The Crimson Thread - May I Gently Suggest?

As God tells Ezekiel the reasons for Israel's exile, He places the blame squarely at the feet of the Shepherds, Israel's religious establishment. The nation's corruption had begun in the Temple when those who were to care for and teach Israel saw their positions as a source of wealth and privilege. That attitude has also taken root in the modern church. It is unlikely that God's perspective has ch...

At the end of His ministry, Y'shua taught mostly in parables. His final parable on the way to the cross was about the green and dry trees (Lu 23:31). As with most parables, this has both local and eternal implications.

As God's watchman, Ezekiel is obligated to warn Israel of what their behavior will bring upon them. He is also obligated to speak of God's character and warn them against fatalism. Even though the temporal consequences of sin might not be avoidable, the eternal consequences may be voided by repentance.

The church has inverted Scripture, denouncing things that God calls blessings and elevating things that God calls sinful. This is the case with all of the hyphenated 'justice' movements which are simply covetousness dressed up to appear respectable. Since there is no limit to what one lacks, once covetousness gets loose it consumes everything. God has an antidote.

Over time, human government grows beyond what is beneficial and begins to see God as a rival for power and influence over its own people. Passover celebrates God bringing His people out from such a government and bringing them into His kingdom. Chanukah and Thanksgiving celebrate much the same thing.

Continuing to enumerate His reasons for destroying Egypt, God first compares Egypt unfavorably with Assyria which had been destroyed earlier. He also likens Pharaoh to a dragon in the sea whose thrashing about serves to foul the waters. Once the dragon is removed, the waters will clear.

In Scripture there are three responses to sin, guilt, shame and brazen defiance. Esau, Adam and Cain respectively are examples. The guilt that Esau feels for despising his birthright and marrying two Caananite women leads him to return to the family, marrying a daughter of Ishmael and forbearing to kill his brother. Sadly, our society is in the brazen defiance stage of sinfulness. Unless we repent...

Israel had formed a military alliance with Egypt against Babylon. That alliance would fail; hence Egypt was an unreliable staff. The prophecy describes Pharaoh's arrogance in holding himself out to be a god. Because of this and their faithlessness, God was going to destroy Egypt.

Prayer is an important skill which can be taught and learned. In creating humanity God made beings that were separate from himself and with whom He could have a relationship. Prayer is a vital part of that relationship. In a sense, human prayer provides the earth with a voice. As much as God wants to hear about our lives, as God's 'gardeners' we have responsibilities beyond.

Here the prophet turns to the spiritual power behind the city of Tyre. It is clear that, like the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14, pride has brought down one of the heavenly princes. His exalted status and the success of his earthly realm have lead him to forget his place. The prophet tells him why the calamity foretold is about to happen.

For a believer, the states of the world and the nation are pretty grim right now. It would be natural to succumb to fear and despair. Scripture makes it very clear that such an attitude is sinful and displeasing to God. The victory is His, but the struggle is ours. We are to meet todays challenges with confidence and courage.

There are three chapters of prophecy against Tyre. These two describe the political and economic reasons for God's destruction of the city. Tyre was the capitol of the Phoenician commercial empire which dominated the Mediterranean basin. Tyre dominated the sea lanes while Israel controlled the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia. With the destruction of Israel by the Babylonians, Tyre had exclu...

When humanity gets too comfortable and far from God, He pulls them out of civilization and into tents. In this wilderness sojourning, God tries to develop a relationship. That relationship, if it is successful begins in following Him for the promise of blessing. As the relationship matures, He tests it. That is what happened to Abraham. It happens with all who follow God.

In chapter 11 the leaders of Jerusalem likened the city to a sturdy pot which keeps its contents safe. God says that the pot is full of scum. The scum and the pot itself will be burned up in the siege and destruction of the city. Chapter 25 begins a list of the surrounding nations who will be judged by God for the way that they treat Israel during her chastisement by Babylon.

In Luke 20 the Sadducees ask Y'shua a 'gotcha' question about resurrection and marriage. He replies that in the resurrection there is no marriage. Why? Perhaps because humans are a two stage life form like butterflies or mayflies. They live part of their lives in one form and environment and then transition to a different shape and environment. Just as the larval stage in a river is fundamental to...

Here the prophet uses an allegory of two sisters to describe the corruption of both Israel and Judah. Both have been unfaithful and fallen into the worst sort of depravity and corruption. The point of the allegory is that Judah, seeing what happened to her sister Israel should have absorbed the lesson and changed her ways. Since she did not, she was going to suffer the same consequences.

Knowing what is true is both important and very difficult. Everyone claims to be telling the truth yet each tells a different story. How does one determine truth from lies? If the Bible is to be trusted, it claims to be of help in this, but Scripture itself is under attack. How do we know that the Bible is true and a reliable guide to sorting out conflicting information?

God starts with the false prophets in Jerusalem who lead the nation astray by saying what people want to hear instead of what God wants said. He then moves on to the priests who do not correctly teach God's word. The loss of a religious anchor allows the government to become corrupt. Finally the people figure out that the way to get along is to become corrupt themselves.

Just like Passover Succot predates Moses. When human civilizations get too big and challenge God, He breaks them up and sends people to live in tents for a while. The concept is that we are sojourners in this world and it is not our permanent home. It appears right now as if God is shaking the world and preparing to send us into tents for a time. The nations sense this and are scrambling to preven...

In chapter 20 God promises to gather all Israel into the wilderness where he will meet them face to face. The sobering part of this text is that, just as in the 40 years wilderness journey, not everyone will make it into the land. In 21 he describes the arrival of the Babylonians who will destroy Jerusalem.

Following a lamentation over Israel in Chapter 19, Chapter 20 finds the elders of Israel in exile coming to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. God tells them that they have not been faithful to the covenant and that He has no intention of giving them anything beyond the message to repent. Even in exile Israel still desires to be like all the other nations, a thing God says will never happen.

The Parable of the Minas in Lu 19 and the Parable of the Talents in Mt 25 have the same surface level point. Christ is going to be gone for a long time and He expects His servants to invest His resources rather than hoarding them out of fear. At a deeper level the parables are very different and serve two different purposes. As an example the Luke parable is for the general public where the Matthe...

In Scripture there are two sorts of hard heart. In Pharaoh's case his hard heart led him to defy God. This was also the case with the wilderness generation who refused to enter the Land because of the spy's bad report. The disciple's hard hearts were if a different character. When faced with a storm on the sea, their life experiences and fear prevented them from realizing the power that Y'shua had...

After the parable of eagles, cedar trees and vines in chapter 17, God goes on to correct a misunderstanding among the exiles. They had a proverb to the effect that their current sad situation was a result of the sins of their fathers. God assures them that He is just and sets consequences appropriate to the behavior of each one. He says that the wicked shall perish for their own sins and that thos...

Over the decades we have been assured that the US was pursuing noble goals abroad and that our societal 'experts' had things well in hand both locally and globally. The mess in Afghanistan has exposed our prideful incompetence to the entire world. Our civic and government elites are far from being expert at anything. Our only option is personal and national repentance. We must dump our pride and c...