I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I am back to a routine. It is not the same as my old routine, but I think it will work out well. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Ezekiel continues his prophecy against Egypt. But it is more than just a prophecy against Egypt. It is a prophecy against any nation or ruler that comes to believe that they are powerful in their own right and need not fear God. Ezekiel speaks of how Egypt will be brought low from great heights just as Assyria was. He discusses other nations that thought they were great and powerful, only to be brought low in God’s time for their sins. This is a lesson for us, we should never put our trust in worldly powers as sooner or later they will fail us. We must trust in God alone. We must also remember that God only raises up nations for as long as they serve His purpose in this world. When a nation stops furthering God’s purposes in this world He will bring it down.
The writer tells us to work at living in peace with everyone and to work at being holy. It is not enough that we give a half-hearted effort at these things, we are to work at them. In addition, we should attempt to look after each other, so that all may receive the grace of God. We should strive to prevent bitterness from taking root, both in ourselves and in our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We must remember that we have come before God not in a time of fear and judgment but in a time of grace, with Jesus to mediate between us and the Almighty God. We should listen to the Spirit in this time of “shaking”. We must remember that the Kingdom which we are citizens of is unshakable and will not be shaken by any of the troubles of this world.
Let us praise the Lord, there is no one to whom He can be compared. He chooses to honor the poor and needy among the princes and wealthy. The only glory and honor that we should seek should be that given out by God. Let us rely on Him and praise Him so that we might receive happiness from Him.
The Lord will make obstacles get out of our way as we work at serving His will. As long as we are executing God’s will on this earth nothing will stand in our way and we will find whatever resources we need to complete the task near to hand.
If we look out for the interests of those to whom we answer, we will be rewarded. It is possible to tell what is in a person’s heart by the way they live their life. No matter how much we have, it will not be enough to satisfy all of our wants.