FISHING IN THE DEAD SEA!: Healed by the River of Living Water. Water typically symbolizes the Holy Spirit - see John 7:37-39. There the river flow from the BELLY. In Rev 22 the river flows from the THRONE. And here, the river flows from the ALTAR - all of this river bring LIFE and HEALING. I would like to suggest that all three rivers are One River and that all the origins are symbols of the HEART - the innermost part of a man. In the John reference, the original language is "heart, belly, womb, the innermost part of a man". This is also where God's throne and our altar should reside! The River itself is the life-giving force of God's Presence in us. It begins with a trickle, and it increases to a deluge without any other source but God! (no tributaries). The DEPTHS are significant merely because God makes note of them. They probably represent our walk with the Lord, and how deep we enter in. Ankle-deep is our beginning walk so He can draw us deeper. Knees are symbolic of our prayer life and our commitment to the Lord getting stronger. The loins speak of what gets reproduced in our lives, of the Life of God in us. Being in "waters to swim in" is getting in over our heads - where the Life of the Spirit carries us as we lose control of our lives. We don't have a life any more in the depths. We've laid it all down as a "living sacrifice".
THE INHERITANCE: Note, that when the REMNANT come to the Lord, there are some from EVERY tribe! The portion for the Zadok priesthood is called "a thing most holy". (48:12) "JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH" - "the Lord is here". The City of the Lord's Presence declares the PERMANENCE of the Glory of God over it. Don't let anyone fool you: God's Presence is already on His "City", the Church and individual believers. You don't have to wait any longer. He promised this to His elect.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Exactly what do we learn from reading Ezekiel?
SET-UP: You are surrounded by antichristian thought, reasonings, opinions, sense-of-self, ego-centered thinking, man-centered "religion", etc. (Babylonians) They came 20 years ago, battered the city and took the royal family and a few skilled workers captive. (movie stars, political leaders, thinkers, people who won't shut up while the Babylonians take over). The city was surrounded and the ins-and-outs were controlled in order to destroy the economy. Then, some years later, the Babylonians came back. This time they took the religious leaders, leaving one old man behind (their mistake - - - it was Jeremiah). They also took the well-educated, the wealthy, and the rest of the thinkers. The ones they left behind lacked the ability or the motive to think for themselves. At this time, they also put their PUPPET in the "White House". By this time, no one could buy-or-sell, the economy was in ruins, money was worthless because there was nothing to buy. People were actually starving to death, or cannibalizing their families. Those who dared to go against the flow were actually killed by their fellow-citizens - not the Babylonians. Sometime later, Nebuchadnezzar returned to put down an insignificant rebellion, remove his puppet, and kill as many people as he could find (over one million). It was finally over. What does Ezekiel tell us our response should be?
(1) Life is hard and you're going to get your hair messed up. But God is good. We don't always get to be comfortable, but we can be CONTENT. We don't avoid conflict, but we are AT PEACE. We don't run from trouble, but we have VICTORY. In fact, we are the world's resource person - right in the thick of things.
(2) Even in the midst of feeling trapped, imprisoned, and in the midst of a hostile environment, God will find you, give you your assignment, and be with you as you carry it out.
(3) Every knee will bow - voluntarily or involuntarily. God has said that "they shall know that I am God". God is ALWAYS in control.
(4) God has a plan and it will not be thwarted. (Job 23:13; Eph 1:11; Rom 8:28; Isa 46:10; Psa 115:3; Psa 135:6)
(5) Everybody works for God! Even the devil, who is an agent of evil. (My "freedom" is the freedom to chose to do good.) Everything and everyone is created by and for God's purpose and pleasure.
(6) All suffering is not punishment (or even deserved).
(7) Disobedience and rebellion ALWAYS leads to captivity and death
(8) When we despise the holy things of God, "the glory of God" departs from us.
(9) God is holy and God is jealous. Substitutes and counterfeits are an abomination. When we use them, God considers it adultery and calls us a "harlot". Don't cheat on God.
(10) Jesus has triumphed over sin and death in bringing forgiveness and holiness to man.
(11) Sometimes the greatest revelation of God comes during the worst of times.
(12) We can "lose it" over small things. God cares about all the details. There is nothing insignificant to God. Something small now, can grow into a horrible mess of a tree later.
(13) God no longer inhabits a Temple made with hands, but in man's hearts. This means we are HOLY - "in God's possession".
(14) When we have "blown it", there is still hope for us if we repent. We don't have to "get saved" over again - that's not possible. We repent, re-connect with God, re-orient our lives around Him - and move on, asking Him for our next step.
(15) When God restores our lives, He starts with something
that is totally devastated, burned over, and worthless, then He begins
again. "All things become new".
(16) God checks our motives. If we are doing things for the wrong motives, especially if we are exploiting someone, God will step in and judge us.
(17) Sometimes you may be the only one who heard God right, and everyone else is wrong!
(18) God always has a REMNANT (called His "elect") of people who obey, and "keep the faith", through whom He continues to reveal Himself.
(19) When the REMNANT is re-gathered, it will be around Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
(20) Delayed judgment is to give us time to repent, not to grow cocky, thinking it isn't coming. The only way to avoid judgment is through repentance.
(21) The "cure" for our wandering heart and our proclivity to sin is a NEW NATURE (a new heart, new spirit). Egypt is the world-spirit that hates God. Babylon is when we are trapped and in bondage to the world-spirit. We must never turn to Egypt to get delivered from Babylon!
(22) God will use our circumstances and other people to correct and punish us, and then punish the punishers because they delighted in seeing us get hurt!
(23) The ONLY thing that will satisfy our abysmal hunger and thirst is JESUS. We must stay in His Presence until we are filled up and satisfied to keep us from going back to our "other lovers".
(24) Every problem or trouble or affliction in life is an opportunity to deny the flesh. Opposition and hindrances to God's will for us, give us opportunity to develop spiritual maturity and faith-muscles. They "prove" us. (Adam was "perfect", but not proven.)
(25) The "Day of the Lord" is the day of REVERSALS, when God judges the unrighteous and avenges the righteous.
(26) The Living River of God flows OUT from the Temple, it doesn't form nice pools IN the Temple!
(27) Some chastisement is because of sin, either as a fruit, or because the Holy Spirit is confronting us. Chastisement and correction of God's elect is to bring us to repentance and to RESTORE, not to DESTROY. It is remedial. It is NOT PUNISHMENT for sin - Jesus already took that. Sin is too deadly for us to pay for it. It is a horrible affront to the Living and Loving God.
(28) It is important as part of God's REMNANT, that I not embrace APPEARANCES, but accept God's Word and God's Voice as REALITY. As bad as things may appear, whatever God says can be absolutely relied on.
(16) God checks our motives. If we are doing things for the wrong motives, especially if we are exploiting someone, God will step in and judge us.
(17) Sometimes you may be the only one who heard God right, and everyone else is wrong!
(18) God always has a REMNANT (called His "elect") of people who obey, and "keep the faith", through whom He continues to reveal Himself.
(19) When the REMNANT is re-gathered, it will be around Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
(20) Delayed judgment is to give us time to repent, not to grow cocky, thinking it isn't coming. The only way to avoid judgment is through repentance.
(21) The "cure" for our wandering heart and our proclivity to sin is a NEW NATURE (a new heart, new spirit). Egypt is the world-spirit that hates God. Babylon is when we are trapped and in bondage to the world-spirit. We must never turn to Egypt to get delivered from Babylon!
(22) God will use our circumstances and other people to correct and punish us, and then punish the punishers because they delighted in seeing us get hurt!
(23) The ONLY thing that will satisfy our abysmal hunger and thirst is JESUS. We must stay in His Presence until we are filled up and satisfied to keep us from going back to our "other lovers".
(24) Every problem or trouble or affliction in life is an opportunity to deny the flesh. Opposition and hindrances to God's will for us, give us opportunity to develop spiritual maturity and faith-muscles. They "prove" us. (Adam was "perfect", but not proven.)
(25) The "Day of the Lord" is the day of REVERSALS, when God judges the unrighteous and avenges the righteous.
(26) The Living River of God flows OUT from the Temple, it doesn't form nice pools IN the Temple!
(27) Some chastisement is because of sin, either as a fruit, or because the Holy Spirit is confronting us. Chastisement and correction of God's elect is to bring us to repentance and to RESTORE, not to DESTROY. It is remedial. It is NOT PUNISHMENT for sin - Jesus already took that. Sin is too deadly for us to pay for it. It is a horrible affront to the Living and Loving God.
(28) It is important as part of God's REMNANT, that I not embrace APPEARANCES, but accept God's Word and God's Voice as REALITY. As bad as things may appear, whatever God says can be absolutely relied on.
RESPONSE: Ezekiel's vision of the Throne of God and
the "wheel within a wheel"
showed him the origin and the set-up of God's progressive revelation. He saw the whole Word at once. And so, he seems to treat every theme in his
prophesy before he is done! How do I
respond to what I learned here? I am especially
caught by the fact that GOD IS BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS in one way or
another. Nothing has "gotten away
from" God. Whatever is on my own
plate, God put it there. I have to deal
with it. I can quit stressing out over
time management (my biggest problem). I
am free to interact with everyone I meet, without having to rush away to keep
my schedule.
The other thing that really got my attention was God's
attention to details. It is so tempting
to let little things slide because I am so busy that short-cuts are
tempting. Or some things I would like to
skip altogether!
1 PETER 2:11 - 3:7
STRENGTHENING FAITH: Every problem or trouble or
affliction in life is an opportunity to deny the flesh. Opposition and hindrances to God's will for
us, give us opportunity to develop spiritual maturity and faith-muscles. They "prove" us or "test"
us. (Adam was "perfect", but
not proven.) Denying the flesh by
ignoring it, causes it to weaken and die.
When we trust our outcomes to God and give Him thanks, we default to joy
and rejoicing. This section of 1 Peter gives us the "will of God" (2:15) that will
strengthen our faith by how we interact with various groups of people:Toward outsiders: Everyone is watching us, expecting us to disappoint them. We do not live in fear of what others think. What we can't be negligent of is the fact that "fleshly lusts" are at "war" against our souls. Remember, the goal of faith is the "salvation of your souls". (1:9) The word "abstain" (from these fleshly lusts), means "to distance yourself from them." Run, if you have to!
Toward
"insiders": If there is anywhere that faith gets
tested the most, it is at home where people know you. The one place where you'd think people would
excuse bad behavior, overlook shortcomings, you would think it would be at home.
But not so! First of all, this addresses women who are married to men who were probably unsaved. I think what he is saying here is not to
preach to them, but just live before them like Jesus would. The wives are probably already considered out of
order because of getting saved without their husband's input. As far as the "Sarah" example, that happened only once, and Abraham wasn't even present! (Gen 18:12) Ladies,
our husbands are not our "lords".
In fact, he isn't lord of anyone!
Being "in subjection" is
the opposite of demanding your own way, being independent or aggressive. That
will kill the flesh! The word for
husbands "loving" and "giving honor" to their wives
means the same thing as "being subject". Husbands are to give their wives some dignity because they operate at a disadvantage ("weaker vessel") in society. Keep in mind that Peter is teaching us about strengthening
our faith in God, which makes our vulnerabilities a non-issue.
RESPONSE: I grew up in a church where women were
taught to obey their husbands as if they, themselves, were little children, whose husbands
were to take care of them. If you didn't
do what your husband wanted, of if you argued with them, you were considered a
bad wife. That is oppression and God hates it! Where husbands and wives can't argue or
discuss anything, one of you is being oppressed!
A wife is her husband's alter-ego, filling up his weaknesses as he does hers. We yield to one another. Don't confuse submission with servility. Philippians 2 teaches us that we are to have the same "mind" that Jesus does: He
gave up his rights, his reputation, and his dignity when He came to earth as a
servant (a voluntary love-slave). He loved us all the way thru
the Cross! And while we are on the topic of Sarah,
remember, they "obeyed"
(which really means "to listen
to") each other! Sarah was not
a servile spouse who did whatever Abraham told her to. Submission and self-sacrifice flow back and
forth - because the real issue here is not "who is the boss?" - but
"Who do you trust?"
PSALM 119:49-64:
PROVERBS 28:12-13
See Prov 29:2 - it is frightening to be ruled over by someone wicked, and so some people "hide". The word used for "sins" in 28:13 is "transgression" or "willful rebellion" or deviation from godly living. It says here that that person cannot "prosper" or succeed in living free. He can't hide it forever, and in the meantime, he will fail at life.
See Prov 29:2 - it is frightening to be ruled over by someone wicked, and so some people "hide". The word used for "sins" in 28:13 is "transgression" or "willful rebellion" or deviation from godly living. It says here that that person cannot "prosper" or succeed in living free. He can't hide it forever, and in the meantime, he will fail at life.
RESPONSE: In Psalm 32, the Bible also says that
unconfessed sin can cause us to be sick.
If nothing else, it makes us feel guilty. I believe that the Blood of Jesus keeps us
clean, and is mighty and powerful to present us righteous before God. However, Romans 13:8 says not to owe anyone
anything because we have defrauded them somehow. No man lives to himself, and there is a price
to pay for our selfishness - not to God, but to others. We live to please God, and that means we do
what He says.
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