Ezekiel is full of terrifying words from God. For the prophet Ezekiel, they often have a double edge to them: not only are they awful words of judgement on Israel for their rebellion and apostasy, but he is charged with speaking them to a stiff-necked people, hard-headed and hard-hearted, who do not want to listen to God’s word (cf. Ezek 3:4-7). God grants Ezekiel a hardness of his own to match that of his hearers, but this is still one of the toughest jobs around—Ezekiel here must warn God’s people of his impending judgement, so that they might turn away from the evil they’ve been doing. (more…)
Category Archives: Judgement
WordWatch: The teeth of our exertions
Word Watch
Hunting down quotations is one of the most delightful of occupations, and a Briefing reader set me upon the track of the expression in the teeth of our exertions—employed by Spurgeon in one of his sermons. What, I was asked, does Spurgeon mean, and where did he get this expression from? (more…)
Re-creation in the words of Jeremiah
Thought
It’s been my privilege in two previous issues to be your tour guide for a quick trip through Jeremiah—more of a scenic flight than a safari. Today our tour ends with the book’s final chapters—but here’s the story so far. (more…)
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
Life
“Ding Dong the witch is dead!” the placard above the head of a joyful woman announced. Other placards called her a bitch rather than a witch.
So Britain reacted to Margaret Thatcher’s death. (more…)
Forgiveness in the words of Jeremiah
Thought
In the first leg of our journey through Jeremiah we focused on the man and his preaching of judgement. We will now do a bit of touring through the middle chapters, but most of our time will be spent on just half a verse—a promise:
(more…)
Fire
Life, Sola Panel
We made a fire today:
piled branches
in a top-heavy heap
and watched
as flames licked and spat and hissed,
roared high above our heads,
flicked their tails in a column of
dense
green
smoke.
(more…)
Judgement in the words of Jeremiah
Thought
It is a hardy adventurer who decides to brave the book of Jeremiah. Yet we need to hear what Jeremiah has to tell us because a gospel emptied of the wrath of God is a gospel emptied of truth and power. (more…)
Grace abounding to the chief of cynics
Life
Steve Young takes a look at bitterness in ministry—its causes and its cure. (more…)
Do not judge!
Life
What do you think is the best known verse in the Bible? Without a second thought, most of us would say John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. Almost every Christian knows this verse. There are organizations named after it. In the 1980s, there was a man named Rollen Stewart (aka Rainbow Man) who donned a rainbow wig, wrote the verse on a sign and held it up at various prominent American sporting events. (more…)
A conversation that I would dread
Keith Fifer from Wahroonga sent in the following thoughts. Food for thought…
A CONVERSATION THAT I WOULD DREAD (at the judgement seat of Christ) (more…)