Study Desk

But they turned against him and made his Holy Spirit very sad. So the Lord became their enemy and fought against them.

Then they remembered what happened long ago. They remembered Moses and those with him. So where is the one who brought them through the sea along with the shepherds who led his flock? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to live among them?

He was by Moses' side and led him with his wonderful hand. He divided the water, so that the people could walk through the sea. He made his name famous by doing those great things.

We don't call to you for help. We aren't excited about following you, so you have turned away from us. We are helpless before you, because we are full of sin.

"But you people left the Lord , so you will be punished. You forgot about my holy mountain. You began to worship Luck. You held feasts for the false god, Fate.

So this is what the Lord God says: "My servants will eat, but you evil people will be hungry. My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. My servants will be happy, but you will suffer shame.

This is what the Lord says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is where I rest my feet. So do you think you can build a house for me? Do I need a place to rest?

So I decided to use their own tricks. I will punish them using what they are most afraid of. I will do this because I called to them, but they did not answer. I spoke to them, but they did not listen. They did what I said is evil. They chose to do what I did not like."

The Lord says, "These are the people who wash themselves and make themselves pure so that they can go into their special gardens to worship their idols. They follow each other into the gardens to eat meat from pigs, rats, and other dirty things. But they will all be destroyed together.

"They have evil thoughts and do evil things, so I am coming to punish them. I will gather all nations and all people. Everyone will be gathered together to see my Glory.

I will put a mark on some of the people. I will send some of these saved people to the nations of Tarshish, Libya, Lud (the land of archers), Tubal, Greece, and all the faraway lands. Those people have never heard my teachings. They have never seen my Glory. So the saved people will tell the nations about my glory.

Your ancestors did not say, ‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He led us through the desert, through a dry and rocky land. He led us through a dark and dangerous land. No one lives there; people don't even travel through that land. But the Lord led us through that land. So where is he now?'

"I brought you into a good land, a land filled with many good things. I did this so that you could eat the fruit and crops that grow there. But you only made my land ‘dirty.' I gave that land to you, but you made it a bad place.

The Lord says, "So now I will accuse you again, and I will also accuse your grandchildren.

Has any nation ever stopped worshiping their old gods so that they could worship new gods? No! And their gods are not really gods at all! But my people stopped worshiping their glorious God and started worshiping idols that are worth nothing.

"A thief is ashamed when people catch him stealing. The people of Israel should be ashamed too and so should their kings and leaders, priests and prophets.

"Judah, you have become so good at finding lovers. Even the worst women could learn some evil ways from you.

But still, you say, ‘I am innocent. God is not angry with me.' So I will also judge you guilty of lying, because you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong.'

So you will eventually leave Egypt too, and you will hide your face in shame. You trusted these countries, but the Lord rejected them, so they cannot help you win.

"If a man divorces his wife and she goes and marries someone else, the first husband cannot take her back. If he did, it would make the land unclean. Judah, you and all your false gods are like a prostitute with many lovers! So why do you think you can come back to me?" This message is from the Lord .