I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Ezekiel condemns the people of the kingdom of Judah for not learning from watching the disaster which struck the Northern Kingdom. Ezekiel compares idolatry to adultery. As I read this passage it struck me that Ezekiel was implying that sexual immorality is a form of idolatry and that idolatry leads to sexual immorality. Ezekiel condemned Judah for sacrificing their children to the idols they worshiped, much as our society today sacrifices children on the altar of convenience.

     Our sins have been forgiven, there is no need for any more sacrifices. As a result of Jesus’ death we can enter into God’s presence without fear. Our spirit’s have been made clean by Christ’s blood and our bodies washed by the water of baptism. Let us seek ways to encourage one another to act out our love, the love instilled in us by God’s Spirit, and to do good works. In order to do this, we must gather together with our fellow believers on a regular basis. There are those who believe that they can live a life faithful to God in isolation from their fellow believers. They are mistaken. We need to meet with fellow believers on a regular basis in order to encourage others and to be encouraged.

     The psalmist calls on God to protect him because his enemies are telling lies about him. Despite the fact that he has done good for them they are attempting to destroy him. They tell lies about him claiming that he is deserving of misfortune because he has refused kindness to others and persecuted the poor and needy. They claim that he hounded the brokenhearted to death. They condemn him for acts which he never committed and deny the good things he has done.

     I just realized that this proverb does not condemn guaranteeing a stranger’s debt. Rather it merely warns to be wary of loaning money to someone who has offered surety on someone else’s debt, since it is likely that they will have to pay off that debt as well as their own.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Some of the elders of the people of Israel came to Ezekiel to ask him to inquire of God on their behalf. Ezekiel condemned them for following in the sinful footsteps of their ancestors. He gave a list of the sins of their ancestors and suggested that the people of the current generation intended to practice those same sins. Then he tells them the root of all of their sins, they want to be like the peoples around them, the peoples of the world. All too often that is the sin that we fall into. We do not want to be different. We want to be just like everybody else. So, instead of doing the things which God tells us to do, we commit the same sins that those around us commit.

     The law of the first covenant required that nearly all of the parts of the Tabernacle be cleansed with the blood of animals. However, the Tabernacle and everything in it were mere copies of things in heaven. Christ did not enter a holy place made with human hands that was a copy of the one in heaven, rather He entered into heaven itself. As a result He needed a sacrifice that was better than the blood of animals and thus offered up His own blood in sacrifice. He did not need to do this time and again as the high priests of the first covenant did. Instead He offered Himself up once and for all to take away our sins. This happened but once so that when He returns it will not be to offer Himself up again, but will be to welcome into heaven itself those who have accepted His cleansing.

     The psalmist challenges us to tell others of how the Lord has redeemed us. We all have different stories to tell. Some of us were lost and homeless, some were near onto death. Some of us were in darkness and gloom, some were imprisoned in misery. Some of us were fools and rebelled against God and suffered for our rebellion. Some faced dangers in far away lands. Some were like this young man, at their wits end. But just like this man, when we cried out to God, He heard our cries and He answered us.

     If you want to make your parents happy, and leave their critics with egg on their faces, exercise wisdom in all that you do.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Ezekiel quotes a proverb that was apparently common among the people of Israel at the time.

     The writer describes the inner rooms of the Tabernacle as established by the law of Moses. He tells us that only the high priest ever entered the room that was the Most Holy Place, and that but once a year. Each year when he did so, he had to enter with a fresh sacrifice of blood to cover both his and the people’s sins. The writer tells us that this indicates that the gifts and offerings available under the old covenant were insufficient to clear the way for the worshiper to enter into the presence of God. The way the law of Moses set up the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle acted as a pointer towards the covenant that was to come.

     Again and again the people of Israel failed to keep the commands and instructions which God had given them. Rather than stay separate from the evil acts of the people in the land which God gave them, they mixed with them and took part in their evil acts. They sacrificed their children to idols and adopted evil customs. The result of this was that they fell prey to pagan nations and were ruled by those who hated them. As I read this I could not help but think about how readily the people of this nation sacrifice their children on the altar of convenience. But there is reason for hope. The psalmist tells us that when the people cried out to God, He took pity on them and gathered them back to Himself.
     I will pray to the Lord that He send His Spirit upon the people and cause them to repent of their sins and turn back to Him. If they do so, God will take pity on them and gather them to Himself once more.

     Keep up friendships, both those which you form yourself and those which were formed by your parents (and perhaps their parents before them). When your family has moved far away, those friends may be able to provide aid and support in time of need.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     When I began reading today’s passage, I was depressed and somewhat frightened because I have come to believe that the Old Testament prophecies predicting doom on Jerusalem apply to the U.S. today (and to many other parts of the world). I look at the culture around me and the lack of respect for God’s laws and I see God’s judgment coming. It is more than that, I see the signs of the coming doom in events happening around me. As the prophet foretells, I foresee calamity following calamity as God brings judgment against the sins of the people. As I read this, I fear the coming destruction.
     However, there is cause for some hope because the calamity and destruction, while widespread and seemingly all-encompassing, does have some limits. The prophet tells us that people will suffer because of their sins. That God will bring His judgment upon the people and deal with them according to their conduct. He will judge them by the standard by which they have judged others. A calamity is coming upon our nation and we are called to act as watchmen and warn them of its coming, but if we give our neighbors God’s warning, He will not hold us accountable for their sins. Let us turn to God and throw ourselves on His mercy while there is yet time.

     No one becomes high priest just because he wants the job. One only becomes high priest when called to the job. This is doubly true of God’s High Priest. The only way to become God’s High Priest is to be called by God, just as Aaron was. In this way, Jesus did not appoint Himself as High Priest, rather God called Him and made Him High Priest. But not High Priest of the order established by Aaron. Rather, Jesus is High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus does not succeed to the priesthood which served in the Temple in Jerusalem, instead He is the High Priest who serves in heaven before the throne of God.
     The writer then warns us that we need to develop spiritually to the point where we consume solid spiritual foods. When we begin our Christian life, we need to feed on spiritual milk. But as we grow in our walk we need to start eating solid food. There comes a time when we need to start thinking about the more complex elements of our faith.

     Yes, I will do as the psalmist recommends. I will give thanks to the Lord. I will proclaim His greatness. I will tell the whole world what He has done. I will seek the Lord and rely on His strength, my own is insufficient, but His strength will overcome. As the passage from Ezekiel tells us, calamity is coming for those who do not turn to the Lord. I will proclaim His greatness and call my fellow-man to pay attention to what He has done. The day is coming when everyone will know that the Lord is God.

     Someone who lies regularly hates those to whom they lie. If you believe what a flatterer tells you, you will fall into ruin when you discover that you are not as good as they said you were.