Good afternoon friends, As Ezekiel concludes, I come back to the thought that prophetic writings are different than any other forms in the Bible.  Are they "literal" or "figurative/symbolic" or a mixture?  This last chapter seems to say Yes to all these options. Blessings, Jeff Last words from Ezekiel describe the distribution of the twelve tribes, giving Joseph's 2 sons shares and excluding Levi.  But most of the chapter is about the "new" holy portion for the city, temple, Levites, priests and prince. Observations In this new Israel, all the tribes are regathered and have essentially equal strips of land.  This is another difficult thing to understand.  The 10 northern tribes (Israel) were dispersed and tribal purity was almost certainly lost.  So how do these tribes become reconstituted?  Judah and Benjamin were intact up to the time of the exile.  Benjamin seems to have some ongoing identity into New Testament times as Paul proclaims that he i...

Good afternoon friends Some time ago in an adult Sunday School class, Pat showed us one of many Ray Vanderlaan videos.  This one was about understanding the word picture of Psalm 23 - "green pastures" of the Middle East shepherd was not very appealing/  It was green in relative terms, not absolute.  So this came to mind as a worked on today's devotional. Blessings, Jeff This seems like a good place to mention one of the themes of God's provision.  In general, He gives just enough to get from one place to another.  Elijah has just been fed by ravens and drawn water from a brook for some period of time.  Not exactly "your best life now".  Then the brook dries up.  Natural reaction would be to get all worried about where next drink of water was going to come from.  But God has a plan. The widow in Zarephath (outside of the promised land, a Gentile) will feed you.  Maybe Elijah thought that this was going to be a step up from what the ravens...

Good morning beloved in the Lord, As I was writing this devotional this morning, I started to think about how Paul addresses believers as "saints".  In Christ, this is who we are.  We have absolute confidence in the sufficiency of Christ's work on the cross.  Our relationship or communion with God is assured.  The activities in the new temple give us a picture of this. Blessings, Jeff Observations: Sacrifices at Sabbaths and new moons will continue to be celebrated in the new temple. The prince is at the center of these frequent sacrifices. The priests offer the sacrifices but the prince is the one who provides the animals, grain and oil. These sacrifices are not related to atoning for sin.  So their continuation after the crucifixion is not as problematic.  However, I think it is interesting that Sabbath and new moon observations were one of the failures in pre and post-exile Judah.  Failure to keep the fourth commandment by trading appears in many of...

Good evening friends, Writing this on 6/27 after listening to Jonathan's sermon on true and false children of God and how our attitude toward the Bible is a barometer for our relationship with the Lord. I especially concur with the thought that it takes time to grow in the Word.  If this is the first time you have read through the Bible, don't be discouraged by not finishing in a year.  Hang in there and God will bless you for your diligence. Blessings, Jeff  Many psalms speak of God's holiness, but this is David's personal commitment to integrity. This verse extends the standard to those around David. Let us meditate and inquire about this verse. What does it say? How would David know about those who secretly slander their neighbor?  I think this is more a warning that no private slander stays that way very long.  Eventually the slanderer puts his words into action or someone who heard that words reports them to others.  Spurgeon says that David knew the p...

A short plug for small group Bible study.  Our two current options for small group Bible study are women's group on Thursday mornings and men's D(evotions) on Saturday morning.  The elders recognize the need for other options as not everyone is available at these times.  Studying the Bible with other Christians is one of the ways which the Holy Spirit will produce maturity in each believer.  So I encourage you to join one of the these groups or let one of the elders know when you would be available for another group. Blessings Heff Both women's and men's Bible study were looking at 1 Kings 12 and following this past spring.  This episode was a vivid example of how bad theology can make you do some pretty silly things.   Jeroboam is the first king of the new Northern Kingdom aka Israel.  He apparently believes that the prophet who told him that he would become king could also tell him if his son would recover.  If the story ended there, we mig...

Good morning friends, Are you ready for a dive into the deep end of the theological pool? The fact that Calvin did not comment on this makes me hesitant to even look at it.  But I think we can come to a reasonable tentative conclusion. Blessings, Jeff  This is a difficult passage if this new temple is the same as the one described in Revelation.  The continuation of the sacrificial system after the crucifixion is not consistent with the fulfillment of that system.  How are we to understand this? Here are some commentaries Reformaton Study Bible - 43:21. outside. See Ex 29:14; Lev 4:12, Lev 4:21; Lev 8:17; Lev 9:11; Lev 16:27. The writer of Hebrews interprets these instructions as an aspect of Christ’s offering of Himself (Heb 13:11-13). Ezekiel 43:21 43:18–27  ESV Study Bible notes - This section describes the rituals of purification required for the altar before it is fit for regular use. Although the preceding verses have focused on the altar's design, its act...

Good morning fellow exiles and sojourners, Today we are confronted with the division of Israel just one generation after David, the man after God's own heart. Making sense out of moments like this is not easy when we think in human terms.  Reality is that God's plan of salvation includes this rather disastrous turn of events.  It only make sense in light of God acting for his glory and our good. Blessings, Jeff The fragile relationship between Israel and the house of David.  All the tribes followed Saul up to his death in spite of the fact that they all knew that God had rejected him as king.  After Saul's death all but Judah remained loyal to Saul's line until Abner makes a deal.  When Absalom rebels, almost all Israel goes with him.  All this despite the great victories that David had won.  And now because of Solomon's disobedience, God tears the 10 tribes away from his son Rehoboam. US history kind of did the same thing.  Washington was elected...