ChristianBlessings

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 43-45.

On Palm Sunday Jesus Christ rode a donkey from the Mount of Olives down through the Kidron Valley and up into Jerusalem through the east-facing Golden Gate. Within forty years the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem with its walls and gates, but Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt them in the 1500’s. As you can see in the picture, Suleiman closed up the Eastern Gate, perhaps because of Jewish beliefs that the Messiah would return through that entrance.

Centuries before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Ezekiel saw a vision of a future temple with surrounding walls and an Eastern Gate. The size of the visionary temple indicates it won’t be built until the topography of Palestine is drastically altered at Jesus’ second coming. When this future temple is completed, the glory of the LORD returns through the Eastern Gate just as it departed before the Babylonians destroyed the city…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 37-39.

Having predicted the completed destruction of Jerusalem, and the near-term destruction of Israel’s neighbors, Ezekiel turns his focus to some unknown future when the Jews live in peace and safety in their homeland. Suddenly a vast army of invaders comes from the north to attack and plunder their land.

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it?  You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.  You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. Ezekiel 38:14-16

There are many speculations about the origin and timing of this invasion. Instead of looking at things we can’t…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 31-33.

“Honey, what did the pastor preach about last week? I know it was a really good sermon, but I can’t remember what he said.”

Ezekiel acted out many of his messages, so I bet they were more memorable than spoken sermons. Today’s verses suggest that the prophet may have sung and played an instrument as well. Despite all his efforts, God revealed the depressing news that the exiles weren’t really absorbing Ezekiel’s lessons.

“As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 28-30.

“You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.” Ezekiel 28:12-15

Ezekiel’s description of the prideful king of Tyre is often said to apply equally to Satan. Do you think the prophet is talking about the devil or just a devilishly arrogant man? I couldn’t explain this any better than Doug Roman did in his post…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 25-27. 

Some say it was ice that sank the Titanic. Some say it was pride. The “unsinkable” ship went down on its first trans-Atlantic voyage in 1912 after it ignored warnings of icebergs and failed to slow down in dangerous waters. Another ship went down thousands of years earlier, and like the Titanic it sailed the seas with its own share of pride. It was the great city-state of Tyre. Ezekiel described it as a magnificent sailing ship outfitted with the strongest wood, the finest sailors, and the richest cargo. Everyone thought it was indestructible, but nothing could save the city when God pronounced judgment on it.

You are filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea. Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces in the heart of the sea. Your wealth, merchandise and…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 23-24.

The heart of the moral wrong of adultery is that a covenant, a sacred commitment, has been broken. The one-flesh union which set this relationship apart from all others has been torn asunder by one of the spouses and by a third party that has now entered into the oneness of the relationship. Dennis P. Hollinger, The Meaning of Sex

Let’s take the sin of adultery one level deeper. The heart of its wrongness lies in its betrayal of a covenant with God. Marriage for Christians reflects our marriage to God. When we break covenant with our spouse, we also break covenant with God. The hurt and loss which adultery cause personally are magnified at the spiritual level (see my post from Proverbs for more about the human aspect of adultery).

Now take the betrayal of adultery to the corporate or national level, and you have…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 21-22.

“You mean there was no one in the whole country who cared enough to ask God for mercy?”

There was a rich tradition of Hebrews standing in the gap before God.

• Abraham interceded for Abimelech and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
• Moses asked for forgiveness for the children of Israel when they angered God
• Aaron stood “between the living and the dead” when a plague threatened to kill all the Israelites
• Esther stood between the King and the destruction of her people
• Job prayed for his three friends

Yet that tradition failed completely in the final days of Jerusalem. God told Jeremiah, “If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.” No one was found. Jeremiah was even forbidden to pray for the people. Then, as the final destruction of the city drew near, God told Ezekiel a…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 18-20.

“It’s not my fault that God isn’t blessing me. I’m suffering because of what the generations before me did.”

The Jews in exile had a problem. They had lost their homeland. They were prisoners. Things weren’t getting any better, either, and they were looking for an explanation. The easy answer? “Our fathers are the reason we are suffering.”

The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son–both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.” Ezekiel 18:1-4

When you read the proverb…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 16-17.

“But I thought the God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath and anger?”

I’ve written about it before, but one of the big secrets of the Old Testament is how often God expressed his love for his people. Yes, there were times of anger and conflict, but it’s because God loved his people so much, and cared for them so deeply, that he was moved to such strong emotions when they spurned him or when others tried to harm them. Here again, in Ezekiel, God tells a story of his undying love for Israel. Hearing it you can’t help but think of Pygmalion.

“I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around…

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 13-15.

If you’re like me, you expect the best from people. You expect them to be truthful. That has usually been my experience. But if we’re wise, we know that sometimes people, for different reasons, will lie or tell us things that are wrong. How can we discern the truth of what people say? Ezekiel gives us some pointers.

Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, “The LORD declares,” when the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled. Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The LORD declares,” though I have not spoken? Ezekiel 13:6-7

False prophets and mediums were busy spreading lies in the final days of Jerusalem. Their work was deadly because they gave false hope and misdirection. God condemned them and said they had no future in his…