November 13th One Year Bible Readings

~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26 ~ Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10 ~ Proverbs 27:15-16

Old Testament - Ezekiel Chapter 27 indicates that Tyre was certainly good at business & trading!   This was in large part due to Tyre's prime real estate location, which you can see in the two maps below:

However chapter 28 tells us that there was also a lot of pride associated with these business skills & wealth.  Verse 5 tells us - "Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud."  This verse definitely stands out to me.  How often in our lives does something in our lives make us proud?  Verse 2 in this chapter says this: "In your great pride you claim, `I am a god!" If we get prideful enough, might we even consider ourselves a god??  Do you hear others in our culture today telling us that we are gods?  Good idea or bad idea here....?

Verse 11-19 in this chapter are very interesting.  It is tough to discern if these verses about the king of Tyre or Satan or both?  Commentators hedge on these verses.  Perhaps, indeed, when we let pride get the best of us and think we are a god then we risk interweaving our life story with Satan's?  I don't know.  Scary stuff to think about though - jump down to the Psalm 111 verses for a good antidote to all this pride stuff...

Today's readings end with a redemptive message about the restoration of Israel in verses 25 & 26! "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The people of Israel will again live in their own land, the land I gave my servant Jacob. For I will gather them from the distant lands where I have scattered them. I will reveal to the nations of the world my holiness among my people. They will live safely in Israel and build their homes and plant their vineyards. And when I punish the neighboring nations that treated them with contempt, they will know that I am the LORD their God."

New Testament - Hebrews 11 verses 25 & 26 today tell us so much about the character and faith of Moses: "He chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him."  Do these verses speak to us today as well?  Will we share in the oppression of God's people?  Or do we enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin?  Do we suffer for the sake of Jesus?  Or would we prefer to chill out and hang out with our luxuries in life?  Do we look ahead to the great reward that God promises?  Will we pursue the character and faith of Moses in our own lives today?

Psalms - Psalm 111 is a wonderful Psalm of praise!  I love the way it ends in verse 10: "Reverence for the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.  The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey him. Praise his name forever!" Do you believe that reverence for God is the foundation of true wisdom?  Do you believe that there are rewards of wisdom if you obey God?  Will you praise his name forever?

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 27 verse 16 is a great teaching that it is tough to try to stop the wind or hold something with greased hands... How's that for avoiding the real point of this Proverb?  :) I'm not married, so I'll punt to you married folks to give commentary from here about that dripping analogy in verse 15!  :)

Comments from you - What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Jeff]

Thanks for the map of Tyre -- very helpful for visualizing their fortuitous location for trading.

[Brian]

Hebrews Chapter 11 and 12 are two of my favorite chapters in the New Testament. My church is doing 40 days of Faith. A pastor in my town wrote a 40 day devotional that is the same set up as Rick Warren's book. We have met in small groups where we watch a DVD of this pastor and have a small group discussion. It is has solidified my faith and has made it stronger.
God bless :)

[Mae]

Reverence for the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey him. Praise his name forever!"

Do I believe that there are rewards of wisdom if I obey God?

My answer is without a doubt: YES! He gives me pure wisdom, I'm sure He does! When I find myself in a situation and I'm not sure what the best thing is to do, I just turn myself to Him. I take a moment for myself and Him and I get answers! Not that He whispers them in my ear or something like that (how cool would that be though LOL), but somehow I just know the right thing to say or the right thing to do. And what about the Bible? Now THAT'S a big Book of wisdom! I've learned so much from the Bible and even passages that I remember I can use daily. I absolutely feel wiser with God! I was blessed with intelligence, I've always been a good student, a straight A student, cum laude etc ... but those things don't mean a lot to me anymore. Sure, I'm thankfull that I can learn things quickly and had a chance to get my PhD. But my personal opinion is that I've found my true wisdom in the Lord and not in my books.

[Laura]

One of the greatest rewards of obedience is JOY! To those that truly listen and apply God's Words to their lives--their is wisdom, but even greater is THE JOY OF THE LORD! The Joy keeps us strong, alive, motivated, on-fire, and it is unspeakable/undescribable and full of glory! He wants to bless us so much if we would just surrender to doing things HIS WAY! So many people think they can do things their own way but what He has shown me is that their are only two ways! HIS Way or Satan's way. It's a deception to think that we have discovered our own way. When we discover THE JOY, then obedience is no longer a chore!

[Miss]

Pride indeed comes before the fall. One of my fave songs is: "humble thyself in the sight of the Lord...and He shall lift you up! higher and higher and He, shall lift you up". Humility/meekness is indeed a wonderful virture! and pride is so very destructive.

I love the example of Moses. Think Moses is regretting his decision now? to forsake the pleasures of the world and follow God? ha! Lets focus on the eternal! this life will pass away!

I'm not married either, regarding Provs, but if God's will for my life is to marry, may I be a blessing and joy to my husband, not a quarrlesome, constant drip. (and vice vs!). But, Paul did say it is better to remain single. ;) My dad is a widower and some of the women he has dated, he's sure glad he didnt marry them...and i remember him quoting this Prov, haha (and I have to agree!!!)