I have been waiting to write today’s date since last year on December 12 (12/12/12) when lots of articles were written saying that it was the last of the “special” dates until next century. They were mistaken. I am pretty sure that today is (11/12/13). I find this date just as interesting as the repeating ones.
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 placed various cuts of meat in a pot with water and cooked it over an open fire to symbolize Jerusalem under siege by the Babylonian army. God instructed him to remove the meat from the pot in random order because no piece of meat was better than another, symbolizing that no one inside Jerusalem during the siege was better than any one else. Now it may be that this was a reference to no one in Jerusalem being more righteous than any one else, but I believe it was a reference that the nobles and well-to-do in the city would not fare any better in the siege and its aftermath than the poor and powerless. The prophecy associated with this metaphor concludes by saying that the people in Jerusalem will be according to their conduct.
Shortly after this God tells Ezekiel that his wife, whom he loves dearly, will die, but that he must not mourn her. This strikes me as a very difficult command, yet Ezekiel kept this command as an illustration to the exiles as to how they would need to act when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian army. He told them that in a similar fashion the exiles would be unable to express their grief when they received the news that Jerusalem had fallen, the Temple been destroyed, and their sons and daughters remaining there killed.
Faith is having confidence in that which we hope for. We hope for many things, but rarely act on that hope. However, when we have faith we act on that hope. Over the course of my life, I hoped that many different women would find me attractive and interesting, but I did not ask one of them to marry me until I had faith that the woman who became my wife would say “Yes”. But my faith was in more than that. I hoped that we would have a good, happy marriage, but it was not my hope in that good, happy marriage that led to it. It was my faith that such would happen and my willingness to act on that faith (not just my faith and actions, but hers as well). In the same manner, I hope that God will forgive my sins, but it is not my hope that allows me to accept His forgiveness. Rather it is my faith that He will do so. Because I have that faith, I act accordingly. In the same way, the writer points out that the great saints of the Old Testament acted on the basis of their faith in God. They never saw what they had faith in come to pass, but they maintained their faith and acted on it.
A psalm that has been traditionally interpreted by Christians as a prophecy concerning Jesus. The writer of Hebrews makes a fairly lengthy exposition on the meaning of the phrase contained here, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” However, it is also a promise to those who faithfully serve God. We do not need to take action against our enemies. If we faithfully obey God, He will humble them before us.
A loud and energetic greeting will not be well received early in the morning, no matter how positive and well intended its delivery.