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NOVEMBER 22
Ezekiel 44-45:12
I’m sure there is a lot we don’t understand yet about life and living
during the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. In fact, we know practically
nothing about it. In these chapters we are given a glimpse into what is going
on, in and around the temple. In some respects, all of this detail gives us
some idea of what the Lord will be doing with Israel and with the world.
Israel will fulfill their obedience before the Lord and be a witness to
all other nations for those thousand years. The sacrifices will be a memorial
remembrance to Christ’s sacrifice. Although their “religious” lifestyle might
look burdensome to the world, there will be amazing blessing in Israel. Those
with discerning hearts will see that it is not a blessing borne of works, but
borne out of a relationship with their King. Their obedience will be out of
love and gratitude, not out of payment for a service. The nations, who will all
be rebuilding their cities and governments, will need assistance and will come
to Israel for healing and to draw near to the visible Lord God of Israel. Faith
in Christ will still be a choice.
Ezekiel 44
Vs. 1-3 This east gate of the temple has not been made yet, so it isn’t
that closed, golden gate you sometimes see in the wall of Jerusalem. That
golden gate might be what Jesus will use to enter Jerusalem, but this temple
will not have been built when He returns. This gate will be off limits, because
the glory of God will enter the temple through it. Only the prince of the
people, David, will be able to use it.
Vs. 4-8 As God gives Ezekiel these instructions, it is still present
time. The people had desecrated all that God had given them and all that was
holy. By doing so, they had held God up to scorn for the nations. Therefore,
there is a sense of judgment and harshness in these words. Those who serve the
Lord in that temple will not need these words of caution. Most of those
listening to Ezekiel speak will never return to Israel, and many will only see
a temple (those early chapters of Ezra) that was the shadow of the glory of
Solomon’s temple. These words then are first, a rebuke to the exiles, but
second a revelation to give Israel hope as a nation, that they will someday
have a glorious future in service to God.
Vs. 9-14 Notice that circumcision will still be practiced as the sign
of the covenant with Abraham, that is, a sign of the faith of Abraham. But even
more importantly, no one will be able to come before God with a false heart.
There won't be any politicking with Jesus.
The Levites will still serve in the temple, but because of their past
transgressions, none but the sons of Zadok will be able to come before the
Lord. It seems interesting to think that there will still be distinctions
between people with Jesus present, but these 1000 years serve more than one
point for all of mankind. The fact that the Jews will serve before God and that
the nations will still be the “Gentiles” shows that, in humility, people will
have to seek Christ and understand and trust Him. And even now in the church,
we have human distinctions based on God’s choice of leaders and His assignment
of gifts.
Vs. 15-27 These are the priests, the
sons of Zadok, who come before the Lord in the temple. As you read this,
take note of the detail. I wonder what that table is for. It is mentioned
again. I wonder why they can’t sweat. Will there be air conditioning?
The job of the priest as described in vs. 23 and 24 is interesting.
This is the opposite of the effect the priests had on the people in the time of
Jesus.
Vs. 28-31 We have often read that the priests would have no
inheritance, but that God would be their inheritance. Their joy was to serve in
His presence and their trust was to have been in His sole provision. I think
this service and inheritance foreshadows the life of a disciple.
Luke 12:32-36 Fear not,
little flock, for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your
possessions, and give to the
needy. Provide
yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in
the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 35Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps
burning, 36and be like men who
are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that
they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
Mark 10:28-30 Peter
began to say to him, “See, we
have left everything and followed you.” 29Jesus
said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and
children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
Ezekiel 45
Vs. 1-8 This will be the land that is designated for the city, the
prince, the priests and the Levites. Apparently it will extend from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan and will encompass the city of Jerusalem.
V. 8 These princes are still future and they will help rule, or judge,
Israel. If you are asking me, I believe we know the names of these princes. Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in
the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who
have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.” (Matt. 19:28)
Vs. 9-12 So who are these princes? God seems to be referring to the
conduct of the past kings and present exiled leaders. The only prince that has
been mentioned up to now is David, who will rule the city and country as the
king. This passage then seems to be a rebuke to the leaders, as represented in
all of the kings and leaders up to this point. Remember that if you look at the
northern and southern kingdoms of Israel together, you find a lot of kings; and
most of these were horrible shepherds who fleeced the sheep. God will assign
the prince his portion so that he will not take land or stuff from the people.
In a way, this is more of an object lesson to the people present with Ezekiel,
because I’m sure that David won’t abuse his privileges and neither will the twelve
disciples. The mention of honest measurement might be literal, as in how the
leaders cheated the people who brought their tithes and taxes; or it could be a
reference to the dishonesty of their hearts. In both cases, that will never be
the situation in the future when the Messiah reigns over the world.
You can see that after the harvest of our times, there will still be a
last period of time where people will have to make a choice for Christ. During
that time there will still be death and there will be sickness, but the cures
for all of these will be in Jerusalem. The nation of Israel will be the light,
and the King on the throne will be the Savior. And who knows what we'll be
doing. Some of us might be getting some much needed RandR, and others might
be helping by teaching and by helping rebuild a very tattered earth. After the
rapture, the Tribulation, and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, we might
find ourselves still employed in the harvest, teaching and helping others, but we'll
be fully resurrected in Christ (Rev. 20:6).
1 Peter 1:1-12
We haven’t heard from Peter in months. At the time of writing this
letter, Peter was now a very seasoned apostle, having served for more than 30
years after the resurrection of Christ. It seems that this letter was written
to all Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire. This letter is
probably written sometime between the beginning of Nero’s persecutions in 64
A.D. and Peter’s death at Nero’s hand in 67 A.D.
Like James, this letter is written to encourage Christians in the
harvest who were having to endure very tough times. Doesn’t it seem like
endurance in following Christ is becoming a constant theme in the Word? We saw
it in Hebrews, in James and now here. But then, we also saw endurance in faith
in Paul’s life and in his letters. And we saw it in the life of Jesus. The Lord
let His disciples know from the beginning that this life in the harvest
wouldn’t be easy. Many of Jesus' disciples left Him. During this time in the
church, many were leaving. And even today, many people hang around church and
make the right noises only because everything in the West is so easy and
non-confrontational. In our Western culture, if we don’t live as a witness for
Christ, who cares? Believing is totally easy and the requirements of following
Christ are few. Just stay out of trouble.
But Jesus invited
people to walk as He walked and to suffer as He suffered in the harvest. For
it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only
believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that
you saw I had and now hear that I still have (Phil. 1:29-30).
The point of remaining on earth is to reach the lost and to make
disciples, that is, being witnesses and followers of Christ. On this planet,
that means opposition. If we give up and don’t learn to endure in our faith, we
miss God’s purpose for us. We miss seeing His grace in the lives of those who
are saved and then become disciples, who make disciples. We miss the work that
only He can do in our hearts unless we only have Him to depend upon. And worst
of all, we miss getting to know Him and having Him and the Father make their
home with us. See John 14:21-23.
Vs. 1-2 Since we are reading of the temple in Ezekiel, remember that
everything that was holy and to be used in the service of the Lord was
sprinkled with blood. There are also references like this in Hebrews. Peter is
trying to encourage disciples who are beginning to face a hard persecution.
Vs. 3-5 There is a lot to observe here, but for me the comment in v. 5,
that our faith guards us, is important. Peter will develop this.
Vs. 6-7 Notice that the testing, or proving, or strengthening, of faith
is valuable and important. Notice the word necessary,
referring to God’s choice for them. Notice also that not only does our faith
protect us, but when it is proven, instead of bitterness and dejectedness, our
faith, in the present and in the future, projects glory and praise to Christ.
How often have we read that disciples shouldn’t complain about anything if we
believe God truly is in control and if the Holy Spirit guides our steps each
day?
Vs. 8-9 And this is why we don’t complain. It is because we are in love
with the Lord we follow.
Vs. 10-12 It is interesting how Peter is encouraging them. I was
reading yesterday that as Jesus was observing the joy of the 70 and was
teaching, at one point, He turned to the Twelve and said privately to them, For I tell you that many prophets and kings
desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and
did not hear it (Luke 10:24). Jesus was telling them what a privilege they
had received. Peter, remembering that day, was telling these people, and us,
what a privilege it is to know Jesus and to be following Him in the harvest at
a time like this.
Psalm 119:17-32
So, you’ve read this amazing psalm already once this year. But now,
you’ve got a lot more of the Bible under your belt. As you read and make
observations, notice how David begins to weave his feelings of distress and
suffering and depression into his prayer. It is the Word that is strengthening
David to get up every day.
Vs. 17-24 Notice how the first verse sets the tone of this section. To
be dealt with bountifully meant to receive God's protection of his life. In the
midst of all the threats to David during this short journey on earth, the Word
became David's delight.
Vs. 25-32 My soul clings to the
dust may be an expression regarding the frailty and sinfulness of the
flesh, similar to Paul's Wretched man
that I am. The life David needed was in the Word. Notice in v. 26 that
there was the recognition of relationship, that God was answering David out of
the Word. In all of this there is a sense of desperately pursuing God.
It seems pretty obvious to me, that just like people who are clinically
sick physically, sin makes us spiritually bi-polar and clinically at risk. We
need our meds constantly, every day. We are only kidding ourselves if we skip
the Word or get hooked on secondary sources. It is the Word that is alive. This
spiritual sickness we have doesn’t require intermittent care, but rather,
constant care; and that spiritual care we need is the daily input of the Word
of God. Accept no substitutes.
Proverbs 28:8-10
V. 8 seems to say that God will make sure that what this guy idolized
is properly distributed to aid others.
V. 9 This could be that same guy, but now he is religious. He is
religious and now leading God's little ones to stumble/sin (Matt. 18:6).
V. 10 This could still be that same guy, but God reminds us again that
following the Lord will be rewarded in the end and that He will protect His own.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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,
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 (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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