Ezekiel 20

WEEK  14                                               Ezekiel 20

SATURDAY  Reflections

The elders from Israel send a question to Ezekiel to get a word from God. We are not told what the man asked, but God's initial response is sharp. It sounds to me like God is saying, “You're really asking what I think? Well, I'm not going to tell you!” (what you want to hear).

 

We may wonder why Ezekiel and so many of the prophets repeat the history of Israel again and again. It is because those who are hearing him seem to have forgotten their own history. If they had remembered and believed, they certainly wouldn't continue to live as they were. We see this when Ezekiel tells God, "They say I'm just telling stories."  The leaders of Israel weren't ready to hear or accept the truth.

Eze 20:1-49
(1)  And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.
(2)  Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
(3)  Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
(4)  Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
(5)  And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;
(6)  In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
(7)  Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
(8)  But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
(9)  But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
(10)  Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
(11)  And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
(12)  Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
(13)  But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
(14)  But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
(15)  Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
(16)  Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
(17)  Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
(18)  But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
(19)  I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;
(20)  And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
(21)  Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
(22)  Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
(23)  I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
(24)  Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
(25)  Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
(26)  And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.
(27)  Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
(28)  For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.
(29)  Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.
(30)  Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?
(31)  For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
(32)  And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
(33)  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
(34)  And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
(35)  And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
(36)  Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
(37)  And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
(38)  And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
(39)  As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
(40)  For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.
(41)  I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
(42)  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
(43)  And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
(44)  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
(45)  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
(46)  Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
(47)  And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
(48)  And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
(49)  Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

Melanie Deziel on Unsplash

Psalm 112

WEEK  14                                            Psalms 112

FRIDAY  Reflections

Considering the destruction of Jerusalem, we see that the wickedness of Judah and its people facing the end of all they desired. If they had followed God, the first nine verses of this chapter could have been theirs.

 

For us today, there are many blessings to following Christ. Jesus warned it would not always be easy. The road of the disciple is fraught with dangers, persecution, and at times death. However, Jesus also promised it would be worth it, and when people come together and live as He commands, it is a beautiful thing.

Psa 112:1-10
(1)  Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
(2)  His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
(3)  Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
(4)  Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
(5)  A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
(6)  Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
(7)  He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
(8)  His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
(9)  He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
(10)  The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

2 Corinthians 10

WEEK  14                                     2 Corinthians 10

THURSDAY  Reflections

Paul begins to deal with false teachers who have questioned his authority and his apostleship. Paul will confront the things he has heard in the next few chapters.

 

The false apostles have boasted about themselves. Paul doesn't use boasting in the way the false apostles and teachers. Paul boasts that he had the authority to build them up rather than tearing them down. Paul says he won't boast about things that were not given to him by God. Finally, Paul says that he will boast in the Lord, for only the ones who boast in God will be approved by God.  Paul’s boasts run counter to what the false apostles are doing; thus, he is indirectly condemning them.

2Co 10:1-18
(1)  Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
(2)  But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
(3)  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(4)  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
(5)  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
(6)  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
(7)  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.
(8)  For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
(9)  That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
(10)  For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
(11)  Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
(12)  For we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
(13)  But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
(14)  For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
(15)  Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
(16)  To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.
(17)  But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
(18)  For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

Liam Truong on Unsplash

2 Kings 25 Fall of Jerusalem and hope

Or not?

WEEK  14                                          2 Kings 25

TUESDAY  Reflections

Warning after warning, prophet after prophet, and now the time has come. Many never believed it could happen. Even after the subjugation of Egypt and then Babylon. Now the city of Jerusalem falls! The Temple is destroyed! It was beyond belief, which is why perhaps they never listened to God's warning. 

 

Unbelief about the inevitable is why so few come to God. Me die? God real? Me a sinful person? They won't believe it even when they see the evidence, but eventually, judgment comes on people, nations, companies, churches, etc.

 

However, even now there is a glimmer of hope. After years of imprisonment, the king of Judah, Jehoiachin, is released and sits at the table of the Babylonian king. He is no longer a captive but has a place of honor. There is hope that the line of David is not ended. 

2Ki 25:1-30
(1)  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
(2)  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
(3)  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
(4)  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
(5)  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
(6)  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
(7)  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
(8)  And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
(9)  And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
(10)  And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
(11)  Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
(12)  But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
(13)  And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
(14)  And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
(15)  And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
(16)  The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
(17)  The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.
(18)  And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
(19)  And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
(20)  And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:
(21)  And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
(22)  And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
(23)  And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
(24)  And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
(25)  But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
(26)  And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
(27)  And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
(28)  And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
(29)  And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
(30)  And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.

Reflections on the Fall

WEEK  14                        Reflections on the Fall

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

Think about what brought Israel and Judah to the place where they lost all that God had blessed them with. Are you grateful for all God has given you? Are you showing that gratefulness with obedience?