Day 243: The Lord's Plans

Jeremiah 28:1-17 Jeremiah’s intervention sparked a debate with the false prophet Hananiah, who also claimed to be inspired by the Word of God. Hananiah preached a future of blessing and prosperity, the complete opposite of Jeremiah’s warnings. It would not be long before Jeremiah was proven correct, but Hananiah would not live to see it. 

Ch 29:1-32 Jeremiah cautioned the exiles to live peaceably in Babylon and to be subject to their ruler, Nebuchadnezzar. Repeatedly, the prophet made it abundantly clear that the conquest of Judah was due to sin and infidelity. He then spoke of the turmoil awaiting those left in Judah for their refusal to repent. 

Ch 29:8 Your prophets and diviners: Legitimate prophets received inspirations and revelations from God and then transmit them to the people. False prophets, however, use the appearance of prophecy for personal gain. Diviners purport to dispense secret or esoteric knowledge of the future or of the spiritual realm, either through the use of rituals or common elements that have no bearing on divine intervention. If God is not sought out for wisdom and knowledge of the future, the diviner, at least implicitly, appeals to demonic intervention. (CCC 2116)

Daniel 10:1-9 In the first year of his reign after conquering Babylon, the Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland of Judah. It is in this context that Daniel had his vision, which in part came as a consequence of his prayer and fasting. This vision sapped Daniel of strength so much that he fell unconscious. (CCC 2015)

Ch 10:5-21 The “man clothed in linen” and the others who are present in Daniel’s vision are angels, spiritual beings created by God to serve him and act as messengers and guides to all people.

Michael, one of the chief princes: This is probably St. Michael the Archangel, who also appears in the Epistle of Jude (cf. Jude 1:9), and in the Book of Revelation (cf. Rev 12:7).

I will tell you...the book of truth: The angel appears in the beginning of Daniel’s vision will reveal to him future events concerning the people of Judah and Israel. These events are absolutely meant to happen and by no means contingent on anything else. (CCC 330, 332)

Ch 11:1-20 In the intervening era, generals, who inherited portions of the Greek empire of Alexander the Great, competed for even larger shares.

The four winds: The divided kingdom of Greece after Alexander.

King of the south: Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt would surpass Seleucus I Nicator.

Alliance: Refers to a plot between Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt and Antiochus II Theos of Syria.

Daughter of the king of the south...shall not endure: Berenice, a daughter of Ptolemy, married Antiochus as part of the pact, but she and her child were later killed by Antiochus’ ex-wife.

A branch from her roots: Ptolemy III, a brother to Berenice, who successfully attacked Syria and Seleucus II to avenge his sister’s death. Seleucus was succeeded by two of his sons, the second named Antiochus III, who married off his daughter-the legendary Cleopatra-to Ptolemy V of Egypt. This long and detailed history of the region sets the stage for the entrance of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the cruel and much-reviled king and desecrator of the Temple in Jerusalem. Again, the angel did not give names, but used coded imagery to convey the intended message to the people of Judah.

Ch 11:21-39 Seleucus IV, son of Antiochus III, ascended to the throne. After his assassination, his son Demetrius succeeded him. Since Demetrius was being held hostage in Rome, Antiochus IV gained the throne and waged a reign of terror. Besides continuing the wars on Egypt, he attacked Jerusalem twice, pillaging the Temple of its precious goods and erecting a statue of Zeus in its sanctuary, thus defiling it. Some Jews went along with him, totally shaken up with the Greek culture that he had imposed on Judah. Nevertheless many others remained faithful to their laws and traditions even to the point of martyrdom. Antiochus IV in blind arrogance and pride claimed divinity for himself something none of his predecessors had done.

Ch 11:40-45 The interpretation of the vision is set at the actual time of the writing of this book. The death of Antiochus IV would signal the beginning of the end times. These events did not come about exactly as this section prophesied, but the essential prophecy indicated that Antiochus would be killed and Judah would enter into more prosperous times. The definitive sign of the end times would be marked by the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of Christ a few centuries later. (CCC 686)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• So many gems!

• Gold!

• Nuggets! (mmmm McNuggets 😋😋😋)

• Diamonds! 

• It is almost unbelievable and almost not fair

• HUGE GIFT!!

• So this is going to be a FULL DAY

• What’s the story (Morning Glory)?

• In Jeremiah Ch 28 we have Hananiah the FALSE PROPHET

• Hananiah says, “Listen, in two years Nebuchadnezzar is going to be completely destroyed and the people of Israel will come back. Nebuchadnezzar will fall and everything is going to be fine in two years.”

• Remember at this time, Jeremiah is wearing this yoke around his neck for almost a full month

• Jeremiah 28:1, “In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the FIFTH MONTH of the FOURTH YEAR…”

• Jeremiah put the yoke on in the FOURTH MONTH of the FOURTH YEAR

• He is using this visual aid of the YOKE

• Hananiah is saying that Nebuchadnezzar’s reign will end

• Jeremiah says, “That would be great. Amen. That would be awesome if that happened. It’s not going to happen.”

• Jeremiah 28:10, “Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke...and broke them.”

• In response, Jeremiah has POWERFUL WORDS

• Jeremiah 28:13, “Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but I will make in their place bars of iron.”

• So you’ve broken a WOODEN yoke

• I will make an IRON yoke

• IT IS SO POWERFUL

• The context is that as long as you continue to NOT REPENT

• As long as you continue to act as if PEACE WILL BE HANDED TO YOU

• As long as you continue to act as if NEBUCHADNEZZAR IS NOT GOING TO COMPLETELY DESTROY AND EXILE EVERYBODY

• Then the WOODEN YOKE, which was a MERCY for you, will become an IRON YOKE, which is a PUNISHMENT

• Here is God using Nebuchadnezzar, not a good guy, to accomplish HIS WILL

• That WILL is that God’s people COME BACK TO HIM

• THAT IS THE WOODEN YOKE

• Jeremiah says, “Ok, because you have not SUBMITTED to this wooden yoke, there is going to be an iron yoke.”

• The wooden yoke is actually HARD

• Two waves of exile already

• All this destruction

• BUT THERE IS GOING TO BE AN IRON YOKE

• God gives us his WORD

• God gives us his COMMANDMENTS

• If we look at them as a YOKE, they are at times BURDENSOME

• In so many ways, it is much easier TO DO WHAT WE WANT

• AND YET…

• God’s commandments are a WOODEN YOKE

• Jesus even says, “Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me.”

• We all experience CROSSES in our lives

• We also experience God’s COMMANDMENTS

• We also experience God CALLING US BACK TO HIMSELF

• BUT…

• If we do not SUBMIT TO THAT YOKE…

• God often ALLOWS us to experience the CONSEQUENCES

• You can dismiss God’s commandments when it comes to how we look at money and then MONEY IS GOING TO OWN YOU

• You can dismiss God’s commandments when it comes to how much concern you give to other people’s opinion of you and then OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINIONS ARE GOING TO OWN YOU

• You can dismiss God’s commandments when it comes to the right use of things...

• (The right use of alcohol)

• (The right use of food)

• (The right use of sex)

• ...and what is going to happen is that those things are GOING TO OWN YOU

• ASK ANY ADDICT!!

• At some point, I dismissed what I knew was the RIGHT THING and I gave myself over to this thing and IT OWNED ME

• This is the example Jeremiah gives about THE WOODEN YOKE VS. THE IRON YOKE

• The wooden yoke is a MERCY OF GOD

• It is called to LEAD US TO HIM

• The iron yoke is the PUNISHMENT

• Jeremiah is saying, “That is on its way because you are not going to surrender to the wooden yoke.”

• Later on, Hananiah dies within two months

• He said that Nebuchadnezzar would die within two years

• God says, “Nope. Hananiah, you had a job and that job was to be a prophet. Not a bad prophet but a good prophet. Not telling the people what they wanted to hear but what they needed to hear. And what they needed to hear is that there is no peace. What Jeremiah was saying. So you’re going to die in two months.”

• And Hananiah dies in two months

• Jeremiah Ch 29 is Jeremiah’s Letters to the Exiles in Babylon

• JUST INCREDIBLE!

• Remember there were at this point two waves of Exile

• Daniel and his buddies in the FIRST WAVE

• Ezekiel and his crew in the SECOND WAVE

• Jeremiah tells the people HOW TO LIVE IN EXILE

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US

• A lot of times, the options we look at and think if we are living in exile we are living in occupied territory

• You can either BE A REBEL or you could CAPITULATE

• You could either plot against the government or you could be one of the stooges of the government

• Jeremiah says there is ANOTHER DIFFERENT WAY

• “You can recognize that you are living here for 70 years. Therefore, live as exiles but live as exiles knowing you are GOING HOME.”

• SO LIVE AS IF THIS IS YOUR HOME FOR 70 YEARS

• Yes, it is a long time

• BUT IT IS NOT FOREVER

• SO BUILD HOMES

• PLANT VINEYARDS

• PLANT SOME CROPS

• He even tells them to marry other jews in exile, but do not marry the Babylonians

• CARRY ON THAT FAITH

• Jeremiah says, “Here’s the deal. You are going to be here seventy years. It’s a long time but not forever. Here is how you live in Exile. You continue to pray for those who are in charge of you.”

• THAT IS SO REMARKABLE!

• Jeremiah hands this PROMISE to them

• Jeremiah 29:11 God says through Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

• THIS IS SO GOOD!

• GOSH SO MANY THINGS TO SAY!

• Recognize that Jeremiah is writing these words of God

• Two people who have experienced DEVASTATION

• They are in the middle of DEVASTATION

• This is not stitched on a pillow or a t-shirt

• This is not a card in their Bible

• THIS IS THEIR LIFE

• THEIR LIFE IS EXILE

• THEY HAVE BEEN UPROOTED FROM HOME

• THEY ARE IN A PLACE OF GREAT DESOLATION

• It would be REALLY EASY to be convinced that GOD ABANDONED THEM

• It would be REALLY EASY to be convinced that GOD FORGOT ABOUT THEM

• Jeremiah is saying, “GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU. HE HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU. HE HAS A FUTURE FOR YOU.”

• That is the context

• Here is the truth

• There are some scripture scholars who say, “Listen people, I know you like this verse. But don’t start thinking you can start applying this to your life. God is saying these words to people in a very particular context, the context being Exile in Babylon. So don’t go applying it to your life.”

• Fr. Mike would say, “I appreciate the fact that you are wanting to contextualize Scripture. We can’t take our TEXT out of the CONTEXT. But at the same time, while we acknowledge the context of being exile of the Jews in Babylon, we also know that our God is our Dad. God has become our Father when we are Baptized in Jesus. We become His sons and daughters. So the promise that God makes to the Jewish people in Exile, is that any greater than the promise he makes to us?”

• THE ANSWER IS NO!!!

• Now, we need to know the context

• BUT…

• At the same time, WE CANNOT FORGET

• We can’t just say, “Well, that’s only THEN. But God does not have that word for ME now.”

• GOD HAS THAT WORD FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!!!

• GOD HAS A PLAN!!

• GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR WELFARE, NOT FOR YOUR WOE!!

• Now, at the same time the rest of Jeremiah Ch 29 is about THREE MORE FALSE PROPHETS

• Two get roasted to death

• One gets killed

• Yeah, we gotta be faithful to the Lord who knows our very hairs on our head

• God loves us very much

• WE HAVE TO BE FAITHFUL BECAUSE GOD IS NOT JUST A GOD OF MERCY, BUT HE IS A GOD OF JUSTICE!!

• GOLLY!!

• THAT IS A LOT!!

• Fr. Mike is so sorry  (WHY??!! I’M LOVING THIS!! 😉)

• Now onwards to Daniel Ch 10

• Daniel’s Vision “for Days Yet to Come”

• An angel visits him

• Remember, Daniel has heard about the devastation that is going to come upon the beloved people

• So he has begun FASTING AND PENANCE

• Daniel 10:2, “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks.”

• Finally, there is this ANGEL

• This MESSENGER appears and says, “Daniel, from the moment that you began to pray, God heard you. And I was sent.”

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT

• There are MANY MANY TIMES when we are praying and it seems like NOTHING IS HAPPENING

• WHAT IS HAPPENING, GOD?

• Here is the angel who comes to Daniel and says, “No, from the moment that you began to pray, God heard your voice and He sent me.”

• BUT…

• There is this mysterious thing happening

• He sends the Prince of Persia (great video game by the way 🤓)

• We think is maybe like the demon that belonged to Persia

• Some kind of dark force

• Some kind of dark persona

• Some kind of fallen angel prevented the angel from coming to Daniel

• UNTIL…

• MICHAEL!!!

• St. Michael the Archangel fought against this Prince of Persia and allowed this messenger angel to come to Daniel and give him this message

• There is more going on than what we can see

• We need to be reminded of that POWERFUL THING

• BUT…

• God hears us from the VERY MOMENT WE BEGIN TO PRAY

• SO WE DO NOT GIVE UP!!

• Daniel did not give up after fasting and doing penance and praying for three weeks

• GOD HAD HEARD HIM!!

• THIS IS SO SO IMPORTANT!!

• Daniel Ch 11 is so important

• We can’t go into ALL THE WAYS in which Daniel’s prophecy in Ch 11 HAVE BEEN FULFILLED

• COMPLETELY FULFILLED!!

• NOT ONLY FULFILLED

• BUT FULFILLED IN DETAIL

• The word “fulfilled'' sounds funny in Fr. Mike’s head (but why doesn’t the word “vague” sound funny in his head? 🤪 I’m kidding of course, brothers and sisters in Minnesota!! 🤪)

• Does the word “fulfilled'' sound funny in your head?

• Here is how DEEPLY AND PROFOUNDLY AND PRECISELY Daniel’s prophecy in Ch 11 has been FULFILLED

• Those people who do not believe in Biblical prophecy are CONVINCED that Daniel Ch 11 was written AFTER THE FACT

• That is how ACCURATE the words of prophecy of this chapter are

• For those who don’t believe that GOD INTERACTS WITH US

• For those who don’t believe that GOD EXISTS

• For those who don’t believe in the POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD

• This prophecy is SO EXACT and SO PRECISE that these people have to tell themselves, “Oh this must have been written after the fact.”

• IT IS INCREDIBLE!!

• It essentially talks about Alexander the Great coming on

• He died around age 31 or 32

• He didn’t have any children to take over his empire that he established

• So four of his generals took it over

• Ptolemy I in the south

• Seleucids in the north

• They fought against each other

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• We also have Antiochus I Epiphanes who sets up the desolation and abomination in the Temple of God himself

• We will get to that in The Book of Maccabees

• But this is an AMAZING PROPHECY of Daniel

• Daniel 11:32, “He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant; but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”

• THIS IS SO GOOD!!

• There is going to be devastation

• Alexander the Great and all the people fighting after him

• Remember, this is the vision of Daniel who is able to see not just the political rising and falling, but HERE IS THE UNSEEN REALITY

• HERE IS HOW GOD IS FIGHTING FOR HIS PEOPLE

• THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO REALIZE

• THOSE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD SHALL STAND FIRM AND TAKE ACTION

• Daniel 11:33, “And those among the people who are wise shall make many understand, though they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder, for some days.”

• THERE IS TROUBLE AND TRIBULATION

• AND YET…

• THERE IS SO MUCH GRACE

• THERE IS SO MUCH BLESSING

• This is a long one today!

• If you made it through, Fr. Mike is SO PROUD OF YOU!!

• MAN OH MAN!! (we haven’t heard that in a while, eh? 😉)

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and give you glory. We thank you so much. Thank you so much for this day. Thank you so much for your Word poured out for us, your Word given to our hearts, and your Word declared to us. We ask that you help us understand it and help us apply it to our lives this day and every day. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”