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.
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