One Year Bible - November 14

EZEKIEL 29:1 - 30:26                                                                                                       

EGYPT (Chap 29-32): Egypt represents the world we came out of when we were called by God. It represents bondage, servitude to sin and death, living on substitutes for God without hope of deliverance (the mind of the flesh, the SELF-life).  It was always a snare to Israel.  This section of Scripture began shortly BEFORE Jerusalem fell (and 15 years before Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt) and ended AFTER.  In Ezekiel's time there was constant tension between the empires on the Nile and the empires on the Euphrates, and Judah got caught in the middle.  Egypt, the crocodile, was reduced to a second-rate kingdom.  Pharaoh, like Satan, is called "the great dragon".  God gave Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as payment for destroying Jerusalem!  The transference of countries from one king to another is in God's power.  The battle for world dominion will end in disaster for Egypt and even the "mighty dragon" cannot prevent the destruction of Judah nor the captivity of the Jews.  The "great dragon" shall end up in the Pit of Sheol.

THE DAY OF THE LORD:  Judgment of the NATIONS.  Again, we see the "sword of the Lord".  The "Sword of the Lord"  is symbolic of God's assertion of power and authority in judgment of the Nations.  He sends one nation against another, deciding the outcome ahead of time.

RESPONSE:   God has broken the power of Pharaoh and of Egypt.  I don't HAVE to be arrogant and self-serving.  I can submit and obey God.  Violence and bloodshed in the OT is to kill the flesh! To break every bondage. To crowd us back into God's Presence. To rid us of our substitutes. And so that everyone will "know that I(God) am the Lord." 

ASIDE: The "enemies" that are killed, destroyed, and plundered in the OT are a TYPE AND SHADOW to be understood as FLESH (the self life).  This is deduced by the settings, and by knowing that we don't "kill" devils; human in the world are not our enemies; only the flesh is said to be "mortified" - killed.

There is no security or safety in depending on the world system and their "fixes".  I don't even pray to have things go "my way" any more, because I don't always know what God really wants. Real faith is trusting God with the outcomes!  When I pray for others, even my grown children, I pray that they'll do the "right thing", which is the will of God.  I used to tell my children that there are only two ways of doing anything: God's way or the wrong way.

HEBREWS 11:32 - 12:13                                                                                                    

CONTINUITY OF THE LIFE BY FAITH, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH:  Men have gone after and obtained God's rest, by walking with God in faith. Faith is living as if God were present and visible. Faith is trusting God with the outcomes.  If our peace is interrupted with strife, if we feel ashamed or guilty, if we are discontent or depressed, then we are not in God's Rest - we have actually "fallen from grace" (Gal 5:4).  The cause, according to Hebrews, is unbelief: the sin that "so easily besets us".  Our outward circumstances may be defined as above, but they are NOT the Truth.  Faith calls us to live according to "the unseen world", NOT the "visible and tangible things of the world".  However, faith does not guarantee that we won't have troubles!  HOWEVER,  Moses (among others) has testified that even our troubles are better than the riches in the world without God.  In fact, there are so many witnesses to the "better" things listed in Hebrews that are ours when we live by faith, that Hebrews doesn't even try to list them all!  The OUTCOMES vary.  Sometimes we are martyred in some way and triumph in the resurrection,  sometimes we triumph in this life.  Sometimes we lose everything; sometimes we have it all - but rest assured, our losses are not eternal.

"BETTER RESURRECTION":  I've always assumed resurrection came after physical death. That is just ignorant because the Scriptures don't teach that for the believer.  We are resurrected already - without even dying! (Rom 6:4; Eph 2:6; John 11:26, et al)  When we were "saved", we were taken out of the kingdom of darkness and placed into the kingdom of light, we passed from death into Life. (John 5:24; 1 Jo 3:14; Col 1:13; et al)  The "better resurrection"  referred to, I believe, is when our bodies resurrect (1 Cor 15:41) and we no longer wage war in the earth.

"A GOOD REPORT" VS "THE PROMISE" (11:38-40):  It helps to know the setting of these statements: the Temple is about to be destroyed, and all "the old-time religion" of Judaism and the Law was supposed to be destroyed with it. The people listed in Hebrews 11 found the secret of living by faith rather than trying to keep the Law.  Hebrews PROVES once and for all that living by faith is the "better way" because we don't live by just SHADOWS AND TYPES (Law, self-righteousness, self-effort, etc), but we live by God's grace.  With Jesus' resurrection and passage into the heavenly Holy of Holies, He opened the way for us to live by faith, the way that was "better" than all the "shadows" of the OT.  Jesus is the "substance" of all those "shadows",  and therefore everything available to us is "better". THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE.

"THE PROMISE" - THE FINISH-LINE OF THE RACE: The goal we are pressing for is "perfection of our faith", or  "being made perfect" (11:40).  Reaching "perfection" means we are mature, grown-up, adult believers - not because we have learned to TRY harder, but because we have matured in our practice of living by faith.  "Perfection: is also the goal of discipline and correction (not punishment, like some think.).  All of Hebrews has been leading up to this because whenever these Hebrews fell from grace or backslid, they "started over" with salvation again, instead of picking themselves up, learning from their sin, and going on toward maturity.  Mature believers live in "the LAND" - which is interpreted by Hebrews to mean "God's rest" of faith.  IF we strive at all, it is to get "in faith" - to overcome our emotions by focusing on God's goodness and God's greatness. We do not strive to overcome sin (Jesus already did that), we strive to get into God's presence and stay there, connected to our Life-source.

"THE RACE":  It takes faith to run this race (12:1), and fight this fight (12:4).  The Greek word for this competition is "agon" from which we get "agony".  We must strip down in order to compete against our flesh.  "every weight" refers to anything in our flesh that draws us back into the natural realm in rebellion to Truth.  "the sin that so easily besets us" is unbelief.  (We know it is by the context of the book of Hebrews. All sin boils down to unbelief.)  It is easy to see that the race itself is an automatic sifting process. For our faith to be operative, our flesh must be put to death thru obedience, and we must press thru into faith (God's rest).  KEEP YOUR FOCUS. Jesus ran ahead of us, enduring everything we face, setting our example.  Our WORST day with Jesus, is still "BETTER" than our BEST day without Him.  That is what the "cloud of witnesses" has testified to!  The "better" and "eternal" benefits are all to be found "in the Land" (God's REST of faith).  v BUT NOTE:

ENDURE VS "SURVIVE":   We are not meant to "survive" the growth and maturing process; we are meant to be changed by it.  The race we run, pressing our way into maturity, is meant to sift out the flesh, which consists of self-preservation and a murdering spirit (resentment at being opposed in our flesh).  The chastening of the Lord is NOT punishment; Jesus took all our punishment on Himself.  The chastening of the Lord has nothing to do with our sin or iniquity; Heb 8:12 and 10:17 says God does not "remember" them anymore, does not hold them against us!!!   The chastening of the Lord comes to deal with self-preservation and the resentment of having to submit and be changed.  Rather than "survive", we let the flesh die as we obey God and move forward.  Holiness is the acquisition of new habits or "defaults".  As we intentionally "strive to enter into the Rest" by staying connected to God, focusing on Jesus, THAT becomes our "default" and we are changed.  Not by trying harder, but by focusing more on Jesus.  This is why Psalms is such an important book; it gives us the words to say, the thoughts to think, to keep ourselves focused on God's goodness and greatness, which never change.

RESPONSE:   At one time, my daughter worked with a group of deaf children, preparing them to run in the "Special Olympics". Most of them were about 4-6 years old and so this was their first time. Her first day, she lined them up, dropped the flag, and they all started running.  They ran around trees, across the park, into the parking lot, back to the start line, etc.  She forgot to tell them where the goal was!  That's how I used to feel about Hebrews 12.  I was willing to run all right, but I didn't know what the goal was!  Where was I supposed to run to?  What was I fighting for?  Why was everything so hard?

I would strive, and work, and go thru things just happy to "survive", and instead of being changed, in fact I became just that much more stubborn and fleshly.  I was always asking the mature Christians to pray for me, that I was "going thru something difficult" again.  It was like working hard to climb up a ladder, only to discover that it was leaning against the wrong wall!  I wasn't supposed to survive!  I was supposed to be changed.  Instead of fighting against my circumstances, I was supposed to be pressing thru my selfishness and obsession with myself, and focus on Jesus, making Him the center of my life.  Instead of working to be a better person, I was supposed to work past my selfishness and give myself over to God, allowing HIM to be Himself IN me.

Because God loves me - He persisted in revealing Himself to me.  God is not mad at me!  He just wants me to grow up!  Quit relying on what I do to win His favor.  Quit thinking He held anything against me.  Spend more time and effort in being thankful.

PSALM 112:1-10                                                                                                              
This Psalm reveals the character traits of a "righteous man".  (1) He fears the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Psa 111:10), and is the very foundation of worship.  (2) He delights greatly in His commandments - loves the Word like his very food.  (3) He is gracious - extending grace to those around him.  (4) He is full of compassion (your pain in my heart).  (5) He is righteous (by faith).  (6) He shows favor: is gracious in his dealings.  (7) He lends and trusts God for the payback.  (8) He has integrity in his dealings.  (9) He gives freely and generously where the need is.

The "righteous man" is "BLESSED".  To be blessed, is to be "empowered for success". To be blessed as a "righteous man" is to have the grace of God flow thru us.  This means  (1) He blesses others.  (2) His children, and other descendants will be "mighty" (wealthy, valorous and courageous, heroic) and will be blessed by God too.  (3) He himself will have true wealth and riches.  (4) His righteousness is by faith in Jesus ("the righteousness of God") and so it is eternal. (5) He is "light" in a dark place.  (6) He is not easily moved because his heart is "fixed" (steadfast and fearless; does not panic).  (7) He shall be remembered as a righteous man.  (8) He trusts the Lord always and that holds him steady.  (9) His heart is "established", stable, because he has formed the habit of trust in God. (10) He remains "in faith", never losing hope.  (11) The wicked gnash on him, especially because the righteous is well-thought-of by God.

RESPONSE:   I think it all boils down to the "righteous man" is a happy man. Rather than looking at himself, dwelling on his failures, thinking he will never measure up, the righteous man focuses on the Lord - delighting in God and in His Word - living to please God.

PROVERBS 27:17                                                                                                            
Some people just bring out the best in us.