Ezekiel 6

WEEK   24                                            Ezekiel 6

SATURDAY  Reflections

The prophecy of chapter 6 are the words that describe the actions of chapter 5. God makes it clear he has been patient, but the time of patience is over, and judgment is coming. God had warned from the very beginning of the nation that judgment would come for God to show he keeps his word. Judgment has to fall, confirming that God is the Lord of all, but also to show God’s people that He is the one who could help them. 

Eze 6:1-14
(1)  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
(2)  Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
(3)  And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
(4)  And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
(5)  And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
(6)  In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
(7)  And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
(8)  Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
(9)  And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
(10)  And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
(11)  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
(12)  He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
(13)  Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
(14)  So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

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Ezekiel 5

WEEK   24                                            Ezekiel 5

FRIDAY  Reflections

Now God is using Ezekiel's hair as an object lesson. A third burned in the model town he has made, a third cut up by a sword, a third thrown to the wind speaks of the places Judah and the people of Jerusalem will suffer and die. A small amount of the hair is set aside, and not destroyed. This last refers to the remnant God is going to save from destruction.

 

If you see a mostly bald and beardless man in those days and you had to wonder what happened. I say mostly because a sword can't cut facial hair or the top of the head perfectly. Now Ezekiel has another opportunity to share God's prophecy with the people. Some might think, I don't want to hear what the prophet is saying but, I believe,  morbid curiosity was going to force people to ask, and then they would hear the truth.

Eze 5:1-17
(1)  And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
(2)  Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
(3)  Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
(4)  Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
(5)  Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
(6)  And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
(7)  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;
(8)  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
(9)  And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
(10)  Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
(11)  Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
(12)  A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
(13)  Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.
(14)  Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
(15)  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
(16)  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
(17)  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

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Matthew 24

WEEK  24                                          Matthew 24

THURSDAY  Reflections

There is much debate over the meaning of what is said in this chapter. I do not wish to add to that debate but look at what this says for us.

 

1.  The Temple will be destroyed: The Jews looked to the temple to be their pride and joy. It was the place where man could meet with God. Jesus is our way to meet with God because Jesus is God. We cannot have any place, be it church, building, or temple become the replacement for Jesus. Jesus is our way to God. God will not allow a place to become a replacement for Jesus.

 

2. Bad times are going to come: Jesus told his disciples that persecution would come, it did, it does, and it will. When it comes to how bad things are in relations to the return of Christ, we often make judgments based on what is happening to us and not what God's plans are.

 

3. Don't be deceived by false christs (prophets, teachers): Just don't, follow Jesus.

 

4. Most people aren't going to be ready when Jesus returns: Just be ready, don't worry about the when. If you're worried about when you're not concentrating on how to live for Jesus.

Mat 24:1-51
(1)  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
(2)  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
(3)  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
(4)  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
(5)  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
(6)  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
(7)  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
(8)  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
(9)  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
(10)  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
(11)  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
(12)  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
(13)  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
(14)  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
(15)  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
(16)  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
(17)  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
(18)  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
(19)  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
(20)  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
(21)  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
(22)  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
(23)  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
(24)  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
(25)  Behold, I have told you before.
(26)  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
(27)  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(28)  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
(29)  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(30)  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(31)  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(32)  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
(33)  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
(34)  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
(35)  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
(36)  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
(37)  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(38)  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
(39)  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(40)  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
(41)  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
(42)  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
(43)  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
(44)  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
(45)  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
(46)  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
(47)  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
(48)  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
(49)  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
(50)  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
(51)  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Psalm 94

WEEK   24                                          Psalms 94

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

The New International Version starts chapter 94 talking about the God who avenges. God isn't a God of revenge, but he is one who practices justice. Justice, at times, requires people to be avenged. The victim isn't protected if the perpetrator gets away with the crime. God wants the wrongdoer to repent and do right, but they will not always do this, leaving God with only one other choice.

 

When we are wronged we often wonder like the Psalmist how long it will be till God puts things right. The other side of this is we need to be careful with this prayer because we might want God to be gracious and longsuffering with our shortcomings. The danger is we tend to think others' actions are worse than ours not realizing that we might be just as guilty as other people just in different areas. This isn't always true, the innocent are often treated wrong, but let's not be too hasty to call for judgment. 

 

The good news we see here in this psalm is if we are trusting God, He will be our defense and our refuge.

Psa 94:1-23
(1)  O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
(2)  Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
(3)  LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
(4)  How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
(5)  They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
(6)  They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
(7)  Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
(8)  Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
(9)  He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
(10)  He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
(11)  The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
(12)  Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
(13)  That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
(14)  For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
(15)  But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
(16)  Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
(17)  Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
(18)  When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
(19)  In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
(20)  Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
(21)  They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
(22)  But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
(23)  And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.

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Hosea 4

WEEK  24                                             Hosea 4

TUESDAY  Reflections

One of the saddest scriptures in Hosea is chapter 4:6 “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge.”

 

I have often noticed that what gets people in trouble is what they don’t want to know. They don’t want to know if they have cancer, so they die with it. Students don’t want to know a subject and find that they fail in that subject.

 

There seems to be a direct correlation between what we don’t want to know and how it can hurt us or lead us astray. Many who have some knowledge of God refuse to learn more because it would mean they would have to change. Even when that knowledge could save them.

 

Israel had the knowledge of God but didn’t want it. Therefore, this refusal set them up to be rejected by the God who had promised to protect them. It put them in a place outside of God’s protective hand and they didn’t even know it. The reason why? They didn’t want to know.

 

This reminds me of the old saying which says, “No one is so blind as he that refuses to see.”

Hos 4:1-19
(1)  Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
(2)  By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
(3)  Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
(4)  Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
(5)  Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
(6)  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
(7)  As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
(8)  They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
(9)  And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
(10)  For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
(11)  Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
(12)  My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
(13)  They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
(14)  I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
(15)  Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
(16)  For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
(17)  Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
(18)  Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
(19)  The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

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