Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Ezekiel 22-23; 1 Peter 1.
Has anyone been finding our Ezekiel readings as shocking as I have? I don't recall my particular feelings about Ezekiel from last year's reading, but now, as I read, I am embarrassed for Jerusalem and Samaria at how their unfaithfulness is described. Not that it is untrue or undeserved, and of course it was described that way intentionally, but I still find myself uncomfortable with how bald and blatant the language in Ezekiel is. Just an observation.
1 Peter is a letter generally addressed to believers of the Gospel everywhere, and therefore to us as well. I could quote so many verses, but here are a couple that really spoke to me.
"...though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
See the recurring theme here? Perishable - gold, silver, the seed by which our earthly bodies are born. Imperishable - the treasures that come from genuine faith, the blood of Christ, the seed by which we are born again.
Last week I talked about putting too much value on my physical health and well being and not enough on the eternal. Today's passage talks about silver and gold (earthly treasures) as being perishable and genuine faith and redemption by the blood of Christ, as imperishable or eternal. Peter doesn't say it will be easy. He says we will have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. We are to be self-controlled. Be obedient. Do not conform to evil desires. Be holy. Love one another deeply, from the heart. All these are things that we hear again and again throughout the Bible, but yet things I still find myself needing to be reminded of over and over, no matter how many times I've read them previously. Another good reminder of how important it is to read and study the word of God, not just looking up answers to questions that come up or in certain circumstances, but as part of our everyday lives.
Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 24-26; 1 Peter 2.
3 comments:
So right. Without reading our Bibles often ~ saturating ourselves with The Word ~ we just don't get ANY reminders of the way we're supposed to live. This is the only place we're really going to find those conscience-pricking, encouraging, and inspiring instructions, as well as a better understanding of why following them is vital.
Ezekiel is shocking, that's for sure. Somehow, I think that was the whole intent, though...
The verse that stood out for me in our Ezekiel passage (before I got to the shocking chapter 23) was....
"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none." Ezekiel 22:30
None. Shockingly - none.
The obvious question is - what about Ezekiel?
According to this sermon http://www.preachtheword.com/sermon/ezek14.shtml .....
"But what had happened was that God's prophet, who was once pleading on the behalf of the people, had now been taken by God and had been called upon to set his face against the people. He was no longer being an intercessor, in other words standing between God and men pleading for man's cause, now he's standing between God and man pleading for God's cause! He's now declaring the judgements that God will bring upon the nation, and because of that Ezekiel couldn't be the man that God was looking for."
Regarding the shocking passage - our sin is always much more serious to God than it is to us. This chapter should shock us out of our complacency.
Society, and sadly often even the church, is trying to eliminate the concept of sin, and certainly the seriousness of sin. If we no longer have sin, we no longer have sinners, and no longer need Jesus Christ who came to save sinners. There is no hope in this passage, none whatsoever. Thankfully, we're reading this post-Calvary, and we know the hope that we have when we are washed and sanctified and justified by the blood of the Lamb.
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