Colossians 2:8-23

Dear RTB’ers,

I suspect that Biblical scholars, especially theologians have a lot of fun with today’s reading. Much of the material that we read today does not have a lot of “flesh-and-blood meat” for us. That is, Paul’s words were written for those 1^st-century Colossians; we have to make our own extensions to bring them to our own lives.

What I mean is this – Paul was essentially telling the Colossians that they had false teachers within their midst. According to my Study Bible, “Paul was counteracting the Colossian heresy, which, in part taught that for salvation one needed to combine faith in Christ with secret knowledge and manmade regulations concerning such physical and external practices as circumcision, eating and drinking, and observance of religious festivals.” Here is Paul’s writing: Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. … Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind… (vv. 16, 18). We have our own false teachers today, telling us that abortion is our right, that same-sex relations are reasonable, that our natural bodies may have been mis-identified in our named gender, that cohabitation without marriage is just fine.

In their false teachings these leaders were diminishing the work of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection. Instead, Paul writes, For in Him [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, Who is the head of all rule and authority. In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, … by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (vv. 9-12)

Paul tells us elsewhere, But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh… (Romans 13:14) That’s good advice.

Blessings.

Colossians 1:24-2:7

Dear RTB’ers,

sufferings…, afflictions…, struggling…, (Col. 1:24, 29), plus a mention of “how great a struggle” in the very next verse (Col. 2:1). Paul wants it known that he has struggled in the past and that he is currently afflicted for his faith in Christ and for his preaching of the gospel. It’s a strong statement of his conviction – he is serious about what he is doing. Oftentimes when I have met newcomers at church and I want them to know the depth of my connection to St. Andrew’s I mention that for seven years Carol and I drove 45 minutes each way to attend St. Andrew’s. I want them to know how strong was our connection. Paul is doing the same thing here. He is not bragging about his struggles; he is simply affirming his conviction in what he is doing.

Small item: …for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face… (v. 2:1b) I mentioned three days ago that Paul had never been to Colossae (or Laodicea). Here he is confirming that fact. In that verse and in the next few he is asking them that, even though they have never met him that they would be encouraged through the struggles that he is undergoing. I am reminded of soldiers receiving letters and gift boxes from complete strangers, all to the end that they know that they are remembered even though they are far from home. I can attest to that fact – for a soldier or sailor or marine or airman serving overseas there is no more happy time than “mail call”!

So twice today I have mentioned my own personal experiences in the context of my reading Paul’s letter. I know that the rest of you can share similar stories. It would be good to hear from you about how you relate personally to the Scripture texts that we read. Let the rest of us be encouraged by your sharing!

Blessings.

Colossians 1:15-23

Dear RTB’ers,

The pronoun in today’s first seven verses refers to Jesus, from yesterday’s next-to-last verse: He [God the Father] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son… (v. 13) God the Father is referring to Jesus. These seven verses give us one of the most profound descriptions of who Jesus is and what He has done from the beginning of time (and into future eternity). It seems that Paul is trying to shut down new converts who have been diminishing Jesus, maybe in favor of the Father or of the Holy Spirit and His spiritual gifts. Paul sets them straight as to Who Jesus is!

The following words are special for me: For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell… (v. 19) I was once chatting with a young man who was seriously struggling with his faith; the concept of God was especially confusing to him. I gave him some outlandish advice, “Forget God, study Jesus.” He took my advice, read through the gospels and became (and remains) a strong believer. That’s probably not wisdom that I would suggest to all of you, but it is good advice to study Jesus, to get to know Him. I have said many times to our Avanza kids, “The more you get to know Jesus, you can’t help but love Him, and the more you love Him, the more you will want to serve Him.”

Re-read those seven verses. Get to know Him better…

Blessings.

Colossians 1:1-14

Dear RTB’ers,

Back to the New Testament, to Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Colossae is a town in modern-day Turkey located about 100 miles east of Ephesus. Paul had spent a lot of time in Ephesus and had visited cities far east of Colossae (Iconium, Lystra, Derbe), but had never visited Colossae. So as he writes this letter, he is writing to people he has never met, but who have been converted and discipled by Paul’s earlier converts (Epaphras, Col. 1:7 – likely from his time at Ephesus.

My quote from two days ago has direct bearing today: …what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (II Tim 2:2) Epaphras is from Colossae (Col. 4:12), but very likely heard Paul’s teaching in Ephesus and brought it home to Colossae. Likewise, we are to share what we have heard and leave the results up to the Holy Spirit. Our job is to speak, not to convert. We hope for conversion outcomes, but that is not our job. Evidently Epaphras was able to see the fruit of his labors in Colossae and was able to bring word of those conversions to Paul in prison.

So as we read further in Colossians, we will see Paul as the teacher from afar, further discipling new believers he has never met. And we thought that online collegiate instruction was a new thing, brought on (to a great extent) by Covid. Paul provided this “distance learning” model a couple thousand years ago!!

Blessings.

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See also: October 23 (2021) / Colossians 1:1-29.

Ezekiel 47:13-48:35

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we finish Ezekiel, after nearly five weeks of following him and the exiles in Babylon. What a journey this has been!

We end on a less-challenging reading, the division of the land. Our STS Diagram 4 helps us. At one level, the land is divided into three sections: (1) the strip of land for the prince, the Levites and the priests, including the temple; (2) the land to the north of this section for Judah and six other tribes; and (3) the land to the south for Benjamin and four other tribes. The division of the land is similar to what we saw in Joshua, except that Judah and Simeon had land in the southernmost part of the Promised Land and the other ten tribes had land to the north of Jerusalem (plus the Transjordan area).

Again, as I understand it all, these final nine chapters in Ezekiel (Ez. 40-48) have been describing that millennial time period when Jesus will reign as King. So if we don’t understand it fully, it’s likely not going to be a part of our earthly lives.

Now back to more of Paul’s letters (Colossians and Philemon) and the post-Exile books of Ezra and Nehemiah

Blessings.

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One other item… For those of you interested in distances, by my calculations, the area for the Levites and priests, including the temple is roughly an 8- to 10-mile square. Then the land for the prince to the west and east of this square would make the total for this whole middle section to be 30 to 40 miles long (west to east) and 10 miles wide (north to south). My best guess…!

Ezekiel 47:1-12

Dear RTB’ers,

Only twelve verses today. The STS authors must have considered today’s river as a good stand-alone topic! And no doubt, many of us will connect today’s river with the “River of Life” in Revelation 22. True, there are similarities. The key distinction is that this river flows from the millennium temple, while the River of Life flows from the post-millennium throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1b). Clearly, however, both are life-giving rivers.

As today’s river flows east from the temple, geographically it would meet up with the Jordan River and then flow into the Dead Sea, there transforming that dead sea into water teeming with life: …when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. (vv. 8b-9) What joy to behold!!

You may already know that the Dead Sea is dead and the Great Salt Lake is dead because water flows in and never goes out. I’ve heard the same thing said of our spiritual lives. As we receive Holy Spirit inspiration and knowledge from readings and teachings, we need to “let it out”! Let the Spirit within us become life to others, not “dead” inside our own bodies. As the apostle Paul wrote, …what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (II Timothy 2:2) Yes, let it out!!

Blessings.

Ezekiel 45-46

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s reading is like going back in time from two years ago – back to Leviticus for the animal sacrifices and feasts. But today’s reading is in the future, in the new temple and the new Jerusalem, what God has in store for His people.

One unusual phrase struck me today, “as much as he is able”, spoken three times (Ez. 46:5, 7, 11), and always with respect to the grain offering with the lambs. The grain offering with the bulls and the rams was specified as an ephah. Sounds like a freewill offering with the lambs…

D-Day today. An important every-year remembrance for us. Where would we be today if the D-Day mission had failed…?

Blessings.

Ezekiel 43:13-44:31

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s first chapter has the description of the temple altar and its dimensions, along with guidelines for animal sacrifices. It’s all reminiscent of Leviticus – the original altar in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

Then today’s second chapter focuses on the Levites and the Levitical priests. God speaks harshly to the Levites, but almost lovingly to the priests. Here is His statement to the Levites: Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore … they shall bear their punishment. They shall not come near to Me, to serve Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame … Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple… (v. 44:12-14) In spite of their wrongdoings, He leaves the Levites with temple responsibilities.

By contrast God’s word to the Levitical priests honors them: But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me. And they shall stand before Me… (v. 44:15a) He then lists their responsibilities, both within the temple and in the larger context of all of Israel.

Today’s lesson… Again, simply, no idol worship…!!

Blessings.

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See also: August 15 (2023) / Ezekiel 43-48.

Ezekiel 42:1-43:12

Dear RTB’ers,

Certainly there’s no way that we can fully understand all the verbal diagrams and measurements in Ezekiel 40-42. The online sketches are helpful, but still confusing. For us I think the bigger question is what it means for us. Today I have two responses for that.

First, I asked yesterday about those animal sacrifices. I have come to the conclusion that these recent chapters are not “eternal”, but rather that they refer to that thousand-year period where Jesus reigns on Earth (the “millennium”). Then the temple in these recent chapters refer to His “home” while he is again on Earth. There will still be that final war between Jesus and Satan after that millennium; only then will “eternity” begin. As for those animal sacrifices, an online commentary suggested that they are not for sin, as were animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. Rather, they are reminders (looking backward) of Jesus’ sacrifice, much like the bread and wine which we offer and consume each Sunday reminds us today of His Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Second response, the main verses in Ezekiel… And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. … and the earth shone with His glory. … As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. (vv. 43:2, 4-5) Recall that the glory of the Lord had departed the temple by the east gate (Ezekiel 10). Now He returns by the east gate of this Millennium Temple, there to reign for that thousand-year period.

My thoughts… Your comments…??

Blessings.

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See also: August 14 (2023) / Ezekiel 40-42 (again).

Ezekiel 40:48-41:26

Dear RTB’ers,

These chapters make for difficult posts. What to say, what to add to what Ezekiel has written?

In my post yesterday I referred to an STS diagram of the temple area and the summary text of the walk-through. That diagram is still relevant for today’s reading. But beyond that, use the ESV Global Study Bible notes and diagram from Crossway.

What to say? John said it right in 2023. We can look at these diagrams and measurements and ask, “What’s in it for us”? Neither John nor I has a quick answer for that question. However, the Lord God included these verbal diagrams and measurements for this futuristic Temple. He also included verbal diagrams and measurements for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and for Solomon’s Temple and a few bits of information about the post-Exilic temple (often referred to as the Second Temple or Zerubbabel’s Temple). So if these descriptions and measurements were important to Him, they should be no less important to us. But I think that we can embrace the overall pictures and leave the details to Biblical scholars.

Finally, I do have one question. Yesterday’s reading (Ez. 40:38-43) spoke of tables for slaughter and for the burnt offering. Presumably this temple area is far off in the future. Will we still have animal sacrifices in this future scenario? I’m asking this question in the context of Jesus’ “all-sufficient sacrifice”. Thoughts…?

Blessings.