September 6 - Ezekiel 32-34: God vs. Egypt, Silent Watchmen, and Israel's Shepherds

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 32-34

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Ezekiel cannot sit and watch God's warnings come true. He must act or be held accountable for Israel's punishment.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

"Babylon will lead a nation of brutes to destroy Egypt. Egypt will be buried without honors."
"Ezekiel, a silent watchman pays for spilled blood. Tell Israel each person will be judged on how they live.
"Israel thinks they deserve land because they come from Abraham. How absurd. They must realize I make that decision.
"Ezekiel, prophesy doom to the shepherds of Israel who scatter My Sheep. They're fired! I will shepherd My Sheep and separate the sheep from the goats. The strong sheep will no longer wreak havoc on the weaker sheep. Then they will know I am God."

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Nations who think more highly of themselves than they ought crash.

Today's first chapter finishes the part brought up in yesterday's reading. God does not rejoice over Egypt's downfall. He laments. The reason Egypt, Assyria, Edom, and Meshech-tubal were destroyed was because their pride took control and made them believe they were greater than they really were. They experienced success that went to their head. Beware success—it may lead to the fatal idea that you are self-sufficient.
Unfortunately, Israel was not immune to this pride. They believed their ethnic identity guaranteed possession of Canaan. What they did not understand is God's Blessings come to those who set things right, not those who live under the Promise of Abraham. Silly Israel. It's a good thing we do not think like this.
Okay, so we do. How many people do we know who go through the motions (or fail to worship God at all) simply because they have been baptized and feel entitled to God's blessings? We are not guaranteed God's Blessings because we are one of God's Chosen People. We are guaranteed God's Blessings when we submit ourselves to His Way and set things right!

Watchmen who do not speak are held accountable.

This is the second time God used the image of a watchman to remind Ezekiel of his job. God tells His Chosen Messenger to warn Israel and Judah of their coming punishment. If they would not listen to him, their blood would be on their heads. If he did not tell them, their blood would be on his head. If you have a person within your sphere of influence whom you do not warn that their actions would bring punishment you will be held responsible. Remember, this is not about convincing them to change; it is about warning them of punishment to come.

God does not enjoy punishing the wicked.

Although I mentioned this earlier, I believe this point is important enough to repeat. God wants everyone to set things right. Because God wants to set all things right, He will respond in-kind. A good person who sins will be punished. A bad person who sets things right will be rewarded. If we cannot get our heads around that, we will miss God's entire Message throughout Scripture.

God would punish Israel's shepherds.

God's anger against Israel's shepherds comes as a result of their unwillingness to promote righteousness and their willingness to oppress others. They were unwilling to do what God called them to do and therefore God would punish them. Leaders are responsible for setting the proper example of setting things right.

God would become Israel's Shepherd.

God would go after them. God would rescue them. God would bring them home. God would feed them. God would protect them from predators. God would not allow the strong to bully the weak. If God wants to set all things right and leaders set the example most people follow, God will be the leader to set an example of setting all things right. God wants to be our Shepherd and set things right in our flock.

Do you want God to be your shepherd?

June 24 - 2 Chronicles 10-12: Rehoboam Loses the Kingdom and Solomon's Riches, Returns to God

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Rehoboam went down the same path as Jeroboam but changed when God punished him.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Rehoboam became king. Israel asked for lighter work. Rehoboam's elders counseled him to grant the wishes. His peers wanted to intimidate Israel. Rehoboam listened to his peers and lost the kingdom, fulfilling God's promise to Solomon.
Rehoboam built forts throughout his land. At first, God prevented civil war between the two kingdoms. Later they skirmished for years.
All of the God-worshipers moved to Judah to escape Jeroboam's evil. This lasted three years.
Rehoboam stopped worshiping God. Shishak, king of Egypt, plundered Jerusalem and the Temple. Rehoboam repented and God relented.
Rehoboam died with a reputation of not obeying God.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

People will only work hard for leaders willing to be a servant and to accomplish a specific task.

We must be careful reading too much into what happened to Rehoboam, since God was behind everything. However, what the text wants us to see is that Israel was willing to follow Rehoboam like his father but only if they had lighter loads. They had faithfully obeyed Solomon to build the Temple, houses, and other important buildings in Jerusalem. Once he died, they wanted rest from the work. Unfortunately, Rehoboam's peers decided they needed a swift kick in the rear instead of lighter loads. Because he listened to his peers instead of the elders, Rehoboam lost the kingdom. There is so much Rehoboam could have done to keep his kingdom: asked God to remove the punishment, listened to the elders and followed their advice, or quickly rescinded his words once the people began to rebel. Unfortunately, he was too spoiled to do this. It is better for people to follow because they believe in the purpose of the task than obey because they fear the repercussions.

Rehoboam went down the same path as his father.

Rehoboam only learned from his initial setback until he fortified the kingdom. He continued to worship at the shrines his father erected. He abandoned God. So God punished Rehoboam with the loss of the riches Solomon had amassed over his 40-year reign.

Unlike Jeroboam, Rehoboam learned from his mistakes and returned to God.

Shemaiah and the refugees of Israel came to Rehoboam and all repented of abandoning God. Because they repented God blunted the punishment. However, they were not free. God wanted them to see the difference in serving God and serving humans. That lesson taught the people to obey God for the remainder of Rehoboam's life. When we learn from our mistakes and repent God will remove or blunt our punishment.

Have you seen the difference in serving God vs. serving humans?

March 15 - Deuteronomy 11-13: Moses Reminds Israel of Bad Influences in Canaan

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 11-13

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God reminds the people again and again of the harmful influence brought by the people in Canaan.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Moses reminds the people how God was active in their lives. Canaan would be fruitful beyond their imagination.
Israel was to destroy everything about the inhabitants of Canaan's culture to prevent any form of synchronism. God would punish Canaan for all of their evil deeds. God required Israel to live a very different life.
God allowed the people to offer sacrifices without a priest if they lived too far for the journey.
If anyone mentioned worshiping another god, the people were to execute them. It did not matter who the person was. Any Israelite who worshiped another god was executed.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Moses reminded Israel that God, their god, was not some legend found only in myths.

This may be the hardest part of believing and obeying God today. When we read of the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna every morning, and all of the other acts of God we need faith to help us believe these things happened. We cannot prove them. But Israel did not have that problem. Israel saw them happen firsthand. That is why they should have no excuse in doubting God's ability to fulfill His Promise. People who see God at work have no excuse to doubt God.
What about today? We see God working today. God may not open seas for us to cross, but He works within us. He works through. And sometimes, He works despite us. We, as God's Chosen People, must continuously see and tell others how God is working in our lives. When we slack in doing this we should not be surprised when we and others doubt God's abilities.

The land God gave the people would not be difficult to work.

Canaan was a great place to live. It was fruitful beyond measure and would be so without irrigation. Israel had a great place to live because God loved them. God richly blesses His Chosen People. This will lead to a temptation mentioned in chapter 13.

God is trying to help the people stay faithful to Him.

You may wonder why God keeps repeating this part about Canaan over and over (see March 9 for the list of times God mentioned this in Exodus-Numbers). This is the third day in a row Moses has mentioned how the people in Canaan worshiped other gods. God does not want them to forget why they are getting the land. We must continue to remind ourselves why God is blessing us and what happens when we worship other gods.

God realizes other gods may take credit for His blessings.

I had a professor at Fuller mention this in a class. Israel would enter a land where the natives had a god of the earth, Ba'al. They would pray to Ba'al and he would give them a great harvest. Because Canaan was blessed by God to be a bountiful land their sacrifices worked—or so they believed. When Israel entered Canaan they would see and hear of this and may think that Ba'al is the god of the land. "It worked for the Canaanites, let's see if it works for us." God is explicitly warning them not to let other gods take credit for their blessings because their god is the god over everything. Our god is the God of everything. We do not need any other god to help us in any aspect of life.
Another professor gave an example that shows how this problem can be adverted. In the village where he worked the people would walk around their fields praying to their earth gods for a bountiful harvest. A certain man became a disciple of Jesus. He continued walking around his field. Worried that the man continued worshiping his old gods, the missionary asked the man why he continued this practice. "I still walk around my field praying for a good harvest, but now I pray to God for that good harvest and not the gods of the past," he replied. God should replace all other gods of our past.

God does not allow for family members to be exempt from punishments against worshiping other gods.

Unfortunately, we do not want this section to be here. We are fine with strangers being punished for worshiping other gods. We may join in the punishment. But our own child, our own parent, our own sibling, our best friend, our own spouse? We want God to let us talk them down, win them back. But God is adamant to Israel,

Don't feel sorry for him and don't make excuses for him. Kill him. That's right, kill him. You throw the first stone. Take action at once and swiftly with everybody in the community getting in on it at the end. Stone him with stones so that he dies. (13:8-10, The Message)

The reason is clear, "He tried to turn you traitor against God, your God, the one who got you out of Egypt and the world of slavery" (13:10). God requires this because of the example it will set:

Every man, woman, and child in Israel will hear what's been done and be in awe. No one will dare to do an evil thing like this again. (13:11)

It may sound harsh, but God is not to be tested. All people, even your closest friend or your nearest family member, are held to the same standard—there is no other god but our God and anyone who worships another god is not worthy of God.

March 4 - Numbers 21-22: Israel is a Roving, Whining Bunch

Today’s Reading: Numbers 21-22

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Israel is a large roving group of people. They're also a whiney group of people.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

The king of Arad took some Israelites hostage. The people pledged to destroy Arad if God helped them.
The people complained to God about the wilderness. God punished them with snakebites and had Moses build a bronze snake to heal the afflicted.
Israel defeated other inhospitable kings.
Balak, king of Moab, wanted Balaam, a priest of God, to curse the Israelites. Balaam confers with God and goes. God is angry. He sends an angel to kill Balaam three times. Balaam's donkey protects him. Balaam punishes the donkey. The donkey speaks to Balaam and shows him his wrong. Balaam apologizes.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

The people of Israel do not learn from their mistakes.

These people really do not understand that they are in the wilderness because of their own mistakes. Moses has to once again defend the people and save them from their own inability to accept their fate. God has Moses create a bronze snake to protect them (remember the snake—it will come up again in a few months). At least they help us understand God's patience. God is very, very patient.

There is something going on in Balaam's story that we do not understand.

I'll admit it. I do not understand this story. First, there is a non-descendent of Abraham who is a priest. God tells Balaam to go with the emissaries then gets angry and sends an angel to kill Balaam for going. That's really strange. Then Balaam's donkey not only saves him—it talks to him. And Balaam acts as though it were normal.
This is a very strange story.

Balaam is not an Israelite but is a priest of God.

This part of the story sounds normal to us today. We are used to God working through people from around the world. However, the people reading this at the time it was written would have found the story strange and mildly insulting. Israel considers all other cultures beneath them because they are God's Chosen People. This small part helps them (and us) realize that God doesn't work that way. God will use all people willing to set things right on this earth for His purposes regardless of their religious identity. We do not decide who God works through or how this is done.