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

The first thing I want to note about today’s passage is that although Ezekiel’s prophecy was about the fall of Jerusalem and the devastation which the people living in the land of Israel would experience, it was given by him to those already living in Exile.  We know from elsewhere that among the exiles there were those bemoaning their fate of being in exile while some others remained in Jerusalem.  So, in part, this prophecy was to tell them that their being in exile meant that they would avoid the suffering still to come one those remaining in Jerusalem.  However, it also contained a warning about what would befall them if they followed the idolatrous example of those still in Jerusalem.

There is another aspect to the warning which Ezekiel gives here, really a two-fold warning.  First, he warns those who believe that their wealth will allow them to avoid the suffering which others will face.  Some of those who put their trust in their wealth, make things worse for others in order to amass more wealth.  They have no concern for how their actions bring the fall of Jerusalem closer because they believe their wealth will shelter them from the consequences.  Others, gather wealth by acting to advance the interests of the enemies of their country…again, believing that their wealth will shelter them from the consequences, or perhaps believing that God will protect their country even though they weaken it by aiding its enemies.

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.

Every time I read Ezekiel’s description of his vision I feel like I am missing something important about the meaning of that description.  I realized today, and perhaps this has occurred to me before, that that is part of the point.  This vision occurs, and Ezekiel describes it, in order to demonstrate to us that there is more to God and what He does than we can possibly understand.  However, I want to focus on God’s message to Ezekiel, not the message God spoke through Ezekiel, but the one He directed to Ezekiel.  First, God instructed Ezekiel to listen to what He said to him and then to do it, to not be like the rebellious people to whom God was sending Ezekiel with a message.  Then God told Ezekiel that he needed to speak God’s word to the people, whether or not they listened.  So, I firmly believe that, for the most part, any message God gives us for others, He gives to us as well.  We must do what God tells us before we speak His message to others.  When God gives us a message to tell others to turn from their sins, we must make sure that we are not guilty of those same sins, whether those sins are of commission or omission.   But, here’s the other part of what God is telling us here: once we have internalized God’s word we need to share it with others, whether they want to hear it or not.

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.

Every time I read this I wonder why God felt it necessary for Ezekiel to spell out the offerings which should be made.  Now I have never compared the offerings which Ezekiel prescribes here to those spelled out in Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, but they are certainly similar.  However, I also always feel that the account here of the river which will begin at the Temple has meaning which I cannot quite understand.  He describes this river as flowing from the Temple, getting deeper and wider the further it gets from the Temple until it flows into the Dead Sea.  This flow of water will convert the Dead Sea into a fresh water lake.  Yet the swamps and marshes around the Dead Sea will remain salty.  So, I understand that the life giving power of this river comes from the fact that it originates at the Temple in the presence of the glory of God, but why does it get deeper and wider as it flows away from that presence?  Sometimes, I think that it is a metaphor for the way in which God’s love grows as we share it with those around us.  However, I think it has more meaning than just that, but I am at a loss as to what that might be.

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.

Ezekiel here refers to those who are “uncircumcised in heart and flesh”.  He condemns the people of Israel for bringing those who wee “uncircumcised in heart and in flesh” into the Temple, in to God’s sanctuary.  He goes on to say that after the restoration of the Temple, no one so uncircumcised is to be allowed into God’s sanctuary.  I think it noteworthy that priority is given to being uncircumcised in heart over being uncircumcised in flesh. Further, I believe that this prophecy has application to the Church today.  All too often the Church has failed to tell those who refuse to accept its teachings that they need to go elsewhere.  Time and again we see people who argue for changing the Church’s teaching on a subject continue to do so after the Church has debated, prayed, and accepted the Holy Spirit’s guidance on the issue against their stance.  Such people must be told that they are no longer welcome to take part in discussions about Church policy.  If they believe the Church is wrong, they should find like-minded people and form their own group which worships God according to their understanding of His will.  God’s Spirit will reveal, over time, which group He truly resides among.

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.

Starting in Chapter 38, which I read yesterday, Ezekiel prophesies that Gog, prince of Magog, Meschech, Tubal, and perhaps Rosh (there is some debate as to whether the last is the name of a country or an adjective meaning “chief”).   We do not know exactly where Ezekiel would have believed those lands to be located, but everything we know says that they would have been in the lands around the Black Sea, most likely in areas which are now part of Turkey.  Ezekiel tells us that a day will come when the ruler of those lands will decide to attack what he perceives to be a defenseless Israel.  Ezekiel then prophesies that God will draw the armies of these nations to attack Israel.  But when they do, He will utterly destroy them, revealing His glory to the entire world.  Ezekiel prophesies that the force which will attack Israel and be defeated will be so large that the people of Israel will use their weapons to fuel their fires for seven years and it will take seven months to bury the bodies.

This prophecy of Gog attacking Israel and being defeated has long been considered a prophecy of the end times.  In the 1970s, those seeking to interpret the prophecies about the end times from the Bible looked at this passage and concluded that the lands to which it referred were the lands of the Soviet Union.  Some of the arguments used to make that case seemed fanciful to me.  Based on what I know today, those fanciful arguments were not necessary.  However, when I look at the world today, it seems to me that if God were to fulfill this prophecy right now, the attack would be led by Turkey.  However, the most important aspect of this prophecy is God’s promise that when it comes to pass He will pour out His Spirit on the people of Israel and they will know that He is the Lord their God.  We can look at this prophecy from many directions, but let us never forget that God will fulfill this prophecy in a way which shows the entire world that He alone is God.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 41-43.

Today’s passage continues Ezekiel’s description of his vision of the restored Temple.  I have never really received any spiritual insights from such detailed descriptions.  However, in chapter 43 Ezekiel describes his vision of God’s glory returning to the Temple.  Unlike his previous visions of God’s glory, he does not go into a detailed description.  This time Ezekiel merely tells us that what he saw was like his first vision when God called him to be a prophet and like his vision of God’s glory leaving Jerusalem when God ordered its destruction.  I am unsure if this prophecy was completely fulfilled when the Holy Spirit entered into Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost, or if there is yet another fulfillment of it in physical Jerusalem.

When the Holy Spirit entered into Jesus’s disciples gathered in the upper room at Pentecost, it was entering into the Church, which was the Temple which Jesus had built.  This is really rather significant.  Each and every one of us is part of God’s Temple.  Which means that God’s glory resides within us.  Therefore, when we sin, we are doing the sort of thing which Ezekiel condemned in his visions regarding the destruction of Jerusalem.  When we sin, we are offering sacrifices to idols in the presence of God.

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.

God gave Ezekiel a prophecy against those who had taken positions of leadership over His people.  This prophecy came in the metaphor of shepherds over a flock of sheep.  It is a very appropriate metaphor for many reasons, but I want to focus on the idea that shepherds profit from their position of leadership over the flock.  A careful reading of this passage reveals that God intends for those He appoints as shepherds over His flock, those to whom He gives positions of leadership, to profit from caring for the people over whom He has put them in charge.  The condemnation of the shepherds in this passage comes not from the fact that they profited from being over the flock, but that they did so without doing the job for which they had been appointed.  The shepherds profited from the flock, but did not take care of the sheep.

This prophecy should be a warning for many of those in positions of leadership today.  All too many of them use their positions to get rich and get into ever more powerful positions without making any effort to care for those under their power, those who should be under their care.  However, those of us who are not in positions of leadership do not get off easy in this prophecy, because Ezekiel goes on to condemn the rich and powerful who are not leaders for abusing the poor and weak.  So, each and every one of us, whether we are in positions of authority or not, need to examine ourselves and how we live our lives.  Are we doing things which interfere with others receiving the good things in life which we have already received?  Do we find ourselves spoiling other people’s happiness?  Moreover, do we use whatever power we do have, however limited it might be, to care for those less fortunate than ourselves?

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.

Ezekiel continues prophesying about the destruction of Egypt.  However, what he says in today’s passage extends beyond Egypt to include the other mighty powers of his lifetime.  For all of their apparent power at their peak, their mighty armies ended up slain by the sword.  Egypt was not different than the powers which went before her, and the mighty powers of our day will also suffer the same fate when God decides that their time has come to an end.

Ezekiel then goes on to give a more in depth explanation of his references to being a watchman.  Ezekiel was called to be a watchman to his people, to warn them of the trouble coming upon them because of their wicked actions.  Generally, when I read this I see it as a message for us to pass on God’s word to those whose wicked actions will lead to their suffering, and I still see it that way today.  However, I also see that we may be called to speak out to our society in general.  We must make sure that we pass on God’s message that if the wicked will repent of their evil and serve God, He will deliver them from the destruction which He sends upon the wicked.  We must also remember and pass on the corollary: if the righteous turn away from God and do evil, God will bring that same destruction upon them.  Let us be God’s watchmen to those around us and to our society.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 29-31.

Ezekiel prophesies here against Egypt.  The rulers of Egypt thought that the power of their land, which derived, in part, from their geographic location, was a result of their own actions.  This prophecy is a warning to all who believe that their power is a result of their own greatness.  God will bring down those whose pride leads them to believe they are accountable to no one.  I find myself struggling with this post.  When I began writing I had a clear idea of what this prophecy meant for us today, but I am finding it impossible to put that idea into words.  I will end with this, which will perhaps capture the thought I had when I started. God will use the fall of the great and mighty to bring glory to His name and to cause people to recognize that He is the true ruler of all.

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