Good morning fellow Bible scholars, Have you ever been in a situation where people use a lot of jargon that has meaning to them but not to an outsider.  Sometimes Christians can do this.  We look at our Bible and assume that it has always had the appearance that it has today.  When I first selected these verses, I thought I understood what "this is the lament" referred to.  But when trying to figure it out, I saw that the word grouping implied something that wasn't there.  Hope these thoughts are helpful. Blessings, Jeff This is a case where the grouping of verses can be misleading.  In the English Standard Version 16-19 appear as a paragraph.  Applying standard literary method, this would make 17-19 the lament that is to be chanted. However, when I looked at ESV study bible notes, v16 refers to the previous verses and 17-32 are the seventh and final oracle against Egypt. This made me think that some thoughts about my limited knowledge of Bible transla...

Dear faithful readers, As we come into the home stretch of our trip through the Word, we start to see the completion of the one of  four strands of our reading. (once through OT, Psalms, Proverbs and NT twice).  We are 80% through OT histories and have just reached the high point of national prominence.  It is all down hill from here. So here are some thoughts about the end of David's reign. Blessings, Jeff We have reached the end of Samuel, the history of transition from judges to kings.  And it ends with David, the best purely human king Israel ever has, doing what seems right in his own eyes and bringing judgment on himself and the nation.  I think this is a good point to reflect on this period in Israel's history. The desire to have a king so that they would be like all the other nations (1 Sam 8:4) turns out not to be the solution to all their problems.  While there have been many great victories over their enemies, there have also been defeats and ser...

Good morning friends, I think I have mentioned that time can be a rather fluid concept in prophetic writings.  The Day of the Lord has numerous implications.  But when it comes to a specific date, the prophet can use very specific words.  So here are some thoughts about dates in ancient times. Blessings, Jeff  I am fascinated with the specific date method used by prophets.  Unlike today, every nation had its own dating system generally related to the reign of kings or other major events.  The Chinese still have their dating method, but the BC/AD standard puts everybody on the same scale.  Reformation Study Bible notes put this as April 587 BC. Here is the RSB note on Ez 1:1 thirtieth year. July, 593 B.C. The book appears to have a double superscription, one in the first person (v. 1) and the other in the third (vv. 2-3). The dates in the Book of Ezekiel are normally calculated from the year of the captivity of Jehoiachin (cf. 40:1). But the first date ...

Dear Friends, I think this is a continuation of the devotion from earlier today.  Israel hung their significance on David not on God.  This psalm highlights this theme.  Telling the coming generation is not about human history, but about what God has done and consequences for disobedience. Blessings, Jeff "Tell the coming generation" is the theme of this psalm.  First 16 verses are on all that God did for Israel up through the Exodus. Verses 17 - 72 are about how "they still sinned more against him" and the consequences. So telling the next generation involves not only what God has done but the consequences of disobedience. If ancient Israel needed to remind coming generations of the relatively recent past, how much more does the church need to do this.  While there are some events in our history that are indicative of divine intervention, there is nothing like the provision of manna, the cloud and pillar of fire in the wilderness or provision of water in the wi...

Good morning friends, Context from June '21 - We resume our 4 hour days with the grandsons today and we have a month left in this stay.  Time has really gone by quickly.  So it is fitting that this passage that I chose back on 5/26/21 is what I am writing on today 6/15/21.  One of the challenges as my generation begins to pass from the scene is to make sure that the church is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.  It cannot be built on the efforts of individuals. Blessings, Jeff The end of David's warrior days.  The folly of placing national identity in one person.  Ultimately, that person is going to loose the qualities  that made him a leader.  Here, David is no longer able to adequately defend himself.  Israel has placed so much trust in David that his death in battle would be worse than the army's defeat. History is full of similar stories.  Yet nations continue to place undue confiden...

Good afternoon friends, So this passage is another one of those "why is God judging a heathen nation" situations.  The Bible is the story of salvation, but these seemingly unrelated events are intended to help us understand God's plan. Blessings, Jeff  Part of the lament for Tyre - the prosperous heathen city-state.  There are many examples of warnings against individuals being jealous of wealthy neighbors who are wicked and carry out evil devices.  The same holds true for nation of Israel.  Looking all the way back to Israel's demand for a king so that they could be like all the other nations around them.  The assumption that a certain political order was what brings blessing, wealth and stability.  Based on their history, Israel should have known it was the Lord who provided these things and that it would be better to stay with the order that He provided.  Tyre was a close neighbor whose prosperity tempted Israel to abandon God and adopt these f...

Dear bond slaves of Christ, I am so thankful for stories such as this that give us examples of relationships based on grace.  And at the same time, that actions and words must be in alignment.  Reminded of Jesus warning that not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. Blessings, Jeff The rest of the story. Mephibosheth is exonerated not so much because of his words but his actions.  While Absalom was in power, Mephibosheth did not seek to gain his favor.  The signs of mourning for David must have been an offense to Absalom.  If he had defeated David, Mephibosheth would probably have paid the price for loyalty to David. Mephibosheth response to grace.   He recognizes that he has not rights before the king.  House of Saul was doomed to death but you set your servant among those who eat at your table.  A picture of the blessings of Christ.  Condemned sinners are made pure by the blood of the Lamb and are invited to th...

This is one of those "mile marker" days.  You are now less than 100 days from the end of this year's trip through the Bible.  I know that you may be behind schedule.  As you know I have been behind on writing devotionals for sometime.  But the discipline of reading and meditating is what God delights in.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit delight when we spend time in His presence. Blessings, Jeff You may have heard variations on the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?".  The psalmist asks a different question, "Why do good things happen to bad people?"  So let us meditate on the first 3 verses. 1. He affirms what God has revealed about His nature in scripture.  God's covenant relationship is the promise of blessing to those keep his commandments and listen to his voice.  He shows that he is good to Israel as a nation and to individuals who are pure in heart.   2. He confesses that he was envious of the arrogant because...

Good morning fellow pilgrims, On his journey to the Celestial City, Pilgrim was confronted with many distractions and temptations to desert the narrow path and fell victim to some of them.  I pray that today's devotional will encourage you on your journey and that we will help each other to stay on the narrow way that leads to life. Blessings, Jeff  The bloody city - Jerusalem.  Just thinking about all the sacrifices required by the law taking place in the temple.  So in one sense, this makes Jerusalem a bloody city.  But these sacrifices cleansed the people and the place and being bloody was a good thing.  However, here, God is condemning all the blood from pagan practices (including child sacrifice) that had been adopted by Judah and Israel.  That blood brought uncleanness on the people and the place.   I find myself back at the second commandment.  The answers to  Westminster Shorter Catechism questions 50 - 52 The second command...

Good morning friends, The rebellion of Absalom exposes the hearts of others as well.  Today we see that things are not always what they appear to be. Blessings, Jeff The fascinating relationship between Ziba, David and Mephibosheth. Ziba puts his money on David and not on Absalom.  This seems to be a big gamble.  If David is defeated, Ziba will loose everything.  And at this point, the odds are definitely against David.  So on the surface, this looks like an act of faith that God will preserve David.  However, what alternative did he have?  The deal he has with David will probably not be honored by Absalom.  After all, Absalom is interested in being king and having Saul's grandson around may pose a threat to Absalom.  And as it turns out, he really left Mephibosheth behind with the intent of getting everything for himself.  If Absalom does get rid of Mephibosheth, then there will be nobody to refute Ziba's story. Mephibosheth is made to ...

Good morning saints, We are the "called out ones".  I hope that today's devotional will increase our understanding of how important purity if to God. Blessings, Jeff Let us meditate on the refining of silver.   Wikipedia article  One ancient process for extracting the silver from lead was cupellation. Lead was melted in a bone ash 'test' or 'cupel' and air blown across the surface. This oxidized the lead to litharge, and also oxidized other base metals present, the silver (and gold if present) remaining unoxidized.[1] Naturally occurring lead ore always had some amount of silver.  They had to get rid of a lot of lead to get the pure silver.  Even the ancients recognized need to eliminate this dross. However, Ezekiel is given to understand that Israel has intentionally contaminated pure silver.  This is not refining lead ore that has some silver in it,  it is removing  impurities which were intentionally added.  So why would they do this?...

Dear friends, As I wrote this, I was convicted about how in these modern times when it is so easy to stay in contact with friends past and present, that I don't typically do this.  Paul and Titus are great examples of devotion to each other and to the body of Christ. Blessings, Jeff Seems that Paul has this habit of interrupting himself.  Here, he is resuming the narrative he left in 2:13.  Four chapters of precious doctrine plopped down in the middle of the story of trip to Macedonia.  Can't overlook the deep personal concern he has for the church in Corinth.  It is hard to imagine the physical exhaustion from travel and emotional exhaustion from concern about believers in Corinth.  The long awaited arrival of Titus provides comfort in the report of their response to Paul's first letter to them.  It is also amazing to me how Titus managed to track Paul down. It isn't like he could leave him a text message to find our where he was.   I would ...

You may have heard the expression, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" in relation to the fact that children pick up the good or bad traits of their parents.   There are two examples in this passage 1) David committed adultery with Bathsheba.  Now his son Amnon wants to commit incest with his half sister Tamar. 2) David's nephew Joab is ruthless killer of other military leaders who pose a threat to him.  Here, David's brother Shimeah, plots with Amnon to enable him to commit incest. In a way, God goes out of his way to point out how sinful the chosen line of David is.  Warts and all does not begin to describe the way David and his family are portrayed.  God tells Cain: If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:7 Each of us needs to think of sin crouching at the door.  By the power of the Spirit, we are enabled to rule ove...

Good afternoon friends, Ever since we started the prophetic books, we have been confronted with some unusual imagery.  We have another example today.  One of the nice things about time lines is you can get a overview of what happened when.  But we loose some of the descriptive imagery.   Blessings, Jeff To me, this is an unusual lament.  Since Ezekiel is a prophet, I tend to think everything he has to say is about future events. But these events took place earlier in his lifetime.  Commentaries say Jehoahaz (the first lion cub) reigned for only three months before he was taken to Egypt as a captive of Pharaoh Neco in 609 B.C. Ezekiel 19:4 Jehoiakim had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and the wrath of the Babylonian king was directed against his son Jehoiachin (the second lion cub)  Ezekiel describes his deportation to Babylon in 597 B.C. Ezekiel 19:9 Ezekiel, a prophet and priest, was exiled to Babylon in 597 B.C. His ministry extended over at le...

Good morning friends, The man after God's own heart is not free from sin.  He is a good king, but not a perfect king.  It has been said that it impossible to break just one of the Ten Commandments.  We think of adultery and murder, but there is also lying and coveting.  Requires us to ponder the  path of our feet and turn away from all evil. Blessings, Jeff The dialogue between David and Uriah the Hittite raises some interesting hypotheticals.  What if the plan to have Uriah sleep with Bathsheba had worked?  While there would have been cover for the legitimacy of the child, it would not change the fact of adultery.  Certainly the messengers he sent to retrieve her knew about the liaison.  Eventually someone would have told the truth.  And Nathan would still have known. Did David really plan on stopping the relationship?  When the child did not resemble Uriah, question would be asked.  Bathsheba knew she had been unfaithful and ...

Dear fellow exiles and strangers, I am confronted again with the example of David in prayer.  While it is good to ask others to pray for us, this psalm drives me to the realization that he cries out to God for himself.  David doesn't have a "prayer chain" to call upon.  He cries out to the Lord. Blessings, Jeff The current events in the world of sports seem to pale in comparison to David's situation.  A top female tennis player refuses to talk to the press after a match because she suffers from depression.  Making a statement by not making a statement. David has been driven to the ends of the earth presumably by Absalom.  Calvin points out that to be absent from Jerusalem and the tabernacle put one at the ends of the earth even thought it may have only been a hundred miles.  To be a king on the run seems to be more distressing that questions from the press after a tennis match. David knew God as his refuge and a strong tower against his enemies, but no...

Dear sojourners, As I think about an upcoming sermon on "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil", this passage tells me why trusting in my ability to overcome temptation is such a dangerous thing.  When I trust in myself, I have forgotten the days of my youth, before God saved me.  I was confident in my own good works which were really filthy rags.  I was unable to save myself, why should I think that I am able to sanctify myself? I pray that this devotion will shock you as it did me. Blessings, Jeff Another vivid portrayal of Judah's deplorable spiritual condition.  All the holy items designed for worship in the tabernacle and then in the temple have become the provocative dress of a prostitute. my gold and silver - all the items in the temple made of gold and silver have been made into images of men my bread - the shew bread, the bread of the presence that only the priests could eat is given to foreigners your garments - the garments of the Levites an...

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, Our God is a covenant making and covenant keeping God.  Whenever we find God saying "I will do ...", He is making a covenant to a person or group of people.  It is more than a promise.  In human terms, a covenant is between a superior and a subordinate, there are blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.  We see the covenant language in this passage even though the term is not specifically used.  You may want to do a word search and see how many you find. Blessings, Jeff The fascinating exchange between David, Nathan and God about building a house of cedar for the Lord. David has the idea and proposes it to Nathan.  Neither has thought about asking God about the idea, but Nathan says God approves.  Then God intervenes and promises David to build him a house instead of David building a house for God. Some people think that this indicates that God had been sitting around waiting for someone to come up with ...

Good afternoon fellow English majors OK, I am not an English major.  But this passage makes me ponder how God uses extreme statements to prove a point.   Blessings, Jeff The word hyperbole, from a Greek word meaning “excess,” is a figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to make a point or show emphasis.  Hebrew had hyperbole before the Greeks came along with a word for it.  Four disasters, each so severe that Noah, Daniel and Job would only save themselves.  Reformation Study Bible note:"Noah, Daniel (not the prophet), and Job" would then designate non-Israelite figures from remote times known for their uprightness. They could not save the world in their own day and even together could not save the city of Jerusalem Ezekiel 14:14 The three most righteous men in OT history together would only save themselves.  Think back to the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham bargains with the angel of the Lord to preserve these two cities if a cer...

Good evening friends, I Cor 15 is one of the chapters that make sense out of all the other events.  We really need to have our minds transformed by the truth of this chapter.  I hope this short devotional encourages you to spend time pondering what God breathed out for  Paul to tell us. Blessings, Jeff It is really hard to understand how the theory that Jesus really didn't die and therefore the resurrection didn't occur either got started.  Without the death and resurrection, Christianity cannot be true. You are probably tired of my references to Genesis 3:15 as the start of the plan of salvation.  But, I think that looking at 1 Cor 15 really affirms that the rest of scripture is a footnote that explains how the promise will be fulfilled.  The seed of women is to crush the serpents head.  If Jesus died but was not resurrected, death would have been victorious.  The serpent would have won.  When we see what Jesus actually did, it makes the int...

A few short thoughts about the challenges David had to address following becoming king of Judah but not of all Israel. The other day, David was mourning Saul and Jonathan.  Today, he is morning Abner, Saul's leading general.   Contrasts Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle.  Abner was murdered by Joab and his brother Abishai to avenge the death of their other brother Asahel. The Amalekite who claimed to have killed Saul was executed by David.  The brothers are cursed by David but not executed immediately.  However, David tells Solomon to have Joab executed when he become king. Mourning for Saul and Jonathan was purely personal.  Mourning for Abner has a political aspect.  David was in no way responsible for Saul's death.  However, Joab and his brothers are David's nephews.  Zeruiah is David's sister.  Typically "son of" implies the named person is the father.  However, here it is the mother.  David is interesting in uni...

Observations: What do we learn about the Lord?  He knows what the people of Israel/Judah thought.   He brings what they fear (the sword) upon them. He gives them into the hands of foreigners and executes judgments on them He does these things so that they will know that he is the LORD. Applications: What do these things teach us about Israel/Judah?  Essentially the opposites of truth about God. They had forgotten that God knows the secrets of the heart to the point that their thoughts were demonstrated by acts (multiplying the slain in the streets).   They had forgotten to fear the Lord.  They were focused on assuring themselves that the Babylonians would not capture the city. They had forgotten that God is the judge of all the earth.  The political and military explanations for events were more important than the moral explanations. They had forgotten that God is the LORD.  Their entire history pointed to this fact, but they had closed their...

Good morning fellow soldiers of the cross, He we are marching into 2 Samuel.  Of course Samuel didn't write this history as he has died.  But the history of the first and second kings of Israel are center stage.  As I thought about the emotions in this passage, I encourage you not to skip over people's responses in scripture.  I hope these thoughts help in that way. Blessings, Jeff David's response to the news of Saul and Jonathan's deaths and defeat of Israel.  Here is the man who has known he was the next king for many years weeping and fasting over the death of his enemy.  In fact, in God's eyes he was the legitimate king since the day he was anointed by Samuel.  Essentially a king living in exile.   How does this event move toward the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15?  Why is it necessary to see David weeping over the death of the man who sought to kill him? Observations David's emotions appear to be real.  If you have ever seen a Mi...

Good morning friends, Some thoughts on the city of God and the cities of man. Blessings, Jeff What is the difference between Jerusalem and every other great city?  It seems that everyone from a "great city" boasts about the city for its culture, sports, education,  architecture, etc. But only the Jews could boast that Jerusalem is the city of the Great King, the city of our God, the city that God will establish forever.  So the difference seems to be that other cities boast about what man has done while Jews boasted about the God who dwelled there. The occasion of this psalm is some great deliverance of Jerusalem from some foreign armies.  The author rightly gives credit to God.  However, eventually, there was a transfer of credit from God to the Jews themselves.  They started to see themselves as a great people because of Jerusalem, not because of the God who took up residence there or because of their obedience to God's law.  While the modern Israel ...

Good evening friends, Writing from a cold and rainy Madison.  48F on May 27, 2021.  This is like March.  Another passage about the serious nature of idolatry.  We can't escape God's presence by doing things in secret.  God's presence is a great comfort to believers, but it is a terror to those who deceive themselves and others. Blessings, Jeff The image of jealousy. Refers back to Deuteronomy 4 and the expanded version of second commandment.  Every idol stirs up God's jealousy for His own name.  So "image of jealousy" isn't an image that looks like jealousy, but the idols of Judah that provoked God to jealousy. Ezekiel is physically in Babylon but he was "lifted up" by the Spirit and given visions of what was happening in Jerusalem.  Despite many people already going into exile, those still in Jerusalem refuse to change their ways. Great abominations that drive God from his sanctuary.  The vision of the "four living creatures" and  ...

Good evening friends, Jjust have a few short thoughts on this passage where Saul thinks he really needs to know what tomorrow holds. Blessings Jeff Like Jeroboam after him and Abram before him, Saul uses disguise and deception when going get tough.  The proof that the do not really understand the Lord. They may think of God as omniscient, but their acts show practical denial of this attribute of God.  Here is my premise: Temptation is abated by holding fast to the truth. James tells us we are tempted when we are lured and enticed by our own desires.  Here Saul was lured and enticed by his desire to know the future. When the legitimate God ordained methods do not give him answers, he went outside of God's revealed will.  Reflecting on God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words and works should curb our desires and make us less susceptible to being lured and enticed. 

Good afternoon everyone, I want to mention that we are nearing the 3/4 point in the reading plan.  October 1 is the 9 month point.  So hang in there and finish strong. Blessings Jeff So how serious is the sin of idolatry when committed by God's chosen people?  Can't get much more graphic than this portion of the chapter.  All goes back to second commandment.  Then there is the thread of this commandment that shows up in various places to emphasize the prohibition.   This makes me think of Romans 7:7-8 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.  In Israel's case, Sin seized an opportunity through the commandment You shall not make for yours...

Good evening friends, I found this to be a very challenging passage.  The last phrase is what go5 my attention originally back on 5.1.21  Now 3 weeks later when I started to really ponder these words, I was convicted by how much I doubt that the form of this world is really passing away.  After all, it hasn't passed away after 2000 years.  Maybe it never will.  I think Paul is calling me to wake up. Blessings, Jeff For the present form of this world is passing away.  This is the reason for doing the opposite of what the current condition would suggest.  Those who mourn as if they were not mourning, those who rejoice as if they were not rejoicing.  This is a shocking to me. Questions: So who normally mourns?  People who have lost a loved one or suffered emotionally.  And who normally rejoices?  People who have just gotten married or had a child come to mind.   Are people just supposed to ignore the causes of mourning and re...

I think I have mentioned that in ancient Israel, people's names meant something.  Today's story of Nabal is a great example.  Nabal means fool.  So why would his parents give him that name?  Reminds me of Johnny Cash song "A boy named Sue".  Instead of "Now Jack eat your peas and carrots", it is "fool eat your peas and carrots."  Talk about emotional scars. We see the man who's name is fool acting foolishly.  But think about the situation from Nabal's perspective.    The last person to help David was Ahimelech the priest.  Saul executed him and all but one of his sons.  So from that perspective, it made all the sense in the world to reject David's request for provisions.  Yet, decisions in "no win situations" require discernment.  Is it better to throw in with the person God has chosen to the next king or the person God has rejected from being king?  The person who has slain ten thousands or the person who has slain t...

 Good afternoon friends. During men's Bible study on Saturday (May '21), we were looking at the three kings after Solomon . They were all bad kings.  All the gold shields that Solomon had made were taken away by Pharaoh Shishak.  Rehoboam made replacements out of bronze.  They shine like gold, but it is only a cheap imitation.  Made me think of how our grandsons are starting to learn the "permanence of things"  Just because they can't see something doesn't mean that it no longer exists.  The whole "peek-a-boo" game.  It is funny when infants do this.  It isn't funny when adults to this.  Thinking that nobody notices the cheap imitations.  I ponder if my relationship is real or a cheap imitation. Blessings Jeff The only time Ezekiel can speak is to say what the Lord has told him. God makes him mute until end of chapter 24.  How ironic is a mute prophet.   Reformed Study Bible note:  The length and nature of Ezekie...