Ezekiel 7-9
Ezekiel is a very orderly and chronological kind of guy. Everything we are reading follows the last event in a way we can understand. What we see today will really conclude in chapter 11, but it all makes sense.
Ezekiel 7
This is another public proclamation Ezekiel made during the time he was lying on his side. When he walked and spoke, Ezekiel was a sort of living disturbance. The hardness of this message would have gotten everyone's notice. I have a feeling this Word came toward the end of his daily enactment of the siege on Jerusalem. Now the elders were past the question, "What do we do with a problem like Ezekiel?" They were now sure that this very strange man was actually being controlled and used of God.
The hardness of this prophesy will be explained in the next chapter.
One interesting note: It says three times in this chapter, "Then you will know I am the Lord." The word used in my German Bible is not "know," but "experience." That adds a twist to the meaning. There is a sense in which these people will find out and experience that He is the Lord.
Ezekiel 8
So the elders come to Ezekiel and sit before him at his house. Notice the time designation. This is almost exactly 430 days from the time God first spoke to Ezekiel. That means he was either finished with the siege enactment (with the gross lunch thing he did) or that enactment was almost finished.
V. 2 As they were sitting there looking at him, Ezekiel went into a trance. Talk about freaky. This could have taken a minute or an hour, but the elders stayed for the entire show; and in 11:24 it says Ezekiel explained the entire vision. They apparently stuck around.
Vs. 5-6 You understand here, that the point of the vision is to show Ezekiel what is driving God from His temple and from the city. What we see here will justify the hardness of God's judgment in chapter seven.
In Solomon's temple the main entrance into the inner court was on the east side, but there were also entrances on the north and south sides. This north entrance is where Ezekiel is brought. As he stands next to the glory of the Lord, looking into the inner court, there, next to the entrance, is an idol, probably an Asherah pole, a statue of sorts. Asherah was a goddess of fertility, the wife of Baal and usually depicted as very well endowed. Imagine that they had something like this at the entrance into the court where the sacrifices were done.
Vs. 7-13 This chamber, where 70 men could have been together, might have been the "Holy Place," where the lampstand, the bread of the presence and the altar of incense were. The temple was already defiled. These were the priests and leaders of Israel.
Vs. 14-15 Tammuz was another fertility god who died in the winter. The women cried for him and in the spring he would come alive again (if they cried enough) and bring rains.
Vs. 16-18 Now in the inner court, between the altar and the holy place, you have these 25 guys with their backs to the holy place and holy of holies and the mercy seat (and God Himself); and they are worshiping the sun as it rises.
God says there is nothing here to move Him to pity.
Ezekiel 9
Vs. 1-7 Notice that there is some mercy in this. The marking on the foreheads of the ones who were righteous looks very much like Rev. 7:3-4 where the 144,000 are marked or sealed on their foreheads to be saved out of the judgment of the tribulation to serve God.
Vs. 8-11 In this judgment there was mercy.
So let me ask, what impact does all of this Scripture dealing with judgment and mercy have on your thinking? Today in the harvest it all seems so slow and fuzzy. Will the Lord judge the unbelieving? Sure, someday. Yet the reality of judgment appears throughout Scripture and Jesus mentions it quite a bit. As disciples, following Christ in the harvest, we need to keep alert to the reality of life. Books like Jeremiah and Ezekiel help.
Hebrews 5
The discussion of Jesus' priesthood will go from here to chapter 10. At the outset, you might want to muse why the writer thinks this is so important. Obviously, for these Jewish Christians thinking of slipping back into Judaism it is important for them to know that Jesus is the better priest and his sacrifice is the final and ultimate sacrifice. But along with this thought of the priest is a very present help for them and for us. Those who rely on their mediator/priest will be blessed and helped. Those who rely, in this life, on other things will not experience the help and closeness to their Lord. It only makes sense. The saved will all be saved, but some will have their wood, hay and stubble burned away and have regret for what they missed by not following their Savior here.
Vs. 1-6 The "for" refers back to the final verses of chapter 4, introducing Jesus as the priest who can identify with our weakness.
So how did Jesus become a priest?
V. 5 His Father appointed Him to be a priest.
But I thought only those descended from Aaron could be priests.
V. 6 God made Him a priest pre-dating the law, going back to Genesis 14:18. Notice that the author is quoting from Psalm 110:4. What is interesting is that Abraham was ministered to by this priest. Jesus then is that kind of great priest. In chapter seven the writer will enlarge on this connection to Melchizedek.
Vs. 7-10 This is how Jesus was prepared for His priestly responsibility and how He served on earth as a priest. And, Jesus is still making intercession for us.
Vs. 11-14 Because of fears and cares these believers had stopped growing. They had been choked like the seed sown among thorns. Where they should have been was probably closer to Phil. 3:7-21.
Thinking of these last words, it reminds me that God allows things to enter our lives to test/strengthen our faith and our resolve to follow in the harvest. Almost everyone begins well. We'll see later that the people in Hebrews began very well, but they settled into having treasure on earth. Now, in danger of losing that treasure, they are finding it almost impossible to live with that early sense of sacrifice and willingness to follow Christ. God is showing them that other things have become more important for them than denying themselves and taking up their death daily and following Jesus. We need to be careful, too, that this place doesn't become our home and that things don't shine brighter than Jesus. We're here to follow Christ, sharing His love with a dying world.
We're now in the process of moving and having to clean out and let stuff go. Spiritually, we all need to do the same thing. We need to minimize until Jesus is everything and knowing Him is enough for this life. Then we find rest and direction and purpose following Him. We find strength and fearlessness, because nothing can separate us from Him or His love. We have a truth that breaks the pretense of this life and becomes a rock of security for those who find it. And that truth is God as revealed in the Word and in the Son. It isn't so much a matter of getting rid of stuff as much as it is a matter of us being consumed in Him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-afZJ9_TIM
Psalm 105:1-15
We'll be in this psalm for two more days.
Although the events mentioned here have to do with God freeing Israel from Egypt, it is written in a way that it could have been meant as encouragement to those in exile in Babylon.
Vs. 14-15 These could refer to Pharaoh, kings of Moab, and the kings in Canaan; but after we've read Daniel, it could also refer to Nebuchadnezzar and the kings who followed him.
Proverbs 26:28
This is the truth, although people often think that lying and flattering have a good purpose.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it. Send comment or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
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