Ezekiel 34-37 Today’s reading covers a lot of ground, and I cannot possibly do it justice here. (Of course, that is true every single day, but it seems especially true today!) Here we go, nonetheless! In Ezekiel 34, the LORD delivers a searing indictment of Israel’s leadership, the “shepherds”, who instead of caring for the …
Monthly Archives: August 2023
August 11 / Psalm 137; Obadiah; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20
Psalm 137; Obadiah 1-21; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20 Obadiah prophesies against Edom, the descendants of Jacob’s brother, Esau. These are people who should have at least some level of familial affinity for Israel, but who are instead consistently hostile, vengefully gloating over and abetting the destruction of Jerusalem. We have previously read other prophesies against …
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August 10 / Ezekiel 26-28, 32
Ezekiel 26-28, 32 Together with Ezekiel 25 from yesterday, today’s reading speaks of God’s judgment upon the nations surrounding Israel. Even the bit that seems to center on Israel (Ezekiel 28:24-26, in which the LORD declares that Israel will dwell securely) is really a promise to squash all Israel’s neighbors. Of all these nations, Tyre …
August 9 / Ezekiel 33:21-33; 19; 22:23-31; 25
Ezekiel 33:21-33; 19; 22:23-31; 25 As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.” Ezekiel 33:30 I read that verse, and …
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August 8 / II Chronicles 36:17-21; Ezekiel 12; Psalm 89
II Chronicles 36:17-21; Ezekiel 12; Psalm 89 Rewind. Replay. We get to see the Fall of Jerusalem all over again through the Chronicler’s summary of the event, with his added recognition that it is all a fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Then we get to go back a bit further to before Jerusalem’s Fall to watch …
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August 7 / II Kings 25:22-26; Jeremiah 39:11-44:30
II Kings 25:22-26; Jeremiah 39:11-44:30 Some people never learn… Whereas the Book of Lamentations gives us a godly perspective on the sufferings inflicted upon Jerusalem, we see today that such a perspective is clearly not held by the vast majority of those left in Judah. So we see democracy in action yet again, and everyone …
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August 6 / Lamentations 3:34-5:22
Lamentations 3:34-5:22 With a second day in Lamentations, are you beginning to get a sense of the devastation of Jerusalem? If you are having trouble imagining this ancient city, let me offer more contemporary settings. On this 78th anniversary of the dropping of the first Atomic Bomb, consider Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Or for something directly …
August 5 / Lamentations 1:1-3:33
Lamentations 1:1-3:33 Yesterday, I encouraged us all to contemplate the desolation of Jerusalem, to get a real sense of the devastation wrought by the Babylonian conquest. The book of Lamentations should help us do just that, if we let it. Listen to the words. Visualize the desolation. Put yourself into the picture. Feel the pathos. …
August 4 / II Kings 25:4-21; Jeremiah 52:7-27; 39:1-10
II Kings 25:4-7; Jeremiah 52:7-11; 39:1-7; II Kings 25:8-21; Jeremiah 52:12-27; 39:8-10 It’s 587 or 586 B.C. Jeremiah has been warning of this day for years, proclaiming the destruction of Jerusalem as God’s judgment upon Judah. Ezekiel has said the same, modeling the siege, with its attendant starvation and disease. But the king, the priests, …
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August 3 / Ezekiel 6-7; 29:1-16; 30:20-31:18
Ezekiel 6-7; 29:1-16; 30:20-31:18 Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their …
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