Lying Pastors

Wearing a uniform or possessing a diploma are no guarantees of piety or ability.

• In what ways can a shepherd scatter the sheep and destroy the flock? (v 1)
• What should a shepherd do for the flock? (v 2-4)
• A Messianic prophecy is appropriate at this point. When many claim the title but do not function as shepherds, the Great and Good Shepherd Himself will come (v 5-6) to save God’s people. Matthew 1:21.
• The exodus event will be replaced by the salvation event as the biggest moment in the history of God’s people (v 7-8).
• Adultery and swearing did abound (v 10). Then and now.
• Profanity of prophet and priest is wickedness (v 11).
• How can a preacher strengthen the hands of the wicked (v 14)?
• Don’t listen to false prophets and priests (v 16).
• Preachers who make you feel good by lying about the danger of unrecognized and unconfessed sin should not be followed (v 16).
• Preach right and men will turn from their sins.
• You cannot hide from God (v 24).
• Beware of those religionists who are always talking about their dreams and visions (v 27) and not about the word of God.
• God’s word is like fire and a hammer (v 29). In what ways?
• They who add their own word to God’s Word shall be punished (v 33-34).

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Sins of Israel bring God’s judgment

Sin is a reproach to any nation; especially when that nation professes to be the people of God.

• Would you be afraid to speak directly to the King about his sin? (v 1)
• Caring for foreigners, widows and orphans is a mark of conversion in the New Testament also. (Jeremiah 22:3; James 1:27).
• Forsaking God’s word and worshiping other gods brought destruction upon Israel (v 8-9).
• Don’t weep for the dead; you cannot help them now. Weep for the unconcerned sinners who yet live. (v 10).
• Pay your employees (v 13).
• Has God been speaking to you since your youth? (v 21).
• What are your worst fears? (v 25).
• Would you like to know that none of your descendants would prosper? (v 30).

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(What is now) Iraq invades Israel

Babylon, that land that has become known as Iraq, invaded Israel 600 years before Christ.

God had, through the prophet Jeremiah, predicted both the invasion and the subsequent carrying away of many Israelites to Babylon.

In today’s reading we learn why God ordered the captivity, and we see that some of those captives became high-level public servants in the Babylonian government.

2 Kings 24:1-7 & 2 Chronicles 36:5-8

• Humanly speaking, it was the rebellion of Jehoiakim that incurred the greater wrath of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
• Behind (shall we say, above) the earthly conflict was God who sent Nebuchadnezzar, along with the Syrians, the Moabites, and the Ammonites.
• God’s commandment was that Judah should be cast out of God’s sight.
• The sins of king and kingdom brought the wrath of God upon the nation.

Daniel 1

• Four Hebrew men were chosen to be groomed for leadership in the Babylonian government.
• One of them is known by his Hebrew name, Daniel; and the others by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
• These were chosen because of their physical and mental abilities.
• Although captives in a foreign land, they would not offend their God by growing accustomed to the food and drink of Babylon.
• Three years was considered sufficient time to educate these captives in the language and make them teachers of the culture and laws of Babylon.
• A ten-day test was proposed; and the four He(brew) men proved to be better, not worse, for refusing the King’s food.
• God gave to all of them knowledge and skill above their peers; and to Daniel God gave an understanding of visions and dreams. Remember Joseph in the Egyptian prison?
• The King found them to be 10 times better in understanding and wisdom than the native magicians and astrologers.
• Daniel continued in government service until the fall of the Babylonian empire at the hands of Cyrus. We do not know how longed the other three men lived.

Daniel 2

• Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him.
• He consulted his regular magicians, astrologers and sorcerers; but none of them could tell him the dream or its meaning.
• Only the God whose dwelling is not with flesh, they said (Daniel 2:11), could give the King the answers he so desperately sought.
• Daniel asked for a little time to consult his God; and the secret was revealed to Daniel (Daniel 2:19).
• Daniel asked that others be saved based upon his own good work (Daniel 2:24).
• Daniel gave God all the glory for the interpretation of the dream (Daniel 2:28).
• The dream was about an image with four parts: gold, silver, brass, and iron mixed with clay. These represented four successive kingdoms: Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman.
• In the dream, a large stone, not of human making, smashed the image. This represented God’s eternal kingdom replacing the earthly ones.
• Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged Daniel’s accuracy and accepted his interpretation. Moreover, Nebuchadnezzar glorified Daniel’s God and promoted the four Hebrew men in the Babylonian government.

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