What Does This Mean?

The Babylonian Captivity

The Babylonian Exile was a turning point in the history of God’s people. From the conquest of the land under Joshua until the fall of Jerusalem, the people of Judah enjoyed some measure of independence. Yet instead of serving the Lord, they repeatedly worshiped the gods of Canaan, ignored His law, and turned away from Him.

Because God loved His people, He remained patient with them. He sent prophets to warn them and call them back to His Word. Occasionally a righteous king like Hezekiah or Josiah would arise, and Judah would return to the Lord for a time — but never for long.

The kings who followed Josiah were as wicked as Josiah’s father. Because of their rebellion, God allowed first the Egyptians and then the Babylonians to bring Judah under their control. Rather than repent, Judah’s kings and people sinned even more. So the Lord began to remove His protection and allowed Babylon to impose a series of exiles.

So God removed His presence — the cloud of glory — from the Holy of Holies. The Babylonians captured the city, destroyed the temple, and carried the people away.

The Babylonians carried out three major deportations before Jerusalem finally fell:

In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish and made Judah a vassal state. He carried off the first group of exiles, including young nobles such as Daniel and his companions.

In 597 BC, after Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin rebelled, Babylon returned. Nebuchadnezzar deported the king, the royal family, soldiers, craftsmen, and many leaders of Judah.

In 586 BC, after a two‑year siege, Jerusalem fell. The Babylonians destroyed the temple, burned the city, massacred much of the population, and carried the survivors into exile.

Just as the Prophet Jeremiah had foretold, the exile would last seventy years.

Yet God did not forsake them. He sent prophets to them throughout the exile. In Babylon, the people learned their lesson. They built the first synagogues, devoted themselves to God’s law, and began to shape the form of Judaism that continues to this day. As God promised through Jeremiah, after seventy years, the Persians conquered Babylon and sent the exiles home

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jeremiah, The Weeping Prophet

[Thirty-Second in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

When Jesus asked the disciples who the Son of Man was, he got some interesting answers. His disciples gave him the answers, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

It is striking that Jeremiah was mentioned by name. Jeremiah is best known as the weeping prophet, and at first glance has little to do with the Son of Man, whom we see coming on the clouds in triumph and judgment. He wept for Jerusalem because her disobedience led to destruction. Jeremiah truly suffered as he witnessed the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was a prophet who suffered mightily for the words that the Lord had him utter. His scroll was burned. Jeremiah was also jailed and even thrown into a cistern.

So what does it mean that some said the Son of Man was to be Jeremiah? Did they know something about the Son of Man that the disciples did not? Did not the Son of Man come into the world to suffer? To suffer the awful fate of the cross was on the agenda of the Son of Man. Jeremiah is perhaps the best type we have in the Old Testament that points us forward to Jesus’ sorrow over Jerusalem and Jesus’ suffering at the hands of his own people because of his message.

The book that bears Jeremiah’s name and the next book in our Bible, Lamentations, speaks a lot about suffering. But this is not the only thing, nor is it the last word. There is hope; there is the Gospel. Jeremiah is given some of the sweetest words of the Gospel recorded in Scripture. The believer’s mourning will be turned to song. The Lord’s love is never-ending. Great is His faithfulness. In Christ, the true Son of Man, the one who suffered even worse than the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, has set us free from sin and death by his own death and resurrection.

So yes, Jeremiah should have been in the conversation of the Son of Man because He is a type and figure of the very Son of Man, Jesus, who suffered and died and rose to win salvation and everlasting life for us, poor, miserable sinners.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

King Josiah

[Thirty-Seventh in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore post:

King Josiah was unique. He was king at age eight. He loved the Lord and vowed to keep God’s covenant with Judah when he began his reign. Few of his royal ancestors were faithful to God and His law; most of them worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. His grandfather Manasseh was among the worst, sacrificing his own sons on their altars. His father continued the pattern, letting the temple fall into disrepair, placing idols within its walls, and encouraging the people to practice the religion of their neighbors.

During these evil years, it appears that the priests removed the scrolls containing the Book of Deuteronomy from the open areas of the temple and hid them in the storerooms nearby. King Josiah ordered the temple renovated and placed the High Priest in charge. As they cleaned and repaired the building, the priests rediscovered it.

When King Josiah heard the words of this book read, he reacted with great sorrow. He realized that God’s people had wandered far from the Lord and spent the rest of his life destroying the false gods of Canaan and calling God’s people to serve their Lord. Josiah remains an example of how a devout leader can live to serve God and His people.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com.

Samson

Encore Post: Samson’s mother was unable to have children until God came to visit her and her husband Manoah. He came in the form of the Angel of the Lord. Many Christians believe this messenger is the Son of God appearing to people. The Angel always speaks as if He is God. Yet the people who see Him do not die, as unholy people do when they see God. God promised she would have a son. He was to be a Nazirite, a man who never cut his hair or drank wine. These were signs that Samson was to be fully dedicated to God.

Samson was the second-last judge of Israel, one of the leaders God raised up to defeat their enemies. He was from the tribe of Dan and lived in their southern territory near Jerusalem and bordering Philistine cities. The Philistines were moving into their territory peacefully and intermarrying with God’s people, threatening to absorb them. God would use Samson’s disobedient nature to provoke conflict with the Philistines and lead to eventually defeating them.

God gave Samson miraculous strength. He would use it to defeat wild beasts and repeatedly kill Philistines. He desired a Philistine woman for his wife. During the wedding, he made a bet with some Philistines, who cheated to win. Samson killed thirty Philistines to repay the bet. This escalated into one reprisal after another.

Samson’s downfall came when he fell in love with another gentile woman, Delilah. The Philistines bribed her to try and learn the secret of his strength so they could defeat him. Three times he lied to her and defeated the Philistines who came for him. The fourth time he told her it was in his hair, which by his Nazirite vow, he was to keep uncut. This time his strength left him. In captivity, when his hair regrew, he prayed that he would have his strength back to defeat the Philistines one more time. God granted it, and Samson pulled down the pillars of the temple of the Philistine god, killing them and himself.

Samson isn’t the kind of role model we want our children to follow. He was violent, mean, and vindictive. He was the kind of man you didn’t cross. Samson, in spite of his sinfulness, relied on God for his strength. For this reason, God used him to defeat the Philistines. Even after Samson’s vow was broken, Samson remembered to turn to God for strength.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jonah and the Unforgivable

[Thirty-Third in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

Nineveh was the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire, on the Tigris River in what is now modern Iraq. Our story takes place during the years when its power was growing, and several events caused the people to focus on serving their gods. About a century after the events of the Book of Jonah, the Assyrians invaded Israel and carried off all the people of the Northern Kingdom into exile.

Jonah is not a typical prophet. He came from a small town near Nazareth and hated the people of Nineveh for their legendary cruelty. Rather than take part in God’s plan to rescue the residents of the city from their sinful ways, he would rather go to the ends of the earth — literally. Tarshish was in Spain, which was the western edge of the known world at that time. As pagan sailors work to save his life, he seems unconcerned. When the fish swallows him, he comes to his senses and turns to God. Yet even then, he only preaches to Nineveh because God commands him to do so. He is even angrier with God when the people repent, and God spares them.

Before we criticize Jonah too much, consider how you’d react if God sent you to preach to people that you have no use for. Imagine being called to preach to members of murderous gangs, to Muslim terrorists, or even to those who rape or beat up children or women. It’s hard to have any sympathy for them, isn’t it?

Yet that is what we are called to do. American Lutheran pastor Henry Gerecke had volunteered as a chaplain in World War II. He served as a chaplain in an army unit and visited the Dachau death camp. When the Army asked him to be the chaplain for the Nazis on death row during the Nuremberg war crime trials, he volunteered. How do you minister to monsters? He approached the eleven Nazi leaders who conducted the Holocaust through their childhood faith. He did not gloss over their crimes. When they asked to be communed, he refused unless they truly repented and confessed faith in Jesus. It is not a surprise that seven did not. Yet four did. He prayed a childhood prayer with one of them as the Nazi went to the gallows.

We must never forget that we, too, are sinners and unworthy of God’s mercy. Yet God, in his love, sent Jesus to see and to save the lost — both respectable people and the monsters, too. He calls on us to rejoice, for he has found his lost sheep and brought them all home.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com.

Isaiah

[Thirty-Fourth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

Isaiah ministered to God’s people during an era of great turmoil. Reading his book, you see that he was called to serve as the Lord’s prophet the year King Uzziah died, and he continued to serve as a prophet throughout the reign of Hezekiah. During this period, there was a lot of political turmoil, and the book speaks about some of these situations in detail. But the promise of the Lord saving his people and gathering them together on His Holy Mountain is in the background.

Isaiah did what every other prophet did: spoke the word of the Lord to the people, even the kings of his day. He preached the Law of God, proclaiming that judgment was coming on Judah and the northern kingdom in the form of the Assyrians, and later the Babylonians. He preached repentance to them. But Isaiah also offers much gospel and forgiveness from the Lord. We only need to look to Isaiah 40. But even before that, we see throughout his book that he preaches Law and Gospel.

In the three-year lectionary of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, we find that Isaiah’s book is used on a whopping 77 Sundays. That is over 50% of the Old Testament lessons, considering the Easter season, when OT lessons are replaced with readings from Acts.

Perhaps we should ask why Isaiah is so prominent in the lectionary. Maybe it is because Isaiah preaches Christ’s kingdom in a way that the Gospels preach it. Some even called Isaiah “the fifth Gospel” because Christ and His work come through so clearly. Even the name “Isaiah” conveys Christ. His name means “YHWH’s Salvation”. And it is no surprise that two of Isaiah’s favorite words to use in the book are the verb “he shall save” and the noun “salvation”.

Isaiah’s prophecies of Christ are quite clear, and perhaps that is why we like him so much. Isaiah is also quoted several times by the Gospels, and Isaiah 52 and 53 are highlighted in Acts as the text that converted the Ethiopian Eunuch.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

King Hezekiah and the Assyrian Siege

[Thirty-Sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

Before King Josiah, there was another king who followed the commandments of the Lord. His name was Hezekiah. His story is covered in 2 Kings 18-20. There, the author of Kings tells us that Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, cutting down the Asherah poles. He recognized the idolatry that ran rampant among the people. Judah was actually bowing down before the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness! Hezekiah broke it into pieces. He was zealous for proper worship of the Lord.

Hezekiah was the king of Judah during the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. After Israel’s defeat, Judah was on high alert. The largest superpower was knocking on their door. And Assyria was a promised instrument of the Lord to exact judgment on His people.

The Rabshakeh, who was a spokesman for the king of Assyria, spoke to Hezekiah, telling him that no god had saved the other surrounding countries. So, would Hezekiah’s God save Judah? The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, speaks of himself as a god, able to give a land that is good, as if not better than what God had promised to the people of Israel way back in his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and again to the people as they were coming into the Promised Land.

Hezekiah, though afraid of the impending doom for Jerusalem, does what a faithful Christian ought to do in times of distress. He spoke with the Lord’s servant Isaiah and inquired of the Lord in prayer. God has been mocked in Sennacherib’s speech, and Hezekiah pleads that God hear it. He does and gives peace to Hezekiah, promising that Sennacherib will die by the sword in his own land.

Isaiah 37 records for us what happens to the Assyrian army. The Angel of the Lord struck the army, and 185,000 died that night. The Lord preserved Hezekiah and Jerusalem for the time being.

We learn from Hezekiah to rely on God alone, both in times of distress and in times of plenty. Isaiah the prophet and this story of Jerusalem being under siege tell us to rely on God, who gives us our daily bread. For he also gives us the blessed forgiveness of sins in the saving work of Jesus on the cross, who took upon himself the siege of the devil at the cross and won for us the true promised land, the promise of the new heaven and new earth that is to come.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

King Hezekiah Celebrates Passover

[Thirty-Fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

Every year, Jewish people celebrate Passover. This festival remembers the time when God freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and led them through the Red Sea to safety. It recalls the night when God commanded their ancestors to sacrifice a lamb, place its blood on their doorposts, roast and eat the lamb with unleavened bread, and prepare to leave Egypt. That evening, God sent a destroying angel through the land to kill the firstborn son of every Egyptian, from the Pharaoh to the lowest slave. When the angel saw the blood on the doorpost, he passed over the home.

When the father of King Hezekiah died, and he became king of Judah, he resolved to restore the worship of God according to the traditions of his ancestors, David and Solomon. (2 Chronicles 29-30) His father had neglected the worship of God and allowed the people to worship the gods of other nations. King Hezekiah ordered the priests and Levites to perform the rituals commanded by Moses to make themselves holy, to cleanse the temple, and to make it holy according to the rules set down by Moses, Solomon, and David. He ordered a large-scale sacrifice to atone for the people’s sins and to restore regular prayers and sacrifices. Because the priests were caught by surprise, not enough of them were ready.

Eager to celebrate Passover again, Hezekiah and the people celebrated it late, in the second month, rather than the first (April into May). He invited everyone in Israel, including the survivors of the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom of Israel that had been conquered. The people celebrated so joyfully that they extended the festivities into a second week.

For Christians, Jesus is the Passover Lamb, whose blood saves us from eternal death. In the Lord’s Supper, He gives us His body in the bread and His blood in the wine. In it, we receive the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. So we celebrate it with joy, because God set us free.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Elijah’s Mantle on Elisha Cast

[Thirty-First in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

Elijah knew his ministry was nearing the end. At Mount Sinai, he complained to God that all his ministry, including fire called from heaven, was useless. He believed he was alone. God showed his prophet his glory in wind, earthquake, and fire. As Moses did in the same place, Elijah hid his eyes from the glory of God — this time with his cloak, the symbol of his call as a prophet. Yet even after seeing the glory of God, Elijah was unmoved. So, in a quiet voice, God told his faithful prophet he was far from alone. To Elijah, he gave a final commission: to appoint his successors.

God sent Elijah to call Elisha to be his successor. Their names sound very close in English, but are very different in Hebrew. Elijah means, “Yahweh is God.” Elisha means, “God saves.” Elisha’s name is very close to Joshua’s name. Joshua means, “Yahweh saves.” Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha, who did not miss the meaning of that gesture.

When it was time for Elijah to go, he and Elisha went to Gilgal. There, the people of Israel had first camped when they came into the promised land, were circumcised as God’s people, celebrated the Passover, saw the end of the coming of Manna, and the departure of the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. There, the Angel of the Lord commissioned Joshua. Then they went to Bethel, where Jacob had dreamed of the angels coming and going from heaven. Finally, they went to Jericho, where Joshua struck the first blow against the gods of Canaan.

When the two prophets arrived at the Jordan River, Elijah rolled up the cloak into a staff like Moses’. He struck the river, and it parted — just as it did in the same place for Joshua. Like Moses, Elijah would depart this world from just outside the promised land. As the chariot of fire carried Elijah into heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha caught his cloak. The new prophet struck the Jordan with it, and it parted. God had made Elisha the heir of Elijah’s ministry.

Nearly two thousand years later, Moses and Elijah met with Jesus as those he would send watched. The new Joshua (Jesus’ name is the Greek form of Joshua’s name) would suffer, die, and rise again to defeat sin, death, and the power of the devil. Rising from the dead, he breathed the Holy Spirit on his appointed prophets. From generation to generation, one generation’s prophets have laid their hands upon those who would take up their stoles after them. God of the prophets, bless the prophets’ sons, Elijah’s mantle on Elisha cast. Make each one nobler, stronger than the last.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Elijah, the Man of God, when There were Few

[Thirtieth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]

Encore Post:

Elijah is not credited with any of the books of the Bible, but he is remembered as one of the most powerful prophets of the entire Old Testament. His stories are legendary for those of us who listened to our moms and dads read Bible stories before bed. He was the prophet who prophesied a 3-year drought. He was the prophet who worked the miracle of flour and oil, and raised the widow’s son from the dead. He was the prophet who called down fire on Mount Carmel among the Baal priests. And we can’t forget about him being taken up to heaven by a whirlwind and a chariot of fire.

Elijah was the Lord’s man. But even after great triumph and acts of the Lord, Elijah shows himself to be afraid. I should say, it is difficult to determine whether Elijah is worried or he is tired of preaching to people who do not believe. You can read Dr. Maier’s great commentary on Kings from CPH for that answer. But what we know is that Elijah runs to Mount Horeb, wishing to die because he thinks he is the only prophet of the Lord left. The Lord is merciful to Elijah. The Lord tells him the truth of the situation. The Lord has 7,000 men who have not bowed down to Baal.

What a great comfort to Elijah! He is not working in vain. The Lord worked to bring about repentance and faith during the time of great apostasy, and He still works now through the preaching of His Word. What great comfort for us now! The Word of the Lord remains the same.

In the days of Malachi, the Lord promised to send Elijah before the great day of the Lord. Jesus plainly tells his disciples that John was the Elijah. And we must not forget that Elijah was on the mountain of Transfiguration with Jesus and Moses, speaking about Jesus’ own exodus.

What a man of the Lord! Elijah was used by the Lord to bring about repentance and faith when few believed and worshiped the true God of Israel. Thanks be to God that in these days, when the world appears to be going in the same way, some preach the same message as Elijah.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, IN