NOVEMBER 10
Ezekiel 21-22
As you read this,
keep underlining, shall know that I am
the Lord. It is behind all of what God is doing. Also, just think about
this very intense judgment of Israel and others. If God is this focused on
cleansing and judging His own people, what is it going to be like for those who
deny Christ and for the generation on the earth who rebel against God and
persecute His people during the Tribulation?
Ezekiel 21
Vs. 1-5 As a result
of the people ridiculing or criticizing Ezekiel because of his cryptic visions,
God "sharpens" the focus. Now it is a sword brought against Jerusalem and the land. That’s pretty easy to
understand.
Vs. 6-7 Ezekiel was
to add public groaning to this message. Apparently he walked around the market
making noises, causing the parents once again to scramble and find their
children.
Vs. 8-13 Somehow I
think this must have been a very loud prophecy. It is almost funny. They didn't
respect the rod, so now they get the sword.
Vs. 14-17 I think
Ezekiel acted this out publicly with a sword, sending parents scrambling again
to save their children. Imagine the shock of seeing Ezekiel just walking down
the street, wondering what insane thing he might do next.
Vs. 18-23 I'm not
sure how Ezekiel acted this one out, but it sounds like it was visual.
Apparently v. 21 actually happened. Nebuchadnezzar had a choice to go to Ammon
(modern day Amman, Jordan) or to Jerusalem, and he and his advisors did the
superstitious version of flipping a coin. Oddly enough their divinations told
them to go and attack Jerusalem. Hmmmmm.
Vs. 24-27 The prince of Israel is Zedekiah.
Vs. 28-32 The Ammonites were in the alliance with
Egypt and Israel to fight against Babylon. When Nebuchadnezzar chose to go to
Jerusalem first and destroy the city, these allies were very happy. Also, when
Babylon did take Jerusalem and appointed Gedaliah to be governor of Judah, the
Ammonites sent Ishmael to kill Gedaliah. That is the reason for this "honorable"
mention of judgment for the Ammonites. In a few chapters there will be more
judgment predicted for them.
Ezekiel 22
Vs. 1-16 These
pronouncements of judgment must have been ringing in people's ears. Here, once
again, the nation is shown to be totally corrupt, not just because of idolatry
or neglecting the things of God, but because of the spilling of innocent blood.
Notice how often you find blood in this section. Notice too that it began with
the leaders and became a part of the culture. If you have a concordance or an
online Bible, do a search on "innocent blood." You'll notice that God
takes that very seriously. And also for
the innocent blood that he (King Manasseh) had shed. For he filled Jerusalem
with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon. (2 Kings 24:4 ESV)
Vs. 17-22 So what do
you do if your "ore" is totally impure? You burn out the impurities.
Note that this isn't just for punishment, but also for redeeming some who will
know that He is the Lord and who will acknowledge why God has brought this upon
them.
Vs. 23-31 The point
of this cleansing is seen in the punishment of different groups of people. Find
and circle them. Here the corruption began with the religious leaders and
seeped into the life of the people.
V. 30 is very famous.
Now, there was still a small remnant of godly people and there were men like
Jeremiah still in Jerusalem. So what does it mean that there was no one who
would stand in the gap? I think it means there was no leader who was willing to
lead and fight against the corruption of the nation, to lead them back to God.
Moses would have been this kind of man. Jeremiah was not designed to be that
kind of a leader, although he was courageous, yet he only moved as God moved
him. It seems that all of the godly leaders had been killed in trying to stop
the corruption and had had their blood spilled in the city. This then was a
judgment not only on their murders; but in murdering the good leaders, the
people had removed the protection these vocal leaders could have provided.
When I think of
standing in the gap, I don't think it is courage as much as love for Christ and
conviction that gets the job done. You come to the point of saying, "If
this stuff is really true, then somebody's gotta do something." And you
know that that somebody is you. It's time to live dangerously in the hands of
God. Check out the song, “Living Dangerously in the Hands of God,” by Steve
Camp.
Hebrews 10:1-17
Vs. 1-4 This is a
brilliant argument. The very fact that the sacrifices had to be repeated year
after year meant they could not bring a person to lasting forgiveness. They
were only an image of what was to come in Christ.
V. 4 is a rather
famous and important verse and declaration.
Vs. 5-7 Laura and I
have Psalm 40:1-10 memorized, and these verses are from that psalm. Verse 5 in
the Hebrew says "but you have given me an open ear." The translators
of the Septuagint (Greek OT) understood this verse as being figurative for a
body. The Septuagint would have been the Bible that Jesus and His generation
read from. The fact that this verse is stated here shows that "body"
is a proper rendering and understanding. Jesus was given a body and was given
understanding of His mission.
Vs. 8-10 Again, these
are very strong and logical verses. Already in Psalm 40 God was showing that a
new covenant was necessary and it would be instituted by the Son presenting
Himself for sin.
Vs. 11-14 These
verses say it all. Notice how the author brings v. 14 back together with v. 1
through the words perfect/perfected.
Vs. 15-17 These,
again, are the spiritual promises to Israel from Jeremiah 31. Israel receives
both the spiritual and physical promises for the Millennial Kingdom. The church
partakes of the spiritual promise now as the Bride of Christ. I still find it
interesting that the Jews knew that the Holy Spirit was promised. And while staying with them
he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of
the Father. (Acts
1:4-5)
Psalm 108
Vs. 1-4 Most of The
Psalms begin with a declaration of confidence, but this one seems to stand out.
This was probably during the early days of David being king. He knew of God's
faithful provision through all the years of running and through all of the
uncertainty. I've never seen before how David declared the steadfast love of the Lord so often. Laura added to this by showing
me that God's steadfast love and faithfulness are often mentioned
together.
Vs. 5-6 I think that
when David knew how God had saved him so many times, it gave him a vision of
God making His glory known in all the earth.
Vs. 7-9 David's
confidence in the Word.
Vs. 10-13 David knew
to pray, yet he was confident in God's care.
Proverbs 27:12
Compromise is
one thing; prudence is another. Jesus told His disciples to beware of men, and
therefore, to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Paul told Timothy to
beware and avoid Alexander the coppersmith.
On the other
hand, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow
to Nebuchadnezzar, willing to die if necessary; and God brought an incredible
blessing for all of Israel in exile. Wisdom must be in knowing the difference
in these situations and understanding the Spirit's leading.
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/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
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
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 comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
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