November 7th readings

~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Ezekiel 16:42-17:24 ~ Hebrews 8:1-13
Psalm 106:13-31 ~ Proverbs 27:7-9

Old Testament - Ezekiel chapter 16 compares the sins of Jerusalem to those of Sodom.  Pretty bold comparisons, if you know the story of Sodom and the wipeout there.  I read one commentary that the sins of Jerusalem were not quite as bad - though they were bad.  However, the Israelites should have known better - hence the Sodom comparison.  Verse 49 stood out to me in this chapter "Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door."  Are the poor and needy suffering outside our door today?  Are we not taking care of them because of our pride, laziness, or gluttony?

Ezekiel chapter 17 is a great story of the two eagles.  This is basically a story of the city of Jerusalem's vacillating foreign policy between Babylon and Egypt.  The first eagle is King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the treaty Jerusalem makes w/ Babylon is in the story.  Then, the second eagle represents a pharaoh from Egypt, whom Jerusalem makes another treaty with subsequently, which goes against Babylon.  The bad part of this is that the Babylon treaty was sworn to by the king of Jerusalem/Judah in the Lord's name - then broken.   This is a very bad idea to swear something in the Lord's name and then not uphold it...   Below is a map to give you a quick snapshot of the Babylonian empire, Judah, and Egypt at this time-

The close of this chapter is cool when it takes a Messianic turn, foreshadowing Jesus in verses 22 and 23 - "And the Sovereign LORD says: I will take a tender shoot from the top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel's highest mountain. It will become a noble cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter beneath its branches."

New Testament - Hebrews chapter 8 is awesome in that it dives into some verses we read recently in the book of Jeremiah about the new covenant.  Verse 3 stands out - "And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too."  What was the offering Christ made for our sins?  The cross?   Verse 13 stands out too - "When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and ready to be put aside."  Something I learned recently - the old / first covenant referred to in this chapter is the "Sinaitic" covenant and not the Abrahamic covenant - the difference being not the promise to Abraham that his descendants will outnumber the stars in the sky and God will be our God and we his people (the Abrahamic covenant) - but the "Sinaitic" covenant are the laws given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and in the desert for how the Israelites were to live - including how priests would make sacrifices for sin.   The Abrahamic covenant still stands today - the Sinaitic covenant is now out of date and ready to be put aside because it was completed by the new covenant of Jesus Christ.  Our High Priest.

Psalms - This week in Psalm 106:19-21 we will read: “At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt.” This of course sounds very familiar to Romans chapter 1 verses 22 & 23 - "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."  Was this wise that the Israelites exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull? Why did they do this? What should have been their Glory? What is your Glory today? Do you, at times, exchange your true Glory for something else? Is this wise? Are you forgetting the God who saved you? The God who has done great things for you? Please don’t ever exchange the true Glory for a false idol.

Verse 13 also stands out - "Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn't wait for his counsel!"  Is this true of us?  Do we forget or take for granted all of the blessings God has poured out into our lives?  In doing so, do we decide to take matters into our own hands - not waiting on God's counsel for our direction?  Will we remember?  Will we wait?  Patiently...?

Proverbs - Today in Proverbs 27 verse 8 we read - "A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest." Where is our spiritual home?  Who is our spiritual home?  Have we strayed from our spiritual nest? As I read this I of course thing about our relationship with Jesus first - and then manifestation of his body in the local church as being our spiritual home. And I realize that if I do not attend church on a weekly basis, I am like a bird straying from its nest. Our prime home is Jesus – we do not want to stray from our relationship with Him, ever. It’s far too risky to do so, for obvious reasons. But I think we can sometimes feel like we don’t need Jesus’ body, his church. We feel like we can do life fine without church. I submit to you that this is far too risky of a way to live life. I am just afraid that if we stray away from the nest of our local church, then we are at risk of potentially straying away from Jesus. We need the church. We need Jesus. Are you going to church each week these days? Do you think you should? If there is one thing I can encourage you on, almost more than anything, is to please find a local church where Jesus is clearly the cornerstone and the Bible is clearly taught. And then please do not stray away from that nest. . . I cannot urge you enough on this point. I love the church so very much. I pray that you do as well. (It brings tears to my eyes to even try to think of my life without the church – I cannot imagine it. I pray this is the case for you as well . . .)

What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up in the Comments section below!

Grace,
Mike

Comments

[Jan]

Good morning all (Mike, Ramona & Vance)...

Oh my Goshen, yes these 2 chapters in Ezekiel are ever so sobering to say the least. This verse: "Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door," reflects that which I am facing now; the issue of gluttony & trying to get free through a program called "The Lord's Table" (which is based on feasting on His Word & not dieting). There is no food that is not good, just that we need to come to His table & give thanks & not indugle our flesh for our pleasure, but to seek Him/His face & His Word for our only pleasure . These 2 chapters of Ezekiel are so sobering to me & the way it is compared to a relationship between a man & a woman & how we can go a whoring after others, food, or whatever; prostituting ourselves once again. It is scriptures like these that shame me for seeking lesser lovers than Him/My One True Lover...the Word become flesh. I'm sure there is more to comment on today...

[Jan]

"They exchanged their Glory...They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things...They became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God..."

Oh Lord, please forgive us our ignorance for exchanging something so wonderful that you have given us...our glory; given only by You. How can we even think about exchanging "glory" for anything else...what possibly can we be thinking...then & now. I am devasted at what Your people (including me) are truly capable of...Lord forgive us our ignorance as humans & our dullness of giving our/Your glory in us away. :(

[Ramona]

Ezekiel 16:43-17:24

I want to pose a question to make us think, but only after I make a statement based on what I believe to be a truth, “We live in a cause and effect world.” And that world operates in cycles.
Gen 8: 22 "As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."

If the earth is still in operation then things come and go in cycles, thus there is nothing new under the sun as stated by Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Then what has happened in Sodom is happening today.

We Christians seem to have a single sighted view of Sodom’s demise and point to homosexuality as the cause. We may see it as the cause but I believe that what we accuse her of doing is not a cause but an effect and consequence of pride, laziness and gluttony.

46 "Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters in the south. 47 But you have not merely sinned as they did--no, that was nothing to you. In a very short time you far surpassed them! 48 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters. 49 Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. 50 She was proud and did loathsome things, so I wiped her out, as you have seen. (Ezekiel 16)

Three things caused her to fall. Are these three things lying at our doorstep, yet we refuse to recognize them for who and what they are? Are they the elephants in our living room everyone refuses to acknowledge? We are an overweight nation. We blame everyone but our own gluttony and our failure to exercise. We have not humbled ourselves as a nation, as Christians to accept responsibility for our overeating because, we are after all Christians. We know that Christians don’t commit sins and if we do we don’t have to take responsibility for them because after all, we are Christians and Christians are always right.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Jan]

I agree Ramona, our obesity/gluttony is idolatry for sure. We are just as Israel/Jerusalem/Judah in our wanting to return to Egypt, or be filled with quail in the desert till we puke our guts out & die. America has lost her One True Love...God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, the very thing she was founded upon. It is not about food but the Bread of Life that we have rejected first & foremost. Even those of us who are Christian, do not feast at His table/His Word...so therefore we are seeking satisfaction in food/gluttony to fill the hole/void that were are supposed to fill with Him.

Lord forgive us this day our gluttony/idolatry & may we repent & turn from our wicked ways. Lord, it is you that we desire more than anything else in this world, come quickly Lord Jesus.