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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I am back to a routine. It is not the same as my old routine, but I think it will work out well. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

     Ezekiel continued his prophesies against Israel’s neighbors by prophesying against Edom. He condemned them for the joy they took in the downfall of the people of Israel and for Edom’s plans to take control of the land of Israel with no concern for the Lord. They defied the Lord in their boasts. Ezekiel told them that the whole earth would rejoice when they are made desolate. This sounds like a warning to modern day Israel’s neighbors. God may have brought judgment on the people of Israel, but those who contributed to their suffering and rejoiced in it will suffer a similar fate. God will cause the entire earth to know that He is God.
     Ezekiel further prophesied that the Lord has heard the nations who thought to claim the land of Israel for their own and have mocked the children of Israel. God’s anger burned against those peoples and nations. God promises that He will pay those nations back for their mockery of the children of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that before they were scattered into exile the people of Israel defiled it with their sins so God punished them and scattered them throughout the earth. People mocked the name of the Lord because of the suffering of Israel, claiming that God could not even protect His own people. Because of this mockery, God brought the people of Israel back to their land. He did this, not because the Jews deserved it, but in order to show His power to all the world. The enemies of Israel should consider this prophecy when they make their plans (but they won’t) because God has declared Israel to be His people and has stated that He gave them control of the land we call Palestine.
     In addition, Ezekiel prophesied that God would cleanse the people of Israel so that they would no longer worship idols. God was going to change their stony, stubborn hearts for hearts that were tender and responsive to His love. He is going to put His Spirit in their hearts so that they follow His decrees and obey His regulations. I read this as saying that the day is coming when a large fraction of the remaining Jews will come to worship Christ. God is going to bless the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, not because they deserve it, but in order to bring honor to His name. I look at the land of Israel today comparing it to what it looked like a century and a half ago and wonder how anybody can read this prophecy and not see the hand of God in what has happened in the Middle East.

     Today I begin reading the book of James, one of my favorites. He starts out by saying that he is writing to the twelve tribes scattered outside of the land of Israel. There are two possible interpretations of this. One is that he was writing to those Jews who had become believers in Christ and thus represent at least a partial fulfillment of the prophecy from Ezekiel that I just finished reading. The other interpretation is that all believers are now the children of Israel (which also represents a fulfillment of the Ezekiel prophecy).
     But that has nothing to do with why I love the book of James. It is the meat of the book that I love because I think it gives many important lessons for us. The first thing James tells us is that we should be joyful to face trials of all kinds. Trials test our faith and when our faith is tested we develop endurance. And when endurance is fully developed we will become perfect and complete, needing nothing. He goes on to tell us that if any of us needs wisdom (and who of us does not need more wisdom) they should ask God. If we ask God for wisdom, He will grant it to us. But we must ask with faith that God will deliver that wisdom to us. Not only must we have faith that God will deliver the wisdom we asked for, we must have faith that the answer God gives us is wisdom. That second part can be the difficult part for me. All too often, I ask God for wisdom, then when I receive a message from Him, I question if that is really the wise thing to do. If we do not trust the answers that God gives us, we cannot expect God to continue giving us answers.
     IF we are poor we should glory in all the good things that God has given us. On the other hand, if God has blessed us with wealth, we should focus on how little we have of what is truly important. When we face trials, let us persevere, recognizing that as we withstand these trials we will receive a reward from God. We should not think that the temptations we face come from God as a sort of test. God is not tempted by evil and cannot use evil to tempt anyone. Temptation is the product of our own desires which entice us. We undertake sinful actions when we allow our own desires to take control over our thoughts and become more important to us than the welfare of those around us. We should remember that we cannot obtain any truly good thing by sinful/evil actions because all good things come from God. This means that any desire we satisfy by sinful actions will be but a counterfeit of something of real good and value. On the other hand if we remain faithful servants of God we will obtain true riches beyond imagining.

     I will join with the psalmist in saying that I love the Lord. The Lord has heard my prayer for mercy and I will pray to Him as long as I have breath. I strive to walk in the Lord’s presence all of my days. I have nothing of value to offer the Lord in return for what He has done for me, yet what I have I will offer to Him. How can I not, when all that I have of any worth comes from Him in the first place? I will praise the Lord for saving me. I will serve the Lord with all that I am. The Lord cares deeply for those on this earth, even when they defy Him. Let all of my being praise the Lord.

     Take care of what you have because wealth is fleeting and what might seem unimportant today may be all you have to support yourself tomorrow. If you manage your resources carefully they will be sufficient to meet your needs.