生命之道

Category: 圣经笔记

  • Zechariah Introduction

    Zechariah Introduction

    Author

    1. Zechariah means “Yahweh Remembers”
    2. Contemporary of Haggai. Haggai was born in Judah before the exile, while Zechariah was born in Babylon after the exile, he was the grandson of Iddo, who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon (Neh 12:4, 16). thus Zechariah was much younger than Haggai
    3. Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Zechariah is born in a priestly family (Neh 12:4)and later was called by God as a prophet
    4. Zechariah was a popular name, at lease 30 Zechariah in OT

    Date

    1. Chapter 1 to 8 falls in the same time frame with the book of Haggai (520 BC – 518 BC)
    2. The rebuild of the second temple resumed in 520 BC and completed in 516 BC
    3. Chapter 9 – 14 are undated. Some says Zechariah record these chapters between 480 BC – 470 BC, during the reign of Persian King Xerxes (486 BC – 464 BC), whom made Esther queen of Persia.

    Background

    1. Cyrus the Great decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple (Ezra 1:2-4; Isa 44:28)
    2. Only 50,000 Jews returned, including Haggai and Zechariah under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest (Ezra 2)
    3. Levitical sacrifices were soon re instituted on a rebuilt altar of burnt offering (Ezra 3:1-6)
    4. On the second year of return, the foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 3:8-13;5:16)
    5. However external oppression and internal depression halted the rebuilding of the temple for about 16 years of spiritual apathy till the rule of the Persian King Darius (522-486BC)
    6. In the 2nd year of Darius (520BC), God raised up Haggai to encourage the Jews in rebuilding (Ezra 5:1-2; Haggai 1:1)
    7. Haggai preached 4 sermons in 4 months, two months later Zechariah began his prophetic ministry, encouraging the people to spiritual renewal and motivating them to rebuild the temple by revealing to them God’s plans for Israel’s future.
    8. With this encouragement, the temple rebuild was completed in 515 BC (Ezra 6:16), four years after Haggai started his sermons.
    9. Haggai had been preaching for two months, and the work on the temple had already started, when Zechariah began his ministry.

    Theme

    1. The backdrop of the book is rebuilding the temple.
    2. This book is messianic prophecies, mentioning many details of the life and work of Christ.
    3. It is the most messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological of all the writings in OT
    4. NT writers quoted or alluded to this book 41 times

    Outline

    1. Ch 1-8 were written to encourage the remnant while they were rebuilding the temple
      1. Ch 1 – 6 consist of 8 visions
        1. The Horses Among the Myrtle Trees 1:7-17
        2. The Four Horns and Four Craftsmen 1:18-21
        3. The Man with the Measuring Line 2:1-13
        4. The Cleansing of Joshua, the High Priest 3:1-10
        5. The Golden Lampstand and Olive Trees 4:1-14
        6. The Flying Scroll 5:1-4
        7. The Woman in the Basket 5:5-11
        8. The Four Chariots 6:1-8
      2. Ch 7-8 consist of 4 messages
        1. Rebuke of Hypocrisy 7:4-7
        2. Repent of Disobedience 7:8-14
        3. Restoration of Israel 8:1-7
        4. Rejoice in Israel’s Future 8:18-23
    2. Ch 9-14 consist of 2 burdens (Oracles). These chapters were written after the completion of the temple to anticipate Israel’s coming Messiah.
      1. Ch9-11: Rejection of the Messiah
      2. Ch12-14: Reign Of The Messiah
  • Haggai Introduction

    Haggai Introduction

    Theme

    Key Theme: Rebuilding The Temple of the LORD

    Key Verse: 1:8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and he honored

    The destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar followed the departure of God’s glory (Ezek 8-11). To Haggai, the rebuilding of the temple invited the return of God’s presence to their midst.

    Background

    1. Second shortest book in Old Testament, only Obadiah is shorter.
    2. Haggai is quoted once in Hebrew 12:26
    3. Haggai was fully aware he was God’s message (1:13). The book started with “the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai” and ended with “declares the LORD Al-mighty”. He used over 24 times “the LORD Almighty says” or similar expression in this short book.
    4. Haggai was the first prophet God used in the post exilic Jews. Zechariah was second and Malachi was third.
    5. There are four messages in this book, all of them were dated in the second year of Darius I (520BC).
    6. Together with Zechariah, Haggai encouraged the Jews to finish rebuilding the temple (Ezra 5:1-2; 6:14). The temple was completed four years after Haggai prophesied, on the 6th year of the reign of King Darius (Ezra 6:15)
    7. Meaning of Haggai means “festival”. That is why some bible teachers believe he was born on a feast day.
    8. We nothing nothing about the genealogy of Haggai. This is a sharp contrast with Zephaniah, whose genealogy was traced back four generation (Zep 1:1)
    9. Haggai may have saw the original temple (2:3), if that is true he is an elderly prophet.
    10. The 1st temple  was destroyed in 586BC, the Jews were exiled to Babylon on the same year for the 3rd and final time.
    11. Under the reign of King Cyrus, 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest (Ezra 1:2-4) to rebuild the temple. Haggai and Zechariah were among the Jews who returned to Jerusalem.
    12. The foundation of the 2nd temple was laid on the 2nd year of return (Ezra 3:8-13;5:16)
    13. However under Samaritan harassment, King Artaxerxes gave an order to stop the rebuilding work (Ezra 4:21, 4:24). The rebuilding stopped for 16 years, until the 2nd year of the reign of King Darius.
    14. God raise up Haggai to encourage the Jews in the rebuilding of the temple. His task was to arous the leaders and the people of Judah from the spiritual lethargy and to encourage them to continue working on the temple. Haggai was supplemented by the continued efforts of Zechariah until the temple reconstruction was finished in 515 BC.
    15. Jerusalem was still a city without a wall, the wall of Jerusalem was not built until 70 years later, under Nehemiah

    Outline

    1. 1st Message: Chapter 1
      1. Call to rebuild the temple
    2. 2nd Message: Chapter 2:1-9
      1. A prophetic promise of the future glory of the temple
    3. 3rd Message: 2:10-19
      1. A priestly decision to illustrate the present blessings of Obedience
    4. 4th Message: 2:20-23
      1. A messianic Prophecy concerning Zerubbabel

    Message 1 (Chapter 1)

    1. v2: These people say, ‘The time was not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built’
    2. v4: “Is it a time for your yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?
    3. Many God’s people spending all their time and energy to build their own houses, but ignore the house of God. This God is asking us to “Give careful thought to your ways” (v5, v7)
    4. We have two ways to live our life
      1. We worked very hard to build wealth for ourselves, but we will be poor spiritually.
      2. We worked very hard to build the house of God, and all the things we need will be given to us (Matt 6:33)

    Message 2 (2:1-9)

    1. v7 “I will share all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory”, says the LORD Almighty.
    2. v8 “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the LORD Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the LORD Almighty
    3. God was revealing His eternal plan, a temple for the nations. The is the Church of Jesus Christ.
    4. This temple was build with living stones (1 Cor 3:16-17, 2 Cor 6:16, Ephe 2:21, 1 Peter 2:5)
    5. v6 “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land”. This is quoted in Hebrew 12:26 as referring to the judgment of the nations at the second coming of Christ.

    Message 3(2:10-19)

    1. sin is contagious, righteousness is not.
    2. We can transmit defilement from one thing or person to another, but we can;t transmit sanctity.
    3. an analogy is our health. We can transmit our sickness to healthy people, but we can’t share our health with other people.

    Message 4 (2:20-23)

    1. The signet ring was a symbol of honor, authority, and power. It corresponded to a king’s scepter which was used to seal letters and decrees. Zerubbabel, as God’s signet ring, stands as the official representative of the Davidic dynasty and represents the resumption of the messianic line interrupted by the Exile. Just as Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring and made him second in the kingdom, so God will do for the Davidic line of kings. The pre-exilic signet of Jehoiacin was removed by God (Jer 22:24) and renewed here in his grandson, Zerubbabel, who reestablished the Davidic line of kings, which would culminate in the millennial reign of Christ.
  • Zephaniah Chapter 3

    Zephaniah Chapter 3

    1. After the prophesies about the gentiles, the prophet returned back to the city of Jerusalem
    2. v5: “The LORD within her is righteous”. Even though sometimes it may seems that God does not punish the wicked and reward the righteous. If we think that way, we are saying that God is not righteous. This scripture tells us that God does NO wrong. He is righteous. Morning by morning He dispenses His justice. He does NOT fail. The problem is not with God, it is with the sinners, because the sinners know no shame.
  • Zephaniah Chapter 2

    Zephaniah Chapter 2

    1. v2: The goal of this book is not to bring people to despair, but to repentance and obedience.
    2. v3: God is calling the Jews to
      1. seek Him
      2. be humble
      3. do what He commands
      4. Seek righteousness
      5. Seek humility
    3. v3: Many died in the Babylonians invasions, others were spared and some were exiled to Babylon.
    4. v4-5: Judgement will come to the gentiles as well
    5. v4: “Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron” these are Philistine major cities
    6. v5: Kerethites are Cretans
    7. v7: “the remnant of the house of Judah” not all Jews were destroyed. The remaining Jews are called remnant, God will one day restore their fortunes.
    8. v8-11: Judgment against Moab and Ammon. Both were descendants of Lot’s (Gen 19:30-38). These people lived in the east of Jordan river.
    9. v9: “salt pits” being close to the Dead Sea, much of Moab and Ammon is salty, barren land.
    10. v10: The reason why they would be judged: pride and insulted the people of the LORD Almighty
    11. v11: “The nations on every shore will worship Him” this will be fulfilled starting from Christ’s second coming.
    12. v12: Cushites are people who resided in upper Nile region (southern Egypt, Sudan, and northern Ephiopia)
    13. v13-V15: A prophesy of the destruction of the Assyria and its capital Nineveh.
    14. v15: “Carefree city that lived in safety”
      1. Circumference of 60 miles
      2. Population of at least 120,000 (Jonah 3:3, 4:11)
      3. External Wall and Internal Wall (8 mile circumference, 50 feet thick and 100 feet high).
      4. Between the two walls was enough farmland to support the huge population.
  • Zephaniah Chapter 1

    Zephaniah Chapter 1

    1. v1: “The word of the LORD that came …” the same opening were also used by Hosea, Joel and Micah. This book, just like all the books in the bible, was written by the Holy Spirit through His chosen vessel, the prophets of God
    2. v1: Zephaniah was the only prophet whose lineage is traced by to four generations. Probably because he was great grandson of King Hezekiah
    3. v2: “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth” Judgment on the whole earth
    4. v3: The judgment is in reverse order from Creation. Men, animals, birds and fish will be swept away.
    5. v3: “The wicked”, the judgment will only for the wicked. All men are sinners, but those who put their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ will be clothed with righteousness (Rom 3:23-24).
    6. v4: change from judgment to the world to judgment to Judah and Jerusalem
    7. v4: Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility whom many in Israel had worshiped in the time of the judges (Jud 2:13), King Ahab (1 Kings 16:32) and King Manasseh.
    8. v4: Two kind of priests are mentioned:
      1. 1) pagan priests are non-Levitical priests who worshipped idols, King Josiah did remove pagan priests in 2 Kings 23:5.
      2. 2) Idolatrous priests are Levitical priests who workshop idols.
    9. v5-6: Three kinds of people are mentioned
      1. those who worshipped starry host
      2. those who worshipped the LORD and also worshipped Molech
        1. Molech was the chief god of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:33). The Jews were sacrificing children to Molech (Jer 32:35, 2 Kings 16:3, 21:6)
      3. those who neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him
    10. v7: “the day of the LORD” this is the first of 19 references to the day of the LORD in this book
    11. v7: “prepared a sacrifice” meaning the Jews
    12. v7: “consecrated those he has invited” meaning the Babylonians
    13. v8: The princes and clad like the latest fashions from Nineveh and Babylon. Their outward appearances also reveal their heart. They had absorbed foreign values and practices.
    14. v9: “stepping on the threshold” could mean one of the following:
      1. followed the Philistines’ superstition (1 Sam 5:5)
      2. suddenly leaped into others’ homes to steal and offered the plunder to their gods
    15. v12: God will search the city, no one does not believe in Him (the LORD will do nothing, either good or bad) will go unpunished.
    16. v13: They will not live long enough to enjoy their houses and vinepards
    17. v14: “The great day of the LORD” is a day of judgement
      1. 605 BC first exiles to Babylon
      2. 597 BC second exiles to Babylon
      3. 586 BC finial exiles to Babylon
    18. v16: Attacks will come to Jerusalem and the other Jew’s cities
    19. v17: The reason of this judgement: “They have sinned against the LORD”
    20. v18: money cannot save us from God’s judgment, only the blood of Jesus Christ could save us
    21. v18: “the whole world will be consumed” prophesy changed from near term to end times.
  • Zephaniah Introduction

    Zephaniah Introduction

    1. Meaning of the name Zephaniah
      1. Yahweh hides or Yahweh has hidden or Yahweh treasured
      2. Three other men are called Zephaniah in Old Testament
      3. May point to God’s protection of His people during the impending difficulties in Zephaniah’s day
      4. Or may point to God’s protection of Zephaniah in his childhood during Manasseh’s wicked reign (2 Kings 21:16)
    2. Author
      1. We know very little about Zephaniah beyond 1:1
      2. He is the only prophet whose ancestry is traced back four generations (1:1). It implies he was a man of prominence and even of royalty.
      3. He was the great-grand son of King Hezekiah, which made him the only known Old Testament prophet with such high social standing. Royal genealogy would have given him the ear of Judah’s king, Josiah
      4. He was probably familiar with Jerusalem because God prophesied through him about the “Fish Gate”, the “New Quarter”, the “hills”, and the market district in Jerusalem (1:10-11)
    3. Date
      1. Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah (640-609 BC) of the southern kingdom (1:1)
      2. 1:8 mentioned that the king’s sons were old enough to make choices to choose foreign clothes. It hints that King Josiah was in his thirties.
      3. Wrote this book before the destruction of Nineveh (612BC), because  2:13 hints that Nineveh was still in existence when this book was written. Nineveh was destroyed by a coalition of Medes and Babylonians in 612BC
    4. Setting
      1. King Josiah’s father and great grandfather Amon and Manasseh were wicked kings.
      2. Manasseh:
        1. built altars to Baal
        2. worshiped the sun, moon and stars. He built altars to these stellar objects and placed them in the temple courts
        3. He made his own son pass through the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritist (2 Kings 21:6)
        4. Craved Asherah pole in the temple (2 Kings 21:7)
      3. Judah was having a brief spiritual revival under the reign of Josiah (2 King 22:1-23:30).
      4. The book of Law was discovered by Hilkiah in 622 BC(2 Kings 22:8)
      5. Josiah read the book of the Law (2 Kings 22:11, 23:2), and did the following
        1. Led the Jews to renewed covenant with God (2 Kings 23:3)
        2. Removed and killed the pagan priests (2 Kings 23:5, 20)
        3. Removed idols of Baal, Asherah from the teample (2 Kings 22:4)
        4. Re-established Passover (2 Kings 22:21)
      6. Judah was prosperous political because the power Assyrian was declining.
      7. However the revival was brief and superficial, it did not deeply affect the heart of the people. Worship of Yahweh was reestablished, but idolatry was not entirely removed. Both Zephaniah and Jeremiah prophesied to a politically prospering people of coming judgment.
    5. Theme
      1. “The day of the LORD” is used the most in this book than any other Old Testament books
      2. Thus the theme of the book is the impending judgment of God on Judah for its disobedience.
      3. Key verse is 1:7 “Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near.”
      4. Though judgment was sure, God’s promise to protect His people and fulfill His promises was steadfast and everlasting
    6. Outline
      1. 1:1-3:8 The Day of The LORD’s Judgment
      2. 3:9-20 The Day of The LORD’s Restoration
  • Amos Introduction

    Amos Introduction

    Amos

    1. Meaning of Amos: burden or burden-bearer
    2. do not confuse Amos with Amoz, the father’s of Isaiah (Is 1:1)
    3. From Tekoa (1:1), a small village about 10 miles south of Jerusalem
    4. A shepherd (1:1). The Hebrew word is not the common word for shepherd, it was used only one other time in OT in 2 Kings 3:4 where Mesha, king of Moab, is said to have engaged in sheep-breeding on such a scale that he was able to supply the king of Israel with 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. Thus Amos may have owned or managed large herds of sheep and goats. Amos used another Hebrew word in 7:14 to describe him as shepherd. The later word is only used once in OT. It means a “herdsman” or “cattleman”
    5. took care of sycamore-fig tree (7:14)
    6. His contemporaries are
      1. Jonah (2 King 14:25) (northern kingdom)
      2. Hosea (Hos 1:1) (northern kingdom)
      3. Isaiah (Is 1:1) (southern kingdom)
      4. Micah (southern kingdom)
    7. Date of writing: two years before the earthquake during the reigns of Uzziah (790-739BC), king of Judah and Jeroboam II (793BC-753BC), king of Israel (1:1). According to Josephus, the earthquake occurred at the time when Uzziah was struck by leprosy ( 2 Chro 26:16-21), thus place this writing in approximately 750 BC
    8. Amos was called by God to be a prophet (7:15). A prophet is not by inheritance. One cannot be a prophet just because his father is a prophet.

    Background of The Spiritual Condition of Northern Kingdom

    1. After King Solomon’s death, ten tribes of Israel make Jeroboam, an official for King Solomon the first King for the northern kingdom (1 King 12:1) at Shechem.
    2. Jeroboam I setup two golden calves, one at Bethe and one at Dan and told the Israelites that these are the gods who brought you up out of Egypt (1 King 12:28)
    3. Jeroboam I built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the 15th of the 8th month, a month of his own choosing (1 King 12:31-33)
    4. God had already sent the prophets Elijah, Elisha and Jonah. Israel did not repent. Some 200 years after the beginning of the northern kingdom, God sent Amos and Hosea in a final effort to stop the nation’s mad dash toward death.

    Spiritual Condition at the time of Amos

    1. Amos was a shepherd at the southern kingdom, God called him to prophesy to the northern kingdom (7:15)
    2. Politically, Israel was strong and prosperous under Jeroboam II, who restored the territory of Israel (2 King 14:25).
    3. Spiritually, a time of rampant corruption and moral decay
      1. women oppressed the poor and crushed the needed (4:1)
      2. brag and boast about their sacrifices, tithes, thank offering and freewill offering (4:4-5)
      3. turned justice into bitterness (5:7)
      4. casted righteousness to the ground (5:7)
      5. trample on the poor and force the poor to give them grain (5:11)
      6. oppressed the righteous and take bribes and deprived the poor of justice in the courts (5:12)
    4. Jeroboam II
      1. was a bad king, the did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam I (2 King 14:24)

    Amos and Hosea

    1. Amos was not alone as Yahweh’s prophet. Hosea was prophesying at the same time frame in northern kingdom as well.
    2. Hosea’s message overall tone was love of God, but complimented with God’s judgement if Israel did not repent.
    3. Amos’s message overall tone was judgement of God, but complimented with God’s delivery at the end (9:14-15)

    Historical and Theological Themes

    1. Amos addresses Israel’s two primary sins
      1. an absence of true worship
      2. a lack of justice
    2. Israel had ritualistic worship, mainly at Bethel and Gilgal (5:5), but they were not pursuing the Lord with their hearts (4:4, 5:4-6, 5:21-24)
    3. Because of Israel’s continuous willful rejection of the call of repentance from God through Amos and Hosea, God prophesied that they would receive punishment (3:14) from God. They would be exiled beyond Damascus (5:27)
    4. Because of God’s covenant, He will not abandon Israel altogether, but will bring future restoration to the righteous remnant (9:7-15)

    Interpretive Challenges

    1. 9:11 “In the day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be” was quoted by James in the Jerusalem Council at Acts 15:16. Because of this, some think this verse was fulfilled on Jesus’s first coming. However others think that this verse will be fulfilled by Jesus on His second coming. The Lord Jesus will sit upon the throne of David during the millennium kingdom.

    Chapter 1 and 2

    1. “For three transgressions and for four”, this verse was repeated many times throughput chapter 1 and 2. It means to things
      1. God is patience, He didn’t punish the nations immediately, instead He waited for them to repent
      2. The nations and Israel were living sinful lifestyle and did not want to repent
    2. “I will not revoke its punishment”, this verse always follow the previous verse. It mean God is righteous, He is sovereign over the nations. He will judge and punish the nations based on their sins
    3. The sins of the nations can be categories into two categories. First is their sinful lifestyle, second is their attack against God’s people, the Jews.
    4. It seems that in today’s world. The wicked is not always punished, and righteous is not always rewarded. But the scriptures remind us over and over again that God will just the wicked and reward the righteous. Of course in the eyes of God, no one is truly righteous, except His Son Jesus Christ. That is why God sent His Son to redeem us.
    5. In Matthew 25:31-46, the Lord Jesus talked about the judgment of the nations at end time. It is commonly known as the judgment of the sheep and goats. The sheep were symbol of those who protected and helped even the least of the brothers of Jesus (Matt 25:41). The goats were symbol of those who did NOT help to brothers of our Lord. The brothers of our Lord can be interpreted as as the Jews, or Christians. The sheep will inherit the kingdom was prepared for them since the foundation of the world. The goats will be go away into eternal punishment. This seems to mean salvation by works. How do we reconcile with the gospel, which is we are saved by grace through faith, not by works so that no one can boast (Eph 2:9-10). I believe that the sheep symbolized christians and the goats symbolized non-christians. True believers will not only profess their faith, but they will provide and help other Christians. True christians would not see the others of other Christians and not care for them.
  • Ezekiel 23 – Prostitute of the world or virgin of Christ?

    Ezekiel 23 – Prostitute of the world or virgin of Christ?

    This chapter talks about two women, Oholah who represents Samaria and Oholibah who represents Jerusalem (v4). Both prostitutes with Egypt and Assyrians. The Lord turned them over to the Babylonian for punishment (v24).

    This is how to Lord see His people when they choose to love the world. When we love the world, in the eyes of the Lord, we are prostitutes! The world has many things that entice our lust. These things are sex, power, fame, wealth, and anything that occupy our soul in place of Christ.

    We are called to be lovers of our Lord. The church is His bride. But how many Christians choose to be prostitutes of the world, instead of a virgin for the Lord? Which is the better choice? To the Christians who have their spiritual eyes blinded, being a prostitute of the world is what they choose! They love the world, they live like the world live, and they continue to claim that they are Christians, they are children of God. The Lord is deeply sadden by that, in fact, the Lord is anger by that. Just imagine your wife choosed to prostitute with other men, how would you feel? That is how the Lord feel, only thousand times greater, because He loves us many times more than we love our wife. He died for us. How many of us have died for our wife? The Lord loves us. He desires us to love Him back.

    God’s people, come back to the Lord. He will purify you and let you be a virgin again, reserved for Him only.

  • Ezekiel 13 – A Lie of Peace

    Ezekiel 13 – A Lie of Peace

    Everybody love peace. Even if he is an evil person like Hitler, who liked destruction for others, but he still like peace for himself. Therefore a message of peace is a very welcome message. You almost cannot go wrong to preach on the message of peace, if you want to please the listeners.

    However, God denounced the false prophets in Israel that they were preaching the message of peace, when there is no peace (v10). They were lying to God’s people, who unfortunately were very keen on listening to lies like this (v19), a lie of peace. They claimed that they saw vision of peace for Jerusalem when there was no peace (v16).

    These are false prophets. They prophesy out of their own imagination (v2) and followed their own spirit (v3). Their visions are false and their divinations a lie (v6).

    The lie continues till today. There are many false preachers who only preach on the message of peace, they never talked about sins, repentance, or the cross. They preach about prosperity, blessings, things that are pleasing to the ears. Many people like these messages, they are attracted to the false message of peace, while living a sinful lifestyle.

    Don’t get me wrong. I believe in peace. The Lord told us He has given peace to those who put their faith on Him. However the peace is not the same as the peace given by the world (John 14:27). We are warned not to be like the false prophets of Israel, who preached peace when there was no peace. We are not to preach peace only but omit messages about sanctify life, holy living, the cross, repentance, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and judgement.

     

  • Ezekiel 6 – They will know that I am Yahweh

    Ezekiel 6 – They will know that I am Yahweh

    Their eyes have lusted after their idols

    God would punish Israel with sword, famine and plague (v11) because their eyes have lusted after their idols (v10). God love them, and desire them to love Him back. He wanted them to know He is Yahweh, the God who rescue them out of Egypt.  Any other gods are idols.

    Now examine ourselves, in which area in our life where our eyes are lusting after our idols? Are we trying to satisfy our soul by lusting after of the world?

    “When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus” (Matt 17:8). Let’s turn our eyes away from our idols, and look up to Jesus and Jesus only. There is no way to know Jesus if we spend our time and our thought lusting after the world. Come to Him today, He alone will truly satisfy all our deepest, inner needs.

    Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
    Look full in His wonderful face,
    And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
    In the light of His glory and grace.