Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 13-15.

Ezekiel starts today’s passage with a prophecy against those who preach, but do not have, or even seek, a message from God.  He compares them to people who coat a wall with whitewash rather than repair the damage.  When he makes this prophecy he refers to those who speak in platitudes instead of speaking the hard words with which God condemns sin.  We have similar people today, people who are busy telling people that God blesses their sins rather than calling them to change their ways.  He goes on to condemn those who seek to profit from speaking spiritual messages which they have created out of their own imagination.  Finally, Ezekiel condemns those who have created their own idols within themselves, but then seek guidance from those to whom God speaks.  So, rather than look to “prophets” who will tell us that everything is OK, let us turn from whatever idols get between us and God and renounce the detestable practices we have fallen into.  Seek to rebuild the wall of righteousness which protects the land, starting with yourself.  Just as I need to start with myself.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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 year I come to this passage and feel like there is a lesson here for us that I am not seeing.  Today, I am going to focus on the things which struck me as significant, even though I do not understand their significance.  First, the gateways to the temple.  Ezekiel says that the eastern gate will only be opened on Sabbath days and New Moon festivals.  Only the prince will be allowed to enter by that gate and he will worship and offer his sacrifices in the threshold to that gate, then depart the way he came.  Every one else is to enter either the northern gate or the southern gate and they are to exit through the opposite gate of the one they entered.  As I read this it seems deeply significant, but I have no idea why it should be.  I have looked up what a few other people have written concerning this passage.  While I find what they have to say to accurately reflect how God wants us to live, I am unconvinced that this passage was intended to teach us those lessons.  That is, if those lessons were not taught elsewhere in the Bible, I doubt that you would learn them from reading this passage.

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.

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 this passage I do not know what to make of it.  My understanding of the New Testament says that Jesus has expanded the priesthood to all Believers, which diminishes the significance of chapter 44, and eliminated the sacrifices by sacrificing Himself, which diminishes the significance of chapter 45.  However, today I was struck by the way in which Ezekiel condemned the people of Israel as he begins his prophecy concerning the restored temple.  Once more Ezekiel condemns them for doing detestable things.  This time he also condemns them for failing to carry out their duties regarding God’s holy things.  Instead, they brought in outsiders, people who did not worship God at all, to take care of these things.  To me this sounds like a condemnation of those who outsource God’s command to care for our neighbor to the government, or some secular charity, instead of working with our fellow Believers to provide that care.  Ezekiel writes of the Israelites putting those who were uncircumcised in both flesh and heart in charge of God’s temple.  In much the same way, many Believers today  seek ever more government programs to help those who are unable to care for themselves rather than seeking for the Church to step up and implement solutions.

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.

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.