King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 6 notes
1Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
I know they used to murmur and complain a lot in the wilderness, but that was their best days yet.
Fast forward, the Lord remembers those days and calls them holiness to the Lord.
The wilderness was one of the closest a nation en masse had experienced God and divinity.
Indeed they were holiness to the Lord.
3Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
4Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.
10For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
Hm... Why is it so... They that have the truth often sell it cheaply for falsehood...
Why do evil 😈 people, and in this case other nations, stay true to their false god and to evil, but Israel 🇮🇱 did not show the same but converted to other gods?
I think part of it is the deception 😞 of evil 😈.
It is for this same reason, I believe, that God commanded Israel not to intermarry with the other nations, lest they lead them astray, and not vice versa.
See how Solomon the wisest, even he was led astray.
What is there about other gods? Is it the thrill of wickedness and the controlling power, that you can have power over others, as is practiced in witchcraft?
But in Christ Jesus we are told to go out and witness, but are cautioned not to be unequally yoked.
We are also cautioned about marriage with unbelievers.
The same thing applies here also. I think it requires more tact, since we are to be in the world 🗺 and win the world over without being of the world.
We are to be innocent as doves whiles wise as serpents, in order to fulfill the great commission.
11Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
15The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
20For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
22For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
23How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
27Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
The way God debunks and utterly destroys and exposes the foolishness of idol worship is so apt.
28But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
Numerous
29Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Hmmm... Can a bride forget her attire?
Such vivid description.
God was saying, I am your cover, that which you feel and experience, for which you think you are great and you are in charge of the happenings of your life... Your successes and all...
I am actually behind it. Like the attire of a bride 👰, God was their glory and beauty.
He was their cover, their beauty, their apparel, yet they walk on in shame; they choose the darkness and nakedness and once more shame.
33Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
35Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.