For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Liars hate the people to whom they lie. They either lie to them because they hate them or come to hate them because they have lied to them.

    I will give thanks to God for all of the wonderful things He has done. I will proclaim His greatness to all of the earth. His justice will be seen throughout the land. He promised the people of Israel that He would give them the land of Canaan before they were a people. He has kept that promise throughout history and once again the land of Canaan belongs to the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob.

    Jesus was called by God to be our High Priest. It is not a position which one can take for oneself, one must be called to such a position. A High Priest is one who can function as an intermediary between God and man. Jesus learned obedience while He was here on earth, being obedient to the point of suffering and death. He is able to deal with us, wayward and ignorant as we are, because He experienced the same temptations which we did. Jesus is a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek. The writer goes into more detail about what that means later.
    Then the writer tells us that it is time, and past time, that we started teaching others about the basics of the Gospel. Unfortunately, all too many of us need to be taught again and again the basic difference between right and wrong. We have become addicted to spiritual teachings which are milk for spiritual babies, unwilling to start eating solid foods as adults do. IT is worth noting that the writer points out that it is through training that we learn to recognize the difference between right and wrong. We do not just come to that understanding by chance, or through the process of living. It is only through training that we truly learn the difference between right and wrong. We must work hard at training ourselves to know the difference between good and evil.

    Every time I read this, I wonder if this prophecy applies today. Has the end arrived? Is the future we have to look forward to disaster after disaster? Is God about to call the people of earth to account for all of their detestable sins? I look at the world around me and think that it must be close. I read today about a Bishop in Stockholm saying that a church should remove all signs of the cross and put down signs showing Muslims the direction to Mecca so that they could worship there. This reminds me of what Ezekiel writes here of the leaders of Jerusalem worshiping idols in the Temple. This is not the only, nor the first, of the signs of those who proclaim themselves Christians turning from God and worshiping idols. It is not that I think there is something sacred about the symbol of a cross in a church building. It is the idea of removing symbols about our worship of God so that others can worship an idol.
    For all of the sorrow and fear conveyed in this passage there is a glimmer of hope, there is reason to hold to our faith. When Ezekiel witnessed those whom God summoned to bring suffering, he also witnessed another. God instructed that other to walk through the city and mark the forehead of everyone who grieved and wept over the detestable things being done. When God let loose His agents of judgment He instructed them to kill everyone, except for those who had just been marked. God’s judgment is coming and I weep for those who will suffer as a result, but, on the other hand, they have been given ample opportunity to turn from their sins, to reject the sins of our nation.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you try to use deceit and trickery to bring down others, you will be caught in a trap of your own making. In the long run, your lies and deceit will rebound upon yourself.

    God has created a wide variety of creatures, each designed to fulfill a specific role in a specific place. God has designed the earth to provide for their needs. A classic example of how God carefully designed this world is the way in which it was discovered that swamps clean water. For centuries, mankind considered swamps to be wasted land. However, in the late 20th Century researchers discovered that when polluted water went through a wetland (swamp, marsh, etc) it emerged cleaner than when it went in, a lot cleaner. The researchers were not surprised by the removal of biomass pollution, such as fertilizer runoff, or raw sewage, except that it was much greater than anticipated. However, they discovered that the wetlands removed heavy metals in quantities that could not be explained by simple sedimentary effects. Heavy metals were thought to be poisons for all biological systems, yet somehow the plants, fungi, microbes in the swamps were removing heavy metals from the water…almost as if someone had designed them for that very purpose. (I hope if you are reading this that you recognize the sarcasm of that last phrase).
    All that I am will praise the Lord because He has designed this planet in ways more wondrous than we can imagine. Despite mankind’s best efforts, he will be unable to destroy this planet. God reserves that for Himself when His plans have come to fulfillment.

    God has prepared a place of rest for His people, for those who believe in His word. This rest was promised to the people of Israel but they failed to enter into it because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed God. It is worth noting that the writer is clearly implying that some of the people of Israel did indeed enter into God’s rest (who else is he referring to when he mentions the “faith of those who obeyed”?). If we want to enter into God’s rest we must obey His commands, which we will only do if we believe that His commands will lead us to our greatest happiness.
    Included in this passage is a statement that needs some “unpacking”. The writer tells us that the word of God is alive and active, and that it is sharper than the sharpest thing he can imagine. I struggle with explaining the meaning which this passage conveys to me. The first part is that the word of God fits the circumstances. This may perhaps be the point which gives me the most difficulty, because, while the word of God fits the circumstances, that does not mean that it changes. The second part is clearer to me. The example I would use in place of the double-edged sword is the scalpel. The word of God is capable of working its way into the finest separation, revealing that which we (or others) hoped to keep hidden. It will work its way into our lives revealing things we had hidden from ourselves, both good things and bad things. When working with those around us who are suffering, let us remember to leave room for the word of God to act. It will reveal things to those we are trying to help that we may not see. Perhaps the most important thing, it will prevent us, and everyone else, from hiding anything from God.

    I said yesterday that not all of us were called to the same mission as Ezekiel, and that is true for the part of Ezekiel’s mission which was described yesterday. Some of us are called to preach God’s word to those who will not listen to it, others are called to preach to a receptive audience. However, all of us are called to be God’s watchmen. When God gives us a message, we must not remain silent. If we fail to relay God’s message to those whom He has sent us, and they suffer as a result of their sins, their blood is on our hands. God will hold us responsible for their death. On the other hand, if we relay God’s message, and they refuse to listen to it, we are innocent of their blood. Here is the best part, they MAY listen to us! If they do listen to the message we give them from God and repent of their sins, their lives will be saved, and so will ours. Let us never be afraid to speak God’s word, even to those we “know” will not listen. In some ways, that is the point in today’s passage from Hebrews. God’s word is alive and active. It is capable of working itself between the lies which people tell themselves to avoid the reach of God’s Spirit. Let us do what we can to open those around us to His Spirit.