Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Saturday

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Ezekiel chapter 22

And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. (verse 30)

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel to judge the city of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was to tell them that she would be judged because of the blood she shed as sacrifices to idols.
• God told Ezekiel to tell the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they had broken all of His commands to them. They did not honor Him. They did not honor their parents. They did not care for widows and orphans. They oppressed strangers and foreigners. They committed adultery. They profaned the sabbaths. They shed innocent blood. They coveted. They lied. They stole by force or extortion.
• God told Ezekiel to tell the city that it was the land that was not cleansed. Even her prophets, priests, and princes were roaring lions seeking prey.

TAKE TIME: September 29 - October 4, 2014 Schedule

Introduction: This week our study begins with a parable about two evil sisters. This is followed by other parables and signs to the Israelites, including one sign given that caused Ezekiel much grief.

 Assignment:

• Monday - Ezekiel chapter 23
• Tuesday - Ezekiel chapter 24
• Wednesday -  Ezekiel 25:1-26:21
• Thursday - Ezekiel chapter 27
• Friday - Ezekiel chapter 28
• Saturday - Ezekiel chapter 29

Memory Verse

Review previously assigned verses.


Prayer Journal (ACTS)

• Adoration - Praise God that He is The Comforter. Our grief is but for a season. He knows our griefs and bears our sorrows.
• Confession - Ask God to reveal hidden sin in your life and then confess it.
• Thanksgiving - Thank God for any answers to your prayers.
• Supplication - What are your prayer requests this week? List them for future reference so that you can see how God answers.

Search the Scriptures

Look for references for each of the following:

• Promises that God made and to whom He made them. Do they apply to you?
• References that either refer to or infer something about future events.
• What does this passage teach about Jesus?
• Commandments that God made and to whom He made them. Do they apply to you?

Putting the Word into Action

The time in which Ezekiel prophesied was one of great world turmoil such as is present today. Nations were rising against nation. Individuals despaired. But God was Ezekiel's strength and comfort. His grief was a sign to the people so that they would know there is a God. We meet people almost every day who are grieving a loss. Do you have a testimony of grief that you can share with these people you meet? Remember that the important part of the testimony is that there is a God that sustains us. Don't be silent! (See Ezekiel 24:27 to see what God told Ezekiel to do when encountering the grieving, "him which is escaped" from the sword, those whose family members had been killed in the final assault upon Jerusalem.

Read Through the Bible in 2014: September 29 - October 4 Schedule

9/29/2014	Jeremiah 40-42	Psalm 63
9/30/2014	Jeremiah 43-45	Psalm 64
10/1/2014	Jeremiah 46-48	Psalm 65
10/2/2014	Jeremiah 49, 50	Psalm 66
10/3/2014	Jeremiah 51, 52	Psalm 67
10/4/2014	Daniel 1, 2	Psalm 68

Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Friday

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Ezekiel chapter 21

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel to turn in the direction of Jerusalem and prophesy against it. He was to say that God had unsheathed His sword and would cut off from the city the righteous and the wicked from the south to the north.
• God told Ezekiel to sigh so that the people could see him do it and would ask why he sighed. God told Ezekiel what to say as an answer.
• God told Ezekiel to tell the people that a sword was sharpened, polished, and ready to be given into the hand of the slayer.
• God told Ezekiel to cry in despair, slap his thigh, and clap his hands in terror because of the vision of the sword.
• God told Ezekiel to plot two courses that the king of Babylon might take in his approach upon Jerusalem and to Rabbath of the Ammonites. (This seems to represent divination that Nebuchadnezzar used to choose his route to Jerusalem.)
• God told Ezekiel to prophesy against the Ammonites. God was going to judge them and their land. They would be remembered no more.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised that His sword would be upon all the people including the princes of Judah. They would not be safe no matter which direction they ran.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Thursday

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Ezekiel 20:10-49

This is the continuation of God's explanation to the elders of Israel as to why He would not answer them if consulted. It is basically a history lesson of their nation.

Does God issue any commands?

• Since God had told Ezekiel to tell the elders of Israel that He would not be consulted by them this is a continuation of that command. Ezekiel was also told to tell them why and that is what this passage is about.
• God explained that He had commanded the people He led out of Egypt to be live set-apart lives.
• God explained that He had commanded the children of the wilderness wanderers not to follow in the sins of their parents.
• God commanded Ezekiel to tell the elders of Israel that the Israelites that settled Canaan had not followed His statutes or kept His sabbaths either. These had looked at the hills as places to sacrifice and the trees as medium for making idols.
• God accused that generation of doing worse than their ancestors. They were guilty also of offering their own children on the altars of idols and other abominations. That is why God would not be inquired of by them. 
• God told Ezekiel to turn his face toward the south and prophesy against the forests. There would be forest fires to burn the green and the dry wood.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Wednesday

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Ezekiel 19:1-20:9

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel in chapter 19 to mourn for the princes of Judah, the rulers of the tribe of Judah, lion's whelps that were being destroyed by Babylon. Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, was the mother of both princes Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, the sons of Josiah. Jehoahaz was taken off the throne of Judah and taken to Egypt to die by Pharaoh Nechoh. Zedekiah was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar who killed Zedekiah's sons in front of him and then put out Zedekiah's eyes. (See II Kings chapter 24.) God described Hamutal as a vine that produced rods for scepters which were then destroyed as by a fire. (This is because the other ruling son of Josiah, Jeconiah, was not her son. His line would be the one cursed by God and is also the line through whom Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus, descended.)
• God had a message for the elders of Israel that consulted Ezekiel in the 7th year concerning the word of the LORD. God told them that He would not be consulted by them.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Tuesday

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Ezekiel chapter 18

The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

Does God issue any commands?

• God commanded that the proverb be not used in Israel ever again. Each person would be responsible for his own sin!
• God told each person to repent from transgressions so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away all transgressions and make a new heart. God said He has no pleasure in the death of him that dies.

Does God make any promises?

• The penalty of sin is not transferable from father to son. The soul that sins is the one that dies.
• The man that obeyed the law of the LORD would surely live.
• If the wicked repent of his sins that he committed he shall surely live. His transgressions shall never be mentioned again!
• If the righteous were to turn away from his righteousness he shall surely die. His righteous deeds will not be mentioned again!

Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Monday

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Ezekiel chapter 17

This chapter is a riddle about two eagles told by Ezekiel to the people.

Pharaoh Nechoh of Egypt defeated  and killed King Josiah of Judah before making his way to fight Nebuchadnezzar at the new capital of Assyria, Carchemish. The people of Judah put Josiah's son, Jehoahaz on the throne. Nechoh then removed Jehoahaz from the throne of Judah and put another of Josiah's sons, Eliakim (Jehoiakim), on the throne instead. Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Pharaoh Nechoh at Carchemish and Jehoiakim then came under the tribute of Nebuchadnezzar when the king of Babylon took possession of some of the Egyptian tributes. Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and found himself in a war against him. That is when Daniel went into captivity. When Jehoiakim died his son, Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah or Coniah) ruled. Nebuchanezzar removed him from the throne of Judah. Coniah and his mother, his wives, his princes, and all of his servants went into captivity. This was when Ezekiel went into captivity also. The people that were left in the land, and even some of the captives in Babylon, placed their trust in the prince that Nebuchadnezzar had set upon the throne of Judah, King Zedekiah the son of Josiah, to rescue them. They also trusted that there remained enough strength in Egypt to come to their aid against the Babylonians. They were wrong.

Does God issue any commands?

• God commanded Ezekiel to ask the people of Israel a riddle and then to interpret the riddle for the people. I believe that Pharaoh Nechoh and Nebuchadnezzar are the two eagles warring over Judah.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised that the prince who despised the covenant made with Babylon would not escape but would die in Babylon. God was most likely talking about Zedekiah. God said that the prince (again, probably Zedekiah) was guilty of breaking the covenant with God and the covenant with Nebuchadnezzar. Since the prince was an oath-breaker he would be punished.
• God promised that He would be like the eagle. He would take a branch from the high cedar and plant it upon the high mountain. It will grow boughs and bear fruit as a good tree. The birds would rest under it. Everyone would know that God brought low the high tree, exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree to flourish.

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• The branch of the tree planted upon the hill would be Jerusalem but the Branch is also Jesus, the ruler that would come out of the remnant. He is not a high tree (or boastful person) but a low tree (a humble person) who would be exalted. The green tree would wither (or die), but the dry tree (the One who died willingly and would conquer death) would be resurrected.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• The time will come that all will acknowledge exactly what God told Ezekiel that they will know. The low tree will be exalted because the dry tree conquered death. There is coming a day when no one will be able to deny this.

Throwback Thursday: My First Post Was About Almost Being a Handful

It's birthday week for two of our granddaughters, including our second granddaughter, Tigger! In honor of this special event I thought you might want to read again the conversation I had with her one day when she was along for the ride to taekwondo. It was the exact conversation that started me blogging.

I recently added a picture to that first post (clickable link) to show Tigger then. And here is a picture of Tigger this past Easter with her siblings and cousins, except Roman who was celebrating across the country. Tigger is in the back row between Polly who is holding the iBoy and Sweet Pea.

Happy birthday, Tigger! It is hard to believe that you are now "2 handfuls" which means you aren't nearly the handful you were back then.  :)

Happy birthday, also to Lili Ladybug who just turned 4. That means she is the age Tigger was when she made that funny statement. And yes, I think we would all agree that Miss Lili Ladybug is already a bit of a handful in some ways now, too.  ;)

Lili Ladybug is on the front row far left with Diamond Girl and Fen. Notice that our September girls both have reddish casts to their hair. We're sure that's where they get all that feisty handful stuff.

Happy birthday, our sweet September Girls! Gram loves you both very much, handful or not. XOXOXO

Journal Through the Bible: Week 81 Saturday

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Ezekiel chapter 16

God described His relationship to Jerusalem as a a marital covenant. Jerusalem is described as the unfaithful wife that broke her vows and sacrificed her children for the sake of her partners in fornication.

Does God issue any commands?

• God commanded Ezekiel to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations of turning away from the God that rescued them from certain death or obscurity and becoming promiscuous with idols and idolatrous nations. He pronounced Jerusalem's sins to be worse than those of Sodom or Samaria.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised that Jerusalem would return to her original state of utter helplessness in the sight of all the nations with whom she committed fornication. Her riches would be stripped from her and her houses would be burnt. After this God's anger would abate.
• God said that everyone that used proverbs would say, "As is the mother, so is her daughter." In verse 3 He had said that Jerusalem was the daughter of an Hittite and He repeated it in verse 45.
• When God would bring again the captivity of Sodom and Samaria he would bring again the captives of Jerusalem.
• God promised that there would never be a reason to speak of Jerusalem's shame again once His anger was pacified.

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• Jerusalem is described here as the bride. The New Testament, specifically Revelation, described Jesus Christ as the Bridegroom. New Jerusalem comes down from Heaven adorned as the Bride of the Lamb.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• God said in verse 60 that even though Jerusalem had broken her covenant with Him, yet He would keep the covenant and make it an everlasting covenant.
• God said that Jerusalem would receive her sisters (Sodom and Samaria) because God would give them to her, but not by her covenant. This might be in reference to those of Sodom and Samaria that were redeemed by the blood of Jesus who would then be part of the New Jerusalem forever.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 81 Friday

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Ezekiel 14:1-15:8

The elders came to inquire of the LORD but God had Ezekiel give them a grave warning! Stumbling blocks would not be allowed to continue.

Does God issue any commands?

• When the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to ask for information from the LORD God told Ezekiel to tell the men that He would answer them according to the multitude of their own idols. In other words, I think God was saying He would reveal the thoughts and intents of the men's hearts. Ezekiel was to tell these men to repent.

Does God  make any promises?

• God promised that the secret idol-worshiper that came to ask information of the LORD would be cut off from the people and God would turn His face away from him. That man's name would become a by-word. They would bear their iniquity.
• God promised to turn away from false prophets who claimed to seek information of Him. He would likewise punish them.
• God promised famine, wild beasts, war, and disease when His people rebelled against Him. God would not spare the land even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there.
• Yet God promised a remnant would survive His 4 judgments. This would be a comfort to the people.
• Using a parable of the vine tree, God taught that the land would be desolate.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• The religious leaders of Ezekiel's time came to him and God revealed their true natures for all to see. The religious leaders of Jesus' time came to Him and He revealed their true natures for all to see.
• God said that the idolatrous leaders of Ezekiel's time had set a stumblingblock before their faces and presumably before the people who they led. The alternative is to be crushed under the Rock, the chief cornerstone, who is Jesus. (See Isaiah 8:14-15 and Matthew 21:42-44.)

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• God's plan is for Israel to no longer go astray from Him. They will be His people and He will be their God. This will not fully happen unto sin has been abolished from the earth.

TAKE TIME: September 22-27, 2014 Schedule

Introduction: God continued to talk to Ezekiel about sins, both personal and national, and He sometimes used parables to make His point. God also mourned those who were being judged even as they were suffering the penalty for their disobedience. He told Ezekiel to do likewise.

 Assignment:

• Monday - Ezekiel chapter 17
• Tuesday - Ezekiel chapter 18
• Wednesday -  Ezekiel 19:1-20:9
• Thursday - Ezekiel 20:10-49
• Friday - Ezekiel chapter 21
• Saturday - Ezekiel chapter 22

Memory Verse

All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Ezekiel 18:22

Prayer Journal (ACTS)

• Adoration - Praise God that He is a personal savior. He does not hold us accountable for the sins of others but He offers grace to each person individually.
• Confession - Ask God to reveal hidden sin in your life and then confess it.
• Thanksgiving - Thank God for any answers to your prayers.
• Supplication - What are your prayer requests this week? List them for future reference so that you can see how God answers.

Search the Scriptures

Look for references for each of the following:

• Promises that God made and to whom He made them. Do they apply to you?
• References that either refer to or infer something about future events.
• What does this passage teach about Jesus?
• Commandments that God made and to whom He made them. Do they apply to you?

Putting the Word into Action

Read over previous assignments to find suggestions.

Read Through the Bible in 2014: September 22-27 Schedule

9/22/2014	Jeremiah 30, 31	Psalms 54, 55
9/23/2014	Jeremiah 32, 33	Psalms 56, 57
9/24/2014	Jeremiah 34-36	Psalms 58, 59
9/25/2014	Jeremiah 37-39	Psalm 60
9/26/2014	Lamentations 1, 2	Psalm 61
9/27/2014	Lamentations 3-5	Psalm 62

Journal Through the Bible: Week 81 Thursday

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Ezekiel chapter 13

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets of Israel that had lied to give the people false hope.
• God also told Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophetesses that made amulets, good luck charms, and clothing items for the idols to hunt souls (evil spirits).

Does God make any promises?

• God promised to curse the false prophets. They would not be in the assembly of the people, they would not be in the writing of the house of Israel (Question: does that mean that their words would not be recorded as scripture like Ezekiel's visions are?), and they would not enter the land of Israel (perhaps at the end of the captivity?), and any work they built (meaning, their prophecies?) would be torn apart.
• God promised to tear apart the amulets from off their person and to release the people, their customers, from the superstitious bondage they were in by buying the charms for themselves and the idols.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• This passage talks of overthrowing superstitious and costly spiritual rituals that the false prophets and prophetesses used to prey upon the people to give them false feelings of safety and to make themselves rich. God promised to overturn their trade much like Jesus did when He overturned the moneychangers' tables at the temple.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• The world is full of superstition and false religious beliefs. One day God will judge all false religious leaders and their prince and will restore true worship with the remnant that survives the judgment.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 81 Wednesday

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Ezekiel chapter 12

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel to pack his belongings for a move to another house as a lesson to the people. He was to remove his household contents in the daytime and move them at twilight. He was to dig in the wall and to wear a veil to obstruct his view of the ground as he walked.
• God told Ezekiel to tell the people who asked why he was removing the contents of his house to say that the message was for the prince of Jerusalem and all the house of Israel. It meant that there would be more people carrying some of their belongings into captivity, including the prince of Judah, Zedekiah, the acting king. These people would be captives just like Ezekiel and the others were.
• God told Ezekiel to eat his food and drink water while trembling in fear as a sign to everyone that those who were still inhabiting Jerusalem would eat and drink in fear of the Babylonian siege.
• God told Ezekiel to tell the Israelites to stop using their familiar proverb that said in essence that the days pass but the prophecies do not happen because many of the prophecies were about to be fulfilled.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised that the prince would not see the land of the Chaldeans although he would die there. (We know from reading in other scripture that this was fulfilled because Nebuchadnezzar put out  Zedekiah's eyes before marching him to Babylon with the other captives!)
• God promised to leave a remnant that would be scattered among the nations to show proof of their evil ways.
• God promised that the land of Judah would be laid waste so that the people would know that He is God.
• God promised that the days of which visions and prophecies predicted would no longer be far off but would be fulfilled very soon.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• Ezekiel was a type of Christ in this passage. He left his home and moved at the will of the LORD as a sign to his nation. Jesus left the throne room of Heaven and came to earth at the will of the LORD as a sign to His nation. Ezekiel told them in verse 11 that he was their sign. Jesus told the Jews in the New Testament gospels that He was the sign sent from the Father and the miracles that He did testified of this.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• In Ezekiel's day people had a proverb saying that the days are prolonged and every vision fails. in other words, "We keep hearing the old prophecies but nothing ever happens! One day is like another!" Then the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem happened. Peter said in II Peter chapter 3 that in the last days there would be (and now are!) scoffers who say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Soon the prophecies concerning the coming of the Lord will happen.

Did anything in this passage stand out when you read it? Please share in the comments below!

Journal Through the Bible: Week 81 Tuesday

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Ezekiel chapter 11

The vision begun in chapter 9 continues. Not only did the glory of the LORD leave the temple but it also left the city of Jerusalem. When the vision ended and the Spirit returned Ezekiel to Chaldea, he told the elders of Judah with him in his house about the vision.

Does God issue any commands?

• When God took Ezekiel to the east gate and showed him the 25 men that devised mischief and wicked counsel He told him to prophesy against them saying that the city was not a cauldron and the people were the flesh boiling in the pot. God would bring them out of there and they would fall by the sword of strangers. (When Ezekiel prophesied one of the men fell down dead!)

Does God make any promises?

• God promised that when the things that Ezekiel prophesied came to pass the  men would know that Jehovah is God.
• When Ezekiel prayed and asked God if He would destroy all of them God answered with the promise of a remnant. God promised that He would be their refuge even within the countries where they would be scattered. Then He would bring them back to the land.

Doe this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• Verse 20 says that God's people will follow His statutes, they will be His people and He will be their God. This is the promise of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us! He will be the ruler, we will be His people and He will be our God.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• Many of the Jews are scattered around the world. In the future, perhaps during the time of the tribulation, the Jews will be gathered to their homeland. Those who are spiritually Jews will be gathered to the homeland that God has appointed also. God always has a remnant and He always brings His remnant Home! When this happens, the people of God will have one heart because the new spirit (the Holy Spirit) is within them. God's Word will be law, they shall be His people and He will be their God. (See verses 19 and 20.) Those whose hearts follow their own detestable ways will be recompensed accordingly. (See verse 21.)

Journal Through the Bible: Week 81 Monday

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Ezekiel 9:1-10:22

Ezekiel's vision continues. The glory of the LORD arose from the cherub because that is where He was and yet the voice of God was heard from the throne above the firmament. Then the glory departed.

Does God issue any commands?

• The voice of God called 6 men that had charge over the city to come with their weapons to the temple. These went in and stood beside the brazen altar.
• The LORD commanded the man in linen who had the inkwell to go through the city and mark those who were upset about all the idolatry in the city. Then He told the others to take their weapons and kill anyone who did not have the mark beginning with those in the sanctuary.
• God told the man clothed in linen to go between the wheels and take take coals from under the cherub and between the cherubim to scatter over Jerusalem.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised not to spare or take pity on those who rejected him.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• The trinity is seen in Ezekiel, including references in this passage. The LORD was on the cherub (9:3) and yet the voice of God was heard from the throne above (10:1). We were told earlier that the Holy Spirit lifted Ezekiel between heaven and earth (8:3). Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. He it was that was standing on the cherub in the glory of God.
• Ezekiel had a similar vision of an image similar to the one he saw in chapter 1. The living creature represented the four gospel accounts of Jesus as servant, human, king, and deity. This time the faces were of a cherub, man, lion, and eagle. The last time they were of an ox, man, lion, and eagle. The face representing Jesus as a servant was described as a cherub instead of an ox. Either of those is a servant. The ox is a beast of work and a cherub is a messenger of God. Ezekiel states that it is the same creature he saw by the Chebar River.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• II Corinthians 1:20-22 says that God has placed a seal upon believers and that His glory is within us. Ephesians 1:13-14 also says that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Revelation 7:3 says that future judgment upon the earth (such as struck Jerusalem in the days of Ezekiel) will not happen until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. Those who are marked by God with His seal do not need to fear the judgment.

Do you see anything that I missed?

Journal Through the Bible: Week 80 Saturday

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Ezekiel chapter 8

Ezekiel was an important person evidently because the elders of Judah held a meeting at his house there in Babylon. I think those elders took part in a meeting they would never forget! Even if they did not see Ezekiel's vision they surely heard about it.

Ezekiel saw a vision of God and His glory! His appearance was as bright as fire. God reached out His hand and grabbed Ezekiel up by a lock of his hair. Then the Holy Spirit transported Ezekiel between heaven and earth to Jerusalem where Ezekiel saw the glory of the God of Israel there in the temple.

Does God issue any commands?

• In the vision God told Ezekiel to look toward the north. When he did he saw an idol set up in the entry way.
• When God told Ezekiel to the door of the court He told him to dig in the wall where Ezekiel found a door. God told him to open the door and go in. There Ezekiel saw unclean animals, creeping things, and idols portrayed on the walls around him. The old men of Judah were burning incense to these gods. God said that these men worshiped in secret.
• When God brought Ezekiel to the door of the gate of the temple He told him to turn and see the women weeping for Tammuz, the Babylonian god of fertility.
• When God brought Ezekiel to the inner court of the temple He told him to turn and see the twenty-five men who were worshiping the sun.

Does God make any promises?

• After showing Ezekiel the abominations of the people God said that they were bringing violence upon the land. God would punish in His jealous fury and would not spare them when they cried unto Him. (In other words, those who were worshiping idols knew that those things were not alive and could not save them because as soon as trouble found them they cried to Jehovah.)

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• Jesus is God incarnate. Therefore the Man that Ezekiel saw in the flame-like vision was probably Jesus.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• The book of Revelation tells of the world's idol worship and how the jealous God will one day put an end to it.

Throwback Thursday: My "Change of Life"

There are changes in the works here on the hill so I have been re-reading old blog posts and updating a few things. A lot has changed in my life in 6 years, folks. A lot has changed.

I'm sure you could say the same.

I came across one of my first posts and decided to share it today. My son was 13 years old at the time. His dog, Pepper, was crazy. My son is 19 now and . . . well, Pepper is still crazy.

My "Change of Life" and No, It's Not What You Think!

I added a photo that was taken that summer to the post. It isn't the best quality but it is a minor miracle that I found it.

This one is more recent:

The Bear with some of his "support" system
and the photobombing Pepper! (August, 2013)

I hope you enjoy this look back to life On A High Hill from the autumn of 2008.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 80 Friday

The nation will be no more

Ezekiel 6:1-7:27

Through Ezekiel God told the captives in Babylon that were taken during the earlier invasions and who were awaiting deliverance that the nation was going to fall and not be a nation for many years. The inhabitants would be scattered. The day of trouble had arrived!

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel to set his face toward the mountains of Jerusalem and prophesy against them. God said He would bring a sword against their high places and idolatrous altars. Men who worshiped the idols would be killed in front of those altars.
• God told Ezekiel to clap his hands and stomp his foot and say the words that God told him to say concerning the evil abominations of Israel.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised to leave a remnant alive although they would be scattered among the nations.
• When the people fall near their altars and the remnant is scattered, those who survive will know that the LORD is God.
• God would judge the people for their abominations.
• The gold and silver that the people possessed would be taken by the strangers that conquered them.
• God would turn His face away. The robbers would defile His temple, including the Holy of Holies.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• God would judge the people of Judah. Jesus is the Sovereign Judge.
• A remnant would survive the siege and the captivity. Jesus would be descended from a line that survived.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• The people who were suffering wished for the day of the Lord thinking that their troubles would end when the Lord delivered them. What really happened was that many of them were worse than before because the Lord judged them! Many who know something about the Lord today but do not know the Lord suffer from the same mistaken delusion and will be shocked when the Day of the Lord arrives. Many will be surprised at the time of judgment.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 80 Thursday

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Ezekiel 4:1-5:17

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel to take a tile and put it before him to portray Jerusalem. He was to create a diorama around it to represent the siege of the city that was yet to come. He was to use the natural resources around him to build a fort, breastworks, and battering rams and an iron pan to represent a wall.
• God told Ezekiel to lie on his left side for 390 days to represent the years of the iniquity of Israel to be followed by 40 days on his right side to represent the years of the iniquity of Judah. He was to set  his face toward Jerusalem (the city or the model of the city I cannot tell, but I think the model) with his arm uncovered. Then he was to prophesy against it. He was not to turn from side to side.
• God told Ezekiel to make bread of the ingredients He listed and to eat 20 shekel weight of it each of the 390 days that he was on his left side. He was to drink 1/6 part of a hin of water each day, sipping it. (My Bible margin says this is about 21 oz. or less than 3 glasses.) This was to represent the rationing of bread and water while the city was under siege.
• God told Ezekiel to make barley cakes and to use human excrement to fuel the fire. When Ezekiel protested that he had never eaten anything defiled the Lord gave him cow dung for fuel. This was to represent the food the people would eat while among the Gentiles. They would eat it even though it broke their dietary laws.
• Ezekiel was to cut his hair and beard. Then he was to weigh it and burn 1/3 of it in the city when the days of the siege were fulfilled. Another 1/3 was to be struck with a knife and the final 1/3 was to be scattered in the wind. A few of his hairs were to be tied into his clothing for awhile before being thrown into a fire.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised severe judgment upon Jerusalem like never before to be carried out in the sight of all the nations. Severe hunger would lead to cannibalism. 
• God explained the signs to Ezekiel. 1/3 of the people would die from famine and pestilence. 1/3 of the people would die by the sword of the conquerors. 1/3 would be scattered among the nations but they would also have the sword follow them.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• Jesus is the Righteous Judge. 

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• Everything that God told Ezekiel that would happen to those in Jerusalem had been told to the citizens of the nation from the time of Moses onward. God delivered the exact retribution about which He had warned them. There are many warnings that have been received about the coming global judgment but most do not listen. They only mock. The lesson for the future is that God kept His promises of judgment in the past so we should believe that He will keep His promises about future judgment also.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 80 Wednesday

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Ezekiel 2:1-3:27

Does God issue any commands?

• The Voice from Heaven told Ezekiel to stand on his feet and then the Spirit stood him up.
• God told Ezekiel that he would be a missionary to the Children of Israel that were in captivity. He also told him the message to be delivered.
• God told Ezekiel not to be afraid of those to would hear his message.
• God told Ezekiel not be be rebellious like the house of Israel. A hand extended to Ezekiel that held a scroll containing many words. Ezekiel was told to eat the scroll. (A similar scroll was given to the Apostle John in his vision. It was sweet to that taste but bitter in the belly. See Revelation chapter 10. God's Word is sweet to the one who consumes it but it makes bitter when it points out our sins!)
• God told Ezekiel to take the words to heart himself!
• God told Ezekiel to travel to the plain where they would talk.
• God told Ezekiel that he would be arrested and that he would not be able to speak freely.

Does God make any promises?

• God told Ezekiel that Israel would not listen to his warning message.
• God told Ezekiel that as a watchman it was his responsibility to warn every man of his sin. God said He would hold Ezekiel accountable for every man to hear.
• God promised that whenever Ezekiel was able to speak God would put the words in his mouth.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• If Ezekiel saw the physical manifestation of God within the Glory of the Lord then it was the 2nd person of the trinity, Jesus Christ, that he saw.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• Not that I identified.

Did you find something that I missed?

TAKE TIME: September 15-20, 2014 Schedule

Introduction: Remember what a glorious day it was when the glory of the LORD descended upon the Temple and the event was witnessed by Solomon? It was a time of great celebration! This week we will read of the terrible day that Ezekiel witnessed the glory of the LORD departing from the LORD'S house, a sad day indeed!

 Assignment:

• Monday - Ezekiel 9:1-10:22
• Tuesday - Ezekiel chapter 11
• Wednesday -  Ezekiel chapter 12
• Thursday - Ezekiel chapter 13
• Friday - Ezekiel 14:1-15:8
• Saturday - Ezekiel chapter 16

Memory Verse

Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. Ezekiel 10:18

Prayer Journal (ACTS)

• Adoration - Praise God that He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is a good thing that He knows everything we try to keep hidden so that He can reveal it to us, we can confess things that need to be confessed or deal with insecurities that require healing, and restoration between God and His children or the children and each other can take place.
• Confession - Ask God to reveal hidden sin in your life and then confess it.
• Thanksgiving - Thank God for any answers to your prayers.
• Supplication - What are your prayer requests this week? List them for future reference so that you can see how God answers.

Search the Scriptures

Look for references for each of the following:

• Promises that God made and to whom He made them. Do they apply to you?
• References that either refer to or infer something about future events.
• What does this passage teach about Jesus?
• Commandments that God made and to whom He made them. Do they apply to you?

Putting the Word into Action

God taught Ezekiel that not everyone that appears trustworthy or holds an office that requires integrity actually is trustworthy. Often the private person is totally different than their public persona and it isn't always easy to tell the difference. If you find yourself in the place where you must place your trust in someone ask the Lord for the wisdom to know if the person is trustworthy before you make a an important decision. Not everyone who appears to be trustworthy actually is!


*Personal note: Just today I was speaking with someone who made a request that would require placing trust in me, however small. I jokingly stated, "Well, if you can't trust your pastor's wife, who can you trust?" I was later convicted about making this statement. Just because I am a pastor's wife does not mean I am trustworthy! 

I am; however, my "role model" position doesn't guarantee my integrity!

Read through the Bible in 2014: September 15-20 Schedule

9/15/2014	Jeremiah 13-15	Psalm 48
9/16/2014	Jeremiah 16-18	Psalm 49
9/17/2014	Jeremiah 19-21	Psalm 50
9/18/2014	Jeremiah 22, 23	Psalm 51
9/19/2014	Jeremiah 24-26	Psalm 52
9/20/2014	Jeremiah 27-29	Psalm 53

Journal Through the Bible: Week 80 Tuesday

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Ezekiel chapter 1

This book opens with Ezekiel's vision of Heaven and a view of the Throne room of God! What an awesome way to begin!

This vision was received in the 5th year of King Jehoiachin's captivity. Remember Jehoiachin? He was also called Jeconiah or Coniah. He was the son of Jehoiakim and the grandson of Josiah. God cursed Jehoiachin and said that his posterity would never sit upon the throne of David.

Does God issue any commands?

• God does not speak in this chapter.

Does God make any promises?

• God does not speak in this chapter.

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• The image of the four living creatures that were one is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the gospels. Ezekiel saw the face of a man: the gospel of Luke presents Jesus' humanity; he saw the face of a lion: Matthew presents Jesus as King of the Jews from the tribe of Judah; he saw the face of an ox: Mark presents Jesus as the suffering servant, the one who bears our burdens; and he saw an eagle: John presents Jesus as God. Jesus is God and Man, King and Servant and yet He is One! This is what Ezekiel saw. Notice also that the living creatures never turned but went straight forward toward whichever direction they wanted to go. James 1:17 says that with God there is no shadow of turning. He does as He wills. The living creature moved as in a flash of lightning just as the Word of God is swift and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword. John tells us that Jesus is the Word. The living creatures also included an apparatus of wheels with eyes in every direction. This might signify the omniscience and omnipresence of God. The spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
• The man on the Throne had the same appearance as the man that visited Daniel and that John saw in his vision recorded in Revelation. John was specifically told that the man was Jesus in his vision! (See Daniel 10:95-6 and Revelation 1:9-20)

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• Revelation 4:7 tells of John's vision of the living creatures before the Throne leading worship to God. We will participate in the worship service there.
• The vision of the Throne, the rainbow around it, the living creatures, the appearance of Jesus as brighter than the sun are all sights we will see with our own eyes when faith becomes sight.

Journal Through the Bible: Week 80 Monday

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Daniel chapter 12

This would appear to be a prophecy that will take place in our future. In other words, it does not appear as though it was fulfilled on the calendars between Daniel's time and our own. This is a continuation of the vision Daniel received in the 3rd year of Cyrus' reign and recorded in chapters 10 and 11.

Does God issue any commands?

• Daniel had been told to stand, listen, and understand at the beginning of chapter 10. Since chapter divisions are man-made and this is part of the continuing conversation between the messenger and Daniel that command would still be in effect.
• Daniel was to seal the book.
• When Daniel asked for further clarification concerning when these events would happen he was told to go on his way.

Does God make any promises?

• Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Verse 3) We are told elsewhere in scripture that those who win souls are wise! See Proverbs 11:30
• Daniel was told that he would rest (perhaps a reference to a peaceful death), and stand in his allotted place at the end of the days (perhaps a reference to being with the saints coming with Christ at the resurrection).

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• Michael, "Who is like God," may very well be God in the flesh. This is not a contradiction since the Bible uses many names to describe the 2nd person of the Trinity: Immanuel, "God with us" and Joshua (which means the same thing as Jesus, "Savior") just to name the most familiar "first names" given to males around the world that are descriptive names denoted to the Son of God.
• The man clothed in linen that stood upon the water as He spoke with Daniel was most likely Jesus. He raised his hands and took an oath toward Heaven that the Great Tribulation would last for a time, times, and an half time which would be 3 1/2 years. This must be Jesus! Only God Himself would dare to swear by him that lives forever and ever! This is an example of God swearing by Himself because there is no one or nothing else whereby an oath could be secured. See Hebrews 6:13 for another example of this.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• Verse 1 seems to be talking about the time called The Great Tribulation. The way many interpret this is that it takes place during the last 3 1/2 years of the last "week" or 7 years described by Gabriel to Daniel in 9:26-27 and Jesus to His disciples in Matthew chapter 24. (In Matthew 24 the disciples ask Jesus 3 questions: 1. When shall these things be? ie. the destruction of the temple; 2. What shall be the sign of your coming?; and 3. What shall be the sign of the end of the world? Jesus answers at least one of these questions by referencing the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet [verse 15] and mentions a time of great tribulation [verse 21]). This Matthew 24 information is taken from my husband's recent sermon series on that chapter.
• Verse 2 speaks of the resurrection of the dead and the judgment that follows. This may have had a fulfillment at the time of Jesus' death when the gospels state that some of the saints arose and went into Jerusalem and it will have another fulfillment when the people who have perished since the cross will be resurrected and judged as Paul taught in I Thessalonians chapter 4. (This raises a question in my mind. Were all who died between the creation and the cross resurrected at the time of Jesus' death or were there only select individuals raised? See Matthew 27:52-53.)
• At the time of the end many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. This is happening now and it will continue to happen!
• From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the Abomination that makes desolate is set up shall be 1,290 days. Those who wait and complete the 1,335 days (an extra 45 days) will be blessed. I do not know to what this is referring and I have read several online articles, none which adequately satisfy me. I guess I have questions just as Daniel did.

What are your thoughts on this chapter? Have you learned anything new from journaling through Daniel?

Journal Through the Bible: Week 79 Saturday

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Daniel chapter 11

This is a continuation of the prophecy given to Daniel by the messenger, whom I think is a theophany appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, that came to him during the third year of Cyrus' reign.

What follows is a prophecy given to Daniel of nations to come. We now look back on this prophecy as world history.

For instance, verse 2 tells of the number of Persian kings remaining and that the last one would stir up all against the Greeks. Darius Hystaspis (also known as Darius the Great, the ruler who was the Ahasuerus that married the Jewish beauty queen, Esther) had a grievance against the Greeks. Darius the Great had a son named Xerxes by one of his wives. Xerxes ascended his father's throne and took up the grudge match against Greece. He was defeated. The Persian Empire was then in serious decline while the Greek Empire was rising!

It is not my intention to interpret this passage but to answer the usual 4 questions for the sake of this journal. However, for a verse by verse explanation of the prophetic/historical events of this chapter see this article that I found today titled Daniel 11 - Prophecy Fulfilled. (Note that the author uses the NKJV but you can easily read along in any translation and the historical context remains.) The author does a thorough job of explaining the events that occurred following the death of Alexander the Great and leading up to the Abomination that makes desolate. (See verse 31.)

The Abomination was an attempt to establish a one-world religion. This resulted in the Maccabean Revolt because those who truly follow God will not agree to worship the world's religion. Daniel and his Hebrew friends understood this as well as anyone could!

The author also takes the interpretation further than many do by attributing verses 36-45 to Herod the Great, thus bringing the prophecy up to the time of the Messiah's birth. Very thought provoking.  You might note that he states that the prophecies might have dual meanings - like I have said several times myself when writing this Bible Journal - that were fulfilled in the Old Testament timeline and yet could be fulfilled at the very end of the New Testament timeline as well. We need to wait and see how that plays out. Perhaps in Heaven we will look back at these prophecies and say, "Remember when ..... happened at the time of Jesus' second coming just as Daniel 11 said?"

Any thoughts to add on these prophetic chapters?  Any answers to the 4 questions that I have missed?


Does God issue any commands?

• There is no new command given but since the messenger continues his discourse with Daniel that he began in chapter 10 the same commands to stand, listen, and understand apply.

Does God make any promises?

• God promised the rise and fall of nations in the Mediterranean region. These nations spanned the known world from parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Does this chapter teach anything about Jesus?

• I believe it to be Jesus that is talking with Daniel and telling him of the events that would happen between Daniel's time and Jesus' own earthly time.

Does this chapter teach anything about yet-future events?

• One instance where prophecy might have a dual fulfilling is in the case of verses 32-35. These verses are said to have been fulfilled in the time of Judas Maccabeus who withstood the Abomination of Antiochus Epiphanes. Many true to God died defending their faith. History might not repeat itself but Satan is so skillful at twisting the hearts of men that he often doesn't need to change his playbook. In the end times there will be/are people who find their faith in the true and living God outlawed. Many die defending it. Truth will ultimately prevail in the end times just as it did at the time of the Maccabeus family who cleansed the temple of its abomination.