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.

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

In today’s passage some of the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to inquire of God.  Ezekiel tells them that God will not allow them to inquire of Him and then gives them a history lesson.  He describes the way that God had done good things for their ancestors and how their ancestors had rebelled against God.  As I read that I was struck by how God repeatedly listed desecrating His Sabbaths among the ways in which the people rebelled against God.  As I reread the passage to formulate what I would write, I noticed that early on God told them that He had given them (and us) His Sabbaths as a sign that He had made them (and us) holy.  In addition, I saw that God repeatedly said “my Sabbaths”, not “the Sabbath”.  So, where does all of this lead me?  We should dedicate one day each week to worship God.  That day belongs to God and its purpose is to remind us that God made us in His image, made all of us in His image.  Further, it reminds us that we have chosen to make ourselves vile and repugnant by doing evil.  Yet, God has chosen to make us holy.  We have no goodness of our own that we might make ourselves holy.  Let us not desecrate the day which belongs to God.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 17-19.

I did not know what I wanted to write about today, and my day was busy so I had to put it aside until later than I normally like to have it finished (note: I write these blogs the day before the date on them so that I can have them published for most people around the world early in the day).  When I came back to it now, I was struck by chapter 18.  Which starts with Ezekiel quoting the parable,
“The parents eat sour grapes,
    and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
Through Ezekiel God tells the Israelites that they would no longer quote this parable, because everyone belongs to God, both the parent and the child.  Then He says “The one who sins is the one who will die.”  The rest of the chapter explains what he (and He) means by this.  If a father sins, it is he whom God will hold accountable.  If that sinful father’s son lives a righteous life, God will not punish him for his father’s sins.  If that righteous son then has a son of his own, this son will not inherit his father’s righteousness.  Rather the third generation will be judged by God according to his actions.  If he sins, God will judge him for his sins.  On the other hand, if he is righteous God will judge him accordingly.  Children will not share in the guilt of their parents, nor will parents share in the guilt of their children.  None of us will be condemned because of the evil committed by our parents.  However, the opposite is also true, none of us will be exonerated of our guilt for our sins because of the good performed by our parents either.  Further, if we are currently behaving according to God’s will and turn to evil, God will bring judgement against us for our wickedness.  Or, if we are currently behaving wickedly and turn from our wickedness to doing God’s will, He will bless us for doing so.

Going back to what God said to explain WHY each person, parent or child, would be judged according to their own sins: “For everyone belongs to me,…”  The implications of that for how we treat each other are immense.  If everyone belongs to God, then if we bring harm to another, we are damaging God’s property.  If we bring harm to ourselves, we are damaging God’s property. If I belong to God, then I cannot belong to someone else.  If you belong to God, then you cannot belong to me, or to anyone else.  I will leave you with one final thought.  If we belong to God, it means that God values us.  If God values us, we have value.  In fact, we have so much value that He was willing to die for us.

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

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

Today’s passage starts with a prophecy against false prophets, against those who give spiritual guidance out of their own imagination rather than listening to what God has to say.  Rather than repair the breaches in the wall of people’s faith with solid materials, they have patched them over with sheet rock.  Then they have whitewashed their repairs in order to make it look solid, but when the enemy assaults the walls he will break through with almost no effort.  I read this and I think of those who today preach that sexual practices which God condemned are beautiful and of those who preach that being righteous is a path to wealth.  There are others, too numerous to list, who preach what people want to hear rather than call out their sins.  I think of those who are struggling with various mental and spiritual problems whom spiritual leaders are telling that it’s not really a problem.  People who are struggling with sinful behaviors who are being told, “That’s not a sin.  God loves you just as you are.”  The second part is true, and that is why He wants you to stop sinning.

Which brings me to the second prophecy in today’s passage: those who seek God’s guidance while worshiping an idol they have set up in their heart.  We need to examine our hearts for the things we place ahead of God in our lives.  Do we worship our country?  Our government? Our wealth (or, perhaps, wealth which we do not have)?  Is there an ideology we put ahead of serving God?  Do we already know that what we are doing is wrong?  There is an additional important point in Ezekiel’s message to the leaders who consulted him about the Lord’s will while secretly worshiping idols.  It was a message for religious leaders whom hypocrites reach out to for spiritual guidance.  When those who are putting on the appearance of serving God while going against His will approach someone for spiritual guidance, the answer from God is, “Repent and renounce ALL of your detestable practices.”  Really, if you are reading this blog you probably need to put yourself on both sides of this prophecy.  First, repent and renounce all of your practices which God finds detestable (by the way, He finds them detestable because they bring harm to yourself and to others).  Second, when someone who is practicing sinful behaviors comes to you for spiritual guidance, tell them to repent and renounce all of their practices which God finds detestable (don’t forget to remind them that God finds them detestable because they cause harm to the person who does them and harm to others).

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

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

In yesterday’s passage, God showed Ezekiel the people of Jerusalem doing detestable things in the temple.  Then Ezekiel saw that God marked those who were grieved by the detestable things being done.  God sent judgement on those who were not so marked.   He told those delivering His judgement to begin at the temple.  Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but it seems that God will bring His judgement first against those who practiced detestable things who claimed to faithfully worshipped God.  So, let us be grieved by the detestable practices which are practiced around us and put aside those which we may have been drawn into.  So that God may give us an undivided heart and we may follow His decrees.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 5-8.

When Ezekiel has a vision of the temple in Jerusalem in today’s passage, he initially sees an “idol that provokes to jealousy” in the temple gateway.  This was a place where those who claimed to serve and worship God publicly took part in the worship and veneration of other gods.  It is not clear what Ezekiel was referring to with that reference, but it is clearly a reference to some practice contrary to what God commanded which the people of Jerusalem incorporated into their public worship.  However, as detestable as God found what they did in public, they had practices in private which were even more detestable.  Those who practiced private sins, private idolatry were the spiritual leaders of the people.  Ezekiel describes how the people of Jerusalem placed some things as a higher priority than God.  In what ways do we put things of this world ahead of doing God’s will?  Earlier in the passage, Ezekiel warned that our wealth will not save us from God’s judgement.  So, let us examine our lives and remove from our lives those things which God might find detestable.  Let us put nothing ahead of God.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 1-4.

I love the beginning of Ezekiel.  It starts with his vision of the four living creatures and “the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”  This is followed by Ezekiel’s call to be a prophet.  I truly believe that much of Ezekiel’s call applies to most of us.  We have not been called to people of obscure speech and strange language,  Rather we have been called to speak God’s words to people whose language we understand and who understand the words we speak.  Then there is the image of the scroll which Ezekiel is given to eat, the words of which he is to speak to the people.  I have long understood that to mean that God is telling Ezekiel that he needs to take God’s words into his heart to live by them before he speaks them to others.  Perhaps I should state that a little differently.  We need to accept that the words which God gives us to speak to those around us apply to us as much as they do to them.  Let us take God’s words into our hearts, bodies, and minds so that they nourish us and guide our steps just as we speak them to guide those around us.  There is one more part of Ezekiel’s call that we need to take to heart.  When we see those around us doing evil that will result in their harm, if we do not warn them, God will hold us accountable for the harm they suffer.  If we do warn them, perhaps they will change their ways and avoid the harm, but even if they do not, God will hold us blameless for the harm they suffer.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 46-48.

The passage continues with the description of the restored temple from Ezekiel’s vision and with the instructions for worship in it.  In today’s passage I noticed that the common people were instructed to enter from either the north gate or the south gate of the temple, and to leave through the opposite gate.  If they entered through the north gate, they were to exit through the south gate, and those who entered through the south gate were to exit through the north gate.  Now, this is not the first time I have seen that, but this year I thought I should write a little bit about it.  I am not sure why God would give this instruction through Ezekiel, but I can imagine one positive consequence of following it.  It would force a certain degree of mixing among the people.  I mean think about it.  When people go to a large gathering they tend to go in through the entrance which is most convenient to them, and then leave by the same entrance.  The only people they interact with, most of the time, are the people who go in, and out, the same entrance they do, because they never cross paths with those who enter from the opposite side.  With this instruction, those who went in once entrance would need to, at least, pass by those who went in the other entrance.  It seems unlikely that this would be the only reason, but perhaps it is part of the reason God commanded this through Ezekiel.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 44-45.

Today’s passage begins with Ezekiel concluding his description of the temple he saw in his vision.  Ezekiel tells us that the east gate of the temple will remain shut and never be opened because God entered the temple through the east gate.  Then he mentions that only “the prince” would be allowed to sit in the gateway, which is where he would eat (I am assuming Ezekiel is referring to the prince eating of the offerings which he had made).  My initial reaction was to just move past this without giving it much thought because it was part of Ezekiel’s description of the temple he saw in his vision, and I have never understood what we are supposed to understand from that description.  However, today it struck me that there is something very specific about the gate through which the glory of the Lord entered the temple remaining shut and no one else ever passing through it.  Even having that thought left me with no understanding of what meaning it has for us.  As I wrote this it occurred to me that in some way it reflects on the fact that Jesus went through death and resurrection so that He might enter into our hearts.  No one else can pass through what He did in that experience.

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