Posts with the tag “week-33”

Ezekiel 14-16. “Righteousness of Christ”          “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” – Isaiah 64:6         In Ezekiel 14, the Lord patiently reveals to His people that they have no hope of avoiding His judgments.  The point that He is repeatedly making is that your righteousness cannot save you from God’s judgment.  He further strengthens the point by declaring that even the righteousn...  Read More

Ezekiel 10-13.  “Personal Relationship”          At the start of this week, we read about the coming of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34.  In God’s expression of hope to Israel through the prophet Ezekiel, we read more details of the coming covenant (Ezekiel 11:14-21).  As part of the new covenant, God will do a heart transplant in His people, removing the old heart of stone and replacing it ...  Read More

Ezekiel 5-9.  “That’s Not a Threat, It’s a Promise”          “For I am the LORD!  What I threaten always happens.” – Ezekiel 12:25         Ezekiel paints a very bleak picture for the fate of God’s people.  But for those who have been reading the Scriptures closely, it should come as no surprise, because Moses informed Israel as to what would happen if they refused to listen to the Lord (Deuteronom...  Read More

Jeremiah 27-28; 51:59-64; Ezekiel 3:16-4:17.  “Hope Springs Eternal”          Those of you who know me, know that I love baseball.  The game is a wonderful gift from God, in my opinion.  Someone once said that the great thing about baseball (professional baseball that is) is that every team goes into the season knowing they will win sixty games and lose sixty games and the rest of them are up for ...  Read More

Jeremiah 37:11-38:28; Ezekiel 1:1- 3:15. “God’s Omnipresence”          Leaving home for an unfamiliar world can indeed be a frightening experience.  It will be an experience that will be repeated thousands of times in the coming weeks by young men and women heading off to college.  For the Christian, it is helpful and comforting to know that God is there with you in that new and different place. ...  Read More

2 Kings 24:10-20a; 1 Chronicles 3:10-16; 2 Chronicles 36:10-14; Jeremiah 37:1-10; 51:15-58; 52:1-3a.  “False Hope”          Ever since the kingdom of Israel became divided under Rehoboam (1 Kings 12), the kings of both Israel and Judah led God’s people through a downward spiral of idolatry and disobedience.  This had resulted in Israel no longer being a major player on the world political scene as...  Read More

         The reading for this week will deal with Israel in exile.  While there are still some who remain in Jerusalem, the main shift of the Scriptures has been on those who are living in exile in Babylon.  Particularly we see this in Ezekiel, whose ministry was directly to God’s people living in exile.  Because they were dark days for God’s people, both those left in Jerusalem and those in exile...  Read More

The reading for this week will deal with Israel in exile.  While there are still some who remain in Jerusalem, the main shift of the Scriptures has been on those who are living in exile in Babylon.  Particularly we see this in Ezekiel, whose ministry was directly to God’s people living in exile.  Because they were dark days for God’s people, both those left in Jerusalem and those in exile, there is a recurring theme of hope that we will be looking at this week.  Read More