Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 39-40.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

The description Ezekiel gives here about the war against Gog, ruler of Magog, is difficult to interpret.  First we need to understand what purpose God intended this prophecy to serve.  It seems to me that God intended this prophecy to inspire hope among the people of Israel when they faced the prospect of being wiped out.  But God also intended to remind its readers that He has, and will again, displayed His power in this world in ways which make it hard for people of good faith to deny Him.  And perhaps that is where I am meant to go with this today.  In the passage we are told that after this battle the Israelites will spend seven months cleaning up the bodies of Gog’s army and that the arms and armaments of God’s army will provide them with fuel for seven years.  In the same way we may experience times in our life where God displays His power to us in such a way that from that time forward we will know God and understand His power.  We may spend months cleaning up the debris of our “enemies” who God destroyed when we thought all was lost, and then years living off of the “loot” they left behind.  I use quotes around enemies and loot here because I am using those words very figuratively here.  In this context, “enemies” may be people, groups, or, perhaps just situations, which interfere with us living as God intended: things which attempt to destroy us and/or our faith.  And, also in this context, “loot” can be anything which provides us with energy and/or motivation to do God’s good work.

Do I believe the above has anything to do with what Ezekiel was getting at?  Not really, but I do believe that things like what I wrote will happen in the lives of those who trust in God, and it was this passage in Ezekiel which inspired me to think about that.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 37-38.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

I really like the prophecy of the valley of dry bones.  It reminds me of the congregations I have known over the years which seemed like they were as good as dead.  The membership had shrunk, and for the most part gotten old.  No one really thought they would ever grow again, and those still attending were doing so because finding a new congregation was too much work.  Usually, the larger Church body they were part of was just waiting for enough members to die off that they could close it.  This prophecy reminds us that thinking that way is a mistake.  Certainly, most of those congregations eventually ran their course, or will run their course, and closed, but if God wishes He will breathe new life into them and revive them.  If you are part of such a congregation, or, if you even just know of one, pray that God will do just that.  That He will breathe His Spirit into those who still attend that congregation and light them on fire for Him.  Pray that God will breath new life into those dull, moribund congregations so that they will be light in the darkness.  However, let us not forget what comes before God breathing new life into them.  First, He pulls the bones together, then attaches tendons and muscles to those bones, finally, He covers this new flesh with skin to protect it from the elements.  Only then does God breathe life into what was dead, dry bones.  The same is true of individual people as well.  God may breathe His Spirit into someone who has become tired and “dried up”, so that His energy and light flows through them once more.  Let us pray that God pours His Spirit out onto the Church in this country, and throughout the world, so that it becomes the army He intends it to be to transform society around us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 34-36.

Through Ezekiel God condemned those leaders who fail to take care of the people over whom God has given them charge.  Ezekiel speaks of God’s anger at those who use the position of leadership, which God gave them, to benefit themselves without taking care of those whom God has put into their care.  Ezekiel makes it very clear that leaders’ first concern should be caring for those who have been put in their charge.  But Ezekiel does not stop with condemning the leaders who failed to care for God’s people.  He extends the same metaphor to the abuse of our fellow man by those of us who have not been given positions of leadership.  In a way, this is an extension of his condemnation of leaders, because the leaders should be preventing one person from bullying others.  In another way, Ezekiel tells us that we have the leaders who fail to care for us because the stronger among us bully the weak.    Those who have been given positions of leadership among us should be gathering the weak together into God’s flock and protecting them from abuse.  The strong among us should use their strength to shelter the weak and to help them gain the sustenance they need.  Instead, all too often, our leaders prey upon the weak, while the strong among us crush them.  Both scattering God’s people rather than drawing them together in safety.  Some who see in the Church today the situation Ezekiel is describing, and it does exist all too often in the Church today, use it as an excuse to go their own way.  But that is not God’s prescription.  God says through Ezekiel that He will gather the weak and care for them.  He will protect the weak against the strong.  If we are strong enough to faithfully serve the Lord on our own, we should never-the-less gather with others so as to protect the weak when others attempt to shoulder them aside.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 32-33.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Usually when I read today’s passage God’s comparison of Ezekiel to a watchman who must give the people warning of impending danger is the part which strikes closest to home for me.  However, today I was struck more by two other things in this passage.  First is something which I have touched on when mentioned elsewhere.  If someone whom God has praised and blessed for their righteousness begins to do evil, God will withdraw His blessing and allow them to suffer the consequences of their evil.  On the other hand, if someone whom God has promised to send punishment for their evil, stops committing evil acts and begins to live righteously, God will withdraw the promised punishment and bless them.  If you seek the benefits of righteous behavior you must continue to behave righteously.  On the other hand, when you recognize the wickedness of your actions it is never too late to change.

Second, I was struck by God’s warning to Ezekiel that most of those coming to listen to him prophesy were merely doing so for entertainment’s sake.  They had no intention of acting on what he said to them.  It struck me as something we must be careful to avoid today.  It is all too easy for us to attend worship for what I get out of it, for my entertainment.  And, it is all too easy to conduct services which entertain people rather than inspire them to change.  I would also like to point out that Ezekiel was a true prophet of God, yet God told him that those who came to listen to him has no intention of acting on the words which he spoke.  So, while if we are the one speaking we must be careful to make clear that we are calling people to change, the onus of this passage is on those of us who are the audience when God’s word is spoken.  We must listen to God’s word and change our behavior and we must not allow ourselves to select where we choose to listen to God’s word because it entertains us sufficiently.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 29-31.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Another passage about which I am never quite sure what to write.  However a few aspects about it strike me as noteworthy, but I am not sure I can tie them together into one coherent thought.  So, I will write about my thoughts and see where that leads me (not necessarily in the order the parts of the passage which inspire those thoughts appear in the passage).  First, Ezekiel warns that trouble will befall Egypt because Pharaoh had put himself in the place of God.  Pharaoh believed that the benefits of living in the Nile River valley resulted from his own actions.  Second, Egypt had presented itself as a power which could protect Israel against Babylon, but, when the time came, Egypt failed to provide that protection.  Both of these things led to the overthrow of Egypt as a world power.  Any nation which is guilty of these two things will find itself facing similar destruction.  I could spend some time writing about how these two behaviors lead to the downfall of a nation, but the important thing is that God tells us that we can expect any nation which follows Egypt’s example will fall.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 27-28.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

I am not exactly sure what to write today.  Ezekiel prophesies here against Tyre.  The city of Tyre had gained great wealth through trade and, because of its geographical location on an island, had little fear of military attack.  The people of Tyre became convinced of their “specialness” above all others.  They believed that they were unique among peoples and looked down on everyone else.  This led them to believe that they could take advantage of their trade partners with no risk to themselves.  They were proud and corrupt.  Ezekiel warned that their arrogance would bring about their downfall.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 24-26.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Every time I read Ezekiel’s prophecy about Jerusalem as a cooking pot I feel like I am missing part of the image he is drawing here.  Today, it reads to me like he is making one of two comparisons.  My first thought was that he was comparing Jerusalem to a cooking pot and all of the “meat” was thrown in together and indistinguishable after the cooking.  By that I understand it to mean that there will be no distinguishing the elites from the common man when destruction comes to Jerusalem.  Then when I re-read the passage today, it occurred to me that Ezekiel says that only the choicest meats had been placed in the cooking pot.  To me, that suggests that the prophecy says that the “elites” had gathered in Jerusalem and would suffer there together.  In both cases, I see it as a warning against those who think that they are a special class who will be able to avoid the suffering others will suffer as a result of their decisions.  As I read this I am reminded of things I see in the world today from the elites, from those who believe that their wealth or political connections will shield them from the devastation which will result from the policies they support and the actions which they take.  Again, I would like to note that Ezekiel did not speak his prophecies to the people of Jerusalem.  Rather, Ezekiel prophesied to the Israelites already in exile in Babylon.  I believe that just as I see two possible interpretations for his there are two possible lessons.  First, we should not despair thinking that those whose actions and policies will bring about devastation will escape from the consequences they are bringing upon others.  Second, we should not think that we can take actions which will bring suffering on others and escape that suffering ourselves.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 22-23.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

God spoke a prophecy against Jerusalem through Ezekiel in today’s passage.  In it God accused the people of Jerusalem of being accepting of various sins.  Their political leadership was guilty of using their power to bring about the deaths of their political enemies.  Some among them not only failed to honor their parents, they treated them with contempt.  Others oppressed the foreigners among them, and still others mistreated widows and orphans.  There were sons who slept with their father’s wives, and fathers who slept with their son’s wives.  People among them took bribes to convict the innocent and others who sought riches at the expense of the poor.  Some extorted gain from their neighbors.  And, in the middle of all of this, God accused them of desecrating the Sabbath and despising holy things.  We often look at that last as a relatively minor sin, but Ezekiel makes clear that God sees it otherwise.  It seems to me that Ezekiel is suggesting that desecrating the Sabbath is a kind of “gateway sin” which leads us to many others.  Or, perhaps to express it another way, a society which does not respect the Sabbath will fail to respect other important limitations on acceptable actions.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 20-21.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for the next 22 days.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

When some elders of the Israelite exiles came to Ezekiel to inquire of God, God gave Ezekiel a prophecy condemning them for their idolatry and that of their ancestors.  Ezekiel spoke against the repeated idolatry generation after generation of the Israelites (but I think we should read this as generation after generation of those God has called to worship Him).  Repeatedly, Ezekiel connects desecrating the Sabbath with that idolatry.  As we read this we can easily reach the mistaken conclusion that the idolatry and the desecration of the Sabbath were two separate charges, but I am convinced that Ezekiel was saying that failing to honor the Sabbath was a form of idolatry.  Or, perhaps that it led to idolatry.  After condemning previous generations, Ezekiel condemns the generation to whom he was speaking.  He tells them that they have continued the idolatry of their ancestors by sacrificing their children.  Ezekiel made a direct link between failing to keep the Sabbath and idolatry, and part of that idolatry was sacrificing their children.  I see this as making a direct link between the failure of Christians in the United States failing to properly honor the Sabbath and abortion.  Let us strive to keep all of God’s commands, even the command to keep a day of rest, and pray that He pour out His Spirit upon this world so as to end anyone’s desire to sacrifice their children through abortion.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.