Category Archives: Jeremiah

Assyria, Our Forgotten Enemy – A Little Background

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Spiritualizing the influence of Egypt and Babylon has been done many times, I really cannot remember a sermon about the evils of Assyria. From my background studies I will say they were not nice and taking populations captives or razing whole cities to the ground was common, Assyria did it to Babylon twice.

Assyria/Ninevah and the Books of the Bible that cover that time period.

This would be my order of reading for a timeline.

Kingdoms

There was history going on outside of Israel. Some of these major players are in the story of God’s People some are not. There were many other kingdoms that do not make it into Scripture, but they were there. This is just a list, their interactions and treaties were complex and changed through the years.

Gold of the Temple

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In Matthew 23:16+17 Jesus is giving the leaders of the Jews a lesson on gold and the temple. He is at the end of His forty months of ministry and will be on the cross in a few days. Early in His ministry was The Sermon on the Mount, now He is delivering a sermon on the Temple Mount and will give one on the Mount of Olives. In preparing for this part of the first sermon He has turned over tables of gold coins and answered about paying money to Ceaser. As this teaching unfolds, He gives the Pharisees “seven woes”; in this woe He ask them which is greater the gold in the temple or the temple that makes it holy?

The original thought for this post came as I read through the Books of Kings and Chronicles. David, Solomon, and the people gave tons of gold for building the Temple of God. Like Moses, David had gotten the plans from God. David gave his to Solomon. I believe this Temple, like the Tabernacle are representations of the Temple/Throne Room of God in Heaven. Everything was gold, or covered in gold, even the wall coverings; except the curtain that shielded the Ark. That golden apple proved tempting for many enemies. Several kings of Judah conveniently used the temple’s treasures to buy off those enemies. Maybe that gold was not as important as the Pharisees and Sadducees made it out to be.

The Initial Deposit

 The deposit slips and the final delivers are spread through several chapters in Kings and Chronicles. Between the temple and Solomon’s house the quantities are impressive. Please read 1 Kings 6, 7, and 10; 1 Chronicles 9, 22, 28, and 29; 2 Chronicles 2, 3, and 4 have a glimpse of the final products; that much gold and silver had to get every greedy king’s attention.                                                                                                                                                    The First Withdraw

Rehoboam’s pride and foolishness provided the door for judgment on Solomon’s sin the matters of his wives and their gods. Solomon’s first wife was an Egyptian royal, which he should not have married, he also had business dealings with the country. So, Egypt had a good knowledge of the treasures in Jerusalem.

Shishak king of Egypt, 2 Chronicles 12:9 and 1 Kings 14:26, made a significant withdrawal. I read or heard that an archeologist commented on the amount of gold work done in Egypt around his time of rule.

Asa a Revolving Door

Asa was a “good” king, who developed an attitude, it happens. He ruled for forty-one years, the last years of his rule his son, Jehoshaphat ran things. In 1 Kings 15:15 and 2 Chronicles 15:18, Asa is bringing gold and silver into the temple. Baasha, king of Israel, starts to bother Judah; so, Asa takes the gold and silver and sends it to Ben-Hadad of Aram – Kings 15:18 and 2 Chronicles 16:2. God rebukes him for his lack of faith in the power of God. By extension, the gold is what bought Asa relief.

Jehoram

2 Chronicles 21:16 and 17 tell of the Philistines attacking Jerusalem and looting the palace but not the temple. I think they learned their lesson back in the time of Samuel. The other interesting point in the story is Jehoram received a letter from Elijah.

Joash

Joash was another “good” king, who also developed an attitude. He repaired the temple by collecting money from the people – 2 Chronicles 24:14 and 2 Kings 12. Either the priests were just “sitting” on the money or possible misusing it is unclear, but they were not repairing the temple. The accounts of the withdrawal are slightly different but Hazael of Aram attacked and Joash sent the sacred objects to Hazael to leave. 2 Kings 12:18 says a stockpile of objects from Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah, was part of what was sent.

The Northern Kingdom Takes a Share

Jehoash, King of Israel, attacked Judah (Amaziah) broke down the city wall and took treasures from the temple and hostages – 2 Kings 14:14 and 2 Chronicles 25:24. Chronicles mention what was entrusted to Obed-Edom; this is a thought from the time of David and Solomon.

Ahaz and Assyria

Assyria, the enemy we forget about, is coming to power. Ahaz, a bad king, is being attacked by Aram and Israel, so he bribes Pul of Assyria to attack his attackers – 2 Kings 16:8 and 2 Chronicles 28:21. 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28 tell the story of Ahaz but share very different facts. Ahaz goes to see Pul and does things in the temple to please the foreign king.

Hezekiah and Sennacherib

Hezekiah tries to buy peace from Assyria, 2 Kings 18:15 + 16. Sennacherib takes the money and keeps coming, it does not really work out well for him. Hezekiah must have recovered the doors with gold because it mentions he stripped them to get the gold. Sennacherib blasphemed God so, what gold could not do God did with rats. Israel (north) was deported at this time. I am still studying, but the Nineveh that is described by Jonah is the one Sennacherib created. A prophecy comes after Hezekiah’s illness because he has shown envoys from Babylon everything in his treasury.

Babylon Cleans the Bank

Well, before Nebuchadnezzar takes all Neco king of Egypt fines Judah because Josiah fought with him – 2 Kings 23:35. Nebuchadnezzar actually has several times when he takes goods and people from Judah – 2 Kings 24 and 25; Jeremiah 52; and 2 Chronicles 36 tell the story.

Nebuchadnezzar first took Jehoiachin and treasures and people. Later because Zedekiah had not learned he came back to clean house and tore down the temple. Both of these times temple articles were cut up and carried away. He did leave the poor in the land to take care of things.

The Ark with the Mercy Seat

According to John in Revelations the real Ark is in heaven, remember Moses made a copy of what he saw. What happened to the one Moses made? Who knows. The favorite theory is Jeremiah, who was a priest, got some Levities together and hid it. Many things are not mentioned by name, but you think that would have been; it was not returned with the first wave of people who returned to Jerusalem.

In all of those withdrawals it never mentions the Ark. It makes you think that the Philistines experience was well known, and no one wanted any part of it.

Redeposit  

Nebuchadnezzar did something unusual with some of the gold and silver (treasures) they took from the temple. He put it in the temple of their god (Ezra 1:7). David also put some of the things he captured into his treasuries for the temple, but it would seem most nations just used what they took. Was this a way of taunting the Jews? I do not know.

Babylon lost control to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:30,31). After the seventy years predicted by Jeremiah, the Persians let Israel go back to the Land and sent the temple treasures back with them (Ezra 1:9-11). That was the first wave of people to return.

Ezra was the second wave of people to return; his king ordered a large amount of goods to be given to him for temple use. See Ezra 7:22. Then in 8:25 – 27, is another load of donated goods for the temple.

A Thought

Shiny things get peoples’ attention, they are nice to look at, and we put a high value on them. Solomon built a temple for the Name of the Lord and put the Ark in it. No expense was spared, and it must have been amazing to look at and worship in. But, when it is all said the treasures were taken, and the stonewalls knocked flat, and the wooden roof and the room panels were burned with fire, twice. That makes me think that the two things that were left was what was really important – the Land and the People.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Complaints in the Bible or Musing to Murmuring

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Well, I suggest you use this post as a launchpad for your own study of complaining found in the Bible. This study comes from looking into Job 9:11 and righteousness in the Book of Isaiah. I am surprised at the scope of the thoughts about “complaints” in the Bible; God bless translators. The word complain was not the key term I used in this study; the links below will show this.

These links are not in any particular order. These are great resources as they have more than my ink and leaf Strong’s Concordance and show how the word is used in translations besides the KJV. 

Additional words of “complain” in the Strong’s/KJV

  • H 7378 – to toss or grapple
  • H 1058 – to weep
  • H 596 – to mourn or complain
  • H 6682 – a screech or cry
  • G 3202
  • G 157 – to have affection for

There are several types of “complaints” in the Bible, you will find man complaining to and about God, God “complaining” about man and man-to-man interactions. To complicate this, you need to look at what is being said and how it is being done. How does this relate to righteous behavior? Part of our concept of righteousness is our active relationship with the Father. So, communicating with God is our praises, our thanks, our needs, and our concerns. Righteous not religious is the goal. How do you want your friends and children to speak to you? 

This balance is shown in two interesting texts. The first is the Ten Commandments. The first four focus on how to relate to God; the last six are how we are to treat other people. My second comparison is the Lord’s Prayer, the first part is towards the Father, and starting with asking for our daily epiousios bread is our needs and how we relate to our fellow man.

Prophets Who “Complained”

I will list five prophets, there may be more and more examples from these five. Each of these men were under stress for different reasons.

Isaiah 24:16 – Chapter 24 is complex, 1-13 is about destruction, 14-16a is praise to God, and 16b is Isaiah wailing because of his condition. Most of his kings did right in the eyes of the Lord, but he must have been burdened by what he was seeing in his visions.

Jeremiah 12, see Chapters 15 and 16, and 20:7 – 18. Chapter 12 is a complaint of what Jeremiah sees and God answers this in the second part of the chapter. 20:7-18 is a complaint and I did not find an answer to it. There is another complaint section for Jeremiah; 15:10 is a complaint followed by an answer 11 – 14; 15 – 18 is another complaint followed by the Lord’s reply 19 – 21 and Jeremiah in 16:19 makes a statement of repentance.

He did not have an easy job; Babylon was coming to destroy Jerusalem, the people did not like him, the king would not do what was right, and his own family was plotting to kill him.   

Habakkuk 1:2 and 12, then 2:1 – His book is built on two questions that stem from what he sees around him. 2:1 is his resolve to wait for an answer. God did answer both of his questions 5-11 and 2:2 – 20. Habakkuk ends his oracle with a “musical prayer” where he is giving quality time to the Lord.

Elijah – In the cave he was moaning to God because of Jezebel and his limited information on how many people were still faithful to God. (1 Kings 19)

Jonah – His complaint, I feel, came more from the fact that if Nineveh was not destroyed it would technically make him a false prophet. He knew God was merciful and he did not want to go.

Others Who Used Their Voices

David and the Psalms – Much of David’s life is an open book for us to read, his complaints and praises. Okay, that is because he wrote about them in the psalms or songs he wrote. They record a wide range of emotions and feelings. 1 Samuel 30 may have been one of the roughest spots for him up to that time in his life; Saul and Israel were after him, the Philistines had just booted him out of camp, he returns to Ziklag to find everything taken, and his men are mad at him. Did he “complain”? Most people I know would have said a few words and phrases at that moment, but those led to 1 Samuel 30:6 and I can hear Psalm 71 starting to be shaped in his heart. That song may have been finished when his son, Absalom, tried to overthrow his kingdom. Here are some other examples of Psalms that reflect a down time or a time of meditation.

  • Psalm 1:2
  • Psalm 31:1
  • Psalm 55:2
  • Psalm 64:1
  • Psalm 102:1
  • Psalm 142:2

The Journey – I will draw a line in the Red Sea for this post. On the west side of the line is Egypt, which is now a defeated foe, the miracles that subdued Egypt’s gods, and a healthy people leaving with riches. Now to the east side of the line is a new life so they can meet and know their God, and thank Him for freeing them and the Promised Land. Those forty years are well documented. Take a Muse Moment and reflect on your Journey since your baptism?  

In Exodus and Numbers, the people complain about God Strong’s Hebrew: 8519. תְּלֻנּוֹת (tluwnah) — murmuring (biblehub.com)  See Testing God Ten Times. Moses did not like it when God said He would not go with them, Numbers 11:10. God had a few things to say about the People, Numbers 14:27. The people complain to Aaron about Moses on the Mountain, Exodus 32:1. There are more, but to be fair there were times when they willingly obeyed God and He did not fail to provide them with manna, shade in the day and a warm covering at night.

Job – 7:13, 9:27, 10:1, 21:4, and 23:2. Translators will vary on how they view the word “complaint”, so study. There are other passages in Job that would very easily come across to fit a modern idea of complaining.

New Testament – You may not find the word complain associated with any of these stories or parables, but I took off my “Good Morning” glasses and saw people who had a lot to say. I think the range of emotions went from musing to murmuring.

  • Luke 15 – the oldest son talking to his father
  • John 4 – the woman at the well
  • John 11:21 – Martha addressing Jesus about her brother dying
  • Luke 1 – Zechariah and Mary talking to the Gabriel. I have decided that this will be a Christmas 2024 post, so more on this later. But one of these murmured and one mused.

I took a break during my study and found this; it is related. Held (youtube.com) by Natalie Grant

My takeaway is not simple or cut and dry. The Hebrew words for complaining, moaning, and musing seem to carry a wide range of uses and applications. Your heart-attitude is a factor in musing or murmuring. God is not against you; He wants what is best for you.

Heart of God

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The heart, the heart of God, the heart of man, follow your heart, and Valentine’s Day all had something to do with starting this study. No, I am not going to cover all of those topics, but this study led me to places I did not expect. I began by putting “heart God” in the search box in Bible Gateway. Many verses came up, I looked at every one of them. What I did not find surprised me, more on that later.

The Heart

Preachers, poets, and movie people provide palpitations. Do our modern thoughts on the “heart” actually sync with the ancient words and ideas? Over the years I have read many different opinions and thoughts on the subject (I have no references). Read the Strong’s references and you will see there were metaphorical aspects to the thoughts on the heart or what controlled people.

Strong’s Greek: 2588. καρδία (kardia) — heart (biblehub.com)

Strong’s Hebrew: 3820. לֵב (leb) — inner man, mind, will, heart (biblehub.com)   See H3824.

Take a Muse Moment to consider an intelligent, observant populace. Please compare an active beating heart that was in the center of your chest that changed speeds at certain times; to a glob of stuff locked away in your skull that only gave you headaches. What would you think was important?

I tend to believe that our modern society wants to nullify God and put us in His place. We think too much of our hearts (emotions and feelings). Why would God allow or even use that imagery? When you are in the lead, you have to let your followers catch up.

The Heart of Man

Please consider these popular cliches: follow your heart, my heart was not in it, my heart’s desire, bless your heart. Hollywood, Wall Street, and a sin nature can be a problem, but there are many positive thoughts also.

The free will we have is the problem. God wants us to choose Him. The Tree that Eve picked and Adam ate from also shades the way we “naturally” chose to go. So, as you study the heart of man in the Bible the overwhelming number of verses refer to us not picking Him or going His Way.

What I Did Not Find

I did not find many verses that specifically refer to God’s leb or kardia. In my first search, I found Ezekiel 28: 2 and 6. Because there was a still small voice telling me to go further, I turned to my “leaf and ink” version of Strong’s Concordance and found three more: Genesis 6:6, Jeremiah 3:15, and 32:41. There may be more and the translation you use may require more study; using the meanings of leb or kardia are going to be the path. (Let me know.) The verses I will add from the New Testament will not have kardia in them but the Hebrew ideas associated with leb. I believe these should be part of this study because you have Hebrews writing in Greek.

The exoteric anthropomorphism of a beating heart in our God, in Scripture, was put there by our God. So, it is how He chooses to portray Himself and we need to learn about Him through this self-revelation. I will use bullet points just because, again leb and kardia are the focus thoughts, not our English words.

  • Genesis 6:6 – God is grieved because of man.
  • Jeremiah 3:15 – the Father will give us shepherds who will feed us.
  • Jeremiah 32:41 – He will plant us in His land.
  • Ezekiel 28:2 and 6 – these verses are about the king of Tyre, who believes he has a heart like God’s.
  • Romans 8:27 – the “mind of the Spirit” and the “will of God”. φρόνημα | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com
  • Romans 12:2 – “renew our minds” to prove His will. These are different Greek words in this verse.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:16 – “mind of the Lord” and we have the “mind of Christ”. (Isaiah 40:13 is a reference for this verse.) Please start in verse 10 and read through 16 for the complete thought. Your translation may have the word “thought” added for clarity. 1 Corinthians 2:11 Greek Text Analysis (biblehub.com)

The Heart of God

So, there does not seem to be many verses on the heart of God, or is there? Over the years many have told me what the heart of God is, needs, or wants. Were they in the know? (Please, this is a study.)

As I worked on this post, three ideas were reinforced in me. 1. His written Word reveals the heart of God. 2. Do not be quick to claim the heart of God. 3. The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the heart of God.

I give two of many verses that show what our God is like.

Psalm 86:5 (NASB) For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.

Psalm 33:4-5 (NIV) For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Ezekiel 28

Verse 2 in the NASB is, “Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord God says this: “Because your heart is haughty And you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas’; Yet you are a mortal and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God.” (From Bible Gateway) This was the first verse I found that cited the heart of God. I did another search on this website Ezekiel 28:2 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com). Verse 6 also uses these words and ideas.

Tyre has a long and complicated place in Scripture, it starts with David and continues into the New Testament with Jesus and even into the Book of Acts. Joshua used it as a reference point. I will offer a “light look” at this verse.

  • Ezekiel was a captive in Babylon when God gave him this word to speak.
  • It appears to be written to a man. Most scholars will tell you this also refers to Satan.
  • The Complete Jewish Bible has, “You think that you think like God”. Many translations use this instead of the heart to portray the inner part of God.

Winds in the Bible – The Bible and Science

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Winds and directions are frequently written together in the Bible. Wind(s) are a tool that the Lord uses for His purposes. There is a metaphorical side of winds, but the physical aspect of air movement should not be downplayed, this includes the geographical location of the speaker.

The Science

Air moving can be pretty or a problem, but why can it move? Hot and cold, convections, high and low pressures, and the Coriolis Effect are drivers that put air into motion. Forgive me for breezing through this but all of those boil down to Sonshine and spin. The sun heats land and water and the air rises, if something goes up something comes down. The spinning of the earth causes rotary motion in the slower-moving air. (If a term is highlighted, please click on that, it is another post that may add to the topic.)

Location, location, location is important. Many of the references to wind are in Israel, so the Mediterranean Sea, deserts, mountain ranges, and the Sea of Galilee all influence the weather. Now to be a little geo-specific, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Job are not in Israel, Moses is in Egypt, and Noah and Jonah are near Turkey, Paul and much of Acts deal with the Mediterranean. Yes, all of those are in the same region, which is the area of the prevailing westerlies or 30 to 60 degrees north latitude. Into all of that throw in seasonal weather and winds becomes more of a complex issue. Remember if you are south of the Equator storms and wind directions may not be the same as in Israel. PS winds are usually named for where they are coming from not where they are going to.

Father God vs Mother Nature and the other guy  

How many times have you acknowledged someone for the weather? Mother Nature frequently gets the credit for nice weather and some rainy weather. Let it be a destructive storm and God usually gets the blame, even from nonbelievers. Ephesians 2:2 has an interesting phrase that Paul says about the air. There is a spirit that is the prince and power of the air, or Satan. Please notice how Satan never is credited with bad weather; think steal, kill, and destroy. Much of our weather is because of physical factors but there are times.

I try to think of Father God and not Mother Nature, just to give the credit where it is due.

There are six more topics to cover and I will try not to be blustery about them. So, study and use a concordance and Bible search tool, as I will not try to mention all of the references. I encourage you to use a parallel function in your tools as there can be small differences.

Four Winds or the Four Corners of Heaven

So, is this a metaphor, actual winds, or both? I will give examples of each and let you decide. Oh, get out your Bibles as I am giving only the reference.

Both 

  • Jeremiah 49:36 has Elam being pushed by the four winds and its people being sent everywhere.
  • Revelations 7:1 is a terrifying picture where angels are stopping the winds blowing all around the world. The hot air would rise and create a heat dome, which should play into 8:5 and provide the violent weather.

Real Winds

  • Ezekiel 37:9 is the verse where Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the four winds to give breath to the slain bodies.
  • Daniel 7:2 is a “night vision” where he sees the great sea being churned by winds from four directions.

Four Directions or All the Earth

  • Daniel 8:8 and 11:4
  • Zechariah 2:6 and 6:5
  • Matthew 24:31 and Mark 13:27 tell of when Jesus’ Church will be called by a loud trumpet call from all the earth.

West Wind

A very strong west wind in Exodus 10:19 pushes the locust from Egypt into the Red Sea. The NASB has the words west and wind in the same verse, but most translations say flood or a rushing stream, and the wind could be from the east. These are the only two verses I found.

North Wind

  • Ezekiel 1:4 is God’s introduction to the prophet. A strong wind from the north is pushing a huge lightning storm with something glowing on the inside; the Father knows how to make an entrance. Remember a sky full of angels singing to some shepherds.
  • The “hurricane” that pushed Paul to start a church in Malta, Acts 27:14, is called a Northeaster in some translations.
  • A north wind is frequently paired with a south wind as in Job 37:9. Solomon does this in several places in the Bible – Song of Songs 4:16 and Ecclesiastes 1:6.

South Wind

  • A south wind in Israel is coming from the desert, so it will be warm or hot.
  • Job uses many weather references, see 37:9 and 17 for south winds.
  • Luke, who adds great details, does it again in both his Gospel and Acts. Luke 12:55 has Jesus linking a south wind with it being hot. Acts 27:13 and 28:13 are on board the ships that take them to Rome. In Luke 11:31 he joins Matthew in talking about the Queen of the South. The word is notos or south wind.  

The next wind is the most named and is associated with judgment and correction. Use a Bible search tool as I will give a few examples. I have used Bible Gateway.

East Wind

  • Hosea 13:15 Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. (ESV) I feel this verse says a lot.
  • Genesis 41:6 Pharaoh’s dream about the coming drought.
  • Exodus 10:13 the wind that brought the locusts on Egypt.
  • Jonah 4:8 is the wind that dried Jonah’s vine.
  • Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Job, and Psalms are other books that have the east wind doing the Lord’s work.

Yes, in word searches there will be overlap.

Wind or Winds

  • 1 Kings 19:11 a strong wind is tearing apart a mountain where Elijah is.
  • Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7 link angels and winds as ministers of God.
  • Ezekiel 5 repeats the idea of being cast to the winds.

The New Testament has more generic winds than named ones.

  • Matthew 7:25 the parable of the house that will stand.
  • Matthew 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8 have Jesus calming the winds while He was in a boat.
  • Jude 1 and James 3 use winds as metaphors.

May the wind always be at your back as you sail on in your studies of wind, breath, storms, and weather in the Bible.