NOVEMBER 6
Ezekiel
14:12-16:42
Chapters 14 and 15 belong together,
then chapter 16 will introduce a very disturbing image that will be used by God
again in this book.
Ezekiel 14:12-23
Vs. 12-20 The message here is very
straightforward. The people who remain in Judah and Jerusalem (these people in
Babylon had been a part of that crowd) are so sinful, that if these three men
were there, by their own righteousness they could only save themselves. Now,
Daniel, from the book of Daniel, is listed as part of this trio. To understand
the significance of his inclusion, look at Genesis 6:9 and Job 1:8.
So, who were these men? We understand
Noah being in this group. He was the most righteous man on earth during his
lifetime. Job was the most righteous man on earth at the time he lived and the
only one that could have faced that kind of testing. This must mean that at the
time of this writing, Daniel was the most righteous man on earth. Wow! What company
to be named in. Daniel will be the next book we read and once we read the first
six chapters, you'll never be able to think of them as disjointed children's
stories again. This also means that at this most critical time for the nation
of Israel, God had placed on earth, in Babylonian government, in world
government, one of the most righteous, God-fearing and God-following men who
has ever walked the planet. His impact is largely hidden, but we'll discuss it
as time goes on. That a man like Daniel was even present shows God's grace,
mercy and steadfast love to His people.
Vs. 21-23 Apparently the people in
Babylon had already begun to reform a little. Even though they are praying for
those left in Jerusalem, those in exile don't quite remember how bad their
conduct was. When these people are brought from Jerusalem to Babylon, the
people who are already in exile in Babylon will be appalled to see how
idolatrous and evil these newcomers are. They will understand and know why God had to bring such cleansing
to the city and the land.
Ezekiel 15
This is a very simple message. These
people were so corrupt, they couldn't be used for anything, even as a peg in
the wall on which to hang a vessel. Israel's purpose was to bear fruit for God.
If you want an interesting connection between Israel's purpose and the church's
purpose, read John 15:1-8. There is nothing wrong with being a branch in the
vine unless you don't want to abide in the vine and bear fruit.
Ezekiel 16:1-42
This image of a whore expresses God's jealousy
and sense of betrayal by Israel. We'll see it again in a few chapters. The
focus here is on Jerusalem. The city is being used to represent the people. The
people's hope was in the city and the temple, because of God's promises
associated with the city. Yet, God would destroy the city and all that was in
it. The judgment of Jerusalem would be a picture of His displeasure with the
people.
Vs. 1-5 Verse 3 is important to note
that the message is to the city. Apparently it was settled by Amorites and Hittites.
The city now will become a picture of God choosing this people to be His people
as He chose Jerusalem to be His city.
Vs. 6-7 This selection was on the basis
of God's mercy and pity. Under His care the city/nation became healthy and
grew.
Vs. 8-14 The image of God entering into
a special relationship with people is common in Scripture. What is interesting
in both the Old and New Testaments is that the image is marriage. We will see
this image of marriage a couple more times in the OT, and in the NT we have the
image of the Bride of Christ. In both testaments, these special people are
meant to show the salvation of God out of gratefulness for His blessing and
deliverance. In a way, the image represented in the verses up to this point
could be true of everyone who knows Christ.
V. 8 Notice that this covering is what
took place in Ruth 3:9 between Boaz and Ruth.
Vs. 15-22 This is where the analogy
with anything good and redemptive breaks down. Notice the description of
ungratefulness. This was true of Israel as God's chosen nation and Israel is an
example to all mankind. All mankind is guilty of this. Everyone enjoys the
blessings of God every day, but rather than turning to God in Jesus Christ to
give Him thanks, we use His benefits to ignore Him.
V. 15 is interesting. It was pride in
the very beauty and privilege given by the Lord that sin took and perverted.
This wouldn't be the first time that God's blessing was warped by sin. In
Ezekiel 28:11-17 we'll find one of those passages that seems to rise above the
description of a human, to a description of Satan and his fall. There, too, it
is because of his God-given beauty and privilege that he chose to rebel against
God.
Notice v. 17. They took what God gave
them and made idols of them. Some of these idols were used in sexual worship
rites.
V. 20 is appalling and Malachi 2:15
shows another reason why God was totally upset with this.
Vs. 23-29 Israel not only committed
"adultery" by taking on the gods of the surrounding nations, but
rather than depending on God, they looked for help from these other nations in
terms of treaties and security. You see this in Solomon's political marriages,
and particularly with King Asa, when he sent gold to have Syria attack the
northern kingdom rather than take the matter to God. (2 Chr. 16:1-10) We have
already seen how God leveled Egypt. Then we saw how God destroyed the Assyrian
army in a night. Why would you seek these nations for help? But Israel did.
Look at Psalm 78:5-7. They were to have only sought hope in God.
Vs. 30-34 The imagery here is that of
brazen, open harlotry. A normal harlot would have made a chamber in private
quarters. Israel did it openly in every square and wide place in Jerusalem. What
are referred to here are shrines and memorials throughout the city that were
actually small worship stations. These also had a political/economic purpose in
that they could say to a Babylonian with whom they were doing business, “Look
over there. We have a little statue of Nebo. You want to go worship?”
A normal harlot was paid for her work.
Israel invited other nations in, adopted their gods and may have given them
financial incentives for bringing their business to Jerusalem. Some of this
probably happened to open up trade with other nations. Honoring their gods
would have shown good will. God didn’t think so.
Vs. 35-42 The judgment God would bring
would be very specific and connected to their sins. None of the gods Israel
worshipped would help them and none of the nations they connected with would
save them. In fact, the nations whose favor they sought would all have a hand
in exposing their sin and punishing them.
For us in the harvest, we need to stay
in the Word and allow lessons like this to wash our hearts and our motives. The
Lord is our hope and this world is where we work. The world is not our hope. It
is easy to put our hope in people and in strategies, but the Lord has recorded
these events and judgments to help us keep our eyes on Jesus and to stay
focused on the blessing of seeing others come to Him and become disciples, who
make disciples.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an
example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the
ages has come.
Hebrews
7:18-28
Vs. 18-22 You can tell this was written
to believers, because the unbelieving Jews we see in the NT would have gone
nuclear if they had heard this. When Jesus made the new covenant with the bread
and the wine, we know He could do it because He is God. Here, it is also stated
that on the human side, He could do it because of God making Him a priest after
the order of Melchizedek. Notice how Psalm 110 is being relied on again. Who
knew those words would be so important? God Himself made an oath.
Vs. 23-25 Since Jesus lives forever,
you only need this one priest and He intercedes continuously for His people.
This was something good for them to remember in the situation they were facing.
Hey, that's good for me to remember too.
Vs. 26-28 Why would they want to go
back to the law knowing this? They would have to deny Jesus Himself.
Psalm
106:1-12
I mentioned something yesterday about
how helpful it is to know the point of something while you are reading. So,
we'll be reading this for the next two days. Verse 47 will give you an idea of
when this was written. If you understand that, it puts this history into a
slightly different light and you understand the appeal being made in all of
this song.
Vs. 1-3 If you read v. 47, these words
take on some interesting significance. The mention of God's goodness and His steadfast love that endures forever are something the exiles had experienced in a
strange land during their punishment. As we'll see in Daniel, and have seen in
Esther and Nehemiah, God still did show Himself mighty.
Vs. 4-5 Now we have the plea. Notice
the request for remembrance, for salvation for the people, gladness for the
nation and glory for God's own inheritance.
Vs. 6-12 The sin of the nation is
summarized in forgetting their salvation. How God saved them from Egypt was
supposed to have made a lasting impression. God knew they would forget; and
through their pride in God's blessing and perversion of the glory and beauty He
gave Israel, all mankind would see that we need a spiritual cure, not just a
physical fix.
Proverbs
27:4-6
V. 4 seems to
stand alone, but it is very powerful. With both wrath and anger, a person
will give regard to their own safety, but the motto of jealousy is "blow up the world." Jealousy is both anger
and wrath with a sense of mission and dark abandon.
Not that we can
attribute to God the nasty side of our emotions, but think of the jealousy He
is talking about in Ezekiel. It definitely fits the scenario.
Vs. 5-6 We
still don't get "speaking the truth in love." Most often we just
avoid the subject. That's not love.
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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