NOVEMBER 8
Ezekiel
18-19
Ezekiel 18
Vs. 1-4 God
does a little housekeeping here. Seen here and in v. 25, the people were
actually blaming others and God for their misfortune. This portion is
interesting when you place it next to the Scripture that says God visits the
sins of the fathers on the sons down to the fourth generation. (Ex. 34:6-7)
With this text in Ezekiel you see how God Himself understood that declaration.
If the generations persist in the sins of the fathers, as they probably will,
judgment will follow. But if a single person is different or if he repents, God
treats that person according to his own behavior.
Vs. 5-9 A
righteous man. God is giving a basic definition regarding behavior. Not only
that, He is not talking about eternal life or damnation, rather how this person
would fare in the upcoming judgment of Jerusalem. This would be similar to
Abraham talking to the angel of the Lord (Jesus) in Genesis 18:23-33, where Abe
was basically trying to save Lot.
Vs. 10-13 An
unrighteous son of the righteous man.
Vs. 14-18 The
righteous son of the unrighteous son of the righteous man.
Vs. 19-20 This
sums up these past three examples, and v. 20 says it all.
Vs. 21-23 This
is an unrighteous man who repents. Notice that this is not talking about
eternal life. It is life on earth, and in terms of the coming judgment of
Jerusalem, who would live and who would die on earth.
V. 23 This is
why we are left on earth, to proclaim this in the harvest. Some people will
turn to God.
V. 24 This is a
righteous person who goes bad. The penalty is death on earth, not eternal
judgment. Imagine someone in Jerusalem getting caught up with the hopelessness
and the "tomorrow we die" mentality and deciding to go for the gusto
and go nuts morally. God is saying that person would receive judgment. That is
the same as today if a good person goes on a one-night binge and drives drunk
and kills a person.
Vs. 25-29 It is
clear to us that Israel was shifting blame to God. Eventually they would see
that their own sin and judgment was caused by themselves.
Vs. 30-32 What
a very "grace-full" and loving declaration.
Ezekiel 19
This is a lament
on Judah's kings.
Vs. 1-4 The mother is the nation of Israel. This lion taken by the Egyptians is the son
of Josiah, Jehoahaz, whom Pharoah Neco took into captivity.
Vs. 5-9 This is
Jehoiachin, whom Nebuchadnezzar took into captivity to Babylon. Jehoiakim is
skipped here because that donkey of a man only deserved the burial of a donkey.
Vs. 10-14 This
is Zedekiah. After him, there will be no more kings in the line of David until
Jesus. Truly, it was lamentable.
We've been
reading about times getting worse and worse in Judah. We've seen bad rulers
destroy what was good and allow a culture of ungodliness to grow. The word
"ungodly" may seem subjective, but God being God is very objective.
He is greater than human opinion on any subject. He is the One who says what
reality is. For the people who were obeying and following God, there was the
despair of seeing the land and its people come under judgment. But, God was
still working and giving hope to those who sought it. God's declarations of
judgment and hope were meant to give people an opportunity to turn to Him.
Sending men like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel was an act of compassion on
God's part.
Today in the
harvest we know that judgment is coming. Human governments and nations are only
incidental. The book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible that promises
a blessing for reading it. God wants us to keep our perspective on the world
and our commission. We cannot have heaven on this earth. Here is where we
follow our Lord in the harvest, reaching out to the lost and making disciples,
who make disciples, who make disciples, until our Lord returns.
Hebrews
9:1-10
Vs. 1-5 The
approach to God in the law was very guarded and not available to everyone.
Contrary to the people's habit of worshiping on hills, there was only one place
that forgiveness could be sought, the tabernacle/temple.
One note here
is that in v. 4 in the ESV it mentions the altar of incense being in the Most Holy Place instead of being in the Holy Place in front of the veil. In the
Greek translation of the Old Testament, it does not say altar, but censer. This
is also the translation of the King James Version. A censer was a metal
container on a chain that was filled with incense and swung to fill the room
with the fragrance of the burning incense. That censer was probably what was
inside the Most Holy Place and used on this one day when the high priest went
inside. The altar of incense was in the Holy Place and stood in front of the
veil.
Vs. 6-10 This
sort of worship under the law was very limited. Only the high priest was allowed into the Most Holy Place and then
only once a year.
This
description of the Most Holy Place, the priest and the rituals leading up to
the Day of Atonement under the law is building up to v. 11. In a way, this is
not only saying the earthly routines and regulations of Judaism were limited
and ineffective, but it is also saying that anything we do today that involves
religious routines and regulations are equally as ineffective. We are always
tempted to coat following Jesus with ritual. With what we'll see regarding the
work of Jesus, no routine or liturgy or regulations are required for our
spiritual life. We still insist on a liturgy in the West because it makes us
feel more spiritual. I doubt that they have much liturgy in house churches in
areas of the world where Christians are persecuted. A couple of believers in
China meeting quickly and privately, praying and encouraging each other in the
Word, is very honoring to God. This is perhaps more of what God has in mind,
than what happens in most churches in the West on any given Sunday. What is
essential to being a disciple in the harvest is following Jesus, reading His
Word, and making disciples.
Psalm
106:32-48
Vs. 32-33 This
rebellious people also assisted Moses in missing out on going into the land.
Notice that they made his spirit bitter.
Vs. 34-39 This
is a summation of the history of Israel in the land. This is what we are
reading about in Ezekiel.
Vs. 40-42 This
history of judgment goes from the judges right up to what we're reading in
Ezekiel.
V. 43 Notice
the interesting role this verse and this truth has between what is said before
and what comes in v. 44. In spite of God continually rescuing them, they still
rebelled. And although He punished them, God never gave up. Who says there is
no love in the Old Testament?
Vs. 44-46 The
psalmist is not only praising God for this; he is reminding God that there is a
precedent for what he is about to ask. Notice the mention of hearing their cry, the covenant, the steadfast love
and pity.
V. 47 Here is
the plea. I would say that these are Ezekiel's people.
V. 48 Whoever
wrote this understood that God would hear and act. The point of this long song
is found in vs. 44-48. In spite of all of that, God still showed them mercy and
heard them. Therefore, they should keep on praying, trusting Him and praising
Him.
Proverbs
27:10
This proverb
has to do with friends as opposed to relatives. The idea of not going to your brother's house in the day of your
calamity is that, in this case, the brother lives weeks away. Instead, just
go to your friend.
By not
forsaking your friend and your father's
friend, you will have friends who are near you in the day of your calamity.
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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