November 19, 2017
God gave Ezekiel a vision of a new temple in Jerusalem. The description is very detailed, so much so, that it is clear that it doesn’t describe Solomon’s temple from previous days, nor Zerubbabel/Herod’s in days after. Ezekiel’s temple has yet to be built. Those who read this vision metaphorically see a spiritual picture of the Church. Those who see the description as too specific and connected to the geography of Israel, see it as the temple that will be built during the millennial reign of Christ.
Ezekiel’s temple vision is a mystery and difficult to understand, yet it is filled with beauty and hope for the future. This hope is not in a temple made with human hands, but in the God who gives such visions and fulfills all of His promises. “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!'” (2 Cor. 1:20). One day we will understand Ezekiel’s temple vision as the Lord Jesus will give us full understanding.
November 18, 2017
There are as many interpretations as their are interpreters of this chapter in Ezekiel. Yet, I would humbly offer that it is a prophecy concerning an end times battle against Israel that has yet to be fulfilled. Nations from the North of Israel will attack Israel during a time of peace and God Himself will fight for Israel and defeat the armies of the North.
My comments are marked by the following principles of interpretation: 1) Scripture is divinely inspired, 2) Scripture should be interpreted as literally as the literary genre and context allow, 3) Scripture contains prophecies that have already been fulfilled as well as those yet to be fulfilled, and 4) the revelation of Scripture is progressive, so that later prophecies shed light on earlier ones.
Those who have a high view of Scripture see history heading towards an ultimate climatic victory of good over evil, Christ over Satan, and the judgment seat of God. The apostle John, like Ezekiel, had such a view of Scripture. He also prophesied of a future day when God would defeat Satan and the nations he deceived named, “Gog and Magog” (Rev. 20:7-9).
While certain details of this prophecy remain a mystery, such as the identity of “Gog and Magog” (Is it Russia as some contend?). The major predictions are clear. God revealed an end times war against Israel that God Himself will win. God will triumph in the end. Therefore, let us decide whom we will serve. Let us join Joshua in saying, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
November 17, 2017
The Greek word translated “desire” is “epithumia,” which literally means over-heated desire or lust. Desire in and of itself is not evil. God has desires. But God’s desires are under His control, while ours are not. We desire over-much and we become over-heated in wanting, so we take shortcuts and we overeat and we overindulge and we over-do-it in getting things, but our over-desire cannot be fully satisfied because it wants over-much. James is graphic in describing this over-desire as a womb conceiving and giving birth to sin. And sin, as a growing thing that when mature “brings forth death.”
God has given us “every good gift” (James 1:17), yet we desire the gift over the Giver. However, when we receive the “word of truth” (James 1:18), which is the gospel, we are born again of the Spirit of God. And His Spirit gives us His desires and grants us self-control over our “over-desires.” Being born again, we begin to desire the Giver more than the gift.
November 16, 2017
The Lord called Ezekiel to be a “watchman.” A watchman keeps watch, especially during the night, while the city sleeps. He warns the city when he sees trouble approaching. Ezekiel was called to be God’s watchman, warning Israel of God’s coming judgment and calling them to repentance. The Lord would not hold him accountable for Israel’s response, only for his obedience to sound the alarm. If Ezekiel warned Israel and she did not repent, he was innocent of her blood. But if Ezekiel failed to warn Israel, her blood would be on his hands. This is the weight of responsibility that goes with being God’s watchman.
Who is called to be God’s “watchman” today?
November 15, 2017
The Lord told Ezekiel to write a funeral dirge for Pharaoh. This was not meant to comfort him, but to warn him of the Lord’s coming judgment against Egypt. Why? Because Pharaoh had acted as a “young lion,” going out from Egypt in violence and troubling other nations.
God is still sovereign over men and nations. He is not absent, but He is patient. As the psalmist declared, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psa. 47:8). The power of nations is nothing to the Lord. They are as a “drop in the bucket” to Him (Isa. 40:15-17). Yet, Jesus has sent us to the nations, saying, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). For the Lord would have those from every tongue and tribe represented in the body of Christ, which He has planned from eternity past.
November 14, 2017
Don’t waste the pain. God cares more for your character than you comfort. His “chastening” may be painful, but it yields Christlikeness in you when you submit to its training. One day, you will look back on your life and see how God has disciplined you as His own child for your sanctification. He is conforming you to the image of Christ. Stop rebelling and start submitting. Pray as Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
November 13, 2017
It was not Rahab’s status, but her faith that saved her. She believed that the Lord had already given the land to the Israelites. She believed the Red Sea crossing story and all the other miracles she had heard of their wilderness journey. By faith she protected the two Israelite spies and made them promise to save her and her family. By faith she hung the scarlet cord in her window as a sign to the Israelites when they returned to attack Jericho. By faith she and her family were the only ones who did not perish when the walls of Jericho fell. By faith she was included in Israel and married into the tribe of Joshua. By faith she bore Boaz who married Ruth and was included in the line of David and mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus as recorded by Matthew. She was saved by grace, but it was through faith that she received these many blessings.
November 12, 2017
David wrote Psalm 110 as an announcement of the Messiah’s coming reign. In Hebrew, this verse is: “Yahweh” said to my “Adonai.” The name that God revealed to Moses, “Yahweh” (or “Jehovah”) was the One talking to the Messiah, whom David referred to as “my Lord” (“Adonai”). The title “Adonai” was also used for God. David had already been told by God that the Messiah would be from his lineage (2 Sam. 7:16). Yet, here the Spirit revealed to David that the Messiah would be greater than him, so that he would call him “Adonai,” a title usually reserved for God.
The Spirit revealed to David a conversation between the Father and the Son from eternity past. Yet, it described the present time. For the Lord Jesus, having already accomplished our salvation as Suffering Servant, now sits at the right hand of the Father awaiting His appearance as Victorious King (Mark 14:62).
However, the most profound revelation may be that David called Him, “my Lord.” For that is the key. Not that He is “the” Lord, but that He is “my” Lord. Have you made Jesus your Lord today?
November 11, 2017
David began his psalm with a prayer that the Lord would no longer “keep silent.” No doubt he had read the book of Job and knew how the Lord’s voice silenced Job’s accusers. David was being attacked by false accusers, yet the Lord remained seemingly silent.
When we try to defend ourselves against false accusation it usually has the opposite effect. People love the lie more than the truth. And when we sound defensive, we sound guilty. But when God speaks, the accusations are silenced because the false accusers are silenced.
Ask the Lord to speak on your behalf. Pray as the first century church did, “Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29). In other words, “Lord, you speak to those who falsely accuse us, while we continue to speak Your Word and praise Your name!”
November 10, 2017
When we have received Christ’s “offering,” we are already “perfected forever.” We are already made whole and complete in Christ, so that we are fully accepted by the Father for eternity. Positionally, we are already at the right hand of the Father in Christ. We are already holy. We are saints.
Yet, we are still “being sanctified. We still experience the battle between the flesh and the Spirit, and sometimes give into the flesh. But all our sins are already forgiven. The Spirit empowers us to repent and walk in His power, growing in maturity. This is our experience. This tension between our position and our experience has been called the “already/not yet” of the Christian life. In Christ, we are already perfected, but not yet perfect.
But on that Day, our position and our experience will be the same, for we “shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). Those that are in Christ, will become like Christ. This is God’s purpose for those who believe.