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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 32-33.

    Ezekiel continues his prophecy against Egypt at the beginning of today’s passage. The only thing I will add to what I wrote there is that the downfall of world powers becomes inevitable when their rulers start to believe that they do not need to answer to God. Ezekiel lists off other world powers which had suffered the same fate as the one he is prophesying for Egypt. Ezekiel’s warnings should be taken to heart by those who are in political leadership (but probably won’t be).

    Once again God tells Ezekiel that he has been called to be Israel’s watchman. I believe that we too are called to be watchmen (and women) for the people around us. God has called us to give His message to those around us. He has made us responsible to warn them of the consequences of their sins, but note that he has not made us responsible for changing their behavior. Some of us will be given the ministry of speaking to those who have rejected God. Some of us will be given the ministry of speaking to those who have lived righteous lives up until now. Our message is the same in either case. If those who have sinned turn to God from their sin and allow Him to transform them, God will redeem them. If those who have walked with God turn from Him and begin to sin, He will send destruction upon them. If we fail to tell sinners that God is calling them to change their ways, we may as well have joined them in their sin. If we give them God’s warning and they do not change their ways, God will not hold us accountable. But think of the joy if we give them God’s warning and they repent of their sins!
    I want to focus on the main point of the watchman metaphor. God does not expect us to change people’s behavior. He expects us to warn them of the consequences of their behavior and allow them to make up their own minds. It is not my job to convince others of God’s truth. It is merely my job to tell them of it.

    Finally, let us be well aware that many of them will be laughing at us. When we warn them that God will bring judgment upon them for killing their innocent children in the womb, they will laugh at us. They may come to us and ask us to speak solely so that they can be entertained by the “ridiculous” things which we believe. Nevertheless, let us be faithful and continue to give them the message which God gives us. When the results which God has told us come to pass, they will know that we spoke God’s words. And some of them will see the truth in time and turn to God. Remember, God does not desire that the wicked should perish, or even suffer. He desires that they turn from their sins and do good. We should desire the same.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 29-31.

    In yesterday’s passage Ezekiel prophesied against Tyre and Sidon. In today’s passage he prophesies against Egypt. The rulers of Egypt had become convinced that their geographic advantages were a result of their inherent superiority to others, rather than a blessing which they had been given. They believed that their advantages were a result of their greatness rather than the other way around. They failed to believe there was a power greater than themselves. Ezekiel told them that because of this God would bring disaster upon them so that their people would know that there was indeed a higher power. Further, Ezekiel prophesied that never again would Egypt be a world power. Never again would the people of Israel be tempted to rely on Egypt rather than on God.

    This is a warning to every nation, every people, and every organization: both you and your leaders are answerable to a higher power. I read an article about the scandal embroiling the Catholic Church. In the article the author, a practicing Catholic, stated that the problem the Catholic Church is experiencing is more about power than about sex. He is correct, but it is more than that. The Catholic Church is facing this problem because its leaders (or, at least some significant fraction of them) have forgotten that they are no more than stewards of God’s work. They have come to believe that they are somehow superior to others and need never answer to a power greater than the organization of which they are a part. They have come to believe that since they have gained control over the levers of power in the Catholic Church they will not be held accountable.
    The root of the problem in the Catholic Church is that its leaders (or, at least some significant fraction of them) believe that they are the source of their own authority. They do not believe that the Bible is truly authoritative. Because if they believed that the Bible Was authoritative they would see the messages which God sent to the people of Israel and recognize that they apply to them as well. This is not a problem which is unique to the Catholic Church. A look around will quickly show you that every organization of man is subject to this temptation. There are other Church bodies which have leaders who have made the same mistake. God will, in His time, make sure that people know that He is the final authority.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 27-28.

    Ezekiel continues his prophecy against Tyre in today’s passage. He spoke of the many advantages which Tyre had and the good decisions made by its rulers. All of which resulted in great wealth coming to the city. However, the rulers of Tyre became arrogant and believed that they had god-like powers. The city of Tyre had trade with every nation on earth. They thought that that trade made them immune to attack. Further, they thought it made them unaccountable for their sins. Other cities and nations relied on military strength for security, Tyre relied on economic power. The lesson we learn here is that economic power does not provide security. The only source of sure security is relying on God. Anything else we put our trust in will fail us in God’s time.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 24-26.

    Today’s passage begins with two visualizations for Ezekiel’s audience. The first one is a renewal of a metaphor for Jerusalem which those claiming Jerusalem would be fine used previously, comparing Jerusalem to a cooking pot. It is not clear to me from the passage if Ezekiel actually performed this metaphor or merely spoke it. He compared Jerusalem to a cooking pot where all of the cuts of meat of a sheep had been placed together in the pot and brought to a boil with heavy spices. After a short period of time, there is no distinction between any of the cuts of meat. I am not certain that I am reading this correctly, but it seems like Ezekiel was to use too many spices in preparing this dish. All of the meat was ruined. Further, he left the pot on the fire until the water had all boiled off and the things remaining in the pot burned to the pot. The point of this metaphor was that all of the people in Jerusalem had become indistinguishable. Specifically, I believe that his message was directed at the elites who thought that when Jerusalem fell that they would receive special/better treatment from the Babylonians. When you look throughout history you see this theme repeated time and again. The elites of a city or nation believe that they will not face the consequences of their failure to protect everyone else but when things fall apart the ensuing tragedy falls on everyone equally.

    The other metaphor in today’s passage was a personal tragedy for Ezekiel. He was told that his wife, the love of his life, would die and he was forbidden to publicly mourn for her. The meaning of this is abundantly clear. The people of Jerusalem would experience even greater tragedy but be unable to spend any time mourning for their losses. Their loved ones would die, their valued possession would be taken or destroyed, and they would be unable to spend any time mourning their loss. Those who survived the destruction would need to go on about their lives without spending any time on what they had lost if they hoped to survive.

    The passage ends with a series of warnings against the nations surrounding Jerusalem who saw its fall as being good tor themselves. Ezekiel told them that they were mistaken. By seeking to benefit from the fall of Jerusalem they would hasten their own demise. Ezekiel’s warning is a lesson for everyone. The nations mentioned did not take the fall of Jerusalem as a warning to avoid the mistakes made by the people of Jerusalem. Instead they merely saw it as an opportunity for themselves. When our competitors fall, rather than rejoice at the opportunity we should be chastened and seek to see whether we do any of the things which led to their downfall.

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

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

    Ezekiel once again received a message of condemnation and warning for the people of Jerusalem. God will be pouring out His judgment on the city because its leaders were bent on murder, oppressing the widow and the fatherless, and mistreating the foreigner. The people make false accusations against others and are obsessed with immoral sex. The religious leaders fail to make a distinction between what is holy and what is unholy. The leaders destroyed peoples’ lives for money. At one time there had been a wall of righteous people around the land. A wall which kept people from straying too far from righteousness. God had looked for people to stand in the gaps in the wall and turn others back to righteousness. He had not found enough of them.

    I see a similar situation today. Our society is obsessed with sex. It defines people by their sexual behavior and has normalized immoral sexual acts. People are encouraged to blame their unhappiness on the way in which they were created. Our leaders tell lies about people and destroy them in order to advance their own power and wealth. Certain groups within our society have intentionally torn down the walls of righteousness which provided guide rails to those just learning to navigate through life. And God is seeking those who are willing to stand in the gaps in those walls, those willing to take the abuse that will be dished out to those who point others towards righteousness. Are you willing to take the risk to stand in the gap and declare that sin is sin? Am I?

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 20-21.

    The leaders of Israel came to Ezekiel requesting a message from God. It appears to me that they had a specific issue for which they were seeking guidance. God refused to give them an answer to their question. Instead God gave them a message calling out their sin. Ezekiel catalogued how the people of Israel had broken their covenant with God generation after generation and now this current generation was doing the same. In particular, Ezekiel confronts them over offering sacrifices to idols in little ways and sacrificing their children to those idols.

    I have tried to avoid controversial topics in writing this blog because I do not want to allow the emotions of partisanship to interfere with the word of God. However, I have become convicted that abortion in the U.S. (and probably most countries of Western Civilization) represents the same sort of sacrificing of our children for which the Old testament prophets condemned the people of Israel. When Ezekiel talks about the people of Israel of his day offering gifts to idols, he is talking about them doing things like standing for the national anthem and facing the flag with their hands over their hearts while knowing full well that the government that flag represents supports people sacrificing their children with abortion. I want to state in no uncertain terms that you cannot serve God and be “Pro Choice”. However, I want to also be clear that most of those who oppose abortion are just as guilty of idolatry. Rather than calling upon the Holy Spirit to change people’s hearts, to convict people of the sinfulness of abortion, they turn to the government to outlaw abortion. That is a form of idolatry as well.
    My position on abortion is that abortion is a sin. Killing a child, whether it is still in the mother’s womb or not, is wrong. I do not care what the law says on the issue. The government does not determine what is wrong and what is right, God does. I do not want women to not have abortions because it is illegal. I want them to not have an abortion because the Holy Spirit has transformed them to value that child. I do not want people to not perform abortions because the government will punish them for doing so. Once again, I want people to not perform abortions because God has transformed them into people who truly love others and recognize the harm an abortion will do to both the mother and the child. While I think it is the government’s place to make abortion illegal, I am not going to campaign for the government to change its laws. Instead, I will beseech God to transform people’s hearts and minds so that no one will desire to have or perform an abortion. If God’s answer to my petition is to call me to take action, I will do as He commands.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.

    In today’s passage Ezekiel speaks out against two types of people who offer spiritual guidance. First, he condemns those who claim to speak on behalf of God but have not actually listened to what He has to say. Rather than seek God and the message He would have for the people they tell people what they want to hear. Rather than strengthen the walls that hold back the suffering and destruction which result from sins, they merely cover up the weak spots. As I read this I think of the religious leaders whose messages seem designed to gain social acceptance rather than to call people to righteousness. This first category of false prophet whom Ezekiel called out are the public religious leaders, those who are called “Reverend”, or “Pastor”, or some other term which implies they speak God’s word who do not actually listen to what God has to say. The second category are those who are “spiritual, but not religious”. They “bless” objects, burn incense, and conduct other private rituals which give them a sense of connection to the spiritual. But again they do not risk actually listening to what God has to say because they might then need to stop doing something which God tells them is wrong. I like to call both of these groups the “no cost” religious. They want the benefits of being spiritual without the cost. They are happy to condemn those sins which neither they nor their followers would ever consider committing, but will find reasons to excuse those which God’s Spirit is actually convicting them about.

    Both of these groups of “prophets” exist because we have set up idols in our hearts, because we embrace things which lead us to sin. Rather than turn from our idolatry and sin we seek prophets who will tell us that they are OK. When we seek out religious and spiritual guides who will tell us that we do not need to turn away from our sin God will not answer our questions. When we know what God asks of us, but seek out those who will tell us something else we will soon receive God’s judgment for our sins.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 9-12.

    As a continuation of the vision which Ezekiel had which revealed the idolatry going on in Jerusalem (I want to note that all of these revelations occurred to Ezekiel wile he was living near Babylon, nowhere near Jerusalem) he saw God summon seven men. Six of whom were armed, the seventh was dressed in linen and carrying a writer’s case. The fact that Ezekiel described the seventh man as being dressed in linen suggests that the other six were dressed as warriors. The man dressed in linen was instructed to mark those who were heartbroken by the sins being committed, while the six armed men were instructed to follow him and kill everyone who was not so marked.

nbsp;   When the man dressed in linen returned from marking those who were faithful God commanded him to take some coals and scatter them over the city. Once the man had done so, the whole fantastic vision lifted up and carried the glory of God out of the Temple and out of Jerusalem. On the way out of the city, God told Ezekiel that those who were telling the people that all would be well would suffer His judgment. I am unsure of this next interpretation, but there seems to be something more to what was going on then is stated explicitly here. I believe that God was addressing those leaders who were encouraging people to invest in the future when they themselves were cashing out. The elites, the leaders, were reassuring the people that all was safe and secure, while preparing to profit from the coming destruction and acting to secure their own safety. God promised them that their selfish plans to secure themselves would fail and that they too would experience God’s justice.