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Ezekiel 2 (ESV)

¹ And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

⁸ “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” ⁹ And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

REFLECTION:

When the eternal God spoke to Ezekiel, He called him the “son of man” (in the Book of Ezekiel, God called Ezekiel the “son of man” a total of ninety-three times), which emphasizes the distance between man and God. Ezekiel certainly did not understand what he saw, but he knew that these were from God, so it was very important. God saw Ezekiel’s frank and obedient attitude, so He filled him with His spirit and gave him the ability to complete His work. God does not want us to understand everything about Him, but we are required to be obedient servants and be faithful to the true and correct principles that God has revealed to us. God gave Ezekiel a difficult task: God wanted him to preach the message of God to those who are ungrateful and stubborn. God said that the people were rebellious because they refused to confess their sins. Rebellion was the greatest feature of the nation of Israel at that time. Even after God pointed out their wrong behaviour, they still turned a deaf ear to the truth. God told Ezekiel not to be afraid or resist. Whether people listen or not, just tell them what God said. Today, when God calls us to preach the gospel, we may also face rejection, opposition, and even persecution. God wants us to preach the gospel no matter be in season or out of season (see 2 Timothy 4:2). More importantly, does God also use people around us to point out certain sins in us? Let us not be stubborn and rebellious, but confess our sins to God and learn the lesson of obedience every day.

PRAYER:

Pray for God to give you the courage to preach the gospel no matter the time is right; pray for a friend or relative who consistently rejected the gospel, and ask God to remove his/her hardiness so that he/she may be enlightened, and accept the gift of eternal life; ask God to make you more meek and humble, more obedient, and to please God in everything you do.

HYMN:

O Church Arise – youtu.be/A98YQHG8tLY

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EZEKIEL

INTRODUCTION

The priest Ezekiel was among the Judeans that Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon in 597 BC. Five years into this exile, God called Ezekiel to go to Israel (both those in Babylon and those back in Judea) and speak my words to them. Ezekiel often brought this message by composing finely polished poetic oracles and speaking (or perhaps singing) them in public. But he also told stories with symbolic meanings, performed symbolic actions, and described extraordinary visions that he had received.

The book of Ezekiel organizes these messages into three main parts: oracles of judgment against Israel, oracles against other nations, and then promises of Israel’s restoration. These divisions are marked by references to the prophet losing and then regaining his ability to speak. A key vision near the beginning describes how God removed His presence from the Jerusalem temple because of Israel’s evil. The oracles against the nations make it clear that though God’s temple was destroyed, no one should conclude that God is not still in control of the world. Those who threaten His people will be defeated in the end. The book’s closing promises confirm that God will renew the hearts of His people and refresh all life on the face of the earth. Ezekiel’s visions fit the ongoing drama of the Bible: a broken world will be healed when the Lord returns to live with His people in a land that has become like the Garden of Eden.

www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/EZK.INTRO1.NIV

Ezekiel 1 (ESV)

¹ In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), ³ the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

⁴ As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. ⁵ And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, ⁶ but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings…

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. ¹⁶ As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. ..

²⁶ And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. ²⁷ And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. ²⁸ Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

REFLECTION:

Ezekiel was born and raised in Judah. When he was preparing to serve as a priest in the temple in 597 BC, the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem and took 10,000 captives, including Ezekiel himself (cf. 2 Kings 24:10-14). The entire nation is facing destruction. Four or five years later, when Ezekiel was thirty years old (this is the legal age to become a priest), God called him to be a prophet. During the first six years of Ezekiel’s ministry in Babylon, Jeremiah was still preaching to those who remained in Judah. Daniel served in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar. The place of exile of Judah was by the Chebar canal, where Babylon and the Euphrates met. God communicated with Ezekiel through visions to reveal God’s truth. These visions are revelatory, so they look strange. The people in exile do not understand the will of God for them. Ezekiel brought the vision from God to them, showed them the awesome glory and holiness of God, and warned people of the consequences of their sins as early as possible. “A likeness with a human appearance” (v26) revealed the God sitting on the throne. In a similar way, Christ revealed God to people in the image of man, and prepared the message of salvation for us. Before the glory of the Lord, Ezekiel fell face down to the ground, seeing the holy God and the sinful self, completely surrendering to God. Today, although we cannot see God with our eyes, the Holy Spirit and our heart testify that we are children of God, allowing us to see the glory and holiness of God with our spiritual eyes, and causing us to have a deep and incomparable awe.

PRAYER:

Come to God in awe, open your spiritual eyes and focus on God’s holiness and glory; thank God that although you are filthy and insignificant, He covers your sins with the blood of Christ so that you can walk with Him; ask God to cleanse you and illuminate the darkness of your heart so that you can live a holy life and glorify God.

HYMN:

Only A Holy God – youtu.be/Jxn_fu6rdCU

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Chapter 3 (ESV)

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

REFLECTION：

1. Chapter at a Glance: Peter urged his readers to trust the prophets and apostles despite scoffers who ridicule the Lord’s second coming and deliberately ignore past divine judgment. God’s timing is different from ours, but this present world will surely be destroyed.  So, be godly and grow in grace.
2. Peter gave two insights into the lengthy delay between the promise of Jesus’ return and its fulfillment. First, God doesn’t view time as we do. What we might refer to as “a few thousand years”, He might think of just as “a couple of days”.  So we can’t impose our time sense on God. Second, God has good reason for the delay.  Christ hasn’t returned yet, because the Lord does not wish that “any should perish”.  As long as Jesus is absent, the door to salvation remains open.  But when Jesus comes, that door will slam shut. And then it will be too late.
3. Peter then wanted us to know that, when “the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved”, every material things we treasure will be all gone. So, Peter wanted us to act appropriately.  The Message puts vv11-12 this way: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

HYMN:

Lord I Give You My Heart – youtu.be/gW6PHQAQsD8

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Chapter 2 (ESV)

¹ But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.³ And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep…

¹⁷ These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

REFLECTION：

1. Chapter at a Glance: Peter warned that false teachers who exploit believers will face judgment. They were arrogant and immoral, and appealed to man’s sinful desires.
2. Peter insisted that genuine freedom is found in willingly submitting to the life God has ordered and arranged. The false teachers declare, “We are free because we do whatever we please.  We are free from all boundaries, restrictions, restraints”. Exactly the opposite is true.  We have been created for freedom, but we discover our freedom only by following God’s steps.  False teachers ignore God’s way, and are wandering aimlessly.
3. Among the people you know and care, is there anyone who is living in so-called “freedom” but actually in bondage and bitterness?
4. Grieve with God over this person’s unwillingness to follow God’s way to enjoy genuine freedom. Pray specifically for this person.  Pray also for an opportunity that you may share the true freedom with him/her.

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

HYMN:

Love Came Down – youtu.be/TQge-HcanSM