Accepting the burden of the Lord PT-4 (Ezek. 2:8-3:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/31/2014 10:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                  Focus:  Accepting the burden of the Lord PT-4

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Ezekiel 2:8-3:3

            Message of the verses:  We will be looking at the final sub-point from this second main point as we follow the outline of Warren Wiersbe from his commentary on the book of Ezekiel.

            Receive the Word within (Ezekiel 2:8-3:3):  “8 "Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you." 9 Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. 10 When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.

    1 Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. 3 He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.”

            We will first look at different Scriptures that speak of eating the Word of God.  Job writes “"I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food (Job 23:12).”  Job is saying that the Word of God is more important than food to him, or at least more necessary than food.  “"He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD Deut. 8:3).”  Moses is speaking of the manna that God fed the children of Israel in the wilderness while they were wondering around for forty years because of their unbelief.  Jesus spoke a portion of this verse while Satan was tempting Him in the wilderness asking Him to make food out of a rock.  Jesus is stating the same thing that Job stated that the Word of God is more necessary than food.  Now I am not saying that we can live only on the Word of God, for we are physical beings and need food to survive, but there are times when it is more necessary to feast on the Word of God than to eat.  Think of John chapter four when Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well and His disciples came back from town with food for Him to eat and Jesus said to them:  “"I have food to eat that you do not know about’ (John 4:32).”  Next we read the following from the book of Jeremiah: “Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16).”  Lastly we will look at the book of Revelations and see what happened to the apostle John:  “8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land." 9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he *said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." 10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 11 And they *said to me, "You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings’ (Rev. 10:8-11).”  John found out what Ezekiel will find out as we go through the book of Ezekiel we will see that the Word of God is sweet when you read it, but when you tell it to others and they do not listen to what you have told them they will have judgment come upon them and at that time it will be sour to his stomach as it was to John, for what John was going to see was the harshest judgment to come upon mankind for he will actually see the Day of the Lord in the vision that he had when he wrote the book of Revelations.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “God’s prophets must speak from within their hearts or their messages will not be authentic.”

            When Ezekiel saw the scroll that he was about to eat he found out that it was full of lament and mourning and also woe.  Dr. Wiersbe concludes that it is possible that this scroll contained the messages that were given to Ezekiel that are found in chapters four and also chapter thirty-two.  We will see God’s judgment on Jerusalem and also the gentile nations in those chapters.  In our first SD on Ezekiel we quoted the outline from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Ezekiel and the second point was the fall of Jerusalem which covered chapters 4-24, and then the third point covered the judgment of the nations which covers chapters 25-32. 

            I mentioned that John’s scroll caused bitterness in his stomach, and in Ezekiel 3:14 we see that the same thing happened to Ezekiel.  So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the LORD was strong on me.”

            God first shows Ezekiel all His glory before He commissions him to fulfill what He has for him to do, and because of this Ezekiel can rely on that vision when things got difficult.  When we look at our Lord in the NT we see that three of His disciples had the privilege of seeing Him transformed on the mountain and saw His glory there, and then they all saw Him in His glorified body even as He was lifted up into heaven.  My point here is that they too had the courage of doing what He called them to do because they knew that He had the power to aid them in their work and also they knew that no matter what happened to them that they would one day be with the Lord in glory.  Ezekiel knew the same thing.  When we look at the 7^th chapter of Acts we see that Stephen saw the glory of the Lord right before he was stoned for the cause of Christ and all fear left him and he even did as the Lord did in asking God not to hold this sin against them.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The only motivation that never fails is doing all for the glory of God.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have had one of the worst weeks spiritually this week than I can remember in a long time and I need also to see the glory of the Lord as Ezekiel did to get me through this week.  As I read these verses and see what they mean at least I know what I need, and pray that God will strengthen me as he did Ezekiel and also did for Daniel and John the Apostle.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give me renewed strength to get through this difficult week.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created Him—11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Good, acceptable, perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Today’s Bible question: “Who did Jesus say were ‘blind leaders of the blind?’?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/31/2014 11:32 AM

 

Accepting the Burden of the Lord PT-3 (Eze. 2:6-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/30/2014 10:21 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Accepting the Burden of the Lord PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 2:6-7

            Message of the verses:  We will be looking at the third sub-point from this main point that is listed above.

            Don’t Be Afraid (Ezekiel 2:6-7):  “  6 "And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. 7 “But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.”

            We have been talking about a theme that Ezekiel has in his book and that theme is the rebellion of the people of Judah.  Now when I say Judah I am saying the Southern Kingdom which has been taken into captivity, at least part of them at the time that Ezekiel wrote this part of his book.  However we must remember that when the kingdoms split after the death of Solomon that there was a new religion set up in the Northern kingdom and because of this many of the people who lived in the Northern Kingdom moved to the Southern Kingdom because they did not believe that what was set up in the North was right.  Therefore we can say that there was a reprehensive of all the tribes of Israel that was in the Southern Kingdom.  Later on Ezekiel will prophecy about two sticks which represent both kingdoms and he writes that in the future when Israel would own their land again that when they first get settled back in their land the nation should once again be called Israel.  This happened in 1948 and it was because of the reference that Ezekiel wrote the new nation was once again called Israel.

            We not only see that Ezekiel is admonished by the Lord not to fear this people He also says it again in 3:9  “"Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house."”  That makes four times the Lord told Ezekiel not to fear this people.  The Lord also told Jeremiah the same thing “"Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD (Jeremiah 1:8).”  Jesus warned His disciples the same thing “"Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows (Matthew 10:26, 28, 31).”  Isaiah writes in 51:12 “"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following end note to help us understand the portion of verse six which speaks of “thistles and thorns, and sit on scorpions.”  He writes “The Lord used this image to describe the heather people left in the land of Canaan in Numbers 33:55.  Once again, God classified His rebellious people with the pagan Gentiles.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that when I sin, and we all sin, that I am looking like a heathen too as did the children of Israel as seen in verse six.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Live my life so it is not being lived like an unbeliever.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterdays Bible question:  “Through the land of the Philistines” (Exodus 13:17.

Today’s Bible question:  “What three words describe God’s will?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/30/2014 10:56 AM

             

Accepting the Burden of the Lord PT-2 (Ezekiel 2:3-5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/29/2014 8:51 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Accepting the Burden of the Lord PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 2:3-5

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we begin looking at the second sub-point from the outline of Warren Wiersbe’s commentary.

            Go and Speak (Ezekiel 2:3-5):  “3  Then He said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 “I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ’Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 “As for them, whether they listen or not-for they are a rebellious house-they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

            I mentioned in yesterday’s SD about how it seemed to me that the Lord was giving me encouragement as I was to teach a Bible study on the endtimes with people from our neighborhood.  My wife and I spent two days making sure the house was ready to receive company, as the letters were sent out almost a month ago, but when the time for the people to arrive no one showed up and this brought great disappointment to my heart as it seems that people are not interested in the things of the Lord, at least those who received my invitation.  Ezekiel is given a task from the Lord which was also a difficult task for God calls His people a rebellious people, and according to Dr. Wiersbe this is one of the themes of the book of Ezekiel.  Ezekiel was being commissioned as a prophet of God and it was not just the job of a prophet to foretell the things that will happen in the future.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “They were primarily forth-tellers who declared God’s Word to the people.  Sometimes they gave a message of judgment, but it was usually followed by a message of hope and forgiveness.”  I remember when I was studying the book of Psalms that many of the psalms were similar to this, as when the psalmist spoke of difficult things he would end the psalm with hope for his readers.

            As I stated Ezekiel will write and talk to the people of Israel, telling them the things that God wants him to tell them, but he has to realize from the beginning of his ministry that he will be speaking to a very rebellious people.  Their rebellion was what caused them to be in the place where they were, that is in Babylon, in captivity because of their sin, and yet some of them still held out hope that God would send them back to the Promised Land right away or some put their hope in Egypt, that they would defeat Babylon and thus Israel would be able to return to their land.  In reality Babylon would soundly defeat Egypt not too far off to when Ezekiel would begin his ministry.  God had told Judah through the prophet Jeremiah that they would be in Babylon for 70 years and then he would allow them to return to their land.  We went over why it was seventy years in our study of Jeremiah, but just a reminder that Israel was to allow their land to rest every seven years and trust the Lord to provide for them, but they did not do it for 490 years and thus missed 70 years of letting the land rest and so the Lord let the land rest for 70 years, one after another. 20  Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21  to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete (2 Chronicles 36:20-21).”   Yes Ezekiel will have the same problem with these people as both Isaiah and Jeremiah had with them for they were indeed a rebellious people.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to admit that there is a streak of rebellion in my life from time to time when I don’t rely on the new nature, but fall back to living under the old nature which will always get me in trouble.  Israel’s sins are all over the pages of the Bible and yet the Lord tells us through the Apostle Paul that we read about them so that we will not follow what they have done, but the problem is that sometimes I do follow their rebellious ways. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to show me why things did not go as I prayed that they would yesterday.  Trust the Lord to answer my prayers concerning a family problem that we should find out more about today.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—11 a renewal in which there is no distinctions between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Isaiah” (Isaiah 37:36).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which way would have been nearer for the Lord to lead the Israelites to Canaan?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/29/2014 9:34 AM

Accepting the Burden of the Lord PT-1 (Ezekiel 2:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/28/2014 9:19 AM

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Accepting the Burden of the Lord PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 2:1-2

            Message of the verses:  We have now moved into the second chapter of Ezekiel and also the second main point as we follow the outline of Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on Ezekiel.  There are four sub-points under this second main point and we will look at the first one in today’s SD.  We will first do a brief introduction to this main point.

            I am sometimes amazed at the timing of the Lord and how wonderful and perfect it is for my life.  A few months ago I became burdened with our neighborhood and their need for the Lord and so it seemed to me that God was pulling at the strings of my heart to begin a Bible Study on the end times and so I wrote a short letter and passed out twenty of them around our neighborhood choosing to have the first study on the 28^th of October, which is today.  I have been praying that the Lord will bring the people to this Bible study that He wants there.  You see that a couple of years ago I prayed that I will learn contentment in my life, but it seems the one thing that causes me not to have contentment is the location where I live, and have lived all of my life, but God burdened me for my neighbors and this is much more important than just picking up and leaving my neighborhood just to be happier, but not fulfilled.  Now today in my Spiritual Diary as I read about the commission of the prophet Ezekiel, and read the introduction to this portion of Scripture that we will be looking at for the next four days my heart rejoices over the timing of God to show me that what I am doing is what God wants me to do.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Ezekiel was now to receive his official commission as a prophet of the Lord God, and the Lord told him he was facing a very difficult task.  Whether it’s raising a family, teaching a Sunday School class, shepherding a church or evangelizing in a distant nation, we have to accept people as they are before we can lead them to what God wants them to be.  God gave Ezekiel four important commandments to obey.”  Now I am not saying that I am being commissioned as a prophet, but I am doing what I believe God wants me to do, and I am finding contentment in doing this.

            Stand and listen (Ezekiel 2:1-2): “1 Then He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!" 2 As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.”

            From looking at the book of Ezekiel before and reading it at least a half-dozen times I know that God calls him “son of man” but did not realize that we will see this title 93 times as we go through this book. 

            Remember that Ezekiel was overwhelmed at the glory of the Lord and had fallen on his face, which is where we left him in our last SD, but now God tells him to stand up in this first verse of chapter two and so he has the strength given to him by the Lord to stand up.  Now it was almost ten years ago that I was doing another end times Bible study in our home and the Lord blessed it beyond measure as eventually there were over twenty people come to know the Lord through this study.  It was a week before Thanksgiving on a Wednesday morning that I was awakened around four AM and I know that the Lord was speaking to my heart and what He was saying to my heart that it was not me who caused the people in our Bible Study to get saved, but Him.  I don’t remember exactly how many who had gotten saved by this time, but at least five people.  I am not a person who wants to go by “feelings” but I have never felt like this before in my life as I was weak and crying before the Lord, so much so that my wife even noticed it.  Again I am not saying that what I felt was like what Ezekiel felt when he saw the glory of the Lord, but I know that God was speaking to my heart at that time ten years ago, and I will never forget that as long as I live.  My prayer is that God will do another work through this Bible study that we begin this evening that God will send people to it that He through His Spirit will call to salvation.

            By the way “son of man” is a messianic title and was also given to Daniel in Daniel 8:17.  The Lord Jesus also applied this name to Himself over eighty times as seen in the Gospels.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that “in the case of Daniel and Ezekiel, the title ‘son of man’ emphasized their humanity and mortality.  Ezekiel was facedown in the dust when God spoke to him, reminding him and us of mankind’s humble beginning in the dust (Gen. 1:26; 3:19).  ‘For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust’ (Ps. 103:14 NKJV).  God remembers but sometimes we forget.”

            God reminded Joshua that there was a time to fall down and a time to rise up.  “6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 “O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? 9 "For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?"  10 So the LORD said to Joshua, "Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11 “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things (Joshua 7:6-12).”  It was now time for Ezekiel to stand up and to do the work that God had for him to do.  We will see as we go through this book that the Spirit of God will need to lift him up in order for him to accomplish the things that He has for him to do.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I pray that God will bring the people to our Bible study that He wants there and that He will lift me up with the words that He wants me to speak to those who He draws to our study.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will bless our Bible study.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices; 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “John Mark” (Acts 15:37-38).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which book records an army of 185,000 men destroyed in one night?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/28/2014 10:26 AM

Beholding the Glory of the Lord PT-4-5 (Ezek. 1:22-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/27/2014 8:18 AM

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  Beholding the Glory of the Lord PT-4-5

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 1:22-28

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD I want to look at the last two sub-sections of this first main section from the book of Ezekiel, and with that we will be finished looking at the first chapter in the book of Ezekiel.

            The Firmament (Ezekiel 1:22-25):  “22  Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24  I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.”

            When we look at the verses in chapter one I can understand why Steward Briscoe named his commentary on Ezekiel “All Things Weird and Wonderful.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following in his commentary on these verses:  “Now we get the total picture:  a heavenly chariot with four wheels, moving quickly from place to place at the direction of the Lord.  As it moved, the noise of the wings of the cherubim sounded like the noise of great waters coming together, ‘like the voice of the Almighty,’ and like the sound of a mighty army (3:13; 10:5; Ps. 46:3; Rev. 1:15; 14:2; 19:6).  The wheels symbolize the omnipresence of God, while the eyes on their rims suggested the omniscience of God, seeing and knowing everything.  Ezekiel was beholding a representation of the providence of God as He worked in His world.”  I would like to look at the verses in the book of Revelations that Dr. Wiersbe referenced to in order to help us better understand this section in Ezekiel. 

            Rev. 1:15 “His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.”

            Rev. 14:2 “And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.”

            Rev. 19:6 “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”

            The Throne (Ezekiel 1:26-28):  “  26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”

            As we look at these verses I am more familiar with other verses from Scripture that speak of similar things.  For instance when we look at the storm and the rainbow I think of Noah who also saw the rainbow and the rainbow is seen in scenes from heaven from the book of Revelations.  When I think of Ezekiel falling on his face before the glorious Lord it makes me think of Daniel, and also John doing the same thing.  Something a little similar was when the Lord called Saul of Tarsus with a bright light that caused him to fall on his face, but it also blinded him too.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Noah saw the rainbow after the storm (Gen. 9:13-16), the Apostle John saw it before the storm (Rev. 4:3), but Ezekiel saw it over the storm and in control of the storm.  In His wrath, God remembers mercy (Hab. 3:2).  Ezekiel realized that he was beholding the glory of the Lord (1:28), and he fell on his face in awesome fear.” 

            As we go through the book of Ezekiel we will see the glory of the Lord in different places as it is one of the themes of the book.  We will see the glory of the Lord leave the temple and go over the Mount of Olives, and then he will see it return to the kingdom temple, something we will see later on in the book.  Why did the glory of the Lord leave the temple?  It was because of the sin of the people, and soon after it left the temple the Babylonians destroyed the temple.  Now we know that the glory of the Lord in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ would come into the temple that the exiles built as seen in the book of Nehemiah and also in Ezra.  It was also seen on the Mount of Transfiguration when the glory of the Lord was seen in the person of Jesus Christ.  It was because of our sins that the Lord went to the cross in order to pay the penalty of sin, and in order to have His children have victory over sin, and now the Spirit of the Lord is in the hearts of all who believe in Him as their personal Savior and Lord. 

            Now remember Ezekiel was one of the exiles, living in Babylon and I am sure that many were thinking that because of their sin the Lord had abandoned them forever, but God was showing Ezekiel so he could tell the other exiles that He had not abandoned them, but was still on the throne and in control of all things including caring for His chosen people.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Israel wasn’t the victim of Babylonian aggression.  It was God who enabled the Babylonians to conquer His people and chasten them for their rebellion, but God would also bring the Medes and the Persians to conquer Babylon, and Cyrus, king of Persia, would permit the Jews to return to their land “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!’  (Romans 11:33 NKJV).

            “No matter what message God gave him to preach, or what opposition arose from the people, Ezekiel would be encouraged and strengthened because he had seen the mighty throne of God in the midst of the fiery trial.  He had seen the glory of the Lord.”

            I realize that this chapter kind of leaves us hanging to see what words are spoken to Ezekiel, but we will see that in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am happy to learn more about this section of the book of Ezekiel as the Lord has opened my eyes to see more about what is written in the is first chapter of the book of Ezekiel, seeing the glory of the Lord in what are “weird and wonderful things” described in this chapter.  I am sure that we will see more weird and wonderful things from this book like the valley of dry bones and other things.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will continue to teach me and remind me from things that I saw and will see from His Word, and that they will change me more and more into the image of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Greece” (Daniel 8:21).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who deserted Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey?”

Answer in our next SD.

 

 

Beholding the Glory of the Lord PT-3 (Ezekiel 1:15-21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/26/2014 8:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  Beholding the Glory of the Lord PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 1:15-21

            Message of the verses:  “15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. 18 As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. 19 Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 21 Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.”

            I first of all want to quote an endnote from Dr. Wiersbe on the word “spirit” and what this word is in the Hebrew.  “The Hebrew word ruah means spirit, Spirit, or wind, and in his book, Ezekiel uses the word I all three senses.”  Next we will look at the sub-title for today’s lesson:  “The wheels (Ezekiel 1:15-21).

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that what we are looking at as we look at these wheels is the providence of God.  He writes “What an arresting picture of the providence of God, always at work, intricately designed, never wrong, and never late.”

            The following is the web address from Youtube that shows what is seen in the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel.  Of course it is someone’s conception of what is written about, but it does give an idea of what Ezekiel saw.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT0qNVbyevg

            These wheels that we are talking about were very tall, and there was a wheel inside a wheel and there were many eyes inside the wheels.  I am convinced that what Ezekiel sees in this vision is what God can and does do.  We know that God is a Spirit and when we study the Gospel of John we read of a question that was asked of Jesus:  “John 14:8 Philip *said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."  John 14:9 Jesus *said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ’Show us the Father’?”  Ezekiel got a glimpse of what God looked like, and by seeing this vision he was able to see some of the things that God does, like being everywhere as the eyes would represent.  I can’t imagine what this did to Ezekiel while, and after seeing such a wonderful vision, but for one thing it certainly changed his life.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As a NT believer in Jesus Christ I can see the Lord through the pages of His Word, and as I study His attributes I can better understand who He is, and although I probably will never see a vision like Ezekiel saw, I still can understand who God is and therefore bow down and worship Him because of who He is and what He has done for me through His death on the cross as He took my place there on the cross in order to pay for all of my sins and give me eternal life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to see the Lord Jesus as I read and study His Word each day.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-11a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Chris is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Samson” (Judges 14:14).

Today’s Bible question:  “The rough goat that Daniel saw in a vision was the king of what place?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/26/2014 9:24 AM   

Beholding the Glory of the Lord PT-2 (Ezekiel 1:5-14)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/25/2014 8:04 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  Beholding the Glory of the Lord PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 1:5-14

            Message of the verses:  “5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. 6 Each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. 10 As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.”  This is the second five sub-points from this main point entitled “Beholding the Glory of the Lord,” and this subsection is entitled “The Wheels.”

            I have mentioned that the vision seen in chapter one is very difficult to understand and so I will quote first from the John MacArthur Study Bible on some of these verses and then quote from the commentary from Warren Wiersbe in order to help us better understand what is seen here.

“1:4-14:  The opening vision focuses on angels surrounding God’s presence.

“1:4 storm wind…fire:  Judgment on Judah in a further and totally devastating phase (beyond 597 BC deportation) is to come out of the N, and did come from Babylon in 588-586 (as Jer. 39,40).  Its terror is depicted by a fiery ‘storm wind’ emblematic of God’s judgments and golden brightness signifying dazzling glory.

“1:5 four living beings:  Four angels, most likely the cherbs in 10:1-22, appearing in the erect posture and figure of man (note face, legs, feet, hands in vv. 6-8) emerge to serve God who judges.  The number 4 may have respect to the 5 corners of the earth, implying that God’s angels execute His commands everywhere.

“four wings:  Four wings instead of two symbolize speed in performing God’s will (cf. v. 14).

“1:7 legs:  They were not bent like an animal’s, but ‘straight’ like pillars, showing strength.  Calf’s hoof:  This points to their stability and firm stance.

“1:8 human hands:  This is a symbol of their skilful service.

“1:9 did not turn:  They were able to move in any direction without needing to turn, giving swift access to do God’s will.  Apparently all were in harmony as to the way they moved (v.12).

“1:10 faces:  These symbols identify the angels as intelligent (‘man’), powerful (‘lion’), servile (‘bull’), and swift (‘eagle’).

“1:12 the spirit:  This refers to the divine impulse by which God moved them to do His will (cf. 1:20).

“1:13 like…fire…torches:  Their appearance conveyed God’s glory and pure, burning justice (cf. Isa. 6) which they assisted in carrying out even on Israel, who had for so long hardened themselves against His patience.

“1:14:  Intense, relentless motion signifies God’s constant work of judgment.”

            Now we will look at some of what Dr. Wiersbe writes on these verses:  “Of special interest are their four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (Ezekiel 1:10).  Man is the highest of God’s creatures, being made in the image of God.  The lion is the greatest of the untamed beasts of the forest, while the ox is the strongest of the domesticated beasts of the field.  The eagle is the greatest of the birds and is even a picture of God (Deut. 32:11-12).  But there is also a connection here with the covenant God made with Noah after the Flood (Gen. 9:8-17).  God promised not to destroy the world again with a flood, and He gave this promise to Noah (a man) and his descendants, the birds (the eagle), the livestock (the ox), and the wild animals (the lion).  The presence of God is assurance that God remembers His promises and cares for His creatures.  But it also reminds us that all of creation is used by the Lord to bless or to chasten His people.  In this vision, they are a part of God’s judgment on His sinful people.”

            Matthew Henry states that this vision that Ezekiel saw was greater than what any other prophet saw, and perhaps the reason for this was that God was reassuring the people who were in captivity that He had not given up on them, but had to judge them and then would bring them back to their land.  Many of the people in exile were probably wondering if this was the end of them as a nation but God through Ezekiel and other prophets were showing them that He was not finished with them yet and the greatest reason of all was the Messiah had to come through them, through the family of David.

            What Ezekiel saw is similar to what John saw in heaven as he described in the book of Revelations, and what they both saw was the glory of God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life:  What I take away from this section is the awesomeness of God, and I know that the word awesome is used a lot in this world, but I only want to use this word when I am thinking about God and what God does.  I once heard a man who was preaching and in his sermon he commented on what another man saw when Michael Jordan dunked a basketball, and said that was awesome.  The preacher said that God could slam dunk the earth, and that would be awesome.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and un circumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “I have sinned against God and you and am no longer worthy to be your son (Luke15:21).”

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness’?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/25/2014 9:02 AM

 

Beholding the Glory of God PT-1 (Eze. 1:1-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/24/2014 9:15 AM

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  Beholding the Glory of God PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 1:1-4

            Message of the verses:  “1  Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2  (On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3  the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the LORD came upon him.)  4 As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.”

            I think it best to try and put ourselves in the place of the children of Israel, those who had be exiled into the country of Babylon, for they thought that this could never happen to them.  Why would they think that?  Because of the promises that God had given to their forefathers concerning their kingdom, but if they would have just read what Moses read in the book of Deuteronomy they would have realized that the nation had greatly sinned against their God and He had done what He did justify.  We see in the first two verses the call of Ezekiel as a prophet to the exiles of Judah who were in Babylon.  As mentioned in yesterday’s SD Ezekiel was a priest who God called to be a prophet as seen here. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes in his introduction to this section the following:  “It was a dark day for Israel, and the first thing Ezekiel needed to understand was that, no matter how discouraging the circumstances, God were still on the throne accomplishing His divine purposes in the world.  There are many unexplained mysteries in the vision Ezekiel had, but one message comes through with clarity and power:  Jehovah is the sovereign Lord of Israel and of all the nations of the earth.”  

            As we look at verse one I want to quote a note from the MacArthur Study Bible “Most likely this was Ezekiel’s age, since the date relative to the king’s reign is given in 1:2.  Thirty was the age when a priest (cf. v. 3 with Nu. 4) began his priestly duties.  River Chebar:  A major canal off the Euphrates River, South of Babylon.  Visions of God:  This scene has similarities to the visions of God’s throne in Rev. 4, 5, where the emphasis is also on a glimpse of that throne just before judgment is released in Rev. 6-19.”  As far as the Chebar River or cannel it was a place where the exiles would come for prayer, similar as we see in Acts 16:13.  This river is also mentioned in Ezekiel 3:23; 10:15, 20, 22; and 43:3.  We may assume that Ezekiel was having prayer with the rest of the exiles and this is when the Lord called him to his ministry.  This is not the first time that God has called to someone who was worshiping Him as Isaiah was in the temple when he was called and Paul and Barnabas were engaged in worship when God called them to go on their first missionary trip.  John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day when Jesus came to him to write the book of Revelations.  As Dr. Wiersbe writes in his introductory commentary it is rather difficult to understand this vision that Ezekiel sees, but one thing for sure it does demonstrate the glory of the Lord.  It was many years ago that I had the opportunity to study the book of Ezekiel and the commentary that was used was a book named “All Things Weird and Wonderful,” which seems to me as an appropriate name for the book of Ezekiel.

            We see the phrase “the Word of the Lord came” in verse three, and this is used fifty times in Ezekiel’s prophecy, and Dr. Wiersbe writes that it “speaks of authority of his message; and ‘the hand of the Lord’ is found also in Ezekiel 3:14, 22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; and 40:1.  The Word of the Lord brings enlightenment and the hand of the Lord enablement (see Eph. 1:15-23).  In Scripture, a storm is often an image of divine judgment.  Since the immense whirlwind cloud Ezekiel beheld was coming from te north, it indicated the invasion of Judah by the Babylonian army and the destruction of the land, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple.”  As we have just concluded the study of Jeremiah we saw in that book that God’s was gracious in warning and pleading with the people of Judah to repent, but they would not and so judgment was coming on them.  The following is what Jeremiah saw at the beginning of his ministry:  “13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north." 14 Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 “For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north," declares the LORD; "and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 “I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. (Jeremiah 1:13-16).”

            Later on in verse four Ezekiel describes molten metal, and this is a description of the holiness of God for Hebrews 12:29 says “for our God is a consuming fire.”  Dr. Wiersbe points out that the words like and likeness are used twenty-five times in Ezekiel’s writings showing that what he saw was symbolic of realities God wanted to reveal to him.  Our Lord used parables to help describe from a earthly thing a heavenly meaning.

            Working for close to 35 years in a very large foundry I have seen millions of tons of molten cast iron and as this molten iron comes out of the “copula,” which is what it was melted in the slag or impurities are separated so that what goes into the casting is pure iron.  I can understand why this molten iron that Ezekiel describes represents the holiness of God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  My life is to represent holiness just as molten iron represents holiness, and therefore when I sin against the Lord I must do as John writes in his first letter:  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him- 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Chris is all and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “to visit the fatherless and widows” (James 1:27).”

Today’s Bible question:  “What did the prodigal son say to his father when he came back home?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/24/2014 10:29 AM

 

           

Introduction to the book of Ezekiel

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/23/2014 8:28 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Introduction to the book of Ezekiel

            In today’s SD we will briefly look at the introduction of the book of Ezekiel as we begin to study this book.  I have some fond memories of this book that dates back to when I first became a believer and part of the tapes that I was listening to when I became a believer focused in on Ezekiel chapters 36-39, a part of the book that talks about the restoring of the nation of Israel to their land after being away from it for a long time.  This restoration took place on the 14^th of May in 1948 when the United Nations recognized Israel as a nation.  This happened in one day as the prophet Isaiah foretold in the last chapter of his book.  Ezekiel spoke of this in chapters 36-37 and then in chapters 38-39 Ezekiel speaks of a great war that will be headed up by Russia and having many other nations involved.  This has not yet happened and scholars are uncertain as to when this will happen as far as whether or not it will happen before the tribulation period or in the tribulation period.  It is interesting that the Prime Minister of Israel when making a speech at the 60^th anniversary of the horrible things that happened at Auschwitz. In his speech at the noted prison camp Benjamin Netanyahu said that the things that happened at this prison camp were a fulfillment of Ezekiel chapters 36-37.   

            Ezekiel was a priest whom God called to be a prophet just as He did both Jeremiah and Zechariah and he began being a prophet at age thirty.  His ministry was in Babylon where he was taken as a prisoner from Israel.  God sent him there to prophesy to the people of Israel who were there as a result of the Babylonians defeating the nation of Israel that is the Southern Kingdom.  There were three dispersions of the Jews to Babylon, 605, 597, and 586 BC.  God told Jeremiah that the Jews would return to their land 70 years after they went there into captivity and so God placed both Ezekiel and Daniel there to make sure that the people would receive messages from Him.  It is likely that Daniel and Ezekiel knew each other before going to Babylon, but according to Dr. Wiersbe not likely that they associated with each other while there. 

            When we look at what God’s plan for the nation of Israel we can see that it did not work out the way God wanted it to work out, but in His sovereign plan He had for the world it did work out.  This may sound like double talk, but it really is not.  The reason that Israel went into captivity was because of sin, and when one looks at the 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy it is told by Moses that Israel would not keep their covenant with the Lord and then God would send them into captivity and bring them back and then later on send them back into captivity again which happened in 70 AD.  When the Southern Kingdom went into captivity in 586 BC that was the end of the rule of Israel and the beginning of the rule of the Gentile nations, and we saw when studying the book of Daniel that he foretold the Gentile nations that would rule beginning with Babylon, and then the Medo Persian Empire, then the Greeks, and finally the Roman Empire which will have two phases.  God wanted to show His people that He had not forgotten about them when he sent them to Babylon and so He gave messages to them through His prophets.

            Now in our study of Jeremiah we learned that it was easier to be a priest than a prophet, and this will be the case again when we look at Ezekiel.  When we look at what happened to the true prophets of Israel we see that most of them were killed because they told the people about their sins and they did not want to listen to them so they killed many of them.  Jesus spoke of this and so did Steven in Acts chapter seven.

            At this time I want to site Warren Wiersbe’s outline of the book of Ezekiel, which we will be following in our study of Ezekiel.  We will look at both the outline and also the contents of his commentary on Ezekiel which he entitles “Be Reverent.”

Key Theme:  Showing reverence for the name and glory of God.

Key verse:  “You will know that I am the Lord” (6:7 NIV)  (This statement is found seventy times in the book)

I.                    The prophet’s Call (1-3)

1.       Seeing God’s glory—1

2.      Hearing God’s Word—2

3.      Becoming God’s watchman—3

II.                 The Fall of Jerusalem (4-24)

1.       The judgment preached—4-7

2.      God’s glory departs—8-11

3.      Godless leaders exposed—12-17

4.      God’s justice defended—18-21

5.      The end of the city—22-24

III.               The Nations Judged (25-32)

1.       Ammon—25:1-7

2.      Moab—25:8-11

3.      Edom—25:12-14

4.      Philistia—25:15-17

5.      Tyre—26:1-28:19

6.      Sidon—28:20-24

7.      Egypt—29-32

IV.              The Glorious Future of Israel (22-48)

1.      The city of Jerusalem restored—33-34

2.      The land of Israel renewed—35-37

3.      The nation of Israel resurrected and reunited—37-39

4.      The temple and the priesthood reestablished—40-48

 

The Contents of “Be Reverent”

1.      From Priest to Prophet (Ezekiel 1-3)

2.      The Death of a Great City (Ezekiel 4-7)

3.      The Glory Departed (Ezekiel 8-11)

4.      The Truth About the False (Ezekiel 12-14)

5.      Pictures of Failure (Ezekiel 15-17)

6.      God Is Just! (Ezekiel 18-21)

7.      See the Sinful City (Ezekiel 22-24)

8.      God Judges the Nations (Ezekiel 25-28)

9.      Egypt Will Fall! (Ezekiel 29-32)

Interlude

10.  Warning and Promises from the Watchman (Ezekiel 33-35)

11.  From Restoration to Reunion (Ezekiel 38-39)

12.  God Protects the Nation (Ezekiel 38-39)

13.  Glory in the Temple (Ezekiel 40-48)

 

Memory verses for the week:  Colossians 3:8-11.

8 But now you also, put them all aside:  Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Make him a servant (or slave)” (Genesis 44:17).

Today’s Bible question:  “What is pure religion?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/23/2014 9:32 AM