November 26, 2016
Standing firm for your faith against an idolatrous culture often leads to persecution. Yet, the three Hebrew exiles, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, chose to remain faithful to God in spite of the threat of execution. They expressed their sincere belief that God was able to rescue them from Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace if He so willed. But they also proclaimed their firm determination that they would rather burn than bow to false gods. They recognized that their true fate was not in a worldly king’s hands, but in God’s hands.
November 25, 2016
Daniel, along with several other young Hebrew youths (probably young teens) was taken captive by the Babylonians to serve King Nebuchadnezzar. His story is a study in how to live as a believer exiled in a foreign land. God gave Daniel great wisdom and success, as he served under many kings and even kept his post after Babylon fell to the Persians. He served under several Babylonian kings beginning with Nebuchadnezzer and ending with Belshazzar, who was king at the time of the fall of Babylon to Persia (Daniel 5:29-31). He then continued under Darius the Mede and finally under Cyrus of Persia (Daniel 6:28). His service seems to have occupied around seventy years. Regardless of the king or kingdom of man, Daniel served God and the Lord gave him wisdom on how to live in this world, but not of it.
November 24, 2016
As exiles in this world, citizens of the kingdom of heaven, we have been set free from slavery to sin and the world’s system. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. Yet, this “freedom” is not a license to sin, but liberty to live for Christ. As Paul said, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Rom.6:14). So, we live as “servants of God,” freely submitting to the authorities ordained by God, not out of fear or duty, but out of the grace and love of Christ. We have been set free to serve God.
November 23, 2016
Who is this “prince?” And where is this temple wherein such offerings are to be made? Ezekiel’s prophecy of a temple, and a “prince” that brings offerings while standing at the eastern gate, has yet to be fulfilled. The temple that was rebuilt by Zerubbabel after the Babylonian exile, and later enlarged by King Herod, did not approach the immensity and grandeur described by Ezekiel. There has been no temple worship since 70 AD when the Romans destroyed it. If Ezekiel’s prophecy is to be taken literally, then it must be considered yet unfulfilled. It appears to point to the time of the Millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth, when Ezekiel’s temple, a Millennial Temple, will stand again in a new Jerusalem. However, the identity of the “prince” remains elusive. Many see him as the Messiah, the Christ, because of his special mediatorial role, however, there is a major difficulty with this–– Christ has no need to “provide for himself” a sin offering (see Heb. 7:27). So, the identity of the “prince” remains a mystery to those of us who seek to understand such things with a high view of Scripture. Who is this “prince?” Only God knows.
November 22, 2016
As God first told Aaron (Num.18:20), He now repeats to Ezekiel concerning His priests, “I am their inheritance. I am their possession.” Certainly, this instruction is a reminder that the tribe of Levi would not receive an allotment in the Promised Land as the other tribes, but that their portion would be the Lord Himself, along with the tithes and offerings brought to Him. However, one cannot help but see the foreshadowing of those who have become a “royal priesthood” in Christ. As the apostle Peter wrote, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are the Lord’s “own possession” and He is ours! Whatever belongs to Christ, belongs to you!
November 21, 2016
The prophet Ezekiel saw a vision of a new Temple, one yet to be built. In this vision, the Spirit led him to the Eastern Gate, “And behold,” he saw the glory of God “coming from the east.” This is the same direction by which he had seen God’s glory depart in his earlier vision (Ez.10-11). This “glory” can be none other than the Messiah, Jesus Christ. As John declared, “We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). For Christ is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3). What Ezekiel saw and heard in his vision, John saw and heard with even greater detail in his vision on the Isle of Patmos. John said that His voice was as “the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:15) and that His face shone “like the sun shining in its strength” (Rev. 1:16). There is a Day coming when we too shall see and hear Him for ourselves. Therefore, stay alert, watch and pray. He is coming again “from the east.”
November 16, 2016
016 – I had TURP surgery yesterday morning at 6:30 AM at Wilson Medical Center by Dr. Rounder. I spent two nights in the hospital. I didn’t post in the OYB for a week.
November 15, 2016
Have you ever said “No” to Christ? Has He knocked at your heart’s door and been refused entrance? Consider those in the Old Testament who refused to obey God’s Word. What became of them? And now, the blood of Christ “speaks a better word.” Do not refuse Him. Or have you received Him, but yet refused to obey the last word He gave you? Think back to the moment when you stopped hearing from Him and you’ll remember your heart’s refusal. Perhaps it was only a small nudge to talk to a stranger or to turn back to a store clerk and smile, but that was the moment Christ’s gentle voice went silent. Walk in obedience to His every call that you might continually hear “Him who is speaking.”
November 14, 2016
The saints of the Old Testament longed to see the promised fulfillment of their faith in the coming of the Messiah, but they passed from this world before that day came. That which they longed for, we have received, that is–– the good news–– that Christ Jesus came, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead for our justification (Rom. 4:25). Yet, God has not failed to keep His promise to them. It will be fulfilled on that day when Christ returns and the dead in Christ will rise together. The former will not precede the latter, nor the latter the former. Abraham will rise together with Paul, Moses with Peter, and Isaiah with John. For the Old Testament saints will not be “made perfect” (“complete”) apart from the saints of the New. And now, we long for that day, when we will all be raised together, the perfect and complete Church, with Christ as its Head.
November 13, 2016
Hebrews chapter 11 contains a list of people who have “by faith” chosen to trust and identify with God, rather than put their hope into the things of this world. Moses is among those in this faith hall of fame. He could have chosen to life as an Egyptian Prince, but by faith he chose to be an Exiled Pilgrim instead. Everyone who decides to live by faith will feel the same tension. For we are in the world, but not of it (John 17:14-18). Where do you put your hope? In a job, a bank account, or an election? Why not join Moses and the other exiles who live and walk “by faith? Let us put our faith and hope in God!