EZEKIEL 21: Yesterday we saw that the Lord was quite offended when unrighteous leaders of Israel came to ask for a message from the Lord! And Ezekiel begged to not have to give a highly figurative message because the people complained that he was always speaking in riddles. ISAIAH 5: Yesterday there was a temporary break in the clouds in Isaiah, and we heard the first hint about the Righteous Branch who was to come. HEBREWS 2: Yesterday we heard the amazing prologue in the first chapter of Hebre...
Oct 23, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 296
EZEKIEL 20: In yesterday’s reading in Ezekiel, the Lord refuted the saying that the Israelite’s were using, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.” And then Ezekiel conveyed two poems about the kings of Judah, spoken of symbolically as two lion cubs and like a vine. ISAIAH 3:24—4: Isaiah, like Ezekiel, also spoke of Israel like a vine, and in yesterday’s reading the Lord and Isaiah characterized Israel as a pampered, vain, and spoiled woman. HEBREWS...
Oct 22, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 295
EZEKIEL 18-19: Yesterday in Ezekiel we read the riddle of the two eagles, portraying Israel’s king breaking his sworn covenant with Babylon. There is a lesson here for us. Normally Babylon would be considered the enemy, and getting free from the enemy would be considered a good thing. But NOT SO if the country has made a promise of loyalty sealed by a vow taken in God’s name! Faithfulness to oaths and promises in God’s name take precedence over ‘business as usual’. ISAIAH 3: These famous words f...
Oct 21, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 294
EZEKIEL 17: Yesterday’s chapter graphically portrayed how God considers idolatry like the adultery of a faithless wife. Jerusalem (as Judah’s capital) was compared— in a very unflattering way, to her two sister cities, Samaria and Sodom. ISAIAH 2: In the first chapter of Isaiah, we heard the Lord compare Israel to Sodom and Gomorrah. And we heard how the Lord hates false religious rituals, including the sacrifices that were specified in the Law. If these are done without a corresponding attempt ...
Oct 20, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 293
EZEKIEL 16: This book should make modern day ‘prophets’ reconsider what they do in the Lord’s name. In this book we have heard again and again that the Lord will punish those who prophesy falsely. And in the part about the wood of a vine being useless in yesterday’s reading, there is only one useful thing a grape vine does, and this is bear grapes. And God was saying that since Israel did not bear the proper fruit, He would judge them, and do this without delay. The complaints become even more g...
Oct 19, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 292
EZEKIEL 14-15: The title that the Lord calls Ezekiel is ‘son of man’, which the Lord is using in the normal sense, meaning ‘ordinary human’. The title for Jesus— ‘Son of Man’, is a special usage. For that, check out Daniel 7. Note in yesterday’s reading when Ezekiel acted out how King Zedekiah would go into exile, Ezekiel covered his eyes. It was revealed to Ezekiel that Zedekiah would go to Babylon but not see it. This was fulfilled since Zedekiah had his eyes blinded after watching his sons’ d...
Oct 18, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 291
EZEKIEL 12-13: In yesterday’s reading, the vision of the glory of the Lord left the temple. Then God disagreed with what the leaders of the Israelites were saying, that they were safe in the ‘pot’ of Jerusalem. SONG OF SOLOMON 7: As we heard yesterday, the bride is captivating in beauty, and so radiant that she is compared to the sun and moon. MATTHEW 26b: In yesterday’s reading we heard about these events: the plot to kill Jesus, Jesus being anointed at Bethany, the Last Supper, and Peter vowin...
Oct 17, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 290
EZEKIEL 10-11: Yesterday in chapters 8-9 we heard the story of Ezekiel’s being transported to Jerusalem and his awesome vision of our glorious God revealing the idolatry of Israel happening right at the temple. Some of the locations shown are literal, and some are to be taken figuratively. One clearly sees that God has every right to be highly offended. Note that the people sharing God’s grief at this idolatrous situation received a mark on their foreheads. SONG OF SOLOMON 6: Yesterday in chapte...
Oct 16, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 289
EZEKIEL 8-9: Terrible destruction is prophesied against Judah and Jerusalem. The trumpet will sound the battle call, but no one will get ready, because they are under God’s wrath. SONG OF SOLOMON 5: Yesterday the young man extolled the perfection of his bride. MATTHEW 25b: Yesterday in Matthew 25, we heard two parables that speak about being ready for Christ’s return. Something that is repeated in the parables on this topic is that, “outside there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus is...
Oct 15, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 288
EZEKIEL 6-7: In yesterday’s reading Ezekiel portrayed the punishment of Israel and the siege on Jerusalem for a total of 430 days. Then he took a razor and cut his hair and divided it into three parts with a little left over. This was used as a demonstration that a third of the people would die in the city from disease and famine. The distress will be so severe that parents will eat their children. A third will be killed by the enemy outside the city, and the last third will be scattered by the ...
Oct 14, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 287
EZEKIEL 4-5: In Ezekiel 2-3 God commissioned Ezekiel to speak for God to the rebellious people of Israel. God fed Ezekiel a scroll. This tasted sweet, but afterwards I think he would tell us that it produced “bitterness”— as we will see with John who eats a similar scroll in Revelation. God gave these important words to Ezekiel in yesterday’s reading: Ez. 3:10 NLT …“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. SONG OF SOLOMON 3: As we h...
Oct 13, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 286
EZEKIEL 2-3: Yesterday Ezekiel described his vision of the four cherubim, and the chapter ended just as Ezekiel started hearing a Voice. The last verse ends of chapter 1 says: Ezk. 1:28 NLT All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me. SONG OF SOLOMON 2: Song of Solomon has many speaking parts for the woman, the...
Oct 12, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 285
This seems to me to be a good time to talk with you about how to understand the prophetic books of the Bible, as we now are starting to read the Babylonian exile prophet Ezekiel. And starting in a week and extending to the end of the year, our poetry readings will be from the prophet Isaiah, who lived 200 years before Ezekiel. Near the end of the year we’ll read the minor prophets in quick succession. All the books in the prophetic genre are hands-down the most difficult books to understand in t...
Oct 11, 2024•19 min
EZEKIEL 1: Yesterday in the last chapter of 2nd Chronicles, we heard of the quick succession of the kings of Judah at the very end before the exile to Babylon: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. And after the fall of Jerusalem, chapter 36 also told of the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Cyrus, who gave the decree to rebuild the Temple of God. While Jeremiah prophesied about the fall of Babylon and specified the 70 year duration of the exile, it was Isaiah who mentioned King ...
Oct 11, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 284
2CHRONICLES 36: Josiah’s Passover celebration showed wonderful ability to get everyone to work together and great organizational talent. It is the capstone of the revival that he led. Unfortunately, he was stubborn about going to war with Pharaoh Neco, which cost him both his own life and his son’s life. ECCLESIASTES 12: Yesterday’s short chapter recorded proverbial advice to young and old, and that theme continues in today’s reading. MATTHEW 23a: In yesterday’s reading Jesus roundly defeated th...
Oct 10, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 283
2CHRONICLES 35: It is simply amazing that we have books like Deuteronomy, since we see that it (or perhaps Leviticus) was almost lost. And it shows how far Judah had slipped that they didn’t know of any copies. Josiah sincerely repented after hearing God’s Word. ECCLESIASTES 11: Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes was mainly separate proverbs. As an example I quote verse 3, which I like in the NLT: 3 You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street! MATTHEW 22b: Jesus told a poin...
Oct 09, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 282
2CHRONICLES 34: We are definitely in the back-and-forth pendulum period of Judah. After one fantastic king, the next two were terrible. And now Josiah is again like David. ECCLESIASTES 10: Here is a highlight from yesterday’s reading: Ecc. 9:11 NLT I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educat...
Oct 08, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 281
2CHRONICLES 33: The account in 2 Chronicles of Hezekiah’s victory through prayer over the vast Assyrian army is summarized. It is much more dramatically related in 2nd Kings. Hezekiah’s experience with the envoys from Babylon can also be used as a spiritual parable for us. We need to be careful what we just accept as fate, without asking God for something better. ECCLESIASTES 9: A nugget of exceptional wisdom from Solomon was in yesterday’s reading, and it brings with it a problem in translation...
Oct 07, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 280
2CHRONICLES 32: Following that special Passover, the people went home and destroyed all the pagan shrines. And a good summary of chapter 31 is the last verse: 2Chron. 31:21 NLT In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful. ECCLESIASTES 8: Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes included quite a variety of Solomon’s proverbs, including: Ecc. 7:5 NLT Better to be ...
Oct 06, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 279
2CHRONICLES 31: A sign of how far Judah and Israel had wandered from the Lord was that even the Passover was not celebrated. When Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover celebration, it was the start of a real revival. ECCLESIASTES 7: I find it interesting that Solomon would say that everything has been decided beforehand. GNT certainly implied Who it was who decided beforehand, but NLT makes that explicit: Ecc. 6:10 NLT Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person woul...
Oct 05, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 278
2CHRONICLES 30: Hezekiah led a wonderful spiritual revival which included the reopening and cleansing of the temple and the resumption of sacrifices. And he wasted no time in doing those things. ECCLESIASTES 6: Solomon gave wonderful conclusions about happiness in yesterday’s reading. And he also observed that we leave the world as naked and empty-handed as when we came into the world. MATTHEW 19: Yesterday’s portion of Matthew 18 included the important parable about the king and the forgiven se...
Oct 04, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 277
2CHRONICLES 29: Ahaz’s rule was one of the darkest chapters in Judah’s history. The people didn’t even bury him in the royal cemetery. He closed the temple and put up places to worship Baal all over the country. Even when under severe punishment from the Lord, he never turned to the Lord for help. ECCLESIASTES 5: In yesterday’s chapter, I really like the passages that talk of having the companionship of 2 (or perhaps 3) people. And when it is 2, I always think that the relationship of a man and ...
Oct 03, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 276
2CHRONICLES 28: Yesterday we heard of the reign of Uzziah (who suffered a terrible punishment for his pride) and the reign of his son, Jotham. Both were basically good kings. ECCLESIASTES 4: Yesterday we heard the famous chapter of Ecclesiastes which starts with Ecc. 3:1 (like NLT) For everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season, (turn, turn, turn) a time for every activity under heaven. (Except of course, the NLT does not contain 'turn, turn, turn'.) GNT is very perceptive in bringing out s...
Oct 01, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 275
2CHRONICLES 26-27: King Joash didn’t end so well, did he?! He ordered the murder of Jehoiadah’s son Zechariah. Time and time again Judah’s kings needed to learn not to be proud, and that certainly happened to Joash’s son Amaziah, who was assassinated like his father. Jesus mentioned a Zechariah in Matthew 23 who was “murdered between the temple and the altar.” I previously was mistaken in saying in the intro to 2Chronicles 26 that Joash murdered the son of Jehoida. The Zechariah that Joash murde...
Sep 30, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 274
2CHRONICLES 24-25: Yesterday we heard of Ahaziah’s one year reign, and then his mother Athaliah’s reign. The baby Joash was the only royal descendant of David saved from slaughter. He was raised in the temple by Jehoiada and Jehosheba. When he reached only seven years old, Jehoiada mounted a dangerous coup, which succeeded. ECCLESIASTES 2B: In yesterday’s reading, Solomon sought to find meaning in life through pleasure, folly, wine, and hard work. But both the wise man and the fool share the sam...
Sep 29, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 273
2CHRONICLES 22-23: Yesterday we heard of Jehoshaphat’s famous victory, accomplished only by prayer, worship, and the power of the Lord. Then we also heard about Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, who might possibly be Judah’s worst king, except for several at the very end of that kingdom. ECCLESIASTES 2a: Yesterday the theme of Ecclesiastes was given in these words: Ecc. 2:2 NLT “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” 15 What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missi...
Sep 28, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 272
2CHRONICLES 20-21: Yesterday we heard of Jehoshaphat wisely appointing judges, and he also travelled all over Israel personally encouraging people to follow the Lord. ECCLESIASTES 1: The book of Ecclesiastes is the record of Solomon seeking to find God in a worldly way. This is a book of worldly wisdom. Solomon repeatedly uses the key theme word ‘useless’ to describe our lives on earth. God had not given clear promises about how all mankind will live after death, and Solomon considers the afterl...
Sep 27, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 271
2CHRONICLES 19: Yesterday we heard the story of how Jehoshaphat helped Ahab in battle. God had already spoken through a prophet that Ahab would meet his downfall and how the dogs would lick up his blood. This happened, as we already read in 1Kings 22, when they took his chariot back to Samaria. PROVERBS 31b: Speaking of a capable and virtuous wife, this chapter says: Pro. 31:28-29 NLT Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the ...
Sep 26, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 270
2CHRONICLES 18: Woops. Asa didn’t end nearly as well as he started. And his son Jehoshaphat starts out well, but makes unfortunate alliances. PROVERBS 31a: Today and tomorrow are our last two days in Proverbs. Verses 10-31 of chapter 31 comprise a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Our highlighted verse today is verse 10. I like NLT’s translation for this verse because the Hebrew word describing a good wife means more than just capable. It al...
Sep 25, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 269
2CHRONICLES 16-17: Judah’s kingdom was truly blessed by Asa’s wise reign. The Lord rewarded the country for returning to Him. PROVERBS 30b: Today’s highlighted verse is Pro. 30:20 NLT An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?” MATTHEW 13a: Jesus gave a stinging reply to his critics in yesterday’s reading. The part about a demon leaving a person and then returning with seven demons is often used to teach that there cannot be a spiritual vacuum in ...
Sep 24, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 268
