Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 19:9, 14b
9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon.
They put him in prison,
    so his roar was heard no longer
    on the mountains of Israel…

14  “…This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.”

Image Note: Today’s image is taken from Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem by Rembrandt. View a high-quality image of the painting at this link.

Reflection: A Dirge from God
By Erin Newton

Jesus wept. When Lazarus died, Jesus grieved. We know Jesus was fully human and he experienced the same feelings as we do. We often think that Jesus’ experiences with grief created the means for God to understand our sadness and sympathize. The incarnation of Christ highlights his experiences with grief. Yet, God has been nurturing and guiding people through their sorrow for centuries before Jesus. He can sympathize with our sorrow, but he has also been anticipating our sorrow and providing guidance on how to process these difficult emotions.

Much of the poetry in the Bible expresses the emotional aspect to our spiritual lives. We often think of Psalms in times of distress, hoping for words that resonate with our souls. Surprisingly, we sometimes find such poetry in the prophets.

God gives Ezekiel words for the nation’s lament. He utilizes the imagery of a mother lion and her cubs. One cub is captured and taken away. The next cub is reared but captured and taken to Babylon. These cubs are the kings of the northern and southern kingdoms. The lament speaks poetically about God’s people being uprooted from the fertile land and cast into the desert. God declares that these verses be used as a lament.

This particular word for lament, qina, specifically indicated a funeral hymn, a dirge. For many chapters, we have read about God’s coming judgment upon the people because of their unfaithfulness. Time after time, we could see that whatever was coming was their fault. But God considers their emotional well-being. Judgment has come but he guides them in their lament.

God speaks to us in our humanity. Life with God is not cold. Other laments and psalms reveal the depths of emotional pain. To live a Christian life is not to be void of emotion. We should cry, weep, and lament…even if it was partially our fault.

There is a temptation to shame people amid their pain. “They deserve it.” In the case of the Israelites, “God warned them.” We scoff, roll our eyes, and mutter, “Well, I don’t feel sorry for them.” But this lament in Ezekiel tells us that no matter who it is, people are free to feel.

It is through the deep wells of emotions that we often meet God. No facades of strength. Just our authentic, emotional selves. In aiming to be strong, we forget the God-given duty to grieve.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. — Psalm 126.6-7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 19 (Listen 2:12) 
Colossians 2 (Listen 3:27)

Read more about Lament the Fall of Leaders (Even Bad Ones)
No matter what we may think of leaders’ foolish decisions or reckless waste, their fall and failure will mean pain and suffering for many.

Read more about Legacy of Failure
We need to be reminded of our humanity and our great need for forgiveness.

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 13:6, 10
6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words…

10 “‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace.

Reflection: What is a False Prophet?
By Erin Newton

There is no single word in Hebrew to designate a false prophet from a legitimate prophet. In the New Testament, the Greek language provides a word, pseudoprophetes. Quite clearly, we see the two words combined: pseudo + prophet. This is a phony, fake, counterfeit speaker for God.

In the Old Testament, they are referred to generically as “prophets” without a specific qualifying word to denote falsehood. How do we know it is a false prophet?

In Ezekiel, false prophets spoke out of their own imagination but claimed they had the words of God. They spoke about peace when there was none. They created a sense of security, that was merely a façade, a prop. God speaks against these imposters and declares their coming ruin.

There is a good warning here from the lack of a Hebrew word for false prophets. They have the same titles as legitimate pastors, priests, reverends, and leaders. By name, they are just like those who speak the words of God, the words of truth. How will we know if those among us are false prophets?

When every religious leader claims to be speaking truth, declaring the words of God, heralding their interpretation as “gospel,” what will be the litmus test for all these words? The example in Ezekiel reveals two things to look for: ignoring the reality of suffering and avoiding convicting or uncomfortable messages.

False prophets will tickle the ear of their audience with words of false peace. When injustice or abuse are in their midst, a false prophet will ignore these issues and downplay their significance. They speak peace when there is no peace.

False prophets build a sense of security for their audience by erecting walls that are nothing more than paper mâché. This may look like claims of financial or physical blessings as a way to ward off suffering in life. This may be the call to rely on political parties or elected officials to keep evil from encroaching on one’s way of life. They will claim that nothing can harm you as long as you [fill in the blank.]

These messages cannot be supported by the whole of Scripture. Look at Job. Look at Esther. Look at Paul. These were all righteous people who suffered personally or had to walk through the hardship of suffering around them.

False prophets call themselves authentic; we must learn the difference.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel. — Psalm 69.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 13 (Listen 4:14)
Romans 16 (Listen 3:30)

Read more about Sufferings and False Prophets
False prophets today may be religious or political…what they have in common is telling us exactly what we want most to hear.

Read more about Cut and Run from False Prophets
Zechariah’s audience knew that lying prophets were deadly. Their lies killed.

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 12:27-28
27 “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.’
28 “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Reflection: Falling on Deaf Ears
By Erin Newton

They have ears to hear but do not hear. When Jesus spoke parables, he often concluded with, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” For the most part, everyone has ears and most people with ears can hear. Metaphorically, to have ears is an ability to understand, think critically, and humbly accept teaching that might seem counterintuitive.

God speaks to Ezekiel, “They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear…” The cause of their metaphorical deafness is their rebellion. It is a self-inflicted spiritual deafness. God has been speaking. In fact, Ezekiel has been using visual performances to relay the message of God. They are not only deaf, but they are also blind.

At moments, it seems that they can hear God, but they refuse to accept it. The prophet’s words are dismissed, brushed aside. They prefer to live in ignorance, assuming that everything will continue as normal. Judgment had been prophesied for years, centuries in fact, but they continued to ignore it as some mythic future.

The prophetic message is not encouraging. The vision of judgment is not comforting. To accept the message is to admit one’s failure. Hearts that cannot accept teaching, blind to the word of God, are proud and rebellious. Calls to repentance are met with a shrug and a wave, “That’s good for thee, but not for me.”

Why is it easy to hear a convicting message and quickly lay it aside? Sometimes we think it is something we might need to deal with later but certainly not now. We detach ourselves from culpability either by calling it a future problem or someone else’s problem.

Like the Israelites, we cannot feign ignorance. God has sent many messengers to preach and to perform. For us, we have the Word of God and the Spirit of God which speaks to us each day.

The Israelites had a proverb, “The days go by and every vision comes to nothing.” It was common knowledge that God had delayed his judgments. But in his delay, which Peter later calls loving patience (2 Peter 3.8-9), they had continued in rebellion. Perhaps they assumed they could clean their lives up for God later but continue in sin now.

We err in our assumption about God’s delay. It is foolish to rely on his mercy to forgive us tomorrow while we pursue sin today.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. — Psalm 46.11

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 12(Listen 4:53)
Romans 15(Listen 4:32)

Read more about Puking Prophets of Success
We must open our eyes to see, open our ears to hear, and open our hearts to feel the uncomfortable, the painful, the hurtful truths.

Read more about Turn Out the Lights
God covered false prophets with darkness…If we ignore the light long enough, God will blind us.