Archive for month: July, 2020

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 11:14-25.  Let’s go!
 
Ezekiel 11:14-16 (NIV) 
14  The word of the LORD came to me: 
15  “Son of man, your brothers–your brothers who are your blood relatives and the whole house of Israel–are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land was given to us as our possession.’
16  “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ 

On verses 14-16:  The Jews in Judah were captured and taken to Babylon in three stages: the first group was brought to Babylon in 605 B.C., the second in 597 B.C., and the third in 586 B.C.  According to scholars, Ezekiel was part of the second group that was taken to Babylon in 597 B.C.  When this second group was captured and taken to Babylon, the Jews who remained in Jerusalem assumed that God was giving them the entire land (“They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession” – v15b).  Little did they know that another attack was on its way and that many of them would also be captured and deported within the next decade.

Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Ezekiel 11:1-13.  Let’s go!

Ezekiel 11:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
2  The LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city.
3  They say, ‘Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.’
4  Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.” 
On verses 1-4:  What do Jaazaniah, Pelatiah and these other 23 men mean when they say, “This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat” (v3)?  This is them bragging that they believe they are safe and secure within the walls of Jerusalem, like meat safely kept in a pot.  Despite the fact that the people of Judah have already suffered attacks, invasions and deportations at the hand of the Babylonians, these 25 leaders in Jerusalem scoff at the idea that a foreign enemy would take them down again.  Rather they believe it will soon be time for them to look at building houses and making long term investments in Jerusalem.  As we will see, theirs was a false sense of security.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 9:1-11.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-11:  In chapter 8, as part of Ezekiel’s vision, God promised not to spare the Israelites who were engaging in idolatry. Here in chapter 9, Ezekiel’s vision continues with God fulfilling this promise. At God’s summoning, six men appear, each with a deadly weapon in his hand, as they have been appointed to execute judgment on the city (v1-2).

Before these six men go throughout the city to kill every idolater, two things happen. First, verse 3 says that the glory of the Lord moves from above the cherubim (most likely a reference to the cherubim statues that sit on top of the ark in the Most Holy Place) to the temple entrance. This signifies that God’s presence has left the temple as a result of the people’s idolatry (see Ezekiel 8:6).

Second, God calls for a man dressed in linen (linen representing purity and righteousness) and with a writing kit to go and place a mark on the foreheads of all those in the city who grieve and lament over the Israelites’ idolatrous practices (v3b-4). This signifies that despite God’s wrath against all the idolaters in the city, God still wanted to protect those in the city who did not bow down to any idol.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 8:1-18.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-6:  Ezekiel is in his house having a meeting with the elders of Judah when all of a sudden he sees a vision (v1).  In the vision Ezekiel sees a figure who waist down is full of fire and who waist up looks like glowing metal (v2).  As verse 5 confirms, this figure is the same figure Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel 1:26-27 and is a picture of the Lord (also known as a theophany).  The Lord reaches out what looks like a hand, grabs Ezekiel by the hair, and pulls him into a vision of the temple in Jerusalem (v3).  Ezekiel sees an idol standing in the north gate of the temple.  This idol is called the idol of jealousy, probably because it stirred God’s jealousy to see this idol standing in what was supposed to be His temple (v3, 5), even while the Lord himself and His glory is standing before Ezekiel (v4). The Lord calls the Israelites’ idolatry “utterly detestable” (v6) and says that these are the kind of “things that will drive me far from my sanctuary” (v6).  And yet even more detestable things are still to come, the Lord says (v6).

What can we learn from this?  God detests idolatry.  As He says in Isaiah 42:8, “”I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.”  A sure-fire way to grieve God’s heart is to worship other gods.