped all the host of heaven

and served them.

He also built altars in the house of the LORD,

of which the LORD had said,

“In Jerusalem I will put My name.”

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And he built altars for all the host of heaven

in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

Also he made his son pass through the fire,

practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft,

and consulted spiritists and mediums.

He did much evil in the sight of the LORD,

to provoke Him to anger.

He even set a carved image of Asherah

that he had made,

in the house of which the LORD had said

to David and to Solomon his son,

“In this house and in Jerusalem,

which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,

I will put My name forever;

“and I will not make the feet of Israel

wander anymore from the land

which I gave their fathers—

only if they are careful to do

according to all that I have commanded them,

and according to all the law

that My servant Moses commanded them.”

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But they paid no attention,

and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil

than the nations

whom the LORD had destroyed

before the children of Israel.

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Judah’s judgement

will not be pardoned.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

power puppets

Inhale03.06.15

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power puppets

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2 Kings 24:1,2

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

came up,

and Jehoiakim became his

for three years.

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Then he turned

and rebelled against him.

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And the LORD sent against him

raiding bands of Chaldeans,

bands of Syrians,

bands of Moabites, and

bands of the people of Ammon;

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He sent them against Judah to destroy it,

according to the word of the LORD

which He had spoken by His servants

the prophets.

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vassal `ebed slave, servant

rebelled marad to rebel, revolt, be rebellious

raiding bands gĕduwd troop, marauding band, raiding bands

bands gĕduwd

destroy‘abad perish, vanish, be destroyed

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2 Kings 23:34-37

Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim

the son of Josiah

king in place of his father Josiah,

and changed his name to Jehoiakim.

And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt,

and he died there.

So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh;

but he taxed the land to give money

according to the command of Pharaoh;

he exacted the silver and gold

from the people of the land,

from every one according to his assessment,

to give it to Pharaoh Necho.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old

when he became king,

and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

His mother’s name was Zebudah

the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD,

according to all that his fathers had done.

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There has been a major world power shift at this point …

Babylon has become the world superpower.

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And Judah has fallen under her control.

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And no longer is Judah in a place

where they rely on God

and God gives them victory.

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Judah is now in the place

where the patience of God

has come to an end,

as the knowledge and justice of God

justly now requires

the judgement of Judah.

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So God has his power puppets in play

to accomplish His will.

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There is privilege in knowing

and serving the true God LORD.

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And there are promises from the LORD,

of divinely appointed privilege

and protection

in remaining faithful to Him.

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There are also promises of divinely appointed pain

and penalty in rejecting Him.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge

a rare righteous king

Inhale03.05.15

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a rare righteous king

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2 Kings 23:26-30

Nevertheless the LORD did not turn

from the fierceness of His great wrath,

with which His anger was aroused

against Judah,

because of all the provocations

with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

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And the LORD said,

“I will also remove Judah from My sight,

as I have removed Israel,

and will cast off this city Jerusalem

which I have chosen,

and the house of which I said,

‘My name shall be there.’ ”

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Now the rest of the acts of Josiah,

and all that he did,

are they not written in the book

of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

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In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt

went to the aid of the king of Assyria,

to the River Euphrates;

and King Josiah went against him.

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And Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo

when he confronted him.

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Then his servants moved his body

in a chariot from Megiddo,

brought him to Jerusalem,

and buried him in his own tomb.

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And the people of the land

took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah,

anointed him,

and made him king in his father’s place.

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The LORD is going to follow through

with judgement of Judah

as He promised.

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Jeremiah 3:10,11

“And yet for all this

her treacherous sister Judah

has not turned to Me with her whole heart,

but in pretense,”

says the LORD.

Then the LORD said to me,

“Backsliding Israel

has shown herself more righteous

than treacherous Judah.

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Judah’s repentance was superficial

but her judgement will not be.

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God promised Josiah a peaceful death

but Josiah took matters

into his own hands.

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2 Chronicles 35:20-25

After all this,

when Josiah had prepared the temple,

Necho king of Egypt came up to fight

against Carchemish by the Euphrates;

and Josiah went out against him.

But he sent messengers to him,

saying,

“What have I to do with you,

king of Judah?

I have not come against you this day,

but against the house with which I have war;

for God commanded me to make haste.

Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me,

lest He destroy you.”

Nevertheless

Josiah would not turn his face from him,

but disguised himself

so that he might fight with him,

and did not heed the words of Necho

from the mouth of God.

So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

And the archers shot King Josiah;

and the king said to his servants,

“Take me away,

for I am severely wounded.”

His servants therefore

took him out of that chariot

and put him in the second chariot that he had,

and they brought him to Jerusalem.

So he died,

and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers.

And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah.

And to this day all the singing men

and the singing women

speak of Josiah in their lamentations.

They made it a custom in Israel;

and indeed they are written in the Laments.

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So it seems Josiah

brought this manner of death

upon himself.

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He died knowing

what he had done what wasn’t needed,

and he died in the manner

that Necho warned him would happen.

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Still Josiah did not die

the death of God’s judgement

just as God promised him.

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Even Jeremiah mourned his death

for he was a rare righteous king indeed.

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Love in Christ,

Pastor Tom

Waters Edge