Earth, Earth, Earth

November 7

“O, earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord,” Jeremiah 22:29.

“Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel; for the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: ‘There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land,” Hosea 4:1.

“Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

”Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, says the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border,” Jeremiah 31:10-17.

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And the Lord said unto me, son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, You know.

Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.

"So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I looked, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

"Then said God to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

"So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then He said to me, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

"And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord,” Ezekiel 37:1-14

These and many other exciting passages from the Word of God address two entities—the House of Israel and the whole earth. The message to God’s ancient people as well as to the rest of the world is that the Holy One has not abandoned His people.

Though they were dispersed around the world, they were restored to their homeland—to the land God had promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. He had promised them a small sliver of land amidst a sea of people who despise their existence, to a people who are awash in wealth because of the abundance the Lord has lavished upon them, yet who begrudge the Jews the tiny portion of territory from which they have hewn a productive land, “flowing with milk and honey,” Exodus 33:3.

The Bible assures that the Holy One has not and will not abandon His people. He has promised that not only will He preserve their lives in the midst of their enemies, even as Psalm 23 assures, but that He will revive them! Though they are spiritually dead in their indifference to Him, their God will breathe His Spirit into them and they shall flourish not only temporally, but also spiritually!

Would that the whole earth might receive the promise of His life-giving Spirit, for He is not far from any one of us. No matter our political or cultural or religious heritage, the God of all creation has promised life through Jesus Christ our Savior.

May all mankind bow before Him now, for we know that in eternity every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father —even of those whose disdain of Him relegate their eternal abode to be in hell (see Philippians 2:10).