Year 9, Day 181: Matthew 7

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And the crowd was astonished because he taught as one with authority.  I love that description.  So often I wish that same description was true about me.  I wish I taught with the same authority as Jesus.  Then I realize where it ended for Jesus.  The crowd shouts for Him to die.  That’s the result of teaching with authority.  Eventually the crowd chants for your death.

What is Jesus teaching that amazes the crowds – and eventually allows the Pharisees to turn them against Him?  He is radical.  He is radical, but not in the way most people think about radical.

Jesus tells us to focus on getting our own house in order.  That’s what the first message is all about.  How on earth can I possibly help anyone if I am ignorant of my own failings?  How will I be able to speak truth into the lives of others if I am not even able to apply truth to my own life and show why that truth is so valuable?

This is why Jesus cautions us to enter by the narrow gate.  This is why He tells us to build our house on the firm foundation of God’s ways.  In order to impact the world around me, I have to be focused on making sure that the truth is being applied to my life first.  Nobody will willingly follow a hypocrite once they are proven.  But people will occasionally follow a person who is following a difficult path if that path shows good fruit.

This brings us to one of my favorite teachings in this chapter.  Jesus reminds us that we will know people by their fruit.  Want to know a good person?  Look for how their teaching is being applied to their own life.  What to know someone worth following?  Lok for someone who practices what they preach and their life is bearing out in a way that you want to happen to you.

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As an aside, I hate the corruption that modernity brings to the opening verse of this chapter.  Judge not lest ye be judged.  So many people use that to champion their cause of letting anything go.  But that is not what this is about.  It’s not my place to tell other people they are going to Hell, but it is my absolutely my place to show them where their errors might lead to hardship in life.  For the record, I want people looking out for me like that, too.

Year 9, Day 180: Matthew 6

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Jesus continues to speak to us about perspective.  The godly leader can lead with a different perspective because the leader knows where true treasure resides.  The godly leader can lead because he is confident that his reward is in God’s hands.

Jesus gives us several examples of this in today’s reading.  For example, many people help the poor.  Many of those people do it so they can add it to their resume, giving them reason to brag about what they do.  They may also do it to try and prove their own righteousness to themselves.  The true leader is willing to work without reward because they know that their reward is with God and God will remember.

Another example is prayer.  We can likely extend this to worship leadership in general.   Many people pray to hear the complement about how great the prayer was.  People lead singing in order to hear how excellent their ability is.  The true leader leads because it needs to be done and because God will see it and God will remember.

There are plenty of applications of this policy in our own lives.  Every moment of leadership is an area where this can be applied.  The godly leader does what needs to be done – what is right for the community around them – and places their trust in God’s approval, not the approval of the people around them.

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Year 9, Day 179: Matthew 5

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In continuing the study of leadership, Jesus makes two points quite clear.  The first point is that Jesus does not mind that for which the Jewish leaders are standing up.  He makes this point twice.  First, He says that He has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.  Second, He says that unless the people have a righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees and the Sadducees that it is impossible to enter the kingdom of God.  Both of these statements indicate that the problem with leadership isn’t necessarily what is be led but rather how the leadership is going about the task.

The rest of this chapter takes this thought even further.  How do leaders act while pursuing righteousness?  Leaders turn the other cheek.  Leaders walk the extra mile.  Leaders love their enemies.  In other words, leaders think about others while they are leading.  Leaders are willing to rise above human concepts like vengeance, payback, and grudges.  Leaders pursue what is good for the community, not what is good for them.

Leaders also do the right thing even when an easier way is accepted.  Jesus tells people that even though divorce has been made legal, it’s still not the best course of action.  He tells us that while lust is natural and human, it is the spiritual equivalent to adultery.  The same thing is true for anger; it is completely natural, but it is the spiritual equivalent to murder.

In fact, the only way that leaders can accomplish this kind of living is through a change in perspective.  Those who mourn and are persecuted are actually blessed.  The meek and the peacemakers will see God.  The rejected and poor in spirit follow in the footsteps of the righteous who came before them.  Godly leadership requires a complete paradigm shift.

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Year 9, Day 178: Matthew 4

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The last few days the focus on leadership has been on humanity.  Today, we get perhaps the best look in the Bible on a spiritual conflict.  Today is Jesus, the Son of God, versus Satan, the great deceiver that fell from heaven.  Today we get to see good leadership versus improper leadership.  Today we get to see the grand conflict of the ages.

First, Satan finds Jesus in the desert and tempts him with food.  Jesus reminds Satan that man doesn’t live by food alone.  What is the message here?  The human pursuit of our wants isn’t enough.  If life is about fulfilling what I want, I’m going to come up short, angry about the shallow life I live.

Second, Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tells Jesus to demonstrate His position by leaping of the temple.  Satan says that by leaping off of the temple, God will send His angels to save Him and Jesus will see just how important He is.  Jesus tells Satan to not put God to the test.  In other words, Jesus tells Satan exactly what we’ve heard in the last two chapters.  Godly leadership is about pursuing God’s agenda, not our own.  It shouldn’t matter how important I am, what matters is that God is in the center.

Third, Satan shows Jesus the whole world in its glory and tells Jesus that he will give it all to Him if he just worships Satan.  Notice that Jesus doesn’t focus on the fact that all of creation is already under God’s hand.  Jesus focuses in on the centrality of God.  God is our worship, not the world and the power we wield.  Godly leadership puts God at the center, not ourselves.

To make His point even clearly, notice the message that Jesus gives to us when He Himself calls His first disciples.  He doesn’t say, “Come, be great!”  He says, “Come, follow me.”  Here is a man who just told Satan three times over that godly leadership is about taking a backseat to God.  And then He calls disciples using the same consistent message.  Godly leadership is first and foremost about following, not asserting oneself.

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Year 9, Day 177: Matthew 3

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Matthew 3 brings us to John the Baptizer.  This passage continues the perspective on leadership, though.  John is out in the middle of the wilderness, doing his thing, and you’ll note that it is the religious leadership that inspires him to object!  John has some fairly disparaging things to say about the Pharisees and Sadducees.

John’s basic message is one of repentance, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.  God has been getting close to His people throughout history.  He drew close to Abraham, giving him the covenant.  God drew close to the captives in Egypt, giving them the Law on the way to the Promised Land.  God drew close to the judges, who governed over the people.  God drew close to the prophets, who spoke with His voice.  Now, God is doing the biggest step yet.  God is making it possible from Him to literally dwell among us.  All of this is in preparation for when God no longer dwells among us, but within us!

In this context, John tells us to repent.  The word for repent literally means to turn around.  It is a change in direction.  John is telling us that we are all headed the same way: the realization of our own agendas.  What we need to do is to turn around: the realization of God’s agenda.  God’s ways are better than our ways.  What God wants for me is better than what I want for me.

This is naturally where John’s conflict with the leadership comes into play.  Why are people selfish and self-centered?  They are selfish and self-centered because they are human, of course.  But they persist in that condition because they have bad leadership over them.  They have nobody to show them a higher way.  They have no grand example.  The people are selfish and self-centered because that’s what they see their leaders doing, too!

John tells even the leaders to repent.  Even the leaders need to change!  John is essentially preparing everyone for the need for a new agenda, a new perspective on life, and a new regime.  Human leadership is about maneuvering into a position to make your dreams happen.  Godly leadership is about setting aside your dreams, picking up God’s dreams, and allowing God to maneuver us into a position to make His reality happen.

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Year 9, Day 176: Matthew 2

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One of the major themes of the Gospel stories is leadership.  In fact, it might be better said that this is one of the major themes of the Bible.  The main difference between the Gospels and the rest of the Bible is that while the Bible is about developing strong leadership within yourself and the community, the Gospel stories are additionally critical of the contrast between worldly leadership and godly leadership.  There is constant conflict between God’s leaders in the Gospels – primarily Jesus – and the worldly leadership over the regions of Jesus’ ministry.

For example, take Herod.  Herod meets the wise men, who have come simply to pay respects to the coming of the Hebrew Messiah.  Keep in mind that these are Magi, probably in the Persian tradition.  They aren’t even coming to see their messiah.  They are simply coming to pay respect to an important birth in another culture.  In this context, Herod meets with them.

Herod tells them to come back to him when they have found the Messiah so that he can worship, too.  It’s an outright lie.  Herod wants to kill the competitor, not worship.  Lesson number one about human leadership?  Human leaders with human agendas need to be vetted.  Far too many of them have their own agendas and are willing to outright lie to accomplish their vision.  Welcome to the world.

When the magi don’t come back to Herod, he goes around killing any child 2 years or younger.  Lesson number two is just as bad.  Human leaders with human agendas are also willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish their vision.  Even infanticide is not outside of Herod’s perspective.

Against Herod, contrast the leadership of Joseph.  God warns Joseph about what Herod is about to do and he listens.  He flees to Egypt.  He is willing to pick up his whole family and move to a foreign country in order to follow God.  He is happy to be a servant and follow God’s plan, not his own.

Furthermore, upon returning from Egypt he goes to Galilee instead of returning to Judea where his family would have been.  Once more he acts because of the Lord’s will.  Once more, he makes a decision based upon God ways instead of what would make sense or what he might desire.  Once more, Joseph thinks about what is best for Mary and Jesus.

Worldly leadership is self-centered.  Worldly leadership is about accomplishing its goals.  Godly leadership is about sacrifice and putting God’s will for our life first.

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Year 9, Day 175: Matthew 1

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I love the artificial transition made by jumping from Ezekiel to Matthew.  It’s artificial because it certainly wouldn’t normally be read this way.  Ezekiel is at the end of the Old Testament.  The only reason to read it this way is because it is the calendar I put together.  That being said, it is a great transition.

Ezekiel ends with the idea that the name of the Lord’s temple is “The Lord is there.”  Today, in the birth narrative of Jesus, we are told that His name is Immanuel, “The Lord is with us.”  What a wonderful parallel between the testaments.  God’s plan hasn’t changed.  He is still with us.  He wanted to be among us.  The plan hasn’t changed; it has merely gone into phase 2.

What I love, though, is the reassurance that this story can bring to us.  How many times do human beings wonder what God is doing?  How many times do we get down on ourselves for missing God’s hand at work?  As we see here, that is simply human nature.  God has to come to Joseph and explain His plan to him because he doesn’t get it.  Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly because she is going to give birth.  God has to tell Joseph that it is really okay.

Granted, that isn’t permission to go about life with a laissez faire attitude towards God.  He doesn’t expect us to understand everything, but He does expect us to try.  He expects us to listen to Him and to change when we aren’t in line with Him.  That’s what Joseph does.  He might not get what God is doing at first, but once he figures it out he is on board all the way!

We don’t hear much about Joseph in the Bible, but we can be reassured.  He is human, no doubt.  But he is also a follower of God.  He is willing to be the hands and feet of God once he understands the plan.   

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Year 9, Day 174: Ezekiel 48

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This is the capstone of Ezekiel.  It seems like a boring chapter because of the persistent talk about the land division.  However, look at what this means for the people of Abraham.

First, remember that nearly every Hebrew is in exile, scattered from the western edge of India to the Persian borders of Greece.  They are thought of as forgotten outcasts.  Many people may not even know who they are.  God knows, however. God will not forget.

Not only will God not forget, but the people will share in their inheritance once more.  They will possess their land and possess it equally.  The tribes will be important, but not dominant.  Everyone will have their share in the new kingdom of God.  God doesn’t forget, He cares, and He is righteous and fair.

Furthermore, look at the temple.  When the Lord creates His domain, He will name His city.  It will be called the Lord is there.  The Lord is forgiving.  He is righteous.  He is fair.  And perhaps most importantly, God is present.

Consider that these are the final words of God’s message to Ezekiel.  His parting message for this prophet king is to remind the people that God is present.  God wants the people to know that He will dwell among them.  Imagine that!  God, who has the power to create out of nothing desires to dwell among His creation in all of our imperfection.  What a wonderful concluding message!

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Year 9, Day 173: Ezekiel 47

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I have been waiting for this chapter all of Ezekiel.  I vividly remember studying this chapter six years ago for the first time and being fascinated by all the salvation imagery in the first half of the chapter.

First, not that the water is fresh water.  Even when it flows into the sea, it will make fresh water.  Why is fresh water important, especially since we know that there are plants and fish that have adapted to living in saltwater?

The answer is simple. First, human beings require fresh water to live.  Therefore, God is telling us that what comes out of His temple is capable of sustaining us.  Second, most of the things that humans use for survival – cereal grains, vegetables, most fruits, other mammals – require fresh water as well.  Again, God’s point is that what comes out of His temple can sustain life.

Also, notice that the further you get away from the temple, the deeper the water gets.  There are two parts to this analogy.  The obvious part is that the temple is higher than everything else.  That’s why the water gets deeper as it goes further away.  Why is it important that the temple is higher?  God is at the pinnacle of creation.  He is the top.  There is a reason He is God and we look up to Him.

The secondary, and far more subtle, imagery is equally as neat.  The water covers the earth as it flows out of the temple.  God is telling us that His life sustaining ability will cover us.  At its core, it is a reminder of salvation.  We are quite literally covered by God’s life sustaining essence.

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Year 9, Day 172: Ezekiel 46

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Ezekiel 46 gives more regulations for the temple.  It contains directions for offering, direction for which gates to come into and out of, as well as directions for inheritances.  All it all, it is a very straightforward chapter.

What is there to pull out of this chapter besides that the Lord enjoys bringing order to a chaotic world?  Notice that there is still something special about the Sabbath.  Six days the east gate s shut.  Only on the Sabbath is the east gate to be opened.  The temple is open 7 days.  Parts of the temple are only opened for 1 day, though.

Our relationship with God is ongoing, certainly.  Every day is a day where we can be with God.  Every day is an opportunity to receive God’s blessing and return out gratitude to Him.  Every day is an opportunity to help other people see God’s hand at work.

Yet, there are some days that are special.  There are days where God isn’t just the focus, He is the object of the day.  God, and our relationship with Him, should always be present in our lives and our driving purpose.  Many days the challenge is bringing the world and the realm of God together.  On the Sabbath, though, we put aside the world and remember how special God and our relationship with Him is.

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Year 9, Day 171: Ezekiel 45

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The major theme of Ezekiel 45 is the development of the city surrounding the temple.  Within this theme, there is a thread of truth.  The land is given, not earned.  The land is a product of God’s generosity, not payment for services rendered.

Across this whole chapter is a tone of reception.  God provides for the prince so that the prince can provide for the priests.  The prince provides for the priests so that the priests provide for the people.  It’s a chain driven by generosity.

This fits marvelously with God’s overall handiwork.  Who among us can save ourselves?  We receive salvation from God.   Salvation itself comes from God, who gives to us not because we deserve it but He desires us to have it.

There’s a very good reason that God depends on this pattern and not what we typically use as human beings.  Humans live in a meritocracy: people get what they earn or deserve.  It is a system that seems fair, but it generates animosity and stress.  It creates a system where people ultimately fail because we aren’t and can never be perfect.

On the other hand, if we start with grace and generosity, we are then able to extend grace and generosity to others.  Instead of fearing falling short, we feel grace and want others to feel the same thing.  We can extend grace because of what has already been done to us.

Meritocracies seem fair.  They end with stress, antagonism, conflict, and doubt.  Grace, on the other hand, is absolutely not fair.  But it typically ends up being passed along.  That’s the point of the culture that God is demonstrating to Ezekiel in this passage.

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Year 9, Day 170: Ezekiel 44

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I love chapters like Ezekiel 44.  It’s so easy to read this chapter and pass it off.  After all, it is all about placing the servants of the Lord.  What can be found in that?  What does it matter where a person stands in the temple?

Actually, much can be gleaned from this.  Note that the Levites who abandoned the Lord serve on the outer parts.  In fact, they aren’t even allowed to serve in the inner places!  That space is reserved for those who stayed loyal.  What can we learn?  God rewards loyalty.  God sees who is loyal and who is not.  God remembers.  We might not be rewarded in the moment, but He will reward.

We can also learn that God forgives.  After all, God could easily have abandoned the Levites who worshipped foreign gods and encouraged others to do so.  Yet, He allows them to have a place anyways.  It might not be the closest place.  It might not be a place of honor.  But they do have a place.

Continuing down this road gives a greater teaching.  Note how much emphasis God puts on holiness, righteousness, purity, and unholiness, unrighteousness, and impurity.  God is angry that the foreigners and the uncircumscribed were allowed to do whatever they wanted in the temple.  Yes, God forgives.  However, God does get offended.  He knows the difference between impure and pure.

If we combine this with the punishment of the Levites, we can get a clear message from God.  God forgives and He includes.  But He expects us to change.  He expects us to grow closer to Him.  He expects us to chose Him over the world.  He expects us to go from foreigner to follower.  He expects us to go from uncircumcised hearts to circumcised hearts.

Why would we do this?  The answer is profound, and it is my favorite part of this chapter.  We do it because God is our inheritance.  We do it because we will be with Him forever.  He is our reward.  He is our reason.  Other people can have fame, wealth, and popularity.  I’ll take God as my reward.

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Year 9, Day 169: Ezekiel 43

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The glory of the Lord fills the temple.  The Lord takes the temple that Ezekiel has been shown and comes to dwell in it.  His presence comes to the temple. The earth shines like Ezekiel’s never seen.  There is an incredible sound of water as the Lord comes.

This chapter will bring hope to those in exile.  Not only will they be brought back from exile, God will not abandon them.  When Jerusalem and its temple are rebuilt, God will continue to be right there beside them.  God does not abandon His promises just because we don’t hold up our end of the bargain.

When He comes, the earth shines brightly.  God is our light.  He is the light that shines into the darkness.  He is the light that scatters defeat and oppression.  He is the bright spot in a creation that that at times can be filled with such human darkness.

The sound of rushing water precedes the Lord.  Water is a great symbol in comparison to the Lord.  Water cleanses.  Water purifies.  Water refreshes.  Water soothes.

Water is also powerful.  Given enough time, water can erode the strongest of rock.  Water can flood dry land and overcome it.  Water can create energy and be harnessed for the benefit of life.

All of these would be meaningful to a human population looking at exile.  Such imagery speaks of a time when the exile will be over.  God will come to them.  He will refresh them.  He will be a power within their midst that will guide and shape them.

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Year 9, Day 168: Ezekiel 42

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Today is another chapter largely composed of building plans.  They continue to be as exciting as the prior two days.  Fortunately, Ezekiel gives us a little something more than blueprints about which we can talk.  We can also talk about clothing.

The priests need to wear special garments when going into the hoy areas of the temple.  We can go in many different directions here.  We could talk about the priests not being holy enough.  While that’s not incorrect, it’s also something Christ takes care of when He dies upon the cross.  None of us are holy enough!

Instead, I prefer to talk about putting on holiness.  Rather than focus on what’s wrong with us and our utter inability to be with God on our own, it’s more useful to talk about how God makes it possible for us to come to Him.  The priests put on holy clothing that is provided for them.  God makes the way for us to be holy.  Never forget that.

Furthermore, we can go the other way.  God recognizes that when the priests go out into the world that they will become impure.  However, notice that God doesn’t prevent this.  He wants the priests to go out and about in the world.  Rather than keep them holy, He asks them to put on holiness as needed.  In the same way, God wants us to go out into the world.  He wants us to encounter things that may make us unclean sothat we can spread Him t the world.  He can take care of our purity, righteousness, and holiness though Christ.

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Year 9, Day 167: Ezekiel 41

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Another chapter of measurements.  Interesting it isn’t.  In fact, it is hard to be insightful about measurements, especially since we know this temple was never built.

However, we can say something about what isn’t in the chapter.  The guide takes Ezekiel all over the temple – although notice that only the guide goes into the Holy of Holies.  The only piece of furniture is something that Ezekiel can’t identify but says it resembles an altar.  Where is the ark of the covenant?  Where is the table for the showbread?  Where are the lampstands?  Where are the items for worship?

The answer isn’t specified, so we can’t know for sure.  However, there is a neat possibility.  What does a place of worship decorated in a very spartan manner suggest?  It suggests that the people worshipping there are far more important than the stuff within.  It suggests that relationship with God is more important than our space in which we worship.  When God is giving people hope, He wants them to focus on Him, not the stuff.

That’s an important lesson.  In a day where culture is materialistic, competitive, and easily distracted it is important to see a God who wants us to focus on the intangibles.  God cares more about us than stuff.  He wants us to do the same with Him.

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Year 9, Day 166: Ezekiel 40

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Ezekiel received a vision in which a man seemingly made of a shining metal measured the temple.  People have always notes that the measurements given to Ezekiel don’t match the original temple designs or any of the designs that happen in the second temple after the exiles return.  When Christ comes and dies, He is our sacrifice and puts an end to sacrifices completely.  Therefore, this temple either represents a temple yet to come or it is a symbolic representation.

That’s a debate for other people on another day.

What can we learn from this passage?  God is speaking to a people in exile.  What does He offer those who are in chaos? What does He offer to those who are scattered and feel like they are on their own?

God offers order.  This chapter is insanely ordered and organized.  God offers a plan.  He offers something incredibly concrete in which they can believe.  God reaches out to the people who feel forgotten and gives them a vision to hold onto.

Whether this was just a vision or a vision of something yet to come, it does the trick.  Most of the rest of Ezekiel is all about the concrete promise that an organized reliable life will come.  The Hebrew people will have society once more.  They are in exile, but a day is coming when they will get to see the Promised Land once more.

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Year 9, Day 165: Ezekiel 39

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The Gog and Magog saga continues.  God promises to destroy Gog.  In fact, the level of His promise is quite descriptive.  God not only promises that they will be destroyed but that the Hebrew people will be able to live off their weapons for seven years.  There will be so many wood handles for fire and metal blades for smithing that the people won’t need to go out and get their own.  That’s a remarkable plunder.

Take this deeper.  Remember that Gog is going to come against the Hebrew people because He wants their stuff and He thinks they will be an easy plunder.  Look at what happens.  Gog is destroyed by God and the Hebrew people end up getting their stuff!  Talk about reversal of fortunes!

God then tells Ezekiel that it will take months to bury all the people.  While this is a disturbing imagine, in the ancient world gravediggers were necessary.  In mass casualties, everyone became a grave digger.  To have dead bodies lying around pollutes the land, pollutes the water, and allows bacteria and disease to spread among other things.  After a massive battle with so much plunder that the Hebrew people will be satisfied for years, it will take a good while to bury the dead.

There are two lessons we can get from this easily.  First, notice that the Hebrew people have to do the work.  They don’t simply reap the reward, they have a role to play in the process.  God protects them.  God defeats Gog.  But the Hebrew people will aid God in the aftermath.

Second, look at the invitation to the birds.  God invites the birds to come and feast on God.  Gog invites the birds to come and help cleanse the land and keep disease from spreading.  Creation is our ally.

This is powerful.  So often we think that creation is something we have dominion over.  Yet, look at how often creation corrects our errors.  Streams, creeks, and oceans filter our pollutants (to various levels, depending on what we put in it). Microbes in the soil and on living things helps break down poisonous substances.  Bacteria in the water will help clean up oil spills.  I could go on with a long list of examples.  The reality is that we love to strip the earth for our gain without realizing that the earth is our biggest ally in life.

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Year 9, Day 164: Ezekiel 38

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As famous as vivid as Ezekiel 37 is, Ezekiel 38 is foreign and unknown.  In this chapter, God speaks about an unknown land called Magog.  We don’t really know where this land is.  Various Christian writers throughout time have associated Gog and Magog with the current enemy of their civilization.  Gog and Magog have been associated with Rome, the Huns, the Scythians, the peoples of Russia, etc.

Because the symbols are so hard to identify, this chapter is hard to understand.  What is the point?  What is God trying to teach us?

I think there are two lessons we can glean from this chapter.  First, there will be rebellion against God and His people.  The world will resist God and His followers.  The world will rise up against Him and His ways.  It’s unfortunate.  It’s also with the free will of the people who desire to rebel.  It’s a sad reality of humanity.

More importantly, notice why the rebellion take place.  The people of Magog see the followers of God as an easy target.  They look to plunder the undefended places.  We learn hear that there is no honor among thieves.  People who are going to rebel against God will also take advantage of others.  People who are bent on rebellion won’t have respect for anyone outside of their own frame of reference.

I see this all over the place.  We live in a culture that is all about me.  The modern world is losing its ethic, losing its honor, and losing communal value.  People will take advantage of others.  Rebellion still lives in the hearts of humanity.

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Year 9, Day 163: Ezekiel 37

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The Valley of the Dry Bones is a well known chapter.  Imagine the vision that Ezekiel gets to see.  Imagine watching as dry bones gather together to form skeletons.  And then imagine those skeletons growing flesh and skin to look like a person.  Then imagine breath being put into them so that they are actually alive.  Honestly, I can only imagine the nightmares that such a vision would give to Ezekiel the rest of his life.

The point of the vision, in spite of its shocking nature, is that dead is not an obstacle for God.  Take a nation.  Split it in two.  Conquer it mercilessly.  Take most of the people and scatter them all throughout Asia from the Mediterranean to the edge of India.  This is not an obstacle for God.  Most people would call the Hebrew people done and their civilization ruined.  God, however, has other plans.

God promises to raise the people up.  God promises to reinvent them.  In fact, God promises to reforge them into a single nation.  God is not only going to restore what was prior to the Assyrian conquest, but to go back and erase the split that the Hebrew people did to themselves.  That’s amazing.  God is telling Ezekiel that He is capable of healing both internal and external wounds.

I think this idea is why this chapter sticks with people.  It is noticeable because of the vividness of the image.  It is memorable because at its core is something we all want to believe in.  It is memorable because we all want a God who actually can heal and restore both the problems within us as well as the problems brought on by the world around us.

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Year 9, Day 162: Ezekiel 36

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There are two very cool teaching points in Ezekiel 36.  Each of these points are cool because they are not only important to remember, but they are not typical lessons we expect to get from the Bible.  The Bible is primarily a book about God’s relationship with us.

In this overarching context, Ezekiel’s first message in this chapter is to the hills around Jerusalem.  So often we think of the planet as something over which we exercise dominion.  We see it as a source of wealth development.  We look to the land and see how we can strip it and consume it and build our edifices upon it.

God speaks to the land as having a purpose to fulfill with us.  He promises that the land will once more dwell with us.  He tells the land that under Him, when His people have been purified, that the land will be rebuilt and have purpose.  God’s creation is not ours to plunder.  God’s creation is ours to bring into fulfillment.

The second point drives home humbleness.  It comes at the very end of the passage where God is promising redemption and restoration.  God clearly tells us that He is going to restore the Hebrew for His sake.  He doesn’t do it for our sake.  He doesn’t do it because we deserve it.  He does it because it makes Him righteous.

This should humble us.  We like to think we earn God’s love.  We like to think that our time going to church and reading His Word earns His favor.  It doesn’t.  We do it to get closer to Him.  We do it because we need it, not Him.  He is righteous.  He is always righteous.  We are merely recipients of His grace given to us because He is righteous enough to bless us.

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Year 9, Day 161: Ezekiel 35

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Mount Seir is a name given throughout the Bible for the nation of Edom.  Remembering Genesis reminds the reader that Edom are the descendants of Esau.  Edom is the place Esau went – and the people Esau mingled with – after his confrontation with Jacob.

God’s issue with Esau is two-fold.  First, God has an issue that Esau has forgotten their tie to the Hebrew people.  They have a common ancestor.  They both come from Abraham (and Isaac, too!).  The people that the Hebrew people credit as forefathers are also important to the Edomites!  God is concerned that the Edomites would so easily forget their lineage.

God’s second issue is even bigger.  Edom didn’t only forget their ties, they looked to take advantage of them!  They thought that they could claim the lands of Israel and Judah for themselves once Assyrian and Babylon took over.  They were planning on using God’s judgment over Israel and Judah for their own personal gain.

God clearly condemns this behavior.  It is one thing to forget where we came from.  It is another thing to use the downfall of another for our own personal gain.  This is simply another form of greed, and like all greed, it is condemned by the Lord.

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Year 9, Day 160: Ezekiel 34

Theological Commentary: Click Here

It is chapters like this that ultimately are why I am no longer in the professional ministry and instead focus on mentoring and discipleship as a calling and not an employment.  To understand this, look at the issue that God has with the priests.  They are getting fat off the people rather than doing their job.  They are more concerned about the happiness of the people, because happy people bring good sacrifices for the priests to live off of.

The problem is that if human beings are genuinely sinful, then the goal of the priests shouldn’t be keeping them happy.  The goal of the priests should be keeping them righteous and challenging their sin.  However, when one’s livelihood depends on the happiness of the people, this gets horribly muddled.  It still does to this day.  It’s still hard to tell people the truth when if they get mad it matters if they take their checkbook with them.

For the record, you’ll notice that Jesus never once advocates any of his disciples become connected to priestly nature.  Instead, Jesus recommends they teach others much like He taught them: for free.  Jesus recommends teaching any who are willing to listen and not really caring about their wallet.

I think we should take God’s criticism seriously here.  When evaluating spiritual leadership, we should always do  as God does here: evaluate how concerned the leader is with the financial state of the person they are leading.  It is always important to determine whether the leader is pursuing the heart of the people or whether they are pursuing the wallet of the people.  As Jesus is prone to teaching, you can’t serve two masters.

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