Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 22-23.

When I read through this passage my initial reaction was that I was not feeling anything to write.  Then when I re-read the passage I was struck by verse three in chapter 22.  In particular this part of it, “You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst…”  It made me think of the murders and crimes in so many of the cities of the United States.  Reading a little further I came across this, “See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.”  This made me think about the ways in which the elites of our cities benefit from the crime in their cities.  As I read on Ezekiel condemned them for treating father and mother with contempt and for oppressing the foreigner.  My thoughts went from there to think about how parents are treated with contempt in our cities, but also in much of our society.  Foreigners are oppressed by various groups encouraging illegal immigrants to work for low wages and in poor work conditions.  Ezekiel’s condemnation of Jerusalem continues to call out the way in which those with any level of power took advantage of those without power to satisfy their sexual desires and greed.  Each of us needs to consider to what degree our actions lead to harm to others.   

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.