September 10th

Edited to add: I had completely prepared my post today before realizing that it was Tammi's day to post! But, since we both focused on different sections of the reading, we decided to post them both.

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Daniel 10-12, Ezra 4:24-5:1, Haggai 1

There are so many commentaries on today's passages again. As tomorrow deals with Haggai and Zechariah, I will only focus on Daniel today.

Commentaries on Daniel 10-12
Angels and Prayer (Daniel 10) by John Piper
Lifting the Veil (Daniel 10) by Bob Deffinbaugh
From Here to Eternity (Daniel 11) by Bob Deffinbaugh
The Hope of Heaven (Daniel 12) by Bob Deffinbaugh
The Vision of Glory (Daniel 10) by John MacArthur
The Reign of Rebellion Part 1 (Daniel 11:1-35) by John MacArthur
The Reign of Rebellion Part 2 (Daniel 11:36-45) by John MacArthur
The Great Tribulation Part 1 (Daniel 12:1-3) by John MacArthur
The Great Tribulation Part 2 (Daniel 12:4-13) by John MacArthur

Chapter 10 is a fascinating chapter dealing with the reality of spiritual warfare. Here is what John Piper has to say on the subject...

the New Testament tells us that this prince of demons "darkens the minds of unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 4:4), and that he "deceives the world" (Revelation 12:9), and that he plants his weeds (unbelievers) throughout the world (Matthew 13:39), and that he takes people captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25), and that he plucks up the seed of the Word when it is preached (Matthew 13:4), and that he thwarts missionary activity (1 Thessalonians 2:18), and that he throws ministers in prison (Revelation 2:10)—since we know the prince of demons does all that, we may conclude with good reason that this is what his sub-princes do as well.

So then, I would conclude that there are high-ranking demonic powers over various regimes and dominions and governments and realms of the world; and that they work to create as much evil and corruption and spiritual darkness as they can. They strive to interrupt Christian missions and ministry as much as they can.

That is why the prince of the kingdom of Persia tried to hinder the messenger from reaching Daniel from heaven. The messenger was bringing a message of truth. Verse 21: the messenger says to Daniel, "But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth." But Satan is a liar and a deceiver from the beginning. The main aim of all his princes is to keep the book of truth from being known and believed. The truth frees people (John 8:32) and sanctifies people (John 17:17). So the territorial spirits like the prince of the kingdom of Persia do their main work of corruption and destruction by blinding the people of their area from the truth.

How then shall we do ministry in view of this reality of "territorial spirits"?

1. Take the Supernatural Seriously

Take the supernatural seriously and realize that we are in a warfare that cannot and should not be domesticated by reinterpreting everything in the biblical worldview so that it fits nicely with secular, naturalistic ways of thinking about the world. Be ready for the extraordinary as well as the ordinary ways that evil spirits work. Don't be presumptuous, as though demons were weak; and don't be anxious, as though they were stronger than Jesus.

Be filled with the Spirit and well-armed with biblical promises about the authority of Jesus Christ and about your rights as a child of God. Remember that two times in our text the messenger from heaven said to Daniel, "O man greatly loved." The word means "desired" or "precious." He said this to take away Daniel's fear in the midst of spiritual warfare. And it should take away ours too.

2. Daniel Wasn't Praying About Angels

The second thing is to notice that Daniel's prayer that has such powerful effects in the spiritual realm was not a prayer about angels and territorial spirits. He was wrestling for truth and for the good of God's people the way we saw him praying last week. He was totally shocked when an angel appeared to him. And he knew nothing about the conflict with the prince of the kingdom of Persia.

But it's no accident that the messenger said that his struggle with the prince of Persian lasted exactly the same amount of time that Daniel's fasting and prayer did (cf. vv. 2, 13)—21 days. The reason for this is that the warfare in the spirit realm was being fought in a real sense by Daniel in the prayer realm.

And so it is with more of our prayers than we realize. But the point is this: Daniel's praying was not about angels. And probably ours shouldn't be either. We should wrestle in prayer and fasting for the things that we know are God's will in our lives and our families and our church and our city and our world. But by and large we should probably leave it to God how he will use angels to get his work done. If God shows us more, we will use it. But the essence of the matter is not knowing the spirits but knowing God and praying in the power of Holy Spirit.

The first 35 verses of Chapter 11 contain such specific prophecy and that was so accurately fulfilled that those who don't believe the Bible is the inspired word of God insist that the book of Daniel must've been written after the events were fulfilled (because it's so impossible!). I think that's so amazing - God knows the future as though it was history.

Anyway, my Life Application bible contains a fairly quick summary of the prophecy's fulfillment and I'll quote it here (for more details, check out John MacArthur's sermon above).

The fourth Persian king may have been Xerxes I (486-465BC) who launched an all-out effort against Greece in 480 (Ester 1:1).

Babylonia was defeated by Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia was defeated by Greece under Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the MEditerraean and Middle Eastern lands. After Alexander's death, the empire was divided into four parts. The Ptolemies gained control of the southern section of Palestine, and the Seleucids took the northern part. Verses 1-20 show the conflict between the Ptolemies and Seleucids over control of Palestine in 300-200BC. Verses 21-35 describe the persecution of Israel under Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Eventually Alexander the Great's empire was divided into four nations. These four weaker nations were comprised of the following regions: 1) Egypt 2) Babylonia and Syria 3) Asia Minor and 4) Macedon and Greece. The king of Egypt ("the king of the south") was Ptolemy I or perhaps a reference to the Ptolemaic dynasty in general.

In 252 BC Ptolemy II of Egypt (the South) gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to Antiochus II of Syria (the North) to finalize a peace treaty between their two lands. But Berenice was murdered in Antioch by Antiochus II's former wife, Laodice. Bernenice's brother, Ptolemy III, ascended the Eqyptian throne and declared war against the Seleucids to avenge his sister's murder.

11:9-11 The king of Syria (the North) was Seleucus II, and the king of Egypt (the South) was Ptolemy IV.
11:13-16 This king of the north may have been Antiochus III (the Great). He defeated many Egyptian cities and established himself in Israel ("the Beautiful Land"). He was later defeated by the Romans at Magnesia (11:18).

The invader, Antiochus III, tried to bring peace between Egypt and Syria by having his daughter marry Ptolemy V Epiphanes of Egypt, but the plan failed.

The successor to Antiochus III was Seleucus IV. He sent Heliodorus to collect money from teh temple treasury in Jerusalem.

The "overwhelming army" refers to the way all opposition against Antiochus IV will be broken. The prince of the covenant may be the high priest Onias III, who was assassinated by Menelaus in 170 BC.

11:27 These two treacherous kings were probably Antiochus IV of Syria and Ptolemy VI of Egypt.

Antiochus IV would again invade the South, but enemy ships would cause him to retreat. On his way back, he plundered Jerusalem, desecrated the temple, and stopped the Jews' daily sacrifices. The temple was desecrated when he sacrificed pigs on an altar erected in honor of Zeus.

11:32 This reference to those who have violated the covenant may include Menelaus, the high priest, who was won over by Antiochus and who conspired with him against the Jews who were loyal to God.

I find that fascinating!

Tomorrow's passage: Haggai 2:1-9, Zechariah 1:1-6, Haggai 2:10-19, Ezra 5:2, Haggai 2:20-23, Zechariah 1:7-5:11
With less flipping: Haggai 2; Zechariah 1-5, Ezra 5:2

September 9th

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Ezra 2-4:5, 1 Chronicles 3:19-24

I found it interesting that depending where I was reading, there were a few different takes on the Israelites and their return to Jerusalem.

In his sermon, The Return to the Promised Land, Bob Deffinbaugh goes through numerous prophecies that are fulfilled by the exile and return of the Israelites and then he says....

In Ezra 2, we are provided with a list of those “whose spirits God stirred” (Ezra 1:5), prompting them to go back to their homeland. We should not minimize the courage and faith of those who chose to return. We know that some of those who made this trek were elderly (see 3:12). The trip was approximately 800 miles, taking several months (see 7:8-9). There were grave dangers involved in such a journey, especially for a group carrying many valuable objects with them (1:66-69; compare 8:21-23, 31). Life was not so bad in Persia, and many of the Jews seem to have been content to remain there, as did Esther and Mordecai (the Book of Esther).

When the people arrived they assembled in Jerusalem, where they promptly constructed an altar and began to offer sacrifices. Their motivation includes fear of their enemies...

They established the altar on its foundations, for they were in terror of the local peoples, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offering. Ezra 3:3 (emphasis mine)

The exiles’ concerns regarding the “local peoples” were not unfounded. When the Assyrians defeated the northern kingdom of Israel, they transplanted these Israelites far from their homeland. The Assyrians then brought in other subjected peoples. We know that these people began to worship the God of Israel, in addition to their own gods (see 2 Kings 17:24-33). When the Babylonians defeated the people of Judah and sacked Jerusalem, the land was left to only a few of the poor. As we might expect, surrounding peoples began to “possess” the vacated land. They were not at all happy to learn that the Jews had returned to repossess their land and to permanently settle there. These Samaritan-like peoples were not willing to give up the land they had occupied without opposition. The decree of Cyrus made any opposition illegal, but then the Persian king was a long way away.

In the second year of the exiles’ return, they began to rebuild the temple. This began with the laying of the foundation of the temple (3:9). When the builders completed laying the foundation of the temple, there was a great celebration. There was the music of trumpets and cymbals, along with joyful singing. There was something strange about this “celebration,” however:

With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the Lord: “For he is good; his loving kindness toward Israel is forever.” All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established—were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off. Ezra 3:11-13

It was the older generation who was weeping loudly, while the younger generation was jubilant. Why? Because the older generation was living in the past; they were re-living “the good old days.” These folks could remember the temple in Jerusalem. How much more beautiful it was than what the reconstructed temple would look like. This living in the past and weeping was wrong. It is at the prompting of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, that the temple will be completed. When the temple is completed and the people celebrate, there are no tears. Why? I believe it is because the prophets corrected the error of their thinking.

Think about it for a moment. These older men could only have seen the temple in its last days, just before its destruction. These older men would have been quite young when they last saw the temple. No doubt they were overly impressed with its appearance....

We know that in its last days, temple worship had been greatly corrupted. Images of other gods were there (see 2 Chronicles 33:1-9, 22; 36:14-21). What, then, was so “good” about the “good old days”? I think the only thing one can say was “good” was that it was a beautiful building.

The fears of all (3:3) and the tears of some (3:12-13) were the first evidences of failure among those exiles who returned to their land.

So, not such a great opinion.

But then my Life Application Bible says....
As the temple reconstruction progressed, everyone contributed freewill offerings according to his or her ability. Some were able to give huge gifts and did so generously. Everyone's effort and cooperation were required, and the people gave as much as they could. Often we limit our giving to ten percent of our income. The Bible, however, emphasizes that we should give from teh heart all that we are able....

The Jews built the altar as one of their first official acts. It symbolized God's presence and protection. It also demonstrated their purpose as a nation and their commitment to serve God alone. Zerubbabel sacrificed burnt offerings as the Law of Moses instructed. The sacrifices were essential because they demonstrated that the people were seeking God's guidance, rededicating themselves to living as he commanded, and daily asking him to forgive their sins....
Almost immediately after arriving in the new land, the returning exiles built an altar. The people began worshiping God through sacrifices even before the temple foundations were laid. After many years in captivity, they had learned their lesson - they knew that God does not offer special protection to people who ignore him. They had been carried off by the Babylonians when they were relatively strong; here they were few, weak, and surrounded by enemies. If ever they needed to rely on God's power, it was at this time. They realized the importance of obeying God from the heart, and not merely out of habit....

Why was the Lord's temple begun first, even before the city wall? The temple was used for spiritual purposes; the wall, for military and political purposes. God had always been teh nation's protector, and the Jews knew that the strongest stone wall would not protect them if God was not with them. They knew that putting their spiritual lives in order was a far higher priority than assuring the national defense....

The celebration after laying the temple foundation was marked by contrasts of emotion - shouts of joy and sounds of weeping. Both were appropriate. The Holy Spirit can stimulate us both to rejoice over the goodness of his grace and to grieve over the sins that required him to correct us.

That's a different take for sure!

I guess part of it is, we don't knew the motivation behind the weeping. If the tears were evidence of remorse, then it was a good thing! If it was just longing for riches, or even worse - longing for how things were right before the exile, then it was not a good thing.

Tomorrow's passage: Daniel 10-12, Ezra 4:24-5:1, Haggai 1

September 8th

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Daniel 6, 9, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1, 1 Chronicles 3:17-19

There are a wealth of commentaries available on these two chapters of Daniel.

Commentaries
Daniel's Defiance of Darius in Prayer (Daniel 6)by John Piper
Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6) by John MacArthur
The Deliverance of Daniel and Darius (Daniel 6) by Bob Deffinbaugh
Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6) by John Walvoord on Bible.org
How to Pray for a Desolate Church (Daniel 9) by John Piper
Daniel's Prayer and Gabriel's Proclamation (Daniel 9) by Bob Deffinbaugh
The Prophecy of the 70 Weeks (Daniel 9) by John Walvoord on Bible.org
Elements of True Prayer (Daniel 9:1-3) by John MacArthur
A Prayer of Brokenness (Daniel 9:1-19) by John MacArthur
Characteristics of True Confession (Daniel 9:1-19) by John MacArthur
Characteristics of a Fervent Prayer Life (Daniel 9:1-19) by John MacArthur
More sermons on Daniel 9 by John MacArthur

There is so much to be gleaned from these passages! The one thing common to both passages in Daniel is prayer.

In chapter 6 Daniel does six daring things in regards to prayer - here's a huge chunk of John Piper's sermon...

1) He did not act in ignorance, he acted in full knowledge of the law and the consequences.

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went…” to pray. Don’t forget, Daniel is right on the brink of being promoted to the main ruler over Persia. Think of the rationalizations that must have rushed to his head—“my influence would be so great if I held that position … I can do more for God alive than dead … it’s only thirty days, and then I can pray again … legalism is surely a worse sin than expediency … etc.” But he rejected all the rationalizations. He knew the law. He knew the penalty. And he went to pray.

2) He did not go to the woods to pray, he went to his house.

He could have kept on praying to his God without putting himself at risk if he had just gone underground for thirty days. There is no law that says you have to pray in your house where your enemies will be looking for you.

3) He did not go to the secret inner chamber of his house.

He went to the room with windows (open windows)—the one in the second story of the house, the one most visible, the one that faced Jerusalem and not the palace in Babylon.

Do you begin to catch on to why I call this act of prayer defiant? Daniel is not just praying contrary to the king’s decree. He is making a public statement. We would say today, he is demonstrating. He is doing an act of public civil disobedience. And he is doing so in a public way that no biblical law requires.

4) He did not pray once, early in the morning when no one might be looking, but three times a day and every day.

He would make sure that he is not missed in his refusal to obey this law.

5) When Daniel prayed, he did not use words that were vague and ambiguous that some clever defense attorney could argue were really made to Darius because they didn’t specify which god was addressed.

It says, “He gave thanks before his God.” Not Darius. And not the gods of the Medes and Persians, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6) He did not change the way he prayed or do anything different to yield to the pressures of the law Darius had made.

It says at the end of the verse that he prayed “as he had done previously.” There were many ways to pray that might not have been detected and that would have fulfilled the law of his God. But Daniel prayed daringly, defiantly and in his usual disciplined way of three times a day.

Imitating Daniel in Our Day

Now what are we to make of all this? I would suggest four concluding applications for our life of prayer today.

1. Prayer is a legitimate public testimony, and we should seek to use it as God leads us.

Jesus said,

When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:5-6)

Does this indict Daniel’s public demonstration of prayer? I don’t think so. Jesus was warning against our love of praise for prayer, not our willingness to suffer for prayer. He was not saying that it is wrong to be seen in prayer. He was saying it is wrong to want to be seen so as to be praised for your piety. Blessed are you when men persecute you for righteousness sake (Matt. 5:10); but woe to you when you use your righteousness to seek their praise (6:2-4).

In Daniel’s context—and here we need great wisdom to know our own context—the call of God on his life was “let your light so shine that men may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” For Daniel, prayer had become a public statement about the glory of God over the glory of Darius. And it was a legitimate testimony. And so it is for us, if our hearts are right.

2. Daniel’s prayer was a testimony, not only to the glory of God over the glory of Darius, but also, to the fact that his life was built on prayer.

Daniel was making a statement, not just about God but about his relation to God. God would not have changed if Daniel had prayed in secret. God would still be God. Daniel would still be a ruler in Persia. What would have been different is the way the presidents and satraps thought about Daniel’s relationship to God. And when Daniel thought about that, he could not bring himself to go underground.

He was known as a man who lived by prayer—whose life was built on prayer—who consulted his God in all things and who sought the action of his God before he took action himself. Daniel would not surrender that testimony. I pray that we won’t surrender that testimony either.

3. Daniel’s prayer was disciplined and regular.

When the time came for a demonstration. Daniel did not have to change anything. He already was praying three times a day in a stated place. There was pattern and routine and discipline. Does it strike you as strange that in America today almost no Christians pray this way? I’m sure that there are some who would celebrate this absence of order and design and habit and pattern as a sign of freedom from legalism. I might believe it if I saw anything like the freedom and power of Daniel where discipline like his is absent. But I don’t see it, I don’t believe it.

I asked in the STAR last week: could it be that Daniel’s discipline in prayer was the secret of his unexpected, unplanned, spontaneous encounters with God? Could it be that discipline is not the boring substitute for spontaneity and power but the garden where it grows. You till the garden with patient discipline and suddenly God makes a plant grow with supernatural power. I think this is so. I urge you to take time this week to step back and plan some discipline into your prayer life. Be like Daniel.

4. Finally, prayer is more precious than life.

Just think of it. Daniel knew that the penalty for praying would be the lion’s den. I don’t think Daniel knew that he would be delivered any more than Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew it as they stood before the fiery furnace and said, “If God does not deliver us, be it known to you, we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:18).

This must mean that prayer is more important than life. Daniel would rather pray than save his life. Not praying was a worse prospect to Daniel than being eaten by lions. That is a radical commitment to prayer. Just think of it. Can you say with Daniel: “You will have to take my life before you take my prayer”? (John Piper)

Daniel's prayer in chapter 9 is incredible, but this is getting really long so I'll end this now and let you delve into more as you are able.

Tomorrow's passage: Ezra 2-4:5, 1 Chronicles 3:19-24

September 7 - Miriam

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is
Daniel 7, 8 and 5.

Sermons on Chapter 7 by John MacArthur -
The Coming Kingdom of Christ, Part 1, Part 2,
Part 3.
Sermons on Chapter 8 by John MacArthur -
False Messiahs, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

These messages are long and I only read two of them, seeing as how I am already embarrassingly late with this post.  I plan to listen to the rest of them during the course of this week.  Anyway, these visions are obviously more than dreams, and they also obviously prophesy about the end times.  I know the story of Daniel and the lions' den, and the disembodied hand that wrote on the wall, and the story of Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego.  I do not, however, recall having read these chapters of Daniel before, so I was somewhat surprised last week when researching the end-times timeline to discover that a good portion of the information comes from the book of Daniel.  My impression had always been that Revelation was the authority on all thing end-times related. 

Excerpts from The Coming Kingdom of Christ, Part 2. 

Now, let's look at the text. We have seen three particular themes in the seventh chapter. The coronation of the king, the character of the kingdom, and the chronology of the kingdom.  And we said that the theme of the seventh chapter of Daniel is to point out that Christ is going to come and take over as king of the earth. Look at verse 9, and, "I beheld till the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days did sit." Now what happened at that particular point, go to verse 13. "I saw in the night vision, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days...who was sitting on the throne...and they brought Him near. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Now, what is the character of the Kingdom He receives? Well, we mentioned that there are five features to the Kingdom. First, the Kingdom is a Kingdom of authority. In verse 14, "There was given Him dominion." And we said the word means authority. He rules with a rod of iron in His Kingdom. He is an absolute monarch.

The second thing we said is the Kingdom is not only characterized by authority, but by honor. For He was given dominion and glory. And glory means honor. He not only rules as an absolute monarch, but He has the right response from the people He rules. Not only is the structure proper as He rules, but even the attitude of the people is proper. Their hearts are toward Him.
The third thing we saw was the extent. The word Kingdom is mentioned in verse 14. It is mentioned again in verse 18. It is mentioned again in verse 27. And we saw that the extent of this as a monarchy, a structured monarchy, a Kingdom in which Christ literally ruled the earth. Then we saw that this Kingdom had scope. That all people, all nations, and all language would serve Him. It's stretched to encompass everything. And that it had duration. "It shall not pass away. An everlasting dominion, a Kingdom which cannot be destroyed." And verse 27 says that essentially, as well.

Now, one question remains. The who - Christ, the Son of Man crowned King. The what - His Kingdom, which is eternal in which He rules in absolute monarchy. The only remaining question is when is it gonna happen? And that takes up the rest of the chapter. When is it going to happen?

Now, in Daniel's vision, the sequence, mark it now, the sequence of the Kingdom of Christ is unfolded in a series of five great truths. And these are chronological, sequential truths.


Now, number one, mark this in your mind. The Kingdom of Christ follows the kingdoms of the nations. That's point number one. I want you to get that down. The Kingdom of Christ follows the kingdoms of the nations. When is it going to happen? It's going to happen after the course of man's history. It will follow the kingdoms of the nations. Now, this is a major thrust in this vision.

Chapter 7 is one long vision. But within that vision, there are three segments...three segments. Number one, the four beasts that rise out of the sea. Number two, the vision of the Ancient of Days on the throne. And, number three, Christ being given His Kingdom as He comes in glory. Those three are visions in themselves, part of a larger vision which encompasses the whole chapter.

Now, here Daniel first in his vision beholds the great sea. Verse 2 says, "The heavens, the winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." Now what is the great sea? Well, Daniel, of course, lived in the Mediterranean area, and the Bible only mentions basically four seas. They are these: the Galilean Sea...the Dead Sea...the Red Sea, and what's the other one? The Mediterranean Sea. And the great sea was the Mediterranean Sea. It was called often the great sea. So in Daniel's vision, he stands on the shore of the largest sea he has ever beheld. And he sees the sea in turbulence, in violence, in turmoil, being torn up. And what is doing it is four winds of the heaven...Now, basically, four is a number that's associated with the earth. There are four seasons. We talk about the four corners of the earth. Four seems to be identified with the numbers of the earth. The wind comes from the four areas, north, south, east, west. And so what you see then is the earth in turmoil. The sea representing humanity, and this is very common in the Bible.  And, frankly, I believe this is how God views the nations. God sees the nations in chaos. God sees the nations of the world, the peoples of the world in ultimate turmoil. And we see it, don't we today? We can understand how Daniel feels. Because of media and because of all that we know about human society, we, too, could stand on the edge of the...the brink of human history, and we could see nothing but utter chaos and turmoil all around the globe throughout the history of man. So out of the raging, boiling, troubled sea of humanity rise four superpowers. Four monstrosities, four great empires who are bloody and fearful. Now what do they pose for the future of the world? Well, just give you a note. This is very similar, isn't it, to the vision of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2. Do you remember that? Where Nebuchadnezzar saw this colossal image of gold and silver and bronze and then iron and iron and clay. And we saw there were four great world empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

In Daniel's vision, Babylon is represented by the beast that resembled a lion with eagle's wings, Medo-Persia by a bear, Greece by a leopard or panther with two sets of wings, and the fourth beast was so terrible it defied description, and represented Rome.  There is a great deal more detail in the sermon, if you wish to and have time to read it.  It is very interesting, but much to long for this post.

Keep in mind, people, that the Roman Empire lasted much longer than the others. The others lasted a maximum of 200 years. The Roman Empire went on for nearly 1500 years. Tremendously powerful empire. But let's look at the things it says. First it says it was dreadful and terrible. Those are just synonyms, speaking of the fearful character, inspiring dread and fear. Then it says it was exceedingly strong. It immensely was - it had immense size and strength. It had great iron teeth. That speaks of its ability to crush and devour and smash and shred. And it stamped the residue with its feet. It was fierce and dreadful, ripping and tearing with its teeth and crushing everything underneath it.
If ever there was anything that symbolized Rome, it was its crushing legions that tramped their way through the world conquering. It was different from all the beasts that were before it. And then this remarkable statement, "It had ten horns." Now, listen, history tells us this is the Roman Empire. We know that. The Romans conquered the Greeks. The dominion of Rome began with the occupation of Sicily in 241 BC as a result of victory in the Mediterranean. And then the Mediterranean, as I told you weeks ago, became a Roman lake. And the Roman Empire grew and grew. And do you know that the Roman Empire was not finally put aside until 1450 AD. For over 1500 years, that powerful empire ruled.

So we see the first four empires. Now, listen. My first point was this: Christ will come after the last of the great Gentile empires. You say, "Well, Rome is dead. Rome is gone. Rome is dead." No, you'll note at the end of verse 7, it had ten horns. That has not yet been fulfilled. No empire has taken the place of Rome. There is yet coming a time when there will be a revived Roman Empire. This is very clear in the Book of Revelation, and we saw it in Daniel 2. I don't wanna go into it all again. Just to remind you that that's what he's saying. And in that final form of the Roman Empire, there will be ten horns. Now, in Scripture, a horn refers to authority or power or a king. Final phase of the fourth empire is a ten-kingdom monarchy.

The European Economic Community, EEC, the Common Market now has ten member nations. They are territorial occupying what was once the Roman Empire. (This sermon is from 1980.  The current European Union has 27 members.) 

I had no time to further research chapter 8 or chapter 5.  John MacArthur has sermons on both of those chapters as well.  I attempted to link them at the top here, but for some reason my IE wouldn't open any more of the sermons after Part 1 and Part 2 of The Coming of Christ.  My apologies.  And I'm terribly sorry for my lateness.  Somehow this long weekend just threw me for a loop.

Tomorrow's passage:  Daniel 6:1-28; Daniel 9:1-27; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-11; 1 Chronicles 3:17-19.

September 6th

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is : Ezekiel 47-48; Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34

I really appreciated the detailed look Pastor David Legge gave in his sermon about the milennial temple, the milennial worship and the milennial Holy Land. Some fascinating stuff in there. I especially liked the first of those sermons about the temple as it gave some background about the different interpretations of this passage. I agree with his conclusion that it seems like a literal temple, a literal prophecy, likely to be fulfilled during the milennial reign of Christ on earth.

There were two verses that jumped out at me.

He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live." Ezekiel 47:8-9

From my Life Application study Bible...
The Arabah is the geological depression in which the Dead Sea lies. The sea that will become fresh refers to the Dead Sea, a body of water so salty that nothing can live in it. The river will freshen the Dead Sea's water so it can support life. This is another picture of the life-giving nature of the water that flows from God's temple. God's power can transform us no matter how lifeless or corrupt we may be. Even when we feel messed up and beyond hope, his power can heal us. (emphasis mine)

Think of it - the Dead Sea, a body of water so flawed that nothing can live in it, will one day be transformed into a life-giving body of water - it's amazing! I think that is such an incredibe, important, hope-filled truth. It is not us, it's not about us, it's about God and with God the impossible is made possible, death becomes life, salt water becomes fresh, and flawed human beings can become a new creation.

Reminds me of the song "What Faith can do" by Kutlass

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think its more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don't you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do

It doesn't matter what you've heard
Impossible is not a word
It's just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody's scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It'll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You don't have a chance
(That's what faith can do)
When the world says you can't
It'll tell you that you can!

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do
That's what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

This river also reminds me of the NT encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well where He speaks to her about the living water...
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13 The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is this life-giving water!

I love how the book of Ezekiel ends...
"And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE." Ezekiel 48:35b

And truly, that sums it up. The Lord is there. And I want to be where He is.

Tomorrow's passage: Daniel 7, 8, 5

Sunday Guest Post By Alicia

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Ezekiel 44:1-46:24

Okay, seriously, I've had about three cups of coffee today to keep my brain going in order to get into this. It's Saturday here and of course my kids are home and one has a friend over so thinking deeply or waxing eloquent with Mario (it's 103 outside!) in the background is not easy. Bear with me.
I've been dragging myself through the last three days of reading. As the temple descriptions were being read I thought "oh, no not again, more blue print reading", I am not detail oriented. Then, I realized I was confused. What temple was this? When did it happen? Is it figurative or literal language? So, I decided I may not be the only one who was getting a little lost and thinking I was just taking a dive back into previous such passages about lineage and floor plans.
I admit it...I'm the bad Christian who has never read Ezekiel! So, yes, I was getting lost. As I dove in to start answering my own questions I was flabbergasted at the different speculation out there. I'm still not sure what I think. I'd like to hear what you guys think. I did realize that that which I thought was boring is actually the tip of a fascinating biblical iceberg that I'd like to come back to and explore. I think this book is one of those that you have to take some time in. I'm reading the bible in a year chronologically because I've never done it this way before but the hard thing is that you don't have time to follow those rabbit trials of depth. Maybe you can come back to this blog and use it as a reference some day.
For general reference for all things Ezekiel start here.

• Ezekiel's Temple Does Not Yet Exist- It is believed to be the temple of the Millennium when Christ will rule the earth for 1000 years. Simple archeology and human history has no record of such a structure ever existing. Still, I think the most compelling evidence of this being true is when God says he will come down and stay forever with his people.


• Land Changes- Even the topography will have to change for the temple description to fall into place. There is a river coming from the temple that is not even there yet. Zechariah 14 (which will parallel these passages) describes some intense changes to the structure of Jerusalem due to earthquakes at the coming of Christ.


• Reinstated Sacrifices- This was the part I was the most confused about. Just as the deminsions and details of temple design seem too important to be played with or stretched and skewed into all kinds of allegorical interpretations, so the specific plan for sacrifices must have literal validity. This is a hard one for all of us. Didn't Jesus say "It is Finished!"? That was my thought. So I began to search. This was interesting:

One may well ask, if Ezekiel's temple is indeed literal, future, and millennial in nature, what purpose the temple sacrifices (44:15) serve. Since Christ has already provided a once-for-all atoning sacrifice for sin (Heb. 7:27, 9:12,26-27), is it not blasphemy to suggest that in His earthly kingdom any blood sacrifices would be necessary? Does the presence of sacrifices therefore not point so a symbolic or historical interpretation of the passage? The answer to both questions is no. There is no reason to believe that a future sacrificial system could not be perfectly within the will of God for His people. Firstly, the emphasis in Ezekiel's temple is on holiness. By faithfully following the Lord's commandments regarding worship and sacrifice, the nation of Israel will demonstrate to the world the transforming power of God in their once-stubborn and idolatrous hearts, and their unique relationship to Him. Secondly, the sacrifices offered are symbolic, not efficacious. This was also true even of the Mosaic sacrifices (Heb. 9:9, 10:1-4) -- the only difference here is that the millennium looks back at Christ's death as a historical reality, whereas the Israelites of the Old Testament economy looked forward to a Messianic promise of cleansing and atonement in the shadowy future.

If at first the suggestion that the blood sacrifices in Ezekiel's temple serve a purely commemorative purpose seems bizarre, one may well consider the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. At this present time the church, composed of Jew and Gentile united in Christ, is in focus. Though the reality -- the suffering and death of Christ -- has already taken place, the church today still partakes of bread and wine in remembrance of His past work (1 Cor. 11:23-26). This institution was set up by the Lord Jesus Himself. However, in the millennial kingdom restored Israel, not the church, is the focus. In keeping with the Mosaic covenant unique to Israel, animal sacrifices will remind the believing Jews of Christ's finished work. Note, however, that in the millennium there is no Day of Atonement, and numerous other distinctions serve to remind us that Christ's death forever altered God's dealings with mankind. Also, Ezekiel's temple and its unique sacrificial system come into play after Israel has recognized Jesus as the Messiah they pierced (Zech. 12:9). There can be no danger that these Jews will forget His death on their behalf.

In light of these evidences, then, there seems no reason to believe that Ezekiel's temple is any less than it seems to be from the text itself -- a literal building constructed by a truly repentant and restored nation of Israel, and in which they will worship the Lord by offering and sacrifice.

I thought this whole article above (short as it was) was good but I wanted to find someone who's study of the word I trusted. I searched out some men of faith today for their thoughts. I found some help from John MacArthur. He is one of my favorites, and no, not because I went to his school or because my husband graduated from there, or because we've talked to him and he's a nice guy, but because he is theologically sound. I may not agree with everything from him (and really, it's good to disagree and search out points from well known bible teachers as the Bereans did) but the man has studied the word and his hermeneutics are sharp.

This is his answer to this odd occurrence:
“How does the Lord’s table relate to the fact that Christ’s sacrifice is a once for all sacrifice? The Old Testament sacrifices were not a substitute for Christ, they were a depiction, they were a picture, they were a picture, a type, prior to the cross, pointing to the cross. The Lord’s table is a picture of the cross, past the Cross, pointing back, and the best understanding that I have of the millennial temple in Ezekiel 40 to 48 and the millennial sacrifices is that in the kingdom, which is for Israel in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant and Davidic covenant and new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36 and 37, Israel is featured. The apostles, Jesus said from His own lips, will sit on 12 thrones ruling the 12 tribes of Israel. And so it is uniquely Jewish and it is uniquely for them and I think the Lord will reinstitute the Old Testament symbols that pointed to the cross and they will carry out some of those symbols which will then be infused with a full understanding of what they meant in the light of the cross, and they will by then have come to look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as an only son, have had the fountain of cleansing opened to them, they will be in the kingdom, Christ will be present and it will all become clear to them. It will be a complete unveiling of all of those sacrifices which were so richly symbolic to Israel in the past.”

It really stretches my biblical horizon to learn these new things. I've gone from bored to intrigued about these passages and I'm starting to wonder if there is so much more to understanding Revelation than just the book itself. I've known there were prophetic references in Daniel and other places, but I did not realize these other puzzle pieces were scattered about. Sadly, there is little commentary on Ezekiel. One man seemed passioned about the book however and he has written a mini-commentary. This article told about the book and why he wrote about it and contained some interesting tid-bit's along the way.

Bottom line, I don't understand it yet. I look forward to learning more. Instead of intimidated or bewildered I'm amazed once again that there is always more to learn about God and his plan. It reminds me of what I'll be doing for an eternity and I'm joyful at the prospect.
Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 47-48:35; Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34

Saturday, September 4-guest post by Pamela

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Ezekiel 40:38-43:27.

Ok, who read through today's readings and thought "I am so glad that I don't have to write about today's readings!!" I don't know if I am the only one, but I find these kinds of passages tough to get through. There just seems to be so many details and it is sometimes hard to stay focused on what I am reading. Well, as I struggled through the passages wondering what in the world I would have to comment on, I turned to my old friend (the internet) to see what others have found to be noteworthy. I found this site and thought I would share some of the things that it highlighted:

First, God is a God of Details

In Ezekiel chapters 40 and 41, it goes into depth about furnishings, measurements, ledges, supports, cubits and doors... (oh my!) Each instruction is carefully given and checked for accuracy. "God is a God of precision. God is a God of detail. God is an organized God." When we look around and see His awesome creation we can see a demonstration of His precision and His attention to detail. "I mean, look at our own human bodies and all our internal organs. We are wonderfully made by a God who is a God of precision and detail." God is a God of details and it extends to His church today. "If God showed this much organization and care for Ezekiel's Temple, do you suppose he continues to show his organization and care for our local churches today?"

Second, We have a perfect example of full obedience

This small verse (Ezekiel 41:3) did not even stand out for me when I read it through it but when I read this, I thought this was very interesting.

"This is interesting in that the angelic being leading Ezekiel through this vision and the temple enters the Most Holy Place - Ezekiel does not. Even though it's a vision. And even though God's presence is not in the Most Holy Place at this time (we'll see the Presence coming next chapter). Yet Ezekiel does not enter. Why? Because the law was that only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place. This shows great obedience on Ezekiel's part! Even in a vision, he's obedient. Are there areas of our life where God is calling us to be obedient? Even if we think our obedience in a specific circumstance or situation won't matter (e.g. a vision or a dream or even a small circumstance in real life) - will we still be obedient?"

Third, We are to desire absolute Holiness, separate from all else

I immediately thought of this verse,

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body," (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

Although, this verse is often used when talking about modesty or pre-marital relationships, I think it can also extend beyond that. We have been bought for a price and that does make us separate from the ways of the world. Just like a temple is set aside as a holy place (and even within that holy place there is an even holier place!) we are to be separate.

"The last part of [chapter 42 verse 20] stands out - to separate the holy places from the common. I wonder about that in our lives - do we do anything that separates the holy from the common in our own lives? Do we need to? My thought here is that if we don't allow for some "holy places" to appear in our lives, might we just settle for common places throughout our lives? A Holy Place for us might be 5 minutes of prayer. Or 15 minutes of reading the Bible. Or going to a church service. Or listening to worship music. Or not scheduling anything one day a week, so we can take a Sabbath day of rest. What are you doing to create some Holy Places in your life?"

Ok, so maybe these verses do have something important to say! Once again, I was reminded about God's ability to meet us through his word. Even though I am famously behind on my readings and I would have long since given up if I had been on my own, the responsibility of having to read deeply twice a month has really challenged me and I am thankful for the nudge. It definitely reinforces, to me, the necessity of belonging to a community of believers to lift us up and support us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this reminder that all of your word is practical and relevant and necessary. Thanks for being detail oriented, giving us examples of character traits You want for us to have, and reminding us of what we are striving for. Lord, sometimes in our haste, we miss these important lessons by not digging deep enough into your word. Thank you for Tammy and the others who post on this blog as well as the many others who post their commentaries and ideas online so that when we struggle through what seems to be boring and irrelevant that we can better understand the purpose behind it. Amen.

Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 44:1-46:24

September 3rd

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is 1 Chronicles 8:29-9:1, Daniel 4, Ezekiel 40:1-37

There are a lot of commentaries available for Daniel 4. I haven't read them all, but they definitely seem to have a common theme....

Commentaries
Believing God on Election Day by John Piper
How are the Mighty Fallen by John MacArthur
Nebuchadnezzar's Pride and Punishment by John Walvoord on Bible.org
The Sovereignty of God in History by Bob Deffinbaugh on Bible.org
Nebuchadnezzar Learns About Birds and Beasts by Bob Deffinbaugh on bible.org
The Sovereignty of God by David Legge

The two common threads throughout these commentaries is the pride of man and the sovereignty of God.

In vs 30 King Nebuchadnezzar says "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" (emphasis mine)

The sheer audacity of this King is made more understandable by recognizing that this King was (as far as he knew) in absolute control of the world. Babylon was the ruling nation and the King of Babylon ruled supreme.

[King Nebuchadnezzar knew] more of human sovereignty than any American ever could. Among the kings of history, this king is “the king of kings” (Daniel 2:37). He is the “head of gold” [described in Daniel 2:38]. In comparison with his kingdom, the remaining world empires are described as “inferior” (see 2:39-43). When Daniel spoke to Belshazzar of the kingdom of his father, Nebuchadnezzar, he described the extent of his dominion:

18 “O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. And because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled (Daniel 5:18-19).

In our world, we have no political leader or ruler who even approaches the kind of human sovereignty we see in Nebuchadnezzar. The Office of President of the United States is a position of great power, but it is not an example of sovereignty. Former President Richard Nixon was not free to run the country as he saw fit. His role in the Watergate conspiracy cost him the White House. Presidents may be criticized (if not removed from office) for sexual or moral improprieties. They certainly do not find it possible to pass every bill, create every program, or appoint every official that pleases them.

Nebuchadnezzar was a man of great military and political power. He ruled the nation (Babylon) with an iron fist, and Babylon dominated all other world powers of that day. He was the commander who defeated and destroyed Jerusalem and who led most of the Jews into Babylonian captivity. The people of Judah seemed insignificant and impotent against such a great man as Nebuchadnezzar, and indeed they were. But the God of the Jews is the One true God and the One great God. God chose to demonstrate His sovereignty over history and over all the nations of the earth by bringing Nebuchadnezzar to his knees in submission to and the worship of Himself. (Bob Deffinbaugh)

Nebuchadnezzar understood human sovereignty, no question. But the truth is there is no human sovereignty, not really. Our pride convinces us it is so. And pride Nebuchadnezzar had in abundance! The pride of self led Nebuchadnezzar through the valley of humiliation until he finally praised the sovereignty of God.

the essence of pride: the enjoyment of self-sufficiency rather than God-sufficiency and the enjoyment of self-exaltation rather than God-exaltation...

I did not say that pride was the achievement of self-sufficiency or the achievement of self-exaltation. I said that pride is the enjoyment of them, the delight in them, the desire for them. You may see your life as a total failure and feel crushed by this morning and still have pride as the driving force of your life. The very pain you feel at being a failure may be owing to the desperateness of your desire to look successful and to taste the glory of human praise.

One person may go to a party and brag and boast and draw attention to himself and his achievements. Another person may go to the same party and be so fearful and insecure that he hides in corners and tries to avoid people. And both of these persons may be driven by the unbelief pride. The strong person doesn't believe the grace of God is needed; the weak person doesn't believe the grace of God is sufficient. And since God is not their portion, man is—the longed-for esteem and praise of man. One person, fearful that he won't get it, hides. Another person, hopeful that he will get it, brags. Same disease, different symptoms. And all of us have it....

The second stage, by the grace of God, is the valley of humiliation.

And don't miss that word grace! God bends our stiff necks and pushes our face to the ground because that's where the streams of life are flowing....

I call this the VALLEY of humiliation because it is a long way down from being the king of Babylon to being a beast in the field. The reason God made Nebuchadnezzar act like an ox that eats grass, with hair as long as eagles wings and nails like a bird's claws—the reason he did that was to show us the bestiality of pride. When man tries to become like God, he becomes like an animal. Pride puts man in a class with the beasts of the field. That's the point of Nebuchadnezzar's insanity.

Stage two on the pathway that leads to heaven is the painful discovery of this truth. We thought we were strong and we discover that we were weak. We thought we were weak and we discover that we were protecting our ego. We thought we were self-sufficient and we discover that we were utterly dependent on God—for life and breath and everything.

So I urge you, if you have never been there, to go to the valley of humiliation. Let yourself feel the insanity and bestiality of pride. And when you have tasted the bitter grass of that field, come with me to the final stage our journey...

What is the biblical opposite of pride? This text teaches that the opposite of pride in man's strength is praise for God's sovereignty. This is what Nebuchadnezzar sings about when his sanity returns.....

The biblical way out of the valley of humiliation is a revolutionary change in the way we think about God. The truth that God rules the kingdom of men must grip your mind, and the sovereignty of his will must become the deep solid foundation of all your thinking.

The other revolution that takes place as you come up out of the valley of humiliation is an emotional revolution, a revolution in the way we feel about God. Nebuchadnezzar was persuaded in his head now that the slogan "By my power and for my glory" is the slogan of an ox or an ass in the field. The true slogan is now "By God's might and for God's glory." He learned in the valley of humiliation.

But he didn't just learn it in his head; he felt it in his heart. That's the point of verse 34, "I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him." The only person who does justice to the sovereignty of God is the person who sings about it.

Watch out for a person who wants to talk about the sovereignty of God but has no song in his heart. The biblical opposite of pride is not pondering the sovereignty of God, but praising the sovereignty of God—delighting in it, resting on it. (John Piper, emphasis mine)

Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 40:38-43:27

September 2nd

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is 1 Chronicles 5:18-26, 6:3, 6:49, 6:4-15 and 7-8:28
Edited to add 7-8:28 (thanks Miriam!)

Not sure if there was a typo for today's readings or what, but it was really short! And at first I didn't think I'd have much to say, but then I reread the first section and found....

Scripture
He answered their prayers, because they trusted him. 1 Chronicles 5:20b

Observation
The Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh asked God for help, trusted in Him and received His help.

Application
First of all, we need to recognize our need for God. We need to lay aside our pride, recognize that we cannot do it on our own strength and that we need God. Then we need to ask for help, and trust Him that He will keep His promises to us.

This obviously is not supposed to be taken out of context to mean that as long as we trust Him, we can treat Him like a genie in a bottle. We still need to pray for His will to be done. But some prayers He will always answer - He will give us the strength to do what He has asked of us, He will give us peace that passes human understanding, He will never leave us, and many more.

Trusting God also means leaving what we cannot control in His hands. We can't keep snatching it back when He doesn't answer the way we want Him to. We have to trust Him. Period.

Prayer
This reminds me of the Serenity Prayer, which is actually longer than just the famous first lines and is completely applicable to today's readings....

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Tomorrow's passage: 1 Chronicles 8:29-9:1, Daniel 4, Ezekiel 40:1-37

September 1st

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Ezekiel 32:17-33:20; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Psalm 137:1-9; 1 Chronicles 4:24-5:17

If you have the time, and if Psalm 137:9 makes you cringe a little - PLEASE read this sermon by Pastor Mike entitled Entrusting God with our Hatreds.

I wanted to focus on the passage in Ezekiel and his being recommissioned AGAIN by God to be Israel's watchman.

In his sermon Watchmen and Shepherds, Pastor David Legge has some VERY convicting words to share...

What God is doing in chapter 33 for Ezekiel is: He is reminding him of his call as a prophet, as a watchman. I want you to note very carefully, because we have read a very similar passage to this in chapter 3 of Ezekiel, we've read a similar passage in chapter 18, and now we come a third time to where God is saying exactly the same thing to Ezekiel in chapter 33 - and that is the principle of third mention, please note that. When God says something to each of us once, that's very important - of course it is, we have to obey God when He says anything. When God says something twice, we need to sit up and listen. But when God says something three times, we can be absolutely assured of the essential nature of what God is wanting to teach us, and it is so important that we listen to God!

Why did God do this three times for Ezekiel? Because He was recommissioning him. You know, I believe with all my heart that there are some of us here tonight and we need to be recommissioned by God. We need to be recalled by God, we have forgotten when we first believed! We can say like the hymnwriter: 'Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw Lord?'. We've lost the zeal! We've lost the thrill, the love, the enthusiasm of the Lord in our life! We've become complacent! Calvary rolls off our back, it doesn't touch us any more! Our eyes are dry, our hearts are cold and hard - and could it be that we need to be recommissioned by God? Do you know what God was reminding Ezekiel of from this passage about a watchman? He was reminding him that He still wanted men to live, that's what He was saying in this passage: 'I'm not willing that any should perish'. He's telling Ezekiel: 'It's still My will that men are not destroyed by their sin, but I want them to be forgiven from their sin'.....

You are responsible for your own sin, you are responsible for your own disposition before God in the realm of salvation, but more than that: you are responsible as a Christian to take the Gospel to other people, and if you do not their blood is on your hands! I know there will be those who will say: 'Oh no, you're confusing, this is the legal dispensation - we're now in grace and that does not apply'. Well, I would remind you of Paul in Acts chapter 20 and verse 26 when he said: 'I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men'. He had preached the Gospel, he was pure from their blood, his hands were clean - and there we see that principle of responsibility in the New Testament....

Come on, let's be honest tonight! Let's cut through all the facade! When was the last time you spoke to a soul about Christ? When was the last time you had a burden to pray for a man or a woman that you were speaking to? When was last time you led a soul to Christ?....

could it be that you need to be recommissioned? (emphasis mine)

Wow.

One of his phrases reminded me of the song, My Eyes are Dry, by Keith Green.

My Eyes are Dry
My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

Tomorrow's passage: 1 Chronicles 5:18-26, 6:3, 6:49, 6:4-15