Bible Reading Challenge Blog

There are some chapters in this section that we would do well to remember.  The first is chapter 36 which speaks of a new covenant that God has made with us in Jesus Christ.  Now, let’s be clear, Jesus is never mentioned, but the new covenant is mentioned.  We know that the new covenant came with Christ.  Listen to some of the characteristics of this covenant starting at vs.26: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…

That is followed up with the vision of the valley of dry bones that show that one day God will renew the people of Israel and will take them out of captivity and slavery into a full life.  Both of these chapters are probably the most memorable ones in all of Ezekiel, so we would do well to know them, even if that means reading them again.  

Psalm 65 depicts a God who loves us so much that he not only nourishes us but also nourishes the land and the animals where we live.  That sounds  lot like Lancaster county.  We are definitely blessed here in so many ways.

Once again the prophet speaks out to a nation that is not the people of God.  It is interesting because there does seem a bit of sadness as he speaks out to a nation that at one time had held the Israelites in slavery.  In fact, this part is called a lament for Pharaoh and for Egypt.  Ezekiel laments, doesn’t celebrate or brag, about the downfall of Egypt.

We then see the image of Ezekiel as a watchman.  God warns him that if he does not speak to the words that God gives him and warn the people of the wrath to come so that they can straighten up and fly right, then he, Ezekiel, will also be held accountable for their destruction.  But if he does speak to them and they do not listen to him, well, then that is on them.  

The image of the shepherds and the sheep is a powerful one especially in light of the fact that Ezekiel is the only one speaking out the truth.  The other prophets, the shepherds as this Scripture describes, are merely looking out for their own interest.  

Psalm 64 is a lament when David “complains” to God about his enemies.  But then at the end starting in vs.9 things tend to go right and David speaks about the wonder and the glory of the Lord and it seems that things are better.

God has the prophet speak out agains the former enemies of Israel and address how Babylon is going to conquer them as well.  Tyre was seen as the jewel in the Mediterranean but God prophecies its destruction.  It is a city set on the seashore and it was an example of trading success.  But that will come to an end when Babylon invades.  Once again, God is seen using Babylon, and enemy of Israel, as His tool.

Then there is the prophecy against Egypt.  This one is a bit more significant because the people of both Judah and Israel fled to Egypt in order to escape the Babylonians.  But that was short lived because Babylon came on down and conquered Egypt as well.  No one was able to escape the wrath of the Babylonians.

Psalm 30 describes a time of celebration for the consecration of the temple.  The center of religious life is lifted up as a gift from God.  It is this very temple that is destroyed by the Babylonians in Ezekiel’s prophecy.  We come full circle here.

It seems like things are coming to a head in Ezekiel.  The prophecy describes a sword sharpening itself because it is just about to strike.  This sword is described as Babylon and it is used by God as His instrument of judgment.  Interestingly enough these are a pagan people but God uses them to carry out his work.  Think about what that means.  If we, the people of God, refuse to carry out God’s work, God has options, many, many options besides us.  We rely upon God, God doesn’t rely upon us.

We read about two adulterous sisters and clearly one is Samaria (to be interpreted as Israel, the northern kingdom) and the other is Jerusalem (to be interpreted as Judah).  We know that Samaria was the religious and political capital of the divided kingdom of Israel, up north.  Likewise Jerusalem was the political and religious capital of Judah, down south.

A painful metaphor that Ezekiel is given is the death of his wife.  He is commanded not to mourn publicly for her, in the same way that the people were not to mourn publicly for the destruction of Israel and Judah.  That’s pretty harsh.  

I really enjoy Proverbs 30 because to me it describes the majestic power of our creator God.  What God has made and what God has done is seen in the beauty of nature all around us.  

There is a theme in Scripture which isn’t always consistent, but you do hear it from time to time.  It is the theme that each person will suffer the consequences of their own sin, and those who come after them will not be held accountable for the sin of their fathers or mother’s.  This is a theme that we find in Ezekiel in these chapters.  But the reading for today does seem to be a bit of a story that if you stick with it, can really apply to a nation and also to an individual.

The story is of a people who were born and no one wanted them and they were cast out in the cold, still with the umbillical cord attached and the blood and the birthing elements still part of the baby who was thrown out.  This abandoned baby was taken up by the Lord and raised.  She became a beauty and the Lord protected her and kept her.  But then she began deciding on her own how she wanted to live her life and she lived it loosely.  She wasn’t even a prostitute because prostitutes require money for their actions, this grown woman pursued others and paid them for her actions.

This metaphor of Israel was applied by Ezekiel.  He then transitions to making the point that only those who sin will be held accountable for their actions, but Israel, by the way, has sinned for generations and never has done what was right in the sight of the Lord.  

For Psalm 62 we see this line in vs.11-12 that reminds us of who God is and what we have just read in Ezekiel: God is strong and God is loving.  Each person will be rewarded according to what he has done.  There is a line in this Psalm that makes me think of a song that I have heard in the past.  I will not be shaken.

Ezekiel is once again made an object lesson in how he is to act to demonstrate the Word of the Lord.  Ezekiel is made to be a sign for the people.  There is a judgment on the leaders of Israel, a promised return to Israel, the condemnation of false prophets, and the idolaters condemned.  We have a grape vine that is producing grapes for the first time.  It is very exciting.  He has an image of the grape vine and how it is pretty much useless in regards to wood.  It really isn’t wood and doesn’t serve any purpose aside from facilitating the production of fruit.  But if fruit is not produced, it is useless.  I think you get the point.

The Psalm is a cry for help and a statement of God being our refuge.

The prophet Ezekiel cries out that the end has come.  This is repeated three times in chapter 7 and it is followed by the phrase: Doom has come up on you.  So, that’s not a great way to start our reading, but it is a way.  What Ezekiel is told to work on is the idolatry that is manifesting itself within the temple.  The holiest of places in all of Jerusalem finds itself with a bronze statue to a god that simply should not be there.  But God comes up with a solution.  He is sending mercenaries to slaughter all those who have not turned their back on the Lord.  That takes place and Ezekiel cries out and wonders if anyone is going to be spared.  The glory of God, the presence of God, then departs from the temple. That is pretty serious stuff right there.  When God departs from your presence there is really no turning back.

In Proverbs we find the verse that is repeated time after time in 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  There are many other verses that have just as catchy and memorable phrases such as in vs.22 – “Though you grind a foll with a mortar…you will not remove his folly from him.”  I love the imagery there.  

We begin a new book of the Bible in Ezekiel.  He finds himself with those who have been taken captive to Babylon with king Jehoiachin from Judah.  He is given words to speak both to Judah and Israel.  We would call this type of writing somewhat apocryphal, and maybe even apocalyptic.  There is a lot of imagery out there with the faces of animals and the wheels.  He is given tasks to perform that are used as object lessons such as sleeping on his side for days at end to signify the sin of both Israel and Judah.  

Notice that God gave him, literally, the words to speak from a scroll.  He was given that scroll to eat so that it would be a part of him and so that there would be no mistake as to what he was supposed to say.  Again, Ezekiel, following the school of thought of Jeremiah, was speaking out against the sin of the people of God.  We see the same in Psalm 60 to begin but then it transitions to the sure delivery of the Lord.

We find the weeping prophet recounting the atrocities that are taking place as Babylon sieges Jerusalem in this book of Lamentations.  That weeping prophet would be our friend Jeremiah.  He is thought to have written this book.  The siege has the women of Jerusalem doing the following:  “With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.”  Yeah, that’s pretty extreme and pretty gross.  But that is what happens when people are hungry, I guess I should say starving.

Mixed in these chapters of destruction and destitution we find periodic verses of hope that the author includes to make sure that we are not left with nothing at all.  The scenes that are played out in these verses, aside from women eating their children, are scenes of utter depravity that is taking over the city.  Chapter 5 ends with the words: “You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.”  That is a good way to end.

Even though this is a catch up day it seems as if James is not covered in any other location.  James is one of those books that has some of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture.  It is also a book of the Bible that Martin Luther, the great reformer, said that it was probably a mistake that this book of the Bible be included in the canon.  One of the reasons why he said so is that he did not want people to believe theologically that one has to perform works in order to be justified.  For all intents and purposes that is not what James states, but he does say that your faith ought to be reflected in your actions.  That is pretty much common sense.  You can’t just say that you are a believer and not have the actions to back that up.