Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 46-48.

Ezekiel continues describing his vision of the new temple that he foresaw being built when God restored the Israelites to the land which He promised to Abraham’s descendants.  As he finishes that description, he describes a stream of living water which will flow out of the new temple down to the east to the Dead Sea.  It starts out as a trickle which becomes deeper and wider as it flows away from the temple until it is a mighty river when it reaches the Dead Sea.  This river will bring life to everything along its path, even converting the Dead Sea into a fresh water lake.  I believe that this stream of living water represents Jesus and the Church.  When Jesus founded the Church it was a small organization which did not even represent a significant portion of the people living in Jerusalem.  But as time has passed the Church has become a mighty force which changes the world.  As those who make up the Church allow the Holy Spirit to transform them into the likeness of Christ, they become vessels of the Living Water which is Christ.  As we allow the Spirit to work in us, we become, all combined, a life giving river.  I pray that the Spirit transforms me so that others may gain life from being exposed to God’s Spirit in me.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 44-45.

As part of his prophecy about the new temple in his vision, Ezekiel condemns the Israelites for putting foreigners who did not worship God in charge of the sanctuary of God.  He refers to those who had been put in charge as uncircumcised in flesh and in heart.  Then Ezekiel goes on to talk about those who will be priests in this new temple he sees and what they are to do.  They are to teach God’s people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the clean and the unclean.  Other translations say sacred and profane instead of holy and common.  I think that the other translations give us a clearer understanding of the job of our religious leaders, and a better idea of the importance of learning this distinction.  The NIV leaves us with the impression that there is the ordinary and the holy, and, while that difference is important, that it is OK to be ordinary.  When, in fact, everything we do is either sacred or profane, clean or unclean.  So, that makes it very important that we learn to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, between the clean and the unclean.  Here Ezekiel condemns the Israelites for, in the past, bringing the profane, the unclean, into the sacred spaces of God’s temple and warns them against doing so in the future.  In Acts 10 Peter was told not to call unclean that which God had made clean.  These two commands tell us the importance of having leaders who can teach us to distinguish between the sacred and the profane.  We must not bring into God’s presence that which is profane, but we also must not exclude those whom God has declared clean.

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

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

Many people have spent a lot of time identifying who Gog was, is, or will be, as well as trying to determine what nations the prophecy concerning Meshek and Tubal reference.  While I do not think there is much value in that, I do think Christians today need to spend more time thinking about the end times.  We should look at the world around us and see that the Day of God’s judgement is near.  We need to remember that for each and every one of us, the Day of God’s judgement is indeed near and we need to teach those around us that it is near for them as well.  Or, perhaps a better way to put it is that we need to have a sense of urgency for those around us to come to know the Lord.   We need to reach out to them now before their, or our, time runs out.

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.

When I read Ezekiel’s prophecy about the valley of the dry bones, I am inspired in two ways.  First, it reminds me that I serve and put my faith in a God who raised Lazarus from the dead, and is able to do exactly what this passage describes.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, it tells me that any congregation, or other organization, which seeks to do God’s will continues to serve His purposes long after it seems its future is hopeless to human eyes.  If you are part of an aging congregation which is shrinking, seek to serve the Lord and to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.  Even if everyone in the congregation is over seventy and the numbers have dwindled down to a few dozen (or less), if the Holy Spirit chooses to breathe new life into it, it will catch fire and grow.  That does not mean that we should not close the doors on congregations, or other organizations, which have outlived their mission.  It does mean that if you feel God calling you to serve in a congregation, or other organization, which seems to be dying, do as the Spirit leads.  You will not be wasting your time.  Of course, if you are in such an organization, surrender fully to the Holy Spirit and accept the breathe of life which He breathes into you.

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.

Many of us have been made watchmen by God.  He has called on us to warn those around us that God will judge the wicked, both among the living and the dead.  I am called out by that every year when I read this passage, but this year I felt a need to emphasize something in that part of the passage which I don’t remember noticing before.  Ezekiel addressed those among his audience who were weighed down with guilt.  God gave him a message to those who recognized their sinfulness and felt that they had no hope because their sin was so great.  God gives us this message, no matter how great our sin, if we turn to Him and allow Him to turn us from our sin, He will give us life.  God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.  He desires that all turn to Him and accept the righteousness which He offers.

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.

God had established Tyre as a place with great potential and given them skill in commerce, but they took credit for their success and considered themselves gods.  So, God humbled them and brought them low.  In the same way, God will bring down any nation which begins to believe it cannot be defeated no matter what it does.  Ezekiel goes on to warn Sidon that it too would face destruction.   Ezekiel concludes this portion of his prophecies by telling us that these nations (those from yesterday as well as Tyre and Sidon) will face God’s judgement because of their hostility to Israel in order to demonstrate to Israel that God is their God.

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