And rise again to your allotted portion — Daniel 10-12

Posted on November 5, 2011 by parklinscomb

Without any doubt God is in control of this world. True, bad things happen that God has chosen not to control, because He grants us free will, but the cosmos is absolutely heading for the exact destination He has set for it. It’s a difficult thing sometimes to keep straight in our heads and hearts that God has allowed us to have free will — we may choose good or evil — but that God can still predict the world’s events. Perhaps, perhaps, this is part of the reason that some theologian struggle with the predictive prophecy found in Daniel, especially in today’s reading — specifically chapter 11.

Only Michael

The word “princes” here (as in prince of Persian, prince of Greece, and prince of your people) are not being used in the sense of political kings, but of what are sometimes called principalities — Romans 8:38 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers.” In this passage there is a clear reference to spiritual warfare — that seems to have had some physical, material world consequences in the politics of the world. Fighting, presumably leading angelic armies, in this warfare seems angelic princes — each nation seems to have a “prince” of its own, and none took the Messiah’s side in Daniel’s vision. When we humans get outnumbered, we panic; but never forget that one with God is better than a majority — it makes His people more than conquerors. That’s not to say — as in this passage — that the battle won’t be difficult or challenging, but God always wins — big. Sometimes we charge out into the world, with God at our side, expecting the enemy to just fall away without resistance — and we can get disappointed. The enemy will be defeated, but he has no intention of going down quietly or easily — just remember that he does go down decisively and permanently in the end.

Details

There’s a good bit of detail to be found in chapter 11, but it’s fulfillment can all be verified historically. The amazing detail found here sometimes lures liberal theologians to doubt the book’s true inspiration; they accuse it of really being history written as if it were prophecy. Their God is too small. Never let your God be too small. Never let Him be so small that He’s only able to give us moral guidelines that last a few centuries — have an expiration date after a few centuries. Never let your God get so small that He can’t understand your situation and circumstance. Never let you God get so small that He couldn’t create a world as we have it without the help of millions of years and evolution’s help. Never let your God get so small that He hasn’t got time for your small troubles. And never let your God get so small that He can’t forgive something that you’ve done.

Resurrection

Resurrection isn’t a New Testament doctrine; it’s found right in Daniel 12. And the context of its revelation to us should teach us something. The context is Daniel’s questions and anxiety about the future. What the Lord tells him is the specifics weren’t really all that important, but that given the he should find comfort in knowing that his future was secure — no matter how insecure and tumultuous the next few centuries might be. A Bill Gaither song puts it well…

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.


Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
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Apocalyptic visions — Daniel 7-9

Posted on November 4, 2011 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading has Daniel giving us a look into visions he received. Not only are these visions important in our identification of Jesus, God’s Son and Messiah, but also because they provide keys for understanding other revelations and visions from God. Let’s start with a brief list of some of these symbols:

  • beasts — a conquering king and their empire
  • horns — kings of an empire
  • “times, a time, and half a time” — this equals 3 and a half (half of seven a number of perfection) which symbolizes a short but intense period of persecution or trouble for God’s people

When you find these in other apocalyptic biblical literature (e.g., Revelation), you now have clue as to what they mean.

The first vision contains a first look into the generic shapes of worldly empires that would be arise over the next 500 years. We find out later that they are the Babylonian empire, the Persian empire, the Greek (Alexander’s) empire, and the Roman empire. As fierce and vicious as some of these kingdoms would be, however, God wants His people to be assured that He and His Messiah (vv. 13-14) would vanquish them all in the appearance of his eternal kingdom. A couple of these empires would be especially hostile to God’s people, but we can rest secure in knowing that God wins, He always decisively and crushingly wins.

I love this (vv. 13, 14) picture of the Messiah, don’t you? “And behold with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man” — appearing to be a mere man, but clearly much more. And this King is one that is given an everlasting dominion which will not be destroyed — unlike the other kingdoms.

The second vision tells a similar thing with slightly different symbols. In this one (chapter 8) the kingdom of Greece and one swift and powerful king (we know as Alexander the Great) is revealed (v. 21) as one of the empires to look for in the signs of the times approaching the appearance of the Messiah. Even Antiochus Epiphanes (the terrible king during the time of the Maccabean struggle) is alluded to — though not specifically named.

The third vision is one in answer to Daniel’s reading of Jeremiah’s prophecy about 70 years in exile. This causes Daniel to offer a prayer to the Lord of deep contrition for the sins of Israel and petition for forgiveness and return to the land of Israel. In a direct answer to Daniel’s prayer, the angel Gabriel came to Daniel with an answer, sometimes called the 70 weeks or the 70 sevens. It has, regrettably, become a revelation of some controversy especially among premillennialists, who seek to specify the coming of Jesus and beginning of their predicted second coming. However, it becomes relatively clear with a bit of objective reading (that is, a reading without a premillennial agenda) and knowledge of ancient history that this is a “soft” time table for the original appearance of the Lord Jesus (the Messiah) and even the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. And Jesus was right on time — just like always.

Lesson for today: God is in control of this world. God is in control of this world centuries in advance. Evil will not win. Powerful nations and leaders will not win. Man can make all the plans he wants, but unless they are in alignment with God’s, they won’t stand. And when the time is right, by God’s calculations, not man’s, He will bring this old sinful world to an end — swiftly, deftly, and finally. Be on God’s side, on God’s terms; and you cannot — you CANNOT — lose.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Lightweight or Heavyweight? Daniel 4-6

Posted on November 3, 2011 by parklinscomb

There was a film from 1966 (remade in 2004) entitled “Alfie”. The movie is about a sexually promiscuous young man and the big questions that he failed to ask or act on. The theme music, composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, asked that big question the main character had been avoiding: “What’s it all about Alfie?” It’s a question that we all need to ask — the sooner the better. And it is the central theme of 2 of the 3 stories in today’s reading in Daniel, where pride and selfishness have been given full reign.

From king to cow and back again

It is said that to be a king or run for president or to act in any way as the head of state, you have to have a certain amount of self-confidence that usually borders on or crosses the line into arrogance. Nebuchadnezzar had consolidated the nation of Babylon, had marshaled and fielded a very successful army that had vanquished the fierce Assyrians and conquered a vast empire. The city of Babylon was the center of civilization in that day; it was rich, sophisticated, opulent, powerful, organized, and the envy of the rest of the world — one of the “Wonders of the World” were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. But such success often goes to one’s head: “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” In many cases God simply allows men to be self-decieved about their importance or accomplishment, but — maybe because Daniel, a prophet of God was available, maybe because Nebuchadnezzar had been specifically called God’s rod of punishment — God wanted to give Nebuchadnezzar a wake up call. It came in the form of a dream that necessitated Daniel’s interpretation. But even after Daniel’s interpretation — “that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.” — and warning advice, Nebuchadnezzar still forgot and returned to his former pride. Consequently, he did lose his mind and for a while lived and ate like animals.

Then there’s this interesting line in v.34, Daniel 4:34 “…I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.” He raised his eyes toward Heaven and his reason returned to him. In this particular case, it was a miraculous healing; but it still has application to us, doesn’t it? As long as we are looking toward Earth, as long as we see ourselves as the source of wisdom and problem solution, as long as we see ourselves as the maker of wealth and power; we will be no better than beasts. It’s when we lift our eyes toward Heaven — realizing that human wisdom is sharply limited, realizing that our wealth and power are derived from God’s blessings, and realizing that the good and permanent solutions to life are from God — that our reason returns. What’s it all about Nebuchadnezzar? It’s not all about you.

Don’t be too lightweight

Nebuchadnezzar was followed by the reign of his sons Amel-Marduk and Neriglissar and his grandson Labashi-Marduk (who was thought too young to rule and was assassinated) who was replaced by Nabonidus — don’t worry, there’s no test. Nabonidus’ son was Belshazzar who was the king in the story of chapter 5 — The handwriting on the wall.

Nabonidus was on an extended religious leave as the king and Belshazzar had been designated the king in his place. Belshazzar, however, decided to throw a party in his father’s absence using the very cups and dishes from the Temple of the LORD (5:3). This appears to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back with God and a hand appeared to the party-goers writing opposite the lampstand in the party (maybe the very Menorah of the Temple!): “Mene mene, tekel, upharsin.” It was in script that was unreadable by the usual wise men, so Daniel was called for. Daniel’s inspired translation wasn’t good news for Belshazzar: “God has numbered you kingdom and put an end to it — you have been weighted on the scales and found deficient — your kingdom has been divided and given over the the Medes and Persians” That very night the Persians took Babylon bloodlessly and killed Belshazzar.

The lesson for us is that we each have our own days numbered, don’t we? Shall we be judged by God as a spiritual lightweight or a spiritual heavyweight? To whom will the kingdom be given instead of you? This last part may be a little confusing, unless we think about the words of the Savior to the Jewish leaders who rejected Him, (Matthew 21:43) “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” You see, it’s about producing the right kind of fruit. Belshazzar thought the kingdom was his; God said, “Not necessarily.” The Jews thought the kingdom was theirs by right; God said “Not so fast.” Do we think that the kingdom, salvation is “in the bag” for us? Don’t be a lightweight.

Daniel was not on the menu

This very familiar story comes from the days of Daniel’s life after the Persians took the kingdom from the Babylonians. I think the most inspiring and thought provoking passage in this exciting chapter is v.5 — “Then these men said, ‘We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.’” May this be said of every Christian! Could it be said of you?

There’s no doubt about it, Daniel is truly a great hero of faith. Faithful in keeping God’s law (Daniel 1:8), faithful in reading and believing God’s word (Daniel 9:2), faithful in telling truth to power (Daniel 4), and faithful in speaking God’s word (chapter 7 and following) — all in the context of hostile, pagan Gentile influences all around him without any family or much friend support! Let no one use his/her work situation, academic circumstances, or social situation as an excuse to “do as the Romans do” or compromise with the world — faithfulness, integrity, and courage are rewarded by the LORD and admired by even the world. Daniel is proof.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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The story of Daniel begins — Daniel 1-3

Posted on November 2, 2011 by parklinscomb

There is so much to talk about with the beginning of Daniel! It’s an exciting and profoundly encouraging book; let’s dive right in, shall we?

How did Daniel and friends get into Babylon?

Although many of you already know how Daniel got to Babylon, others may not. Early in Babylon’s rule over Judah, king Nebuchadnezzar ordered that some of the nobles and especially some of their young men be taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar’s apparent plan was to educate and acculturate these young men in Babylonian law, Babylonian religion, Babylonian customs, Babylonian language and writing, and Babylonian literature in hopes of ultimately returning them to their conquered homeland to rule them with native credentials, but Babylonian minds and hearts. Daniel (Belteshazzar was his Babylonian name, see v. 7), Hananiah (Shadrach, his Babylonian name), Mishael (Meshach, his Babylonian name), and Azariah (Abednego, his Babylonian name) were among the young men taken into captivity for this educational and cultural “make-over”. Daniel, to jump ahead in the story, was promoted to high places of responsibility, governance, and prestige and served well over 70 years past the Babylonian empire and into the first several years of the Persian empire.

Trouble with the menu

Prisoners, even ones being treated with an education, don’t get to choose their menus under ordinary circumstances. Daniel and his friends were definitely being treated well, because they were eating from the king’s own table, like every other “student” from the other conquered corners of Babylon’s empire, but Daniel and company had some issues with the menu. Although we are not given specifics about why the variety of a king’s banquet was a problem for them, we can make some guesses. We know that eating vegetables wasn’t a problem, since that is what Daniel asked for; so it had to do with the meat: 1) what meat was served was not properly bled and therefore might have been bloodier than God’s law would allow, 2) the meats might have been offered to the gods of the Babylonians and therefore forbidden, 3) it might be that eating with Gentiles was the problem, or 4) the meats may have all been unclean animals. They also asked for water rather than wine, possibly because the wine had been offered to the gods also as a libation offering. But regardless of the specific reason, Daniel and friends did the right thing by asking for food and drink that would not defile them. This was a great risk for them and their supervisor, but because of God’s favor and blessing Daniel and company actually looked healthier than the other “students” that ate everything from the king’s table. Indeed, when the final tests and interviews were given, Daniel and friends were appraised to be the top of their class by a wide margin (10 times better than even the most experienced, 1:20). They were considered so intelligent that instead of being sent back to Judah as rulers, they were taken into the king’s personal service. There is little doubt that Daniel and his friends were smart before their obedient conduct, but they were also clearly blessed because of their courageous and faithful stand. Neither Daniel nor his friends knew how things were going to turn out for them, but they were willing to do what was right and let the pieces fall where they may. There’s an important lesson of courage and faithfulness here for us too, for life at work, at school, or in the neighborhood. Do what’s right and let what happens happen.

Crisis and promotion

But not too long after Daniel was taken into the king’s service the king had a troubling dream. Probably suspecting that the magicians, conjurers, and other soothsayers had the tendency to make it up as they went along, yet wanting a genuine answer about this dream, Nebuchadnezzar demanded that his wise men go beyond the usual interpretation of the dream, but tell him what the dream actually was. The king reasoned that if they could know this, they could give a genuine interpretation. But nobody had ever asked such a thing of the wise men and they were stumped. Nebuchadnezzar threatened that if no one could tell him the dream with its interpretation, all the wise men would die — including Daniel. When this news reached Daniel, he told the king to give him a little time to pray to his God who was the giver and interpreter of dreams. Nebuchadnezzar allowed the time and Daniel, giving full credit to the LORD, told the king both the dream and its interpretation.

The dream was the relatively famous one of the statue with the golden head, silver chest and arms, bronze belly and thighs, and iron legs with iron/clay feet. The interpretation was a time table for God’s scheme of redemption, speaking of four empires starting with Babylon itself (the golden head), the Persian empire (the silver chest and arms), the Greek empire (bronze belly and thighs), and the Roman empire (iron legs and iron/clay feet). The finale of the dream was a stone that grows into a mountain which crushes them all, speaking of the kingdom of God to come in the days of the fourth (Roman) empire.

This dream and its inspired interpretation speaks to a couple of modern religious positions in error. First, it contradicts the liberal theologies that are inclined to discredit miracles and predictive prophecy. Liberal religionists find so much evidence for predictive prophecy here and later in Daniel that they tend to date the actual writing of Daniel to deep into the Greek empire — as late as 150 BC. I guess that’s all you can do, if you don’t believe that God can predict the future so accurately. But it would seem unlikely that a writer of the second century would write in Aramaic (the official language of state used in the Persian period) using a number of Persian loan words. There are some other loan words in the text from Greek, but these could easily be explained as an editor’s attempt to “translate” the work for readers who understood Greek terms but not the Aramaic terms for things like instruments and even the wise men (called Chaldeans in Daniel). Daniel’s accurate understanding of Babylonian and Persian politics likewise goes well beyond what could be expected of a later writer. God sculpts the future according to His plan and purpose; Daniel wasn’t history being written after the “prophesied” events, but predictive prophecy written before it ever happened.

Secondly, there is a theology known as premillennialism which claims that the kingdom of God was always intended to be a physical kingdom on this earth. As we have already noted a couple of times in this blog, Jesus contradicts this claim in John 18:36. But in this passage we find more evidence: God predicted that the kingdom would come in the days of the fourth empire, the Roman empire. The spiritual kingdom of God, the church of Christ, did come in the days of the Romans. Daniel (God) was right; premillennialists were wrong.

When Daniel’s revelation of the dream was deemed true, and his interpretation deemed correct, he was elevated to head of the wise men. I focus on this relatively small point to make this point, that with Daniel at the head of the wise men, the magi, it is possibly and even probable that he made a prediction for them about a star that would appear and what it would mean. Many commentators have wondered about the purpose of the story of the wise men in the book of Matthew — What place does a story of Gentile astrologers have in story of the Jewish Messiah? The fact that Daniel himself was a revered magi leader, I believe, lent extra credence to the claim of Jesus as Israel’s (and the world’s) Messiah. They were probably following up on a prediction of Daniel himself.

Let it be known

Lastly, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is a famous one and has a great point for us all. As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the fiery furnace they didn’t know how things would fall — they appear to have fully expected to die — but they did what was right. I love what could have been their final words, (Daniel 3:17, 18) “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Do what’s right and let the pieces fall where they may.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Idealism that changes the world — Ezekiel 44-48

Posted on November 2, 2011 by parklinscomb

This last portion of Ezekiel is centered around the Messiah and His place in God’s kingdom. Part of the Jewish Messianic thought is that when the Messiah comes (the Prince of this passage), He will come in through the eastern gate (44:1-3), which has been walled up (by the Turks in the 1500‘s), and the connection has been made by some (mostly Premillennialists) that it will never be opened again until the Messiah enters through it with His victorious army.

These last few chapters of Ezekiel, however, are really a parable, a metaphor for the kingdom of God, using the physical land of Israel as a symbol of God’s church. There are a few religious organizations that mistake these chapters for descriptions of a literal and political kingdom of God on earth, but in view of John 18:36, in which Jesus in crystal clarity tells us that His kingdom is NOT of this world, we must understand these and other passages for descriptions of His spiritual kingdom, now already established (ref. — Colossians 1:13,14; Revelation 1:6). For example, many of the items under discussion in Ezekiel are mirrored in the New Testament, where they are clearly referring to Heaven: water from the altar comes forth, like the description of Heaven in Revelation 21 and 22. Another parallel would include how Gentiles are receiving an inheritance like the New Testament descriptions of the church (Ephesians 2). And water flowing from the altar makes the Dead Sea fresh — making all that was bad good again, the dead is made alive. We can find all the marks of Messianic and Remnant prophecy that seek to describe not a physical premillennial kingdom but the spiritual kingdom of the church.

I’m always inspired, encouraged, and lifted by the ideal of what God hopes for His people. That’s why I love these Old Testament Messianic and Remnant prophecies. The Remnant prophecies in particular give us something to reach for, to aspire to, to grow into; it gives us a standard to adhere to and a landmark to steer toward. Regrettably, God’s people can be influenced by the world to dumb-down the standard, because it’s more “realistic”; but it is idealism that changes the world, not realism; we need to strive to become what God imagined us to be, not what is easier to be; we need to call men to be what God wanted, not what they prefer. Be an idealist and change the world, change yourself, and change your neighbor.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Spiritual, not physical — Ezekiel 40-43

Posted on November 2, 2011 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading is huge — well, I mean it’s about something really big — no, that’s still not clear. Read about the size of the temple and you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about. It describes a temple that is really, really large in physical size — large enough to occupy over half of present day Israel! The temple court alone is larger than the entire old city of Jerusalem! And who knows, if Israel had sincerely turned from their sins, been ashamed of what they had done (43:10), who knows what the God for whom nothing is impossible would have done for them in making such a place possible. But that was not to be the case. The second temple (the first temple was built by Solomon) was considerably less than this ideal temple.

Premillennialist teachers (those who believe in a literal, political kingdom of God on earth) are convinced that this is a third temple to be built during the premillennial kingdom, which will need to be this large to accommodate the huge number of worshippers who will seek the LORD there. The fatal problem with this idea, however, is that Jesus Himself said, (John 18:36) “…My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” So, this is not the lesson to get out of this lengthy passage. What is?

This passage is talking about the glorious spiritual kingdom that God had purposed all along: a kingdom that would be composed of men from every nation (not just the Jews), a kingdom that would be ruled faithfully by Jesus, a kingdom whose citizens would not defile God’s holy name again, a kingdom that would deliberately enter into covenant with the LORD (not merely born into it), a kingdom that would be grand and glorious and eternal, a kingdom that would never be shaken, a kingdom that would be handed over pure and undefiled to the Father at the end of time (1 Cor. 15:24-26) — the church of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

Sometimes when we read the above passage we don’t really keep in mind what God had in mind (Ezekiel 40-43).

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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God wins — He always wins — Ezekiel 36-39

Posted on November 1, 2011 by parklinscomb

Well, as anyone in the northeast can attest, the last few days have had their challenges from the weather that the good Lord has sent us. Personally, I still don’t have electricity from the power company or internet service and have kept the house warm by a generator. I say all this by way of explanation for why I’ve dropped out of my daily blog. And I also bring this up to say that in order to try to catch up a bit, I may be posting a couple few shorter blogs a day until I’ve caught up.

Speaking of the blog, let’s get down to business, shall we?

There’s always hope

Our reading today contains the source of the famous spiritual “Dem Bones” — The Valley of Dry Bones, chapter 37. It’s a metaphor for the return of Israel — a virtual resurrection of the nation: “Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished.” (v. 11). But God wanted them to know, once again, that hope continued to be a viable option in their lives. If they’d repent and return to Him, Israel would return to their ancestral possession. And the meaning to us is the same; hope remains a viable option. Sometimes we manage to mess our lives us pretty bad, the consequences are pretty severe and we’re tempted to think that we are simply and completely ruined — our lives have as much hope as the dry bones in a cemetery. The world sees dry bones in a cemetery and thinks, Dead is dead; there’s no come back from this. But God has the power of resurrection. So, for those who’ve ruined a marriage or have been collateral damage in one — there’s hope. For lives wrecked by drugs, drink, or sexual misconduct — including those who are the collateral damage of such sinful and irresponsible living — there’s hope. The hope is God; don’t bother looking elsewhere. You don’t want what anyone else is selling. Even death isn’t too dire a problem for God to solve. It’s God who can bring dry bones back to life in the here and now — and in the future.

Gog and Magog

Although there is no consensus on the exact identity of the nation of Magog or its prince, Gog, what is clear is that there will be hostile neighbors who will attack Israel in the future; but Israel should take heart that God will rescue them. Gog and Magog come up again in Revelation as metaphorical enemies of Israel again, the symbolic name for the vast army whom God destroys at the last great battle (Rev. 20:8). The lesson for us is plain, God wins — He always wins, hands down, no contest, forget-about-it, period. Never let that one encouragement escape your mind as you navigate through the trials, temptations, and persecutions of this world. The world always looks like a winner, but it always loses next to the LORD.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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I’ll be back soon

Posted on October 31, 2011 by parklinscomb

For those of you who may be wondering what happened to this daily blog, southern New Hampshire and much of New England was snowed into the stone age for a few days — no electricity or Internet and poor cell service. Just when men think they’re starting to get the hang of being their own security, God reminds us how fragile and poor our best efforts are. See you soon, God willing.

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You’re never too lost for God — Ezekiel 33-35

Posted on October 28, 2011 by parklinscomb

Well central New England received its first snowfall of the season — with more predicted for the weekend. Some of us are delighted, others of us are groaning at the anticipated work of snow removal; but it’s all a part of the cycle of seasons that should stand as a continual reminder of the constancy of change.

The watchman

I’ll not spend too much time here, because I’ve spoken about this earlier in Ezek. 3; but we really do need to take this parable of the watchman more seriously in our lives. Yes, I understand that the parable was primarily to Ezekiel to motivate him to be fearless and bold in his proclamations of God’s word, but the principle still applies to us who know God’s will, who are daily surrounded by so many people who are ignoring God’s warnings, God’s way of salvation, God’s morality, God’s proper pattern of worship, and other teachings. Like Ezekiel we are tempted to be timid, tempted to not “rock the boat”, and tempted to add our agreement to the common notion that obedience to God doesn’t matter. But not sounding the warning merely lets the sleeping get slaughtered in their sleep on the last day — and we won’t be held guiltless.

There is hope

I was a fairly young preacher, when I went to visit Frank. He was a pretty recent convert though he was in his 60’s. We talked about a few of things before he got to what was really bothering him, “I’m just really not sure that I can go to Heaven. All the things that I’ve done, all the things that I’ve said. I just don’t think God could forgive me of all those things.” So, we had a long talk about the grace of God, about the apostle Paul, and other things that could help him to understand that forgiveness was available even for him. I wish I had remembered about Ezekiel 33:12-16, because it offers wonderful hope, real hope, for anyone. It is the prose version of “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind, but now I see.”

Jesus told a story (Luke 15:11-32) about a wayward boy who squandered his family’s money in wild living, and who — after coming to himself — didn’t think that he had a chance of being accepted again, either. His words were, “…Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son…” Luke 15:18,19, NIV. But when he does try to come home, the scene becomes one of the most memorable in the Bible:

“…his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:20-24, NIV.

And that is what awaits you, if you’ll turn around and come back to God. You haven’t become too bad to become a Christian. God will forget about the past, if you’ll make Him your future.

Beware of false hope

The folks in Israel, who had just experienced the final destruction of Jerusalem were looking for any sort of hope. They found it in how God had given the land to Abraham, when he was only one; now (to paraphrase) because we are many, we certainly still possess the land. “No,” God says (paraphrased), “you can’t possess the land and live disobediently to Me.” What the disobedient remnant of Israel failed to understand was that it was not the connection to God that mattered, it was their conduct! People still miss this point today. Just because you sit in the church building on occasion, just because you wear the label Christian, just because your parents or grandparents or wife or children are Christians doesn’t mean that you’re saved and on your way to Heaven. Heaven isn’t about blood-relations or labels; it’s about our connection to Jesus Christ, and that connection is made through faith, repentance, confession, baptism, discipleship —  faithful hearts and faithful conduct. Don’t misunderstand, it’s not about earning your way to Heaven anymore than Israel had earned the land of Canaan — it was all a gift. But neither they nor we can claim salvation on the basis of irrelevant connections. The only connection that makes any difference is our relationship with Jesus — we must be “in Him” (Ephesians 1:3 and Galatians 3:26,27).

A contrast in shepherds

The rulers of Israel had been all about themselves — as many rulers are still today. This section condemns their self-centeredness, their neglect of the flock (God’s people), their failure to provide any help or healing to those needing it. They would be properly judged for their neglect (the rich man of “Lazarus and the rich man” parable comes to mind). But God had in mind a great Shepherd, His servant David who would feed His flock (the church) himself.

Leaders need to take this teaching and give thought to it. Jesus stressed the difference between the usual leadership of the world and leadership of His kingdom. Instead of self-centeredness and jockeying for position, there would service and humility. Leaders of His people were to be like Him — a towel in their hands, a spirit of sacrifice in their hearts, and God’s business in their minds.

Where envy leads

Lastly, Edom finds itself condemned again in Ezekiel’s prophecy, because of their anger, envy, and hatred. The root of it all seems to go back to the rivalry between Jacob and Esau. Look at where envy leads — even centuries later — if it is not stopped.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Pharaoh, are you listenin’? — Ezekiel 29-32

Posted on October 27, 2011 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading is primarily aimed at Egypt and its pharaoh. Egypt for a very long time had been a top-tier nation — sometimes at the very top of the tier (or pyramid, if you’re into puns). But Egypt’s stature as a top-tier nation was about to end with the impending invasion and conquest by the Babylonians.

Why does God want to have Ezekiel make this extended prophecy to a nation that at this stage in history was more of an ally (or patron) of Israel than an enemy? It is likely that Ezekiel’s message was directed at least as much at the Jews 1) who were engaged in the last Babylonian siege (hoping for rescue from Egypt) and 2) who later wanted to run to Egypt to escape Babylon’s revenge for assassinating the governor, as it was at the arrogant king of Egypt.

A little history

As it turns out historically, Nebuchadnezzar did conquer Egypt. He erected a tent pavilion and his throne right on the spot that Jeremiah had predicted earlier (Jer. 43:10). He took exiles from Egypt to scatter across the Fertile Crescent, just like he had done with every other conquered people. And Egypt was never a top-tiered nation again. It was continuously a client state from Babylon’s empire to Persia’s empire, to Alexander’s empire (Greek), to the Roman empire — a span of 1000 years. It never recovered as a major player in the world’s politics of power. It’s main claim to fame remains its storied glory days before the Babylonian conquest. God really did know what He was talking about!

A little lesson

Ezekiel was really clear about what Pharaoh thought of himself — that he was the creator god. Pharaoh’s really did think that way, that they were sons of Ra the sun god. What kind of an ego could you develop with that sort of story in your family history? And Pharaoh of the time of Ezekiel apparently had a pretty inflated one. But God, through Ezekiel, was going to provide a little reality check. He would be defeated, his nation would be great no more, and his people would be scattered across the face of Mesopotamia.

Arrogance is a common affliction of mankind. Folks often over-guess their importance, their skills, their opinions and views, their authority, their popularity, their beauty, their intelligence, their cleverness, and what they are due from others. And the penalty of over-guessing in these matters is a painful, mortifying fall. When our arrogance exceeds even the common affliction, it leads to even more dire, sometimes eternal, falls. Pharaoh knows — now.

It is always important for a person to (Romans 12:3) “… not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” If we think too little of ourselves, we’ll never try to accomplish anything. If we think too much, we’ll overreach. Have sound judgment about what God has given you, and use it to His glory.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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