Inscribe the Word - August Scripture Writing Plan
This August, I am honored to join you in inscribing three of the major Old Testament prophetic books: Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. When categorizing the books of the Bible, you will find two divisions in the prophetic books of the Old Testament; major and minor prophets. Please note - this way of separating the books does not mean that certain prophets are better or more relevant than others. Isaiah’s message (major prophet) is no greater than Amos’ (minor prophet). Nahum’s prophecies (minor prophet) are no less important than Daniel’s (major prophet) This division of major and minor prophets has to do with the size and volume of their books and not the relevance of their message. All of these prophets are “major” prophets in the book of the Lord.
WHY WRITE THROUGH THE BIBLE ?
This year we began a new series here at A Symphony of Praise called “READ THE BIBLE IN A YEAR.” This plan is a minimalistic, simple, and efficient way to read the Bible in a year. As I was praying about the direction for Inscribe the Word in 2019, I felt in my heart to go along with the reading plan as we WRITE THE BIBLE in a year. Now before you get nervous - no, we aren’t writing the entire Bible (although that is a dream of mine to accomplish!). We are taking gleanings out of the Scriptures and writing parts of the chapters.
The word glean means to collect bit by bit gradually. We are going to collect some of the key treasures out of the entire collection of sixty-six books of the Bible. It is going to be thrilling and exciting, and I cannot wait to start writing (and reading) the Word with you this year.
GLEANINGS FROM The Poetic Books of the O.T.
In January, we started with the first two books of the Bible; Genesis and Exodus.
In February, we finished the Pentateuch, the Law, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
In March, we inscribed part one of the Historical books of the Old Testament.
In April, we inscribed part two of the Historical books of the Old Testament.
In May, we inscribed The Psalms.
In June, we finished the poetic books with Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
In July, we began the major Old Testament prophets with Isaiah and Jeremiah.
This month, we turn our attention to the books of Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel which will conclude our study on the Old Testament Major Prophets.
An Important note
When reading the Bible, it is imperative that you read in context. You cannot pick and point out a verse and apply it to your life. You must understand the context surrounding the verse. The books of Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel contain prophecies for Israel and Judah. These prophecies do not apply to us today. HOWEVER, there are amazing spiritual truths to be found throughout these books that DO APPLY to us today. There are lessons that we can learn from the mistakes of Judah and Israel and the kings that ruled them. We see the attributes of God and His character throughout these books and as we know; our God does not change. We also see end-time prophecies and prophetic words, pictures, and foreshadowing of our Lord and Savior.
LAMENTATIONS.
WHO: The author of the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah, “the weeping prophet”, writes a series of five laments as he mourns over the fall of Jerusalem for her sin. His original audience was the exiled people of Judah.
WHEN: The book was composed within a brief period of time after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. You can find the historical accounts of these songs or poems of Jeremiah in 2 Kings 24 to 25, 2 Chronicles 36, and Jeremiah 39:1-11; 52. Bible scholar and theologian John MacArthur wrote of the book, “For over forty years, Jeremiah had prophesied of coming judgment and been scorned by the people for preaching doom (c. 645-605 B.C.). When that judgment came on the disbelieving people from Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army, Jeremiah still responded with great sorrow and compassion toward his suffering and obstinate people. Lamentations relates closely to the Book of Jeremiah, describing his anguish over Jerusalem being judged by God for unrepentant sins.”
WHERE: The majority of the book of Lamentations takes place soon after the fall of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was destroyed. The people within were killed, taken captive, or tortured in exile.
PURPOSE: There are two themes which run through Lamentations. One is the judgement of God and the other is the faithfulness of God. God had warned Israel almost 900 years earlier about the consequences and judgement for sin. (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). Lamentations is a record of those consequences, but also is a picture of the faithfulness of God.
“For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men.”
- Lamentations 3:31-33
THE BOOK OF Ezekiel.
WHO: Most scholars agree that the book of Ezekiel was written by Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest (Ezekiel 1:3), but he never served in that role. He was taken captive during the reign of King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:10-16). God called him to the ministry five years after his captivity.
There is quite the connection between Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. All three are contemporaries of each other but whether or not they knew each other personally is doubtful. Jeremiah spoke to the remnant that remained in Jerusalem when the others were taken. Daniel spoke to the king of Babylon. Ezekiel spoke to the captives who had been exiled to Babylon.
WHEN: Ezekiel prophesied after the first exiles had been taken captive from Judah to Babylon and continued to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. (2 Kings 24:10-17)
WHERE: The original audience for the book of Ezekiel were the captives who had been exiled to Babylon.
PURPOSE: In reading through the book of Ezekiel, my heart was so moved by this prophet. The people wouldn’t listen to him or his message so instead of speaking, in many cases, Ezekiel became an actor and acted out the messages God had given him for the people of Israel and Judah. (Ezekiel 24:24) He did whatever he could to get people to listen.
The Glory of the Lord is a major theme in Ezekiel and is shown through the many visions God gives him. While the book of Ezekiel may seem at first like a difficult read, stick with it. This breakdown may help in understanding the book.
“The book of Ezekiel begins with the prophet’s call to ministry, in which he has a vision of divine glory (chaps. 1-3). The first half of the book focuses on God’s coming judgment of Judah for their iniquity and call for repentance (chaps. 4-24). The next section is prophecies of God’s judgment of the Gentile nations for their treatment of the Jewish people (chaps. 25-32). The book closes with the regathering of the Jewish people to Israel, their rebirth, and details of the coming millennial kingdom and the messianic reign in a restored Jerusalem (chaps. 33-48).” - Moody Bible Institute.
THE BOOK OF Daniel.
WHO: Daniel is unique among the Old Testament prophets in that he gives us a fairly complete picture of his life. We meet Daniel as a young boy (probably in his teens) when he was carried into Babylonian captivity during the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign. (Daniel 1:1) We walk with him all the way until the first year of King Cyrus reign. (Daniel 9:2) When you read Daniel, you will be walking through the entirety of his seventy years of life and ministry all lived in captivity.
WHEN: The book of Daniel was written about 606 B.C. during the third year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. It was written while Daniel was in exile.
WHERE: Daniel wrote his book in Babylon. He made the very best of his time in exile. He served in government all without compromising his belief and love of the Lord.
PURPOSE: The book of Daniel has two parts. The first part is found in chapters 1-6. We meet Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Through their life stories, we learn that we may be in the world but we are not of the world. We can live as God’s people in a strange land without compromising. (John 7:14-19)
The second half of Daniel is a little more difficult to understand. We find a series of apocalyptic visions which show us that even though we are going through difficult times, our God is in control, and He has overcome the world.
My prayer, as has been through this entire year, is that through these Prophetic Books, you see Jesus.
In LAMENTATIONS, He is the our weeping Prophet.
In EZEKIEL, He is our Watchman.
In DANIEL, He is the fourth Man in the furnace and the Ancient of Days.
I pray through this study, you are blessed!
With All My Heart,
E R I K A M I C H E L L E
