a waste

July 22, 2017

The resident aliens as citizens of Israel (Ezek 47:22-47:23)

“You shall allot it

As an inheritance

For yourselves,

As well as for the aliens

Who reside among you.

They have begotten children

Among you.

They shall be

To you

As citizens of Israel.

With you,

They shall be allotted

An inheritance

Among the tribes of Israel.

In whatever tribe,

Aliens reside,

There you shall assign them

Their inheritance.’

Says Yahweh God.”

Yahweh, via Ezekiel, seemed to favor the resident aliens who were living in Israel. They received the same inheritance as the sons of the tribes, especially if they have had children among the Israelites. There did not seem to be any code or legal restrictions on these resident aliens. This was a very strong open immigration policy. As long as they lived with an Israelite tribe, they became citizens. Thus, they could inherit the land. Perhaps this was a way of accepting the people who were living in these various tribal areas, without taking their land.

June 16, 2017

Mount Seir will be ruined (Ezek 35:3-35:4)

“Say to it!

Thus says Yahweh God!

‘I am against you!

Mount Seir!

I will stretch out

My hand

Against you.

I will make you

a desolation.

I will make you

A waste.

I will lay

Your towns

In ruins.

You shall become

A desolation.

You shall know

That I am Yahweh.’”

Yahweh told Ezekiel to be against Mount Seir, that is Edom. Yahweh was going to stretch out his hand against Mount Seir. He was going to make it a desolation and a waste, leaving its towns in ruins. Finally, they too would know that Yahweh was God.

May 30, 2017

The desolation of Egypt (Ezek 29:8-29:10)

“Therefore,

Thus says Yahweh God!

I will bring

A sword

Upon you.

I will cut off

From you

Human beings

With animals.

The land of Egypt

Shall be

A desolation

It shall be

A waste.

Then they will know

That I am Yahweh.

Because you said.

‘The Nile is mine.

I made it.’

Therefore,

I am against you.

I am against your channels.

I will make the land

Of Egypt

An utter waste,

A desolation,

From Migdol

To Syene,

As far as the border

Of Ethiopia.”

Yahweh God said that he was going to bring a sword against Pharaoh and his allies. He was going to cut them off from all human beings and animals. The land of Egypt would be a desolation and a waste. Then they would know that Yahweh was God. Because they had said that the Nile River was his and he had made it, Yahweh was going to be against the Egyptian sea dragon Pharaoh of the Nile River with all its Delta channels. He was going to make the land of Egypt an utter waste, a desolation, from the northern town of Migdol to the southern town of Syene, near the Ethiopian border.

April 2, 2017

Death at the idol worship sites (Ezek 6:13-6:14)

“You shall know

That I am Yahweh.

Their slain

Shall lie

Among their idols,

Around their altars.

On every high hill,

On all the mountain tops,

Under every green tree,

Under every leafy oak,

Wherever they offered

Pleasing odor

To all their idols,

I will stretch out

My hand

Against them.

I will make

The land desolate.

I will make

The land waste

Throughout all their settlements,

From the wilderness

To Riblah.

Then they will know

That I am Yahweh.”

These false worshippers would know that Yahweh was in charge. All these worshippers would die and lie with their idols, around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountain tops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak. This is the first mention of the green trees and leafy oaks, instead of the vague high places. Wherever they offered the pleasing odor to their idols, Yahweh was going to stretch out his hand against them. He was going to make their land desolate and a waste, no matter where they lived, from the wilderness in the south to Riblah in the north on the Syrian border. They would all come to know that Yahweh was in charge. He was Yahweh.

January 31, 2017

The destruction of Bozrah (Jer 49:13-49:13)

“Says Yahweh.

‘I have sworn

By myself

That Bozrah

Shall become

An object

Of horror,

Of ridicule,

Of a waste,

Of cursing.

All her towns

Shall be

Perpetual wastes.’”

Bozrah was the capital city of Edom in northern Edom, modern day Jordan.   Yahweh swore to himself that this capital of the Edomites would become an object of horror, a place of ridicule and a waste, as well as a cursed place. All its surrounding towns would become perpetual waste sites.

January 22, 2017

Yahweh remembers the failures in Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 44:21-44:23)

“As for the offerings

That you made

In the towns of Judah,

In the streets of Jerusalem,

Did not Yahweh remember them?

That is you with

Your ancestors,

Your kings,

Your officials,

The people of the land,

Did it not come into his mind?

Yahweh could no longer

Bear the sight

Of your evil doings,

The abominations

That you committed.

Therefore your land

Became a desolation,

A waste,

A curse,

Without inhabitants,

As it is to this day.

It is

Because you burned offerings,

Because you sinned

Against Yahweh.

You did not obey

The voice of Yahweh.

You did not

Walk in his law,

Walk in his statutes,

Walk in his decrees.

Thus this disaster

Has befallen you,

As is still evident today.”

Jeremiah justifies the punishment that they have today, based on their idolatrous sacrifices that they, their ancestors, their kings, their officials, and all the people had made earlier in Judah and Jerusalem. Did they think that Yahweh, their God, would forget this? Yahweh could no longer bear the sight of these evil abominations, so that he made their land desolate, a waste, and cursed, without inhabitants until the present time. They had sinned by offering these burnt sacrifices. They did not obey Yahweh. They would not follow his laws, statutes, or decrees. Thus this disaster has come upon them until the present day. Jeremiah thought that these refugees were too defiant against Yahweh.