Archive for November 2024

Ezekiel 22-23,  Job 8,  John 9:1-12,  1 John 1   Ezekiel 22-23:   Ezekiel is asked whether he will judge Jerusalem—the “bloody city” (22:2)—and then given words to declare to her all her “abominations.” Basically, she has “become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made” (22:4). In…

Ezekiel 20-21,  Job 7,  John 8:48-59,  2 Peter 3:10-18   Ezekiel 20-21:   Irony of ironies, the elders of Israel, or at least a portion of them, come to Ezekiel to “inquire of the LORD” (20:1). This is some kind of formal desire to hear from God through God’s prophet. But, the word of the Lord comes…

Ezekiel 17-19,  Job 6,  John 8:31-47,  2 Peter 3:1-9   Ezekiel 17-19:   A riddle and a parable, chapter 17, of an eagle and of the vine, and of Israel’s rebellion against Babylon by seeking help from Egypt—“can he break covenant and yet escape?” (17:15). There is a principle behind God’s actions: “I bring low the high…

Ezekiel 16,  Job 5,  John 8:21-30,  2 Peter 2:17-22   Ezekiel 16:   A beautiful parable, with startling application to God’s people, and final hope after all the crying of judgment and condemnation. First, we are told of how God’s people are from the land of Canaanites, their father an Amorite and mother a Canaanite (16:3). We…

Ezekiel 13-15, Job 4, John 8:12-20, 2 Peter 2:10-16 Ezekiel 13-15: Ezekiel is told to prophesy against the prophets of Israel (13:2). The reason for this is because they are prophesying “from their own hearts” (13:2) and they “follow their own spirit” (13:3). In other words, these prophets who claim to be speaking God’s word are actually speaking…

Ezekiel 9-12,  Job 3,  John 8:1-11,  2 Peter 2:1-9   Ezekiel 9-12:   This section begins with a wonderful, evocative description of the prophet’s experience of hearing God’s word. God “cried in my ears with a loud voice” (9:1). Unmissable, unmistakable, indubitably important: God’s Word came to him loud and clear. Those who have the “mark on…

Ezekiel 4-8,  Job 2,  John 7:45-53,  2 Peter 1:12-21   Ezekiel 4-8:   How do you communicate judgment to a recalcitrant people, a hardened people? In chapter 4, the answer is by Ezekiel being told to dramatically portray siege and judgment upon God’s people. And then in chapter 5, by a razor and shaving hair and casting…

Ezekiel 1-3,  Job 1,  John 7:37-44,  2 Peter 1:1-11   Ezekiel 1-3:   If Jeremiah’s call is not one to be desired for its own sake, Ezekiel has perhaps an even tougher mandate. He is among the “exiles” (1:1), and in preparation for the tough calling that he is to receive as God’s mouthpiece to these “rebellious”…