Exploring the Scriptures Together
Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5 Like Assyria before it, Babylon has been the LORD’s instrument of judgment upon the nations. As we have seen before (e.g., July 4 and July 21), the LORD now turns and holds Babylon responsible for the evil Babylon committed in the process. As part of the LORD’s declaration of …
Continue reading “August 17 / Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5”
Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; II Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34 Today we see that King Jehoiachin (aka Coniah or Jeconiah) ends his days in relative peace and comfort. He is still in exile in Babylon, of course, but he is no longer imprisoned and is treated well. It has been a while (a month ago, in fact) since …
Continue reading “August 16 / Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; II Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34”
Ezekiel 43-48 Today the glory of the LORD enters the Temple, not the old, defiled and destroyed temple that the LORD previously abandoned, but this new Temple of Ezekiel’s vision. As we noted yesterday, this new Temple has yet to be realized on this earth. Similarly, it is clear that Israel as a whole has …
Ezekiel 40-42 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me to the city. Ezekiel 40:1 Thus begins …
Ezekiel 38-39 My life in Christ got a tremendous boost when, as a teen, I developed a keen interest in end-times prophecy, or “eschatology” — more precisely, “apocalyptic eschatology.” I read the book, The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey, then went on to read There’s a New World Coming, also by Hal Lindsey, …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “August 11 / Psalm 137; Obadiah; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20”
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “August 9 / Ezekiel 33:21-33; 19; 22:23-31; 25”
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 …
Continue reading “August 8 / II Chronicles 36:17-21; Ezekiel 12; Psalm 89”