Monday, November 24, 2014

Good News brings Rejoicing

November 30, 2014 Background Scripture: Isaiah 52:1, 2, 7 – 12; Psalm 33 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 52:1, 2, 7 – 12 It was the custom of the time to use runners to carry good news from the battlefield to the rulers back home. When the watchman of the city spied a single runner coming their way, it was clear that the person was bearing good news and bringing it in haste. A single runner coming was a beautiful sight to behold. The swiftness of their feet would not delay the celebration for the families who were waiting in anticipation of news from the battlefield. The watchman would shout to the gatekeeper so that the gate could be opened to receive the runner. The prophet, Isaiah, used the imagery of the runner to describe the prophetic word as the delivery of good news from God to His people. Isaiah had good news from the Lord and he wanted to ensure that Israel understood it as such and celebrated it. The nation of Israel was in captivity in Babylon but God was about to deliver them from exile. Our lesson today exhibits one of the characteristics often found in prophetic writing. It contains a message that has more than one interpretation. First, the text of today’s lesson provides an encouraging note to the Israelites in Babylonian exile. They were encouraged to praise God and shout for joy because their long anticipated deliverance was at hand. Israel would be returning to Zion. They would not have to rush because God would be their rear guard and escort them. In other words, they would not be rushed or fear for their safety because God had their back. They were admonished to purify themselves and separate from anything unclean as they ceremonially prepared for the arrival of their God. The nation that claimed the Lord as their God would be blessed. The completeness of their deliverance is indicated by the assurance that no one who was outside of the covenant family would again enter the Holy City, Jerusalem. The uncircumcised Babylonians had razed the city and destroyed the temple as well as the wall around the city. However, the day was coming when Jerusalem would again be a citadel for physical protection. The purity of the temple and the sanctity of the city would be protected by God. As one continues to examine the content of the good news of the text, it becomes clear that there is another interpretation that will not be fulfilled until Christ sets up his earthly kingdom. The very presence of mortal people will defile the Holy City. Only after the presence of sin is banished forever will the church be glorified. At that time, the redeemed, who will have glorified bodies, will populate Jerusalem and the city shall be pure. The beautiful sight of the swift feet of the runners of old caused celebration to break out in the city. The prophetic word of Israel’s deliverance from exile and return to Zion was reason for celebrating God’s goodness. Today, we can celebrate everyday because we know that Jesus will return and set up an earthly kingdom. This good news should cause rejoicing. Robert C. Hudson November 24, 2014

Monday, November 17, 2014

Inheritance Marks a New Beginning

November 23, 2014 Background Scripture: Ezekiel 47:13 – 23; Acts 2:37 – 47 Lesson Passage: Ezekiel 47:13 – 23 How many times in life do we reach the point where we want to start over again? It may not be a total reset of our entire life but just an adjustment that gets us back to a time when things were saner. Oftentimes we reach this point in life because of poor decisions on our part—especially as it relates to our relationship with God. Spiritual maturity helps us to understand that we need to try harder to seek God’s face after we have messed up rather than shun Him because of our embarrassment. Quite often, God provides the only opportunity we have to reset our lives in a positive manner. Our lesson today reminds us that God provides those opportunities for us to reset. Judah had messed up really bad. To make matters worse, they had the opportunity to observe the behavior of Israel to their north and avoid repeating their mistakes. Israel constantly walked in sin before God until God sent them into exile permanently. Even if Judah refused to heed God’s word or His warnings sent through His prophets, Israel’s example should have served as warning enough. Instead of being mindful of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah followed down the same road and found herself in exile in Babylon. Unlike Israel, God did not forget about Judah. He sent prophets into exile with Judah to continuously exhort them to repent and return to the Lord. Ezekiel was one of the prophets who were carried into exile as part of the kingdom of Judah. Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would return Judah to the land of Zion. He told the exiles that they would again have the task of dividing the land into twelve regions by lot. They were given the boundaries of the land that would be the inheritance of the nation. Simply put, God gave them the opportunity to reset. Spiritually, they were being allowed to return to a time that corresponded to their ancestors’ wilderness years when they were told about the division of the land. The land as defined by Ezekiel did not include the land east of the Jordan River which was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh during the original conquest of the land. Regardless of the change of the eastern border, the good news was that the southern kingdom would again be a sovereign nation. This was especially good news given that they received this message while living as exiles in the land of the Babylonians. They would again inhabit the land God promised by covenant to Abraham. As Abraham’s heirs, they were assured they would return to Zion as a people to inherit it. God used Israel’s birthright as an opportunity to reset the nation’s life and give them a new beginning. The nation was taken captive and shamefully carried into exile because of the sinful way they had lived in God’s presence. God deemed their captivity to be punishment enough for them because they had repented while in exile. Note that God did not start all over with them. He chose a time in the nation’s past and used that as a new beginning for them. Israel’s covenant right to inherit Zion would mark their new beginning after their future return from exile. Robert C. Hudson November 11, 2014

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Water from the Sanctuary gives Life

November 16, 2014 Background Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1 – 12 Lesson Passage: Ezekiel 47:1 – 12 Since the beginning of time, God has made water to be both a giver and a sustainer of life. On the fifth day of creation, God commanded the waters to bring forth in abundance living creatures that would be marine life in the waters and fowl to fly above the earth. With that commandment, God brought water into the creative process as a giver of life. Likewise, when God planted the garden east of Eden, He gave it a source of water that flowed out of Eden and after passing through the garden, the water divided into four rivers. Each of the four rivers was given a name but the water that flowed out of Eden was not. Just as the Garden of Eden depended on the unnamed water to irrigate it, all forms of living beings depend on water as an absolute necessity to sustain life. Even when we choose to fast and pray, the maximum length of time is determined by the body’s need for water. Living beings respond to the presence or absence of water including its quantity and quality. Just as the river flowed eastward out of Eden with its life sustaining qualities, the Prophet Ezekiel saw a river flowing eastward out of the temple in the vision the Lord gave to him. A man in the vision led Ezekiel through the waters proceeding from the temple and moving eastward. At the temple the water was shallow, even below his ankles. But the water became an impassable river at a distance Ezekiel estimated to be about a mile away from the temple. Ezekiel noted that every where the river flowed, it either brought new life or it restored life that had previously died. Even in areas that had become desert, life flourished where the river flowed. After observing this, Ezekiel then noted that the banks of the river were lined with trees. The man told Ezekiel that the trees were evergreen and bore edible fruit. Again there are similarities to what happened in the garden as a result of the water that flowed out of Eden. The man informed Ezekiel that the trees bore fruit continuously and the leaves had medicinal value. This river in Ezekiel’s vision takes on characteristics that are similar to the water that flowed out of Eden in the book of Genesis. However, the vegetation that lined the banks of the river is descriptively the same as that on the banks of the river that flowed out of the throne of God and the Lamb that was described by John in the book of Revelation. The continuous supply of fruit and the medicinal leaves are recorded by both Ezekiel and John in the respective visions that the Lord gave them. Whether the river flows out of Eden, out of the temple, or out of the throne of God and the Lamb, it is clear that in all cases the river is a source and sustainer of life. We can conclude with assurance that God is the source of the water that gives life because of the presence of the temple and God’s throne. Therefore, God, the source of the water, is the true giver and sustainer of life. Jesus called his spoken word a life-giving spirit. Jesus also told his disciples that they were clean through the word he had spoken to them. Paul reiterated the same when he said that the church is washed by the water of Jesus’ word. The word that flows from God is a giver and a sustainer of life. The word of God that is received in the sanctuary should be taken into the world where it can bring life to a dying world. Robert C. Hudson November 7, 2014

Monday, November 3, 2014

The Altar offers Hope

November 9, 2014 Background Scripture: Ezekiel 43:10 – 46:24 Lesson Passage: Ezekiel 43:13 – 21 God is holy and He demands that His people be holy. Even those who are called of God to minister to the people on His behalf and to minister before God on behalf of the people are not exempt but rather they are held to a higher standard than the masses. God made this clear when He informed Ezekiel that the priests who have sinned can minister before the people but they would not be allowed to approach God. No one is exempt from God’s law of holiness. God also informed Ezekiel that the priests who do not sin shall come near Him to minister before Him and to offer burnt offerings to Him. This presents an obvious dilemma. We know that all children of men sin. We also know that receiving a title does not rid a person of sin. Without an intercessor to stand before God on behalf of the people, the people are destined for eternal damnation. The answer to the dilemma lies in God’s guided tour of the temple. There were many rooms and some furnishings that God showed to Ezekiel and God told Ezekiel the purpose of them. Some of the rooms and tables were for preparing the various sacrifices that would be offered. There were also rooms the priests would use to change into different garments. The priest who would stand before God to minister on behalf of the people had to first offer a sin offering to cleanse himself. He also had to enter into a special room and take off his garments that he wore on the outside and put on special garments before he could appear before God on behalf of the people. The most important step in the priestly instruction was the offering of sacrifices. The sacrifices had to be prepared in a room made for that purpose and then offered on the altar located in the middle of the court. Each step in the process was prescribed by God. First the altar had to be purged or cleansed. After the altar had been purged, the priests were to offer burnt offerings for sin and peace offerings for trespass. Only after the prescribed steps were taken did God accept them because the steps and the sacrifices satisfied God’s holiness. Leviticus teaches us that during the process, the priests had to lay hands on the head of the sacrifice so they could identify with it. In other words, they connected their sins with the life of the sacrifice that was about to be slain and offered to God. After the priests were properly prepared, then they followed similar steps on behalf of the people. God promised to accept the people based on this. The priests had to teach the people the ways of God that they might know how to discern between holy and profane. It was required that they understand that they came short of God’s expectation for them. God did not overlook their shortcomings but He made provisions so that the people would be accepted by Him in spite of their spiritual shortcomings. Their spiritual shortcomings were the result of sin and their sin was against the holiness of God. They had to be taught to know sin so that they could repent of it and confess it. Afterwards, they could come with the proper sacrifice to be forgiven by God. Sin separated the people—including the priests—from God. This separation was leading towards eternal damnation. God provided an altar to bridge the separation and give the people hope. Robert C. Hudson November 1, 2014