One Year Bible - November 8

EZEKIEL 18:1 - 19:14                                                                                                        INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY:  "Behold, all souls are Mine."  Not just "in general", but in particular.  And "The soul who sins is the one who will die." A just man, refusing impurity and unrighteousness, etc.: if his son is a sinner and an idolater, committing abominations, the father will "live" and his son shall "die".  OR the father is wicked and an idolater, and his son takes warning and repents, embracing righteousness and justice. The son will not die for the iniquity of his father, but shall surely "live". But his father shall "die" for his own sin.  Suppose a sinner turns from all his sins and submit to God? (18:21-23) His sin shall not be remembered against him.  (See also Heb 8:12 & Heb 10:17)  Suppose the righteous turn away from his righteousness and commit iniquity and abominations? (v.24)  His past righteousness will NOT be remembered and he shall die in his sin.

GOD IS NOT FAIR!   So they say.  They want their righteous deeds remembered, and their sin forgotten.  Or if their fathers are "saved", they think they should be considered saved too! But God judges us individually, not collectively or genetically.

REPENT! (18:30-32)  The obedience of faith results in life, disobedience produces death.  Obedience is the outward manifestation that there is true spiritual life inside!  It is a sign of a "new heart and a new spirit".  ONLY JESUS and the "everlasting covenant" can produce such a thing as a new nature, and with it, obedience.  Our part is to cling to Him.

FALLEN LEADERS:  Jehoahaz and Jehoiachim are the only legitimate leaders since Josiah, and they were carried away captive where they were caged like animals.  Zedekiah (puppet king), is a usurper in Ezekiel's eyes, and needs to repent because he will shortly share their fate.  The "strong branches" were all broken - there are no more left to sit on David's throne. Fire has consumed the Land and its fruit.  It was not because of weakness that the "lions" fell; nor by reason of strength that Egypt and Babylon prevailed. God's elect turned from righteousness to sin, and now they pay the consequences in captivity and death. The Scepter (dominion) lives in a "dry and thirsty land" and will return in power, just a surely as He died in weakness.

RESPONSE:   It appears from what these Scriptures say, that salvation and deliverance are NOT a question of birth or ethnicity.  We each stand or fall on our own faith.  And that it doesn't matter how we begin our race, but rather how we end up.

I bring this up because Ezekiel looks suspiciously like Hebrews in places. They were actually writing to the same crowd!  In NT Hebrews, Jerusalem and the Temple was about to be destroyed and burned AGAIN (70 AD)!  Ezekiel's crowd had turned their backs on God, and the NT crowd had killed Him!  Both generations are warned to repent and keep moving forward with God.  Both are warned that their own way of doing things, the impersonal, idolatrous, adulterous abominations that substituted for real relationship to God - - - were all about to crash and burn.

HEBREWS 9:1-10                                                                                                         
"TIME OF REFORMATION":  (9:10)  We are coming up on the 4th "warning" in Hebrews against allowing our hearts grow cold toward God. It is possible to get so hard that it's almost impossible to get back to God - or even want to.  Even when we sin, even when we don't feel like it, even when we don't think we're saved any more - - - we are encouraged to repent and "turn" because what God has done for us and in us, is ETERNAL.  It's not that we don't GET TO get saved over again; it's that we don't NEED TO. The reason we don't NEED TO is that Jesus, our "better priest", has initiated a "better covenant", with "better promises", and a "better hope".

"ETERNAL REDEMPTION":  When something is "eternal", it has originated in the heart of God and it is not effected by what I do or don't do.  All of God's wrath was poured out on Jesus on the Cross.  God is not mad at me when I sin!  According to Heb 8:12 and 10:17 He doesn't even think about it!

"Example, shadow, pattern, figure, type": These are all pictures that represent something invisible.  These must be true pictures, as they represent spiritual things, things in heaven.  Our whole Old Testament falls into this category, because Jesus Himself said that everything in it is a figure or a type of Him (Luke 24:27).  Heb 8-10 tells us that the Tabernacle of Moses was patterned after heaven itself!

ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE TABERNACLE:  First of all the Ark of the covenant is a picture of Jesus: gold-plated humanity (Son of God, Son of Man).  Its contents: the Law, Aaron's rod, and the manna - all representing man's rebellion from God, from authority, and from God's provision.  A lid, called a Mercy-seat, was put over it, and then it was covered with blood - its contents never to be seen again!  The Holy of Holies, the innermost room where the Ark was kept, represented the Presence of God.  Note, the high priest could go into God's Presence once a year - and it wasn't for fellowship, but to apply the blood against God's wrath.  And even that "could not make him that did the service perfect." (v.9).  This had to be done every year - because their sin was COVERED, not REMOVED.

RESPONSE:   Our sin has been REMOVED, not just COVERED by the "better blood" of Jesus (12:24). 2 Cor 3:7 calls the Law the "ministration of death" and 2 Cor 3:9 calls it the "ministration of condemnation".  Yet, many of us still try to "be good", as if it will earn us something with God.  Hebrews is written to people like us, who need to understand that Jesus has initiated the New Covenant - that it contains all the "better" things listed in Hebrews. Discard the "old wineskin", and quit trying to restore it!  Our "time of reformation" HAS COME!  This refers to my whole Christian life!  The way into the Holy of Holies has been opened - and I can worship God face-to-face.

PSALM 106:32-48                                                                                                                  
This is the last "Numbers" Psalm (Psa 90-106). Psa 106 covers the Exodus to the Babylonian captivity, and reveals to us that not one lesson was learned; and that even tho Israel failed and disobeyed, God is still faithful and full of mercy.

SOMETHING SCAREY: We all know the story in Numbers 20:8-13:  It is the second time in the Wilderness that there was no water.  Against God's instructions, Moses struck the Rock to get water for the people, when God had already told him to speak to the Rock this time. Disobedience is outward evidence of unbelief.  But what really bothers me is that Psa 106:33 says that Moses disqualified himself because "he spoke unadvisedly with his lips."  In the original language, it means that Moses spoke without thinking - because he was mad!  And over in 1 Cor 9:27 Paul says that at that instant, Moses was "a castaway" - someone who had disqualified himself for the the Land, which is "God's Rest" (see Heb 3-4). Getting angry and blowing up disqualifies us for God's Rest of faith.  It manifests unbelief and self-reliance, that's why.

IDOLS, DEMONS & DEVILS:  Reading the rest of Psa 106, taking in 37-39, we find that God has equated idols with devils, and both of these were equated to "playing the harlot" - or worshipping substitutes and counterfeits for God. V. 41-42 says that the end result is that they were ruled by people who hated them.  "NEVERTHELESS"...... God loved them anyway and relented.

PROVERBS 27:10                                                                                                    
Never forget someone who has been a long-time friend to your family. They are actually worth more to you than a blood relative who keeps his distance. We have all experienced Christian brothers and sisters of "like precious faith" (2Pet 1:1) who are closer to us than our actual family members, who might not be born again.

Our family has such a friend. When we were children (6 of us), we lived on a farm out in the countryside, 4 miles from town. A Christian family who lived even further from town, befriended us, eventually leading our mother to the Lord for salvation. From that point on, the two mothers became friends for the next 50 years! They met to pray at least once a week, praying for one another's children to be born again, etc. They upheld one another in encouragement, strengthening, correction, comfort, teaching, etc. etc. Of course, we kids all benefited because we always had a ride to church, to youth activities, and vacation Bible school. Although both women are close to 90 years old, they maintain contact to this day. We consider this friend like part of our immediate family.