A little bit of Jeremiah, all of Lamentations, a whole lot of Ezekiel and a mosey into Daniel: that’s what we read last week.
I’m already so happy to be in Daniel. Ezekiel wasn’t exactly a bowl full of cherries (just a bunch of doomsday prophecies for disobedient Israelites) and Lamentations isn’t exactly a picker-upper. I mean, it’s called Lamentations, for crying out loud. At least Daniel is a narrative which I’ve found that I much prefer.
Ezekiel starts out with some wicked crazy visions. Makes you wonder what the guy ate before he went to bed that night. 🙂 Since I’m a very visual kind of gal, I decided to do some doodling and see if I could figure out what in the world he was looking at in Ezekiel chapter 1.
There’s your proof: I am neither a Biblical scholar nor a cartoonist.
I don’t have a lot of comments on this week’s readings, but I will leave you with some tough questions. Feel free to jump in if you have any insights!
- Does God always hear our prayers? Does he sometimes refuse to listen? Ezekiel 8:18
- What is the difference between plain ol’ angels and cherubim? Ezekiel mentions them a lot. Do they have a special purpose?
- Good news: if a wicked man turns away from sin, “none of the defenses he has committed will be remembered against him” (Ezekiel 18:21-22). Bad news: if a righteous man turns to sin, none of his righteousness will be remembered and he will die for the sins he is guilty of (Ezekiel 18:24). Is this falling away or completely rebuking faith? Are there no second chances? Is God saying he holds the “righteous” to a higher standard than the wicked?
- Here’s a real doosey: Ezekiel 26:19-21. Read it, the interpret it for me please. Are we talking about death here? Because if we are, that brings up a whole set of questions (Where are these dead people from long ago? Where are the ancient ruins? Is it all metaphorical? Is it talking about separation from God?). Ugh–I can feel my brain trying to spasm as I type.
Faith Like Mustard 
Very glad you have stuck with your study- I know it can’t always be easy. I do not have the discipline to read this way. I prefer a more zig- zag approach. I felt bad when I couldn’t raise my hand at the Mark Cahill conference to show I had read all the way through. He reads through every year.
I know…exactly how you feel. Carving out time to read the Bible can be tough. I am working on it, going on my second year of trying to read it all the way through. I jump around a lot and use study guides. I heard it said once that: “God always answers your prayers…but sometimes the answer is ‘No’.” I pray you find time to read.
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