This week we'll finish reading the book of Ezekiel, and make a start with the prophet Daniel:
* Weekend: Ezekiel 37-39
* Monday: Ezekiel 40-43
* Tuesday: Ezekiel 44-48
* Wednesday: Daniel 1-3
* Thursday: Daniel 4-6
* Friday: Daniel 7-9
Ezekiel Chapter 37 is a story that has haunted me since I was a kid- probably a reason why I like spooky films these days... As an adult I can appreciate the imagery and how this story rounds out the end of Ezekiel's book. For me, sometimes I feel down and out of it when I lose focus on the important things in life and pretty much turn into one of those bodies that exist but have no breath... but I know that God does not make junk and that I (and all of us) have a purpose. And when that purpose is "breathed" back in to us and we are ALIVE again, it can be as powerful as an army...
As the Nation of Israel is destined to return to the land, Ezekiel has the details of how that will look and lays them out in his writings... The attention to detail is amazing to read...
Daniel is one of the most powerful books of the Old Testament. From "cover to cover" this book does not quit. Chapter 1 details the story of how Daniel and his companions come into the service of the Babylonian King. There is a great case made for eating a proper diet!
Chapter 2 relays the story of the King's dream and the interpretation of that dream- can you identify what kingdoms the different metals/substances represent?
Chapter 3 is familiar to Veggie Tales fans (The Bunny...!). God reveals Himself as the real deal to the King when he saves the three men from the furnace...
Chapters 5 & 6 are also very familiar... the lion's den and the origin of the term "the writing on the wall..."
In Chapter 7 the tone of the book switches from storytelling to the dreams, visions and prophecies of Daniel. More on this next week, but this is some really cool reading if you ever harbored doubts about the accuracy of prophecy...!
Have a great week reading!
-Mike
Friday, August 27, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Week 34: Ezekiel 12 - 36
This week it's all Ezekiel in the reading plan:
* Weekend: Ezekiel 12 - 15
* Monday: Ezekiel 16 - 19
* Tuesday: Ezekiel 20 - 24
* Wednesday: Ezekiel 25 - 28
* Thursday: Ezekiel 29 - 32
* Friday: Ezekiel 33 - 36
Ezekiel is one of the most remarkable prophets, if not THE most remarkable prophet, and the book of Ezekiel is one the most remarkable books in the Bible. It is probably also one of the lesser-known prophets. For me personally, the prophet and the book had to "grow" on me over time. Isaiah is known and read for its many prophesies regarding the Messiah. Jeremiah is known for prophesying and lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (in the Netherlands we even have a verb "jeremiering", which means as much as "wining"). Daniel is another famous prophet because of its famous stories of the lion's den, the fiery oven, etc. But who in the world is Ezekiel??
Well, as you have already read this past week, Ezekiel is an incredibly faithful servant. In chapter 4, God asked him to bear the sin of the people of Israel, one day for every year the people have sinned for a total of 390 days. Ezekiel has to lay down on his left side for 390 days, bearing the sin of the people!! After he's done with that, he has to lay down on his other side for 40 days, to bear the sin of the tribe of Judah. Not just laying down, but tied down with ropes, to symbolize the siege of Jerusalem. And if that is not all, God gives him only bread to eat and water to drink, and He asks them to bake the bread on human faeces!!!!! Can you believe that???!!! Ezekiel pleas with the Lord to prevent him from defiling himself, and so the Lord grants him to bake the bread on a cow pie instead of human excrements... Wow...
When I read that, I'm first of all stunned by the things that God is asking of Ezekiel, and secondly, I'm stunned by how faithful Ezekiel responds and executes the things God asks of him. Who of us would do this if the Lord would ask something like this today?? No, He won't ask these specific things, but what if He asks you to go through a time of trial that lasts more than a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months or a couple of years? Maybe you feel like you have been 'tied down with a rope' for a long time.
Read a little further, and we see God's outrage against the sin of Israel and Judah, symbolized in the story of two sisters who commit adultery. God passionately loved them, but they rejected him time and time again (chapter 23). In this chapter, God uses some very explicit language to describe the situation, so be warned (reader discretion advised!). It is obvious that God is very upset, and does not dance around the subject.
And then... God asks an even more unbelievable thing from Ezekiel in chapter 24. God says: "With one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears." (24:15,16). And then we read in verse 18: "So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded."
When I read that, tears come to my eyes. I cannot believe God is asking that from someone who has been so faithful to him. I think of my own wife and family, and secretly hope God will never ever ask such a sacrifice from me. But I also know people who have experienced this, maybe not quite like Ezekiel, but most definitely a sacrifice that was hard to understand why God would allow that to happen. And I have experienced my own hardships with losses of dear people as well, some of them very untimely it seemed.
Yet... as we read the Bible more and more, we get to understand the heart of God better and better. We do not understand everything, but we do get a glimpse of the bigger picture God has in mind. We see His vision in chapter 18 verse 23:
"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
and in 18:32:
"For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the LORD. Repent and live!"
That is what God wants for each us, and not just each of us, but for the entire world! That is why Ezekiel had to do what he did, to bring a message of repentance and hope to an entire nation. That's why we sometimes have to go through the dark times in life... so that God can accomplish the big picture, not just for us, but for the entire world.
I encourage you to appreciate reading the book of Ezekiel. It's not easy to read, but so rewarding if you catch the big picture as well.
In Him,
Dick
* Weekend: Ezekiel 12 - 15
* Monday: Ezekiel 16 - 19
* Tuesday: Ezekiel 20 - 24
* Wednesday: Ezekiel 25 - 28
* Thursday: Ezekiel 29 - 32
* Friday: Ezekiel 33 - 36
Ezekiel is one of the most remarkable prophets, if not THE most remarkable prophet, and the book of Ezekiel is one the most remarkable books in the Bible. It is probably also one of the lesser-known prophets. For me personally, the prophet and the book had to "grow" on me over time. Isaiah is known and read for its many prophesies regarding the Messiah. Jeremiah is known for prophesying and lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (in the Netherlands we even have a verb "jeremiering", which means as much as "wining"). Daniel is another famous prophet because of its famous stories of the lion's den, the fiery oven, etc. But who in the world is Ezekiel??
Well, as you have already read this past week, Ezekiel is an incredibly faithful servant. In chapter 4, God asked him to bear the sin of the people of Israel, one day for every year the people have sinned for a total of 390 days. Ezekiel has to lay down on his left side for 390 days, bearing the sin of the people!! After he's done with that, he has to lay down on his other side for 40 days, to bear the sin of the tribe of Judah. Not just laying down, but tied down with ropes, to symbolize the siege of Jerusalem. And if that is not all, God gives him only bread to eat and water to drink, and He asks them to bake the bread on human faeces!!!!! Can you believe that???!!! Ezekiel pleas with the Lord to prevent him from defiling himself, and so the Lord grants him to bake the bread on a cow pie instead of human excrements... Wow...
When I read that, I'm first of all stunned by the things that God is asking of Ezekiel, and secondly, I'm stunned by how faithful Ezekiel responds and executes the things God asks of him. Who of us would do this if the Lord would ask something like this today?? No, He won't ask these specific things, but what if He asks you to go through a time of trial that lasts more than a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months or a couple of years? Maybe you feel like you have been 'tied down with a rope' for a long time.
Read a little further, and we see God's outrage against the sin of Israel and Judah, symbolized in the story of two sisters who commit adultery. God passionately loved them, but they rejected him time and time again (chapter 23). In this chapter, God uses some very explicit language to describe the situation, so be warned (reader discretion advised!). It is obvious that God is very upset, and does not dance around the subject.
And then... God asks an even more unbelievable thing from Ezekiel in chapter 24. God says: "With one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears." (24:15,16). And then we read in verse 18: "So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded."
When I read that, tears come to my eyes. I cannot believe God is asking that from someone who has been so faithful to him. I think of my own wife and family, and secretly hope God will never ever ask such a sacrifice from me. But I also know people who have experienced this, maybe not quite like Ezekiel, but most definitely a sacrifice that was hard to understand why God would allow that to happen. And I have experienced my own hardships with losses of dear people as well, some of them very untimely it seemed.
Yet... as we read the Bible more and more, we get to understand the heart of God better and better. We do not understand everything, but we do get a glimpse of the bigger picture God has in mind. We see His vision in chapter 18 verse 23:
"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
and in 18:32:
"For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the LORD. Repent and live!"
That is what God wants for each us, and not just each of us, but for the entire world! That is why Ezekiel had to do what he did, to bring a message of repentance and hope to an entire nation. That's why we sometimes have to go through the dark times in life... so that God can accomplish the big picture, not just for us, but for the entire world.
I encourage you to appreciate reading the book of Ezekiel. It's not easy to read, but so rewarding if you catch the big picture as well.
In Him,
Dick
Friday, August 13, 2010
Week 33: Jeremiah 30-45; Lamentations; Ezekiel 1-11
Here's this week's reading plan as we make our way through the books of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel:
Weekend: Jeremiah 37-39
Monday: Jeremiah 40-45
Tuesday: Jeremiah 46-52
Wednesday: Lamentations (entire book)
Thursday: Ezekiel 1-6
Friday: Ezekiel 7-11
If you are starting to feel that you've been reading the book of Jeremiah for a long time now, it's because you have. Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible, even though other books, like Isaiah and Psalms, have more chapter divisions.
The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel have some interesting similarities and differences. Like Jeremiah, the prophet Ezekiel lived and prophesied during one of Jerusalem's darkest periods. The year 586 BC marks the Holy City's worst catastrophe up to that point in time...its total destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. The city walls were breached and reduced to rubble. The temple was looted and burned to the ground. Homes and business were demolished. The majority of Jerusalem's population was exiled to Babylon, where the people remained for decades.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel (along with Isaiah and Zephaniah) followed the same basic sequence in writing their books. They began with a series of oracles against Israel, then moved to a set of oracles against the surrounding nations, and came full circle with oracles consoling Israel, which promised restoration and future blessing after God's judgments had run their course. While Ezekiel arranged his oracles chronologically, however, Jeremiah did not.
Ezekiel and Jeremiah ministered to many of the same people, but those people were in very different circumstances when they encountered the two prophets. Jeremiah prophesied to the inhabitants of Jerusalem before they were carried off into captivity. Ezekiel was "a missionary prophet" of sorts. He lived among the people after their exile to Babylon and instructed them on how they should conduct themselves among their captors.
The message for us is that God meets us where we're at...regardless of our circumstances in life. He instructs us on how we should live, and leaves the choice (along with the blessings and consequences of those choices) up to us. Yet, even after we've messed up in the worst possible ways, we can trust that God will never leave us or forsake us. He will deliver us and infuse us afresh with hope and joy.
A passage in Lamentations, the book that lies between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is particularly instructive. As the early morning sun broke over Jerusalem's eastern horizon, it illuminated brown and yellowish hues of smoke, which wafted slowly heavenward from the Holy City's smoldering ashes. Jeremiah stood motionless and wept softly as he wrung these words from his lonely soul, speaking as if one with the city whose destruction he had predicted for some 40 years:
Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding,
he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.
He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver.
I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
He has filled me with bitter herbs
and sated me with gall.
He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord."
But then the Spirit whispered to the worn-and-weary prophet and his face brightened.
He continued...lament giving way to consolation:
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love we
are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will hope in him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope
is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
(Lamentations 3:10-26)
Jeremiah made the faithful acclamation: "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will hope in him."
Whatever circumstances we find ourselves facing in the coming week, let's make this common commitment: "Come what may, the Lord is our portion; therefore we will hope in him!"
Chuck
Weekend: Jeremiah 37-39
Monday: Jeremiah 40-45
Tuesday: Jeremiah 46-52
Wednesday: Lamentations (entire book)
Thursday: Ezekiel 1-6
Friday: Ezekiel 7-11
If you are starting to feel that you've been reading the book of Jeremiah for a long time now, it's because you have. Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible, even though other books, like Isaiah and Psalms, have more chapter divisions.
The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel have some interesting similarities and differences. Like Jeremiah, the prophet Ezekiel lived and prophesied during one of Jerusalem's darkest periods. The year 586 BC marks the Holy City's worst catastrophe up to that point in time...its total destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. The city walls were breached and reduced to rubble. The temple was looted and burned to the ground. Homes and business were demolished. The majority of Jerusalem's population was exiled to Babylon, where the people remained for decades.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel (along with Isaiah and Zephaniah) followed the same basic sequence in writing their books. They began with a series of oracles against Israel, then moved to a set of oracles against the surrounding nations, and came full circle with oracles consoling Israel, which promised restoration and future blessing after God's judgments had run their course. While Ezekiel arranged his oracles chronologically, however, Jeremiah did not.
Ezekiel and Jeremiah ministered to many of the same people, but those people were in very different circumstances when they encountered the two prophets. Jeremiah prophesied to the inhabitants of Jerusalem before they were carried off into captivity. Ezekiel was "a missionary prophet" of sorts. He lived among the people after their exile to Babylon and instructed them on how they should conduct themselves among their captors.
The message for us is that God meets us where we're at...regardless of our circumstances in life. He instructs us on how we should live, and leaves the choice (along with the blessings and consequences of those choices) up to us. Yet, even after we've messed up in the worst possible ways, we can trust that God will never leave us or forsake us. He will deliver us and infuse us afresh with hope and joy.
A passage in Lamentations, the book that lies between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is particularly instructive. As the early morning sun broke over Jerusalem's eastern horizon, it illuminated brown and yellowish hues of smoke, which wafted slowly heavenward from the Holy City's smoldering ashes. Jeremiah stood motionless and wept softly as he wrung these words from his lonely soul, speaking as if one with the city whose destruction he had predicted for some 40 years:
Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding,
he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.
He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver.
I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
He has filled me with bitter herbs
and sated me with gall.
He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord."
But then the Spirit whispered to the worn-and-weary prophet and his face brightened.
He continued...lament giving way to consolation:
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love we
are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will hope in him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope
is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
(Lamentations 3:10-26)
Jeremiah made the faithful acclamation: "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will hope in him."
Whatever circumstances we find ourselves facing in the coming week, let's make this common commitment: "Come what may, the Lord is our portion; therefore we will hope in him!"
Chuck
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Week 32: Jeremiah 11-36
Here is this week's reading plan- all from the Book of Jeremiah:
Weekend: Ch. 11-15
Monday: Ch. 16-20
Tuesday: Ch. 21-25
Wednesday: Ch. 26-29
Thursday: Ch. 30-33
Friday: Ch. 34-36
Jeremiah was a prophet who began his ministry when a righteous king (Josiah) sat on the throne. The Book of the Law was re-discovered during the time of Josiah's reign and as king he made sweeping changes in Judah to rid the country of idols and other things that enabled the people to sin against God. Jeremiah pretty much was brought on board while the going was good...
But...
Josiah's death in battle ushered in the bad habits that led to the destruction of Israel...
In my line of work in sales, it is said that my job truly begins when I hear the answer "No." Well, for Jeremiah, his job really began when Judah's king decided to lead them back into sin. He is the messenger of bad news (truth, really) to folks who do not want to change bad habits...
As we read together the story of Jeremiah, please note that all along as people abandon him and increasingly mistreat him, that he still holds fast to his mission and ministry...
-Mike
Weekend: Ch. 11-15
Monday: Ch. 16-20
Tuesday: Ch. 21-25
Wednesday: Ch. 26-29
Thursday: Ch. 30-33
Friday: Ch. 34-36
Jeremiah was a prophet who began his ministry when a righteous king (Josiah) sat on the throne. The Book of the Law was re-discovered during the time of Josiah's reign and as king he made sweeping changes in Judah to rid the country of idols and other things that enabled the people to sin against God. Jeremiah pretty much was brought on board while the going was good...
But...
Josiah's death in battle ushered in the bad habits that led to the destruction of Israel...
In my line of work in sales, it is said that my job truly begins when I hear the answer "No." Well, for Jeremiah, his job really began when Judah's king decided to lead them back into sin. He is the messenger of bad news (truth, really) to folks who do not want to change bad habits...
As we read together the story of Jeremiah, please note that all along as people abandon him and increasingly mistreat him, that he still holds fast to his mission and ministry...
-Mike
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