Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 23

Sometimes we don’t think of the Bible as speaking in terms that many would find “unsuitable for mixed company.” I think our reading of the Song of Solomon helps to dispel some of that thinking, but today’s reading is even more graphic. Ezekiel 23 condemns the apostasy of Israel and Judah in one of the most explicit depictions in all of Scripture. The two nations of God’s people are described as two sexually immoral sisters. Oholah means “her own tent” and is Samaria, the capital of Israel. Oholibah means “My tabernacle is in her” and is Jerusalem, the capital of Judah wherein the tabernacle and temple of God dwelled. The rendering of “virgin bosom” in verses 3 and 8 is quite tame in light of the original text. Only the Holman Christian Standard and the New English Translation (NET Bible) give the more explicit rendering. Verse 20 is another sexually explicit text and I will not explain it here. You can do your own research of “whose issue is like the issue of horses” by reading Genesis 38:8-9. The whole point is this, in our politically correct, avoid offending at all cost society, there is a time to call things as they really are. But we must also remember that this condemnation and judgment came only after repeated, loving pleas for repentance.

New Testament reading: Acts 9-10

“Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Cor 3:16). Paul wrote these words by inspiration, but he was also a living example of the same. As we begin Acts 9, we find Saul (Paul) “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” and on his way to Damascus to imprison Christians, both men and women. Before the chapter ends, a span of only a few days, we find Paul preaching the faith he once tried to destroy (cf Gal 1:23). What had changed? Was there some new revelation of Scripture that Paul received? No. He simply (but not easily!) realized that the Scriptures he purported to defend were the very ones that pointed people to Jesus! In this sense, the veil was taken away from his blinded heart (2 Cor 3:14-15), and Paul preached in Damascus what he had originally intended to bring to a halt. When one believes the truth about Jesus, it helps remove and prevent believing error elsewhere.

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 21-22

In the last verse of Ezekiel 20, the prophet noted the people’s complaint that God was continually speaking in parables. Therefore, a summary of today’s reading might be titled, “Let me make this plain; Jerusalem is doomed.” There would be no parable or mincing of words here. Ezekiel made this plain in verses 2-3 when he prophesied the following against Jerusalem, the holy places, and the land of Israel – “Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both the righteous and wicked from you.” Hard to make it any plainer than that! Ezekiel 21:3-4 appears to be in contradiction to chapter 18, wherein God promised that the wicked would die and the righteous would live, but now is saying both the righteous and wicked will die. This difficulty is resolved when we understand that the death and living of Ezekiel 18 refer to spiritual life and death, while the text in chapter 21 is physical punishment and death. It is a sad but true fact that the righteous often suffer because of the deeds of the wicked. Such is the case with idolatrous Jerusalem. Those who abhorred idolatry and the abominations of the city would suffer physical harm as God punished His people, but their souls would be delivered because God is a righteous God.

New Testament reading: Acts 7-8

Preaching Christ includes preaching the necessity of baptism. In Acts 8 we read of two accounts where Philip preached to the lost. Acts 8:5 says that Philip “preached Christ” to the Samaritans. When they believed what Philip preached “concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (v 12). No mention of preaching about baptism. Later, after being called away from Samaria to preach to the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:36 says Philip “preached Jesus to him.” The Ethiopian’s response to this preaching was a request to be baptized. But how did he know to make this request? The only reasonable conclusion is that the preaching of Jesus includes the command to be baptized. This is in perfect harmony with what Jesus said in Mark 16:15-16 with the preaching of gospel – “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Let’s encourage the kind of preaching the Lord commanded!

 Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 19-20

As Ezekiel 17 began with an account of two eagles, chapter 19 begins with the story of two young lions. As the lion is the “king of the jungle,” the lions in this account represent two kings of Judah, namely Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. In Ezekiel’s lamentation (v 1), each lion is carried captive into a foreign land. Ezekiel 19:1-4 pictures Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, who ruled three months before being carried captive to Egypt by Pharaoh Necho. Necho replaced Jehoahaz, appointing his brother Eliakim to the throne and changing his name to Jehoiakim. Ezekiel 19:5-9 pictures Jehoiakim, who reigned 11 years before Nebuchadnezzar carried him captive to Babylon. Both accounts are recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:1-6. Ezekiel 19:10-14 pictures Jerusalem as a strong, towering, prosperous vine. But this vine was plucked in God’s fury and cast away. Though once planted in a well-watered paradise, she is now planted in a dry wilderness. Her fruit is burned up and her glory is gone.

New Testament reading: Acts 5-6

“Lord, thank you for allowing me to be beaten for Your name.” Just reading those words makes me shake my head. Could I say that if such were to be my lot in the kingdom? I would like to think so, but none of us knows our true mettle until we are in the midst of the fire. Yet, this is the very attitude expressed by the apostles after they were twice arrested, threatened, and subsequently beaten. Of this beating, Acts 5:41 says they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” Theirs was not an unusual circumstance for the early Christians. We will read of other acts of persecution in Acts 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23. Paul (Phil 1, 1 Thes 1) and Peter (1 Pet 1:6-7) exhorted brethren to faithfulness in the face of persecution as did the Hebrews author in Hebrews 12:1-11. This should come as a surprise to no one, as Jesus concluded the beatitudes with a promise of persecution for righteousness’ sake (Matt 5:10). Moreover, Jesus placed us in good company when such should come upon us (Matt 5:11-12). The prophets were some of the greatest men to ever grace this earth, and they endured extreme mistreatment for their faithful execution of God’s call. Should we foolishly think ourselves better than they?

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 17-18

Ezekiel 17 contains the parable of the two eagles. Fortunately, the explanation of the parable is contained in the text. In the opening of the parable, the great eagle of verse 3 represents Babylon, while the cedar branch represents God’s people who were carried away (v 12). The second eagle of verse 7 represents Egypt (v 15), to whom Zedekiah reached out in an attempt to free himself from Babylonian bondage (Jer 37:1-10). God condemned Zedekiah for breaking his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar, as he had made a covenant with him when Nebuchadnezzar set him up as king (2 Chr 36:9-10). The prophet said that Zedekiah would die in the midst of Babylon, which he did (Jer 52:11). I also found it interesting that God condemned Zedekiah for breaking his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (17:15). God expects us to keep our word and honor our covenants… even those made with pagan kings! Ezekiel 18 is a marvelous text that shows no man will be judged based on the actions of another, neither is any man predestined to salvation or condemnation from birth. Ezekiel 18:20 is incompatible with the doctrine of hereditary depravity, while Ezekiel 18:31 is a marvelous refutation of unconditional election, these being two of the five tenets of Calvinism.

New Testament reading: Acts 3-4

“It’s all about Jesus.” Following the healing of the lame man in Acts 3, Peter asked the gathering and gawking audience, ‘Why are you looking at us as if we, by our own power or godliness, have made this man walk?’ He then immediately pointed his audience to Jesus and, as he had done on Pentecost, accused his hearers of the murder of the Son of God. Peter’s charge was consistent with most of the preaching in the early days of the church. While we would not do well to specifically accuse men today of murdering the Son of God, we should still point people to Jesus in all we do and say. In this discourse, Peter referred to Jesus as God’s Servant, the Holy One, the Prince of Life, the prophet like unto Moses, and the only authority and name by which we must be saved. In our present day of religious pluralism, we must unwavering point people to Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 15-16

Ezekiel 15 is a brief parable foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem. In the parable Israel is compared to a vine, not in the sense of bearing fruit, but in the uselessness of its wood. Anyone who has ever worked in the woods knows how tough vine wood is. But it is worthless for the purpose of making anything useful, being unfit even to make a peg as a cup hanger (v 3). It is good for nothing but to be burned for fuel, and afterward has no value. God says He is going to burn Jerusalem as a vine, leaving the land desolate. In chapter 16 God compares Jerusalem to an abandoned infant whom He rescued from death, and whom He nurtured to maturity and clothed in beauty. Finally, God took Jerusalem as a loving husband takes a young bride, clothing her in the finest garments, adorning her with fine jewelry, providing her the finest pastries and food. But Jerusalem became filled with pride, trusting in her own beauty and forgetting the husband who had saved and exalted her. She took the blessings of her husband and played the harlot with every passing idol, unable to satisfy her wicked appetites (v 28). Ezekiel said Israel was worse than a harlot because no one solicited her and she accepted no payment for her harlotry (vv 31-34)!

Old Testament reading: Acts 1-2

A common misunderstanding of Acts 2:1-4 concerns the identification of who received the miraculous gift of tongues at Pentecost. Remember that chapter and verse divisions did not implemented until more than 1400 years after the inspired documents were originally penned. One rule of language is that a pronoun is identified by its nearest antecedent noun agreeing in person and number. Acts 2:1-4 contains 6 plural pronouns (e.g., “they” and “them”). The nearest antecedent plural noun is found in Acts 1:26, specifically, the “apostles.” Because the text is speaking of the appointment of Matthias as Judas’ replacement, the pronouns in question refer to the twelve apostles. Thus, the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:1-4 was given only to the apostles, and not to the 120 (cf Acts 1:15) as is sometimes supposed. This is confirmed again in Acts 2:14-15 where Peter stood up with the eleven others.

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 12-14

As the prophet was commanded to personally picture Jerusalem’s besiegement in chapter 4, he is now commanded to picture her captivity. Specifically, Ezekiel portrayed the capture and imprisonment of Zedekiah, who sought to escape the armies of Babylon but was caught and brought to Babylon. Zedekiah died in Babylon, but he never saw the city itself, for the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah’s sons before his face at Riblah before putting out his eyes and carrying him to Babylon. Compare the account of Jeremiah 52:7-11 with Ezekiel’s prophecy of Ezekiel 12:12-13, and know that Ezekiel penned this more than 5 years before the events and from several hundred miles away. I never cease to be thrilled by the power and testimony of predictive prophecy! Later in chapter 12, Jehovah rebukes Israel for the rejection of His promised and prophesied punishment. God tarried to give them space to repent (cf Rom 2:4), but Israel interpreted His patience as a failure to keep His word (cf 2 Peter 3:1-9). Note also Ezekiel 14:14, where God mentions the righteousness of Noah, Daniel and Job. Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel in Babylon at that time, so he was already of considerable fame among the Jews.

New Testament reading: John 19-21

John 19:25-27 reminds us of the unbelief of Jesus’ brothers, even up to the time of the cross. Twice in the gospels, His brothers’ unbelief is noted (cf Mark 3:20-21; John 7:1-5). The fact that they did not believe in Jesus also testifies to the fact that they did not believe in the righteousness of their own mother. In their minds, the Jews were right when they accused Jesus of being born (conceived) in fornication (John 8:41), especially since no answer or defense was made against the charge. Thus, Jesus committed the care of his mother into the hands of John the apostle. Jesus was Mary’s oldest son, and with her husband Joseph no longer in the picture, He was charged with the responsibility of His mother’s care. Imagine the shame brought upon His brothers as Jesus deemed them unfit to care for their own mother! The shame they had long believed belonged on their mother has now been turned back on their own heads. Unbelief oftentimes has unintended consequences!

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 9-11

“Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?” This was Abraham’s question to God as he was informed of the doom of Sodom and the cities of the plain (Gen 18:23). In Ezekiel 9, the prophet sees the measured wrath of the Lord. Jehovah is not indiscriminate in His punishment of Judah. Rather, those who lament over the putrid spiritual state of the people are marked for their own protection. In chapter 10, Ezekiel returns to his vision of chapter 1 (see v 2, 15). Again, the exact meaning of the imagery is unclear, but the point is clear in verse 18, “Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple.” I cannot help but think of 1 Samuel 4 and the account of the Eli, the ark, the Philistines, and Ichabod. I also cannot help but think of how many of God’s people are at ease with their own idols in God’s house, not knowing the glory of God is no longer upon them or the destruction that ultimately awaits. Chapter 11 finds us with 25 men who give wicked counsel to the people. They mocked the words of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:5, where he commanded the exiles to build houses and prepare for a long stay in Babylon. God gives a threefold exhortation to Ezekiel to prophesy destruction against them (vv 3-12).

New Testament reading: John 17-18

“Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way” (John 18:8). Even in the midst of His illegal arrest and subsequent detention and interrogation, Jesus was still mindful of His apostles. He well understood the mob mentality of those who had sought Him out in the garden. He knew the situation concerning Him could quickly escalate and get out of hand. The text makes this clear in John 18:9 as the text indicates the imminent danger in which the eleven found themselves. Their lives and their future were too important to Christ, as He had just prayed concerning their safekeeping (John 17:12). Peter did not help matters as he drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant (18:10). Nevertheless, the Lord’s calm demeanor and subsequent healing (cf Luke 22:51) in some ways may be said to have saved the day, for to lose even one disciple at this juncture would have negated the Lord’s claim and done irreparable harm to the very cause for which Jesus was about to die.

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 7-8

Ezekiel 7 is a prophecy of the coming judgment upon Israel and Jerusalem. Since the nation of Israel has been destroyed for more than a century, Ezekiel uses Israel in its original sense to identify the people of God. Announcing the day of doom, God will pour out His fury upon Israel until it is spent (v 8), and He will have no pity or regard for the people. As always, there will be a remnant who escapes death, but they too will be sorely punished (vv 16-19). Chapter 8 is intriguing. God shows Ezekiel the abominations of the elders, who have hidden inside the temple to worship their wicked abominations. Believing their plight to be indicative of God’s abandonment (v 12), they seek the very idols that brought their calamity upon them. God then says to Ezekiel, ‘it’s even worse than this’ and shows him the women of Israel weeping for Tammuz, the Sumerian god of fertility. Then God again says to Ezekiel, ‘it’s even worse than this’ and shows him some 25 men with their backs to the temple (turned away from God) and worshiping the rising sun in the east. God asks the prophet, ‘Is it a trivial thing to commit these abominations in this place?’ This is why God would punish them without pity.

New Testament reading: John 15-16

One of the primary principles of biblical interpretation is to ask, “Who is speaking?”, followed by, “To whom is he speaking?” After asking these questions, we must then ask, “Are these statements for us today?” John 14-16 is an oft-misused text because the last two questions are not being asked. For example, the promises in John 14:14, 14:26, 15:26-27, 16:13, and 16:23 are often used today by charismatics and those in the various word of faith movements to teach not only the ability to perform miracles today, but also to propagate the prosperity gospel (i.e., “name it and claim it”). Understanding and implementing the aforementioned rudimentary principles of interpretation would go a long way in stopping the errors that are being taught in these respects. The promises in the passages cited above were given to the apostles and are no more applicable for us today than the associated promises Jesus gave the apostles in Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 18:18. Let’s be consistent in the application of our reading.

 Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 4-6

In chapter 4, Ezekiel is given instruction to picture and portray the destruction of Jerusalem. In so doing, he would also endure personal suffering. By order of the Lord God, the prophet was only allowed a 20 shekels portion of a meager blend of the lowest grains. This would have been no more than 8-10 ounces of food each day. Additionally, he was only permitted one-sixth of a hin of water each day, this equaling about a quart. In chapter 5, the prophet shaves his head with a sword, burning some of the hair in a fire, scattering some to the wind, and binding some to his garment. This represented what God was going to do with His people following the days of the siege. Chapter 6 contains some interesting imagery as well. In verse 5, God says He will lay the corpses of the Jews before their idols. As they prostrated themselves before them in life, so would God prostrate them before them in death. In verse 10 is a classic “I told you” statement. God promised punishment for sin, now it is time to reap what has been sown. They would die by pestilence, sword and famine. Three times in the conclusion of this chapter we find a declaration that Israel “will know that I am the Lord” (v 10, 13, 14). What should have been known by blessing will now be learned by curse.

New Testament reading: John 12-14

“Unless a grain of wheat alls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (12:24). There are three necessities if I would become God’s grain of wheat: 1) Humility – As the seed must fall into the ground and be swallowed by the earth, I must humble myself that I might become lost in Christ; 2) Fatality – A seed must die and shed its coat in order to bring forth the life God has placed inside. So also I must die to sin and to self, removing every vestige of pride and personal will, take up my cross daily and follow Jesus (cf Luke 9:23), that I might bring forth the life that God has intended for me; 3) Maturity – A plant that grows but bears no fruit is worse than a seed that does not sprout. Such a plant robs the ground of water and nutrients and gives nothing in return (cf Luke 13:7). We must grow to maturity and bring forth fruit to the glory of God (John 15:8). Anything less is to fall short of the purpose for which we have been created (cf Isa 43:7).

Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 1-3

Ezekiel was a priest who was among those carried away by Nebuchadnezzar’s in 597 B.C. He was a contemporary of Daniel (compare Ezekiel 1:1 and Daniel 1:1). His prophecy begins with an otherworldly vision which still confounds even the most seasoned Bible scholars. Ezekiel makes no attempt to explain the vision’s imagery. It appears to be given for the sole purpose of pointing to God as the voice and authority behind the vision. God also addresses Ezekiel as “Son of man” 93 times in this book. Christ also used this name for Himself some 86 times during His earthly ministry. As a preacher and prophet, Ezekiel starts off “behind the eight ball” as the Lord warns him that Israel will not receive his message, “for they are a rebellious house” (2:4). Nevertheless, God warns Ezekiel to be courageous and obedient (2:6-8). God told Ezekiel that had He sent him to foreigners, they would have received his message (3:4-5), but Israel’s face would be harder than flint against him (3:9). What a sad commentary on God’s people! However, Ezekiel is assured that his standing before God is not determined by the response of his audience, but rather in his faithfulness in proclaiming God’s message (3:17-19). The key phrase in the book is “then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

New Testament reading: John 10-11

“Little is much when God is in it.” Today’s reading contains John 11:35, most folks’ favorite memory verse — “Jesus wept.” However, many fail to grasp the richness of this simple little phrase. Oh how much this text instructs us concerning the humanity of the Son of God! When Jesus wept, it showed us His true humanity. God is spoken of as being angry, jealous, and even laughing (Ps 2:4), but never as weeping. Weeping is a part of the human condition. When Jesus wept, He identified with His friends. He was weeping with those who weep (cf Rom 12:15). Though He was Divine, such did not obscure His humanity. When Jesus wept, He identified with me. “Big boys don’t cry” was what I heard throughout my childhood. I’m so glad Jesus didn’t buy into that foolishess. Surely He is a high priest who is moved by the feelings of our infirmities (Heb 4:15). He is a Savior who is full of compassion (Matt 9:35), and Oh I love Him so!