EXHORTATION FOR EZEKIEL

“And the man said to me, Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see” (Ezek. 40:4 NKJV).

The exhortation given here to Ezekiel applies in principle to all of God’s people in every age. In this exhortation there is revelation, reason, and responsibility.

Revelation – “Look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you.” Here Ezekiel is told how to respond to this Divine revelation. His eyes were to look, his ears were to listen, and his heart was to love (“fix…on”). This is how we are to respond to the revelation of the Scriptures. Our eyes are to look upon the Word: “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18). Our ears are to listen to the Word: “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 39:5). And our hearts are to love the Word: “Oh, how I love Your law!” (Psalm 119:97).

Reason – “For you were brought here so that I might show them to you.” This encourages us to believe that the many experiences God brings into our lives are also for our spiritual good. Some experiences may seem difficult and painful; Ezekiel often had rough experiences in order to have spiritual revelation from God. But God has a good reason for our experiences; they are for our spiritual blessing.

Responsibility – “Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.” With privilege comes responsibility. Ezekiel had the great privilege in seeing the future Temple, but it brought him the responsibility to proclaim what he saw. Our blessings are not for our benefit only; they are for us to bless others. When God reveals Divine truths to us, we are to proclaim them to others. We are not to selfishly horde our blessings. We are to share them with others. That is our responsibility.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Your spiritual gifts were not given for your own benefit but for the benefit of others, just as other people were given gifts for your benefit!”

Rick Warren (1954 – )

Baptist Pastor and Author

Word Study

Elect

In 1 Peter 1:2 we read, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied!” (NKJV).

Elect is the Greek word eklektós (ἐκλεκτός = ek-lek-tos'). It is made up of two words: “ek” which means out, and “lego” which means to call. Thus, the word means to select, choose, or pick out. Literally, it means the called out ones or chosen out ones. Further, the word is in the Middle Voice which carries the idea of choosing or picking out for one’s self. In classic Greek eklektós was used in connection with a person or thing which is chosen. In the Septuagint eklektós carries the idea of selecting or choosing. In the New Testament, eklektós also carries the idea of selecting or choosing. The call to salvation brings the believer into an elect body, the Church. God has predestined that believers are to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29, 30). Believers recognized that God has chosen them to inherit salvation, yet it is God’s will that all should come to a place of repentance and that none perish (2 Peter 3:9).

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Then the Lord said to Moses, do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon” (Num. 21:34 KJV).

Did You Know…

The city of Jericho was also known as The City of Palm Trees (Deut. 34:3).

Bible Quiz

God placed the rainbow in the sky after the flood to signify what promise?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to 1 Kings 15, only once did David not obey the Lord. What was the sin that David committed? The matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“KING OF GLORY”

"Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalm 24:10 NKJV).

1. Meaning – KING OF GLORY speaks of Yahweh, the self-existent God, who is Creator as well as King. He has made a covenant with Israel and fights for them.

2. Insights – The point here is that God, the Lord of hosts (Lord of the armies of heaven), is presented as the mighty warrior King returning victorious from battle. He is the mightiest warrior of all - as indicated both by previous miraculous military victories. God’s ultimate victory is what He will one day achieve in the person of the Lord Jesus who will “strike the nations, and... treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev 19:15). The overall effect is to impress us with a conception of the matchless majesty of God. It heightens the force of the triumphant shout proclaiming His mighty name.

Did You Know...Christian History

Miles Coverdale was born in 1488 in York, Yorkshire, England. He was an English Ecclesiastical Reformer, Bible translator, preacher and Bishop of Exeter.

Coverdale received his education at Cambridge University and the University of Tubingen. In 1514 he became an Augustinian friar, and a reformer, thanks to the influence Robert Barnes. Barnes was ultimately put to death under Henry VIII for his heretical views. Coverdale’s heretical views also caused him first to abandon his religious profession and then to leave England. By 1529 he had settled in Germany and assisted William Tyndale with his English translation of various parts of the Holy Scriptures.

The Bible translation that William Tyndale had begun when he was arrested in May 1535 only included the New Testament, the Pentateuch and a few historical books of the Old Testament. Using Tyndale’s work as his starting point, Coverdale stepped in and filled in the gaps with his own translations based on the Latin Vulgate and Luther’s German Bible. He worked quickly to piece together a complete English Bible. It is thought to have been published October 4, 1535, in Zurich, Switzerland.

For several years after that heroic effort, Coverdale was busy with other versions of the English language Bible. He made a fresh translation of the New Testament three years later (1538) based on the Vulgate. In 1539, he helped put out the Great Bible, so called because of its size. This was the Bible King Henry VIII of England ordered placed in every parish church, because it was widely accepted.

In 1540 Coverdale was forced to flee England for Strasburg, Germany because of Henry VIII’s religious policies. After Henry’s death he returned to England, supported the new Protestant religious cause, and was made bishop of Exeter in 1551. However, under Queen Mary, Coverdale lost his bishopric and was spared burning only by intercession from Denmark. He returned to England in 1559. And although his Puritanism prevented him from resuming his bishopric of Exeter, Coverdale was looked upon as a leader of the Puritan Party in England and often preached sermons that were highly esteemed. Coverdale died in London on January 20, 1569. And while his translations were never the most popular in England, they advanced the important work of giving English speaking Christians the full Bible in their own tongue.

A Little Humor

Teacher: “Boys and girls, there is a wonderful example in the life of the ant. Every day the ant goes to work and works all day. And in the end, what happens?”

Little Johnny: “Someone steps on him.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“When Christ is the center of your focus, all else will come into proper perspective!”