All posts by AttilaDimedici

Daily Bible Study

August 29, 2023 Bible Study — Those Who Grieve Over the Detestable Acts Will Be Spared When God Sends Judgement

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 9-12.

In yesterday’s passage, Ezekiel prophesied about the corrupt practices of the people and leaders still living in Jerusalem and how those practices would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem.  Today, Ezekiel goes into more detail about that destruction.  Ezekiel describes how God ordered six “men” to execute judgement upon the people in Jerusalem.  God ordered them to kill without pity or compassion.  However, God sent ahead of them a “man” ordered to mark those who lamented and grieved over the detestable things being done in Jerusalem.  Those ordered to kill were also ordered to pass by those so marked.  I want you to notice that those who were marked for protection were not marked in advance.  They were not those who had at some point lamented and grieved over the sins being carried out.  They were those who were actively doing so when God’s judgement was carried out.  So, let us grieve and lament about the detestable things being done in our society today.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 28, 2023 Bible Study — Leaders Commit Socially Acceptable Sins in Public, but Hide Worse Behavior

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 5-8.

In today’s passage Ezekiel prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem and the people living there.  His prophecy calls for almost complete destruction of everyone living in and near Jerusalem, which seems somewhat frightening when we think about how closely our society fits his condemnation of the people of Jerusalem.  However, as we read a little further we see that this destruction came about because of their actions.  God promised to repay them for their detestable conduct.  He would bring judgement on them according to their own standards.  In the same way, God will bring judgement upon people today…they will be judged by their own standards.

God then gives Ezekiel a vision of the people in Jerusalem.  The first part shows Ezekiel the idolatry and sin which the people of Jerusalem were doing in full view of the public, but God tells him the people are committing even more detestable acts in private than what they do in public.  God shows how the leaders of Jerusalem each pursued their own idolatry, their own agenda, in private.  Publicly, these leaders proclaimed themselves servants of the people and sharing common values with the people, but in private they pursued their own interests, interests which the fact that they kept them private suggest the people would have found reprehensible.  We see the same thing among our leaders today; in public they say one thing, but in private they do another.  What they say in public is bad enough, but what they keep hidden is worse.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 27, 2023 Bible Study — Listen and Obey the Words God Gives Us to Speak to Others Before We Speak Them

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 1-4.

I am always struck by Ezekiel’s call to prophecy.  I think many aspects of his call apply to each and every one of us.  When Ezekiel realized he was in the presence of the glory of the Lord, he fell on his face.  We also should prostrate ourselves before God.  God told him to stand up so that He could speak with him.  However, Ezekiel did not stand up, instead God’s Spirit raised him to his feet.  In the same way, we need God’s Spirit in us in order for us to stand in God’s presence.

Which brings us to the meat of God’s commission to Ezekiel.  God told Ezekiel that it did not matter if those He sent him to listened or did not listen to the message he spoke to them, so long as they knew that a man of God had been among them.  We, also, should not worry about whether people listen to the message God has given us, so long as they know that we choose to speak God’s message.  Then, before sending Ezekiel out to speak His words, God gave them to him on a scroll, telling him to eat it and fill his stomach with it.  I have always understood that to mean that Ezekiel was to first listen to and abide by the words which God was giving him to speak.  That of course is how the people would know that Ezekiel was a man of God, and how they will know that we are the people of God; when we live by words which we speak to them on behalf of God.

I almost stopped there, but I think we need to hear God’s call about being a watchman.  When God reveals to us that someone is doing something wicked which will lead to their death, we are under obligation to warn them against their wicked actions.  If they listen to us and change their ways, all can rejoice.  If they do not listen to us, God will hold us blameless because we warned them about the danger to themselves of their action.  However, if we do not warn them against the dangers of their wickedness, we will be held accountable for their suffering.  So, let us not let fear of people keep us silent when God tells us to call others to righteousness.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 26, 2023 Bible Study — When Your Prayers Bounce Off of the Ceiling Its Because God Is in the Room With You

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Lamentations 3-5.

The writer continues with describing his depression.  He describes his suffering in detail which breaks your heart and starts to make me depressed because he experienced it.  Then he writes, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.”  He goes on to tell us what he called to mind and why it gives him hope.  God’s compassion does not fail, it renews every day.  Put your hope in God and He will do good things for you.  When you face depression, when your world is coming apart, trust God and wait for His salvation.  We should not complain when we suffer punishment for our sins.  Instead, let us examine our actions and return to the Lord confessing our sins.  In the midst of our depression let us call upon the Lord.  He will hear us when we do, and tell us what He has told every generation which turns to Him, “Do not fear.”  I almost missed the other point about how God responds when we turn to Him.  When we cry out to God, He comes near to us.  A few people I know express how, when they are depressed that it feels like their prayers are bouncing off of the ceiling.  Well, that is why this is so important.  When your prayers are bouncing off of the ceiling, that’s OK because God has come near, right in the room with you.  The reason your prayers bounce off of the ceiling is because God is right next to you and they bounce off of the ceiling to His ears.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 25, 2023 Bible Study — Do We Expose the Sins That Will Lead Those Around Us Into Suffering?

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Lamentations 1-2.

I always struggle with the Book of Lamentations because it seems so unremittingly despondent.   Today I saw something a bit different.  In the middle of lamenting the suffering of the people of Jerusalem, the writer talks about the failure of its prophets to point out their sin and call them to repentance.  So, if like me, you see an echo of what Isaiah and Jeremiah had to say about Israel and Judah in today’s society, then we need to ask ourselves if we are like the prophets to whom the writer refers.  As I read the Old Testament prophets condemning the sins of Israel and Judah, I see  our society committing the same sins, and I see how those sins are destroying our society just as the prophets said they were destroying Israel and Judah.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 24, 2023 Bible Study — God Has Determined the Course of History

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 51-52.

At the height of Babylon’s power, Jeremiah prophesied that it would fall and be completely destroyed, never to rise to power again.   Jeremiah told the world that for all of Babylon’s power it could not escape the Lord’s judgement against it.  There were those who would believe that the fall of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple there, meant that the gods of Babylon were more powerful than God.  God gave Jeremiah the prophecy about the fall of Babylon before the fall of Jerusalem in order to provide evidence for those who worshiped Him that Babylon’s gods were not more powerful than He was.   We live in a time when people believe that God is no longer relevant, but this is not true.  The God who told us of Babylon’s fall before it reached the height of its power continues to work in the world today.  History follows the course which He has laid out for it.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 23, 2023 Bible Study — God Will Bring Judgement Upon the Nations Which Oppose His Will

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 49-50.

I mentioned yesterday that it is unclear when Jeremiah made the prophecies against the nations surrounding Judah.  These are relevant today because today’s passage contains more “undated” prophecies (that is, we do not know when during Jeremiah’s career he made these prophecies).  In today’s passage these other nations all thought that they had not suffered the fate of Israel because their gods were able to protect them.  Yet God gave Jeremiah a prophecy predicting that they would suffer the fate which they thought their gods had protected them from.  Even Babylon, through whom God brought punishment upon Jerusalem for its people’s sins, would face God’s judgement.  At the same time, God would provide relief to His people.  In the same way today, God will bring judgement upon the nations which oppose His will, while rescuing those who faithfully repent of their sins and turn their faces towards Him.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 22. 2023 Bible Study

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 45-48.

There are two parts to today’s passage.  The first, and shorter, portion, is Jeremiah’s prophecy to his assistant and scribe, Baruch.  Baruch apparently had ambitions to do great things, as he came from the aristocracy of Judah.  Jeremiah gave him a prophecy from God telling him that such things were not a possibility in his time on this earth, but that God would ensure that he escaped with his life from the various situations in which he found himself (this was apparently a reference to the persecution Baruch and Jeremiah faced, the fall of Jerusalem, and the murder of the Babylonian governor).

The rest of the passage consists of various prophecies against Judah’s neighbors.  When I have thought about it, I have always thought of these prophecies as being made after Jeremiah was taken to Egypt.  As I read today, I realized that these were probably prophecies made earlier in Jeremiah’s career.  For example, it strikes me that the prophecy regarding Egypt was likely made before the Battle of Carchemish.  I realized that the reference made to the Battle of Carchemish here was an editorial comment by the scribe (probably Baruch) telling us that this prophecy started to be fulfilled with Pharaoh’s loss at Carchemish.  Secular biblical scholars often point to Jeremiah’s prophecies concerning Nebuchadnezzar invading Egypt and state that they were not fulfilled.  Interestingly, I discovered over the last few days that Nebuchadnezzar, despite being the longest reigning king of Babylon is also the least documented of Babylonian kings.  This lack of Babylonian documentation about Nebuchadnezzar’s reign means that all we know about his military exploits is that the Babylonian Empire at the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was no larger than during the reign of his father.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 21, 2023 Bible Study — Do Not Ask God for Guidance if You Have Already Made up Your Mind About What You Are Going to Do

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 42-44.

After the murder of the man the Babylonians appointed as governor over Judah, the Jews remaining in Judah came to Jeremiah seeking to know God’s will for them.  In particular, they wanted Jeremiah to ask God where they should go and what they should do.  They swore that they would act in full accordance with whatever Jeremiah told them was God’s will for them.  When Jeremiah brings God’s answer to them it is clear that both God and Jeremiah knew how they would respond…which was by refusing to abide by the answer they received.  Every time I read this I come away with the impression that those who came to Jeremiah had already made up their minds as to what they were going to do before they spoke with him.  Which leads me to wonder why they came to Jeremiah in the first place.

We don’t have any basis to determine why they came to Jeremiah when they had already decided on a course of action.  What we do know is what they did after rejecting what God told them through Jeremiah.  First they accused Jeremiah of lying when he said that God had told them to stay in Judah.  Then, once they were in Egypt, instead of listening to Jeremiah’s messages from God, they resumed making sacrifices and offerings to idols.  So, the people consulted Jeremiah to learn what God’s commands for them were.  But, when he did not tell them what they wanted to hear, they rejected not only Jeremiah, but God as well.  We must be careful when we ask for God’s guidance to listen and obey what He tells us.

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

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2023 Bible Study — Do We Fear Man More Than We Fear God?

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 39-41.

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Jeremiah warned King Zedekiah, in a private meeting, that if he surrendered to Babylon, all would go well with him and that Jerusalem would not be burned, but that if he did not surrender, he would still fall into the hands of the Babylonians and Jerusalem would be burned.  Zedekiah refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning, being more afraid of his fellow Jews than of God.  As a result, Zedekiah saw all of his sons killed by the Babylonians before having his eyes put out and being taken to Babylon blind.  So, do we fear God more than we fear man?  Or, do we, like King Zedekiah, fear man more than God?  Today’s passage gives us due warning about the dangers of doing the latter.

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