REVIEW OF ISRAEL'S EVIL

“When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger” (Ezek. 43:8 NKJV).

When shown the new millennial Temple, Ezekiel was also given a review of Israel’s past corruption which resulted in God’s judgment. He is told of the conduct of corruption, the consequences from the corruption, and the consuming for the corruption.

Conduct of corruption – “When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me.” Like many folks today, the Israelites corrupted the Temple by making it secular (worldly). This was the problem with the Temple when Christ came to earth. The threshold of commercialism was in the Temple. Evil often gets into churches this way, too. The secular is brought into the church and takes away from the spiritual.

Consequences from the corruption - “They defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed.” The “abominations” committed by the Israelites resulted in God being greatly dishonored. When wickedness abounds, dishonor for God will abound. The attitudes in our country which oppose honoring God only reflect the fact that our country is a very wicked land.

Consuming for the corruption - “Therefore I have consumed them in My anger.” God is a God of justice and judgment. When we corrupt that which is spiritual and dishonor God’s holy name, you can count on the wrath of God to bring judgment upon the evil doers. And that judgment is not trivial. “Consumed” carries the idea of severe judgment. Israel did not escape Divine judgment, and neither will folks today who do evil.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God’s justice indeed must be satisfied; and there is no way in the world to give satisfaction to God, but by believing in Christ!”

Ralph Erskine (1685 - 1752)

Scottish Pastor and Poet

Word Study

Eloquent

In Acts 18:24 we read, “Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus!” (NKJV).

Eloquent is the Greek word lógios (λόγιος = log'-ee-os). It describes a man of letters, learned, skilled in literature and in speech. In classic Greek lógios describes someone who is knowledgeable in a specific subject like a storyteller, or a professional such as a physician. Lógios does not appear in the Septuagint. In the New Testament, lógios is used only once, here in Acts 18:24. It was used to describe a man who is either eloquent or learned. It appears that Apollos was a man both learned and eloquent. In His Divine providence, God brought Apollos to this great commercial center, for a special meeting with Priscilla and Aquila. There are no accidents in God’s plans for our lives!

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged” (Deut. 1:21 KJV).

Did You Know…

According to Luke 12:7, the very hairs on our heads are all numbered, not counted.

Bible Quiz

What happened to Lot’s wife when she looked back while fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Scripture what caused Solomon to turn his heart from God to follow other gods? His many wives from other nations (1 Kings 11:4).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“LIKE AN EAGLE”

"As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him” (Deut. 32:11-12 NKJV).

1. Meaning – LIKE AN EAGLE refers to God’s wise and loving parental care.

2. Insights – As an eagle must force its young out of the nest if they are to learn to fly and fend for themselves, so the Lord allowed His people to endure the harsh life of Egyptian bondage and afterward through wilderness wanderings that they might become strong. And like an eagle, the Lord remained ready to “catch them” when necessary. It’s a beautiful picture of the difficult process of maturity that God put all of us through just as He did the nation of Israel.

Did You Know...Christian History

John Henry Livingston was born May 30, 1746, near Poughkeepsie, New York. He was an American Dutch Reformed minister.

Livingston believed that God was calling him to leave his law studies and become a minister, but of which denomination? He had three options: Anglican, Presbyterian, or Dutch Reform. Of the three, the Dutch church seemed the least likely. He knew less Dutch than English and the church was tearing itself apart with quarrels.

Yet the Dutch church was the church that he was brought up in as well as the church of his grandparents. Livingston longed to do something to heal its wounds. And so twenty-year-old Livingston sailed to Holland to get his theological degree. Hundreds of prayers went with him, for America’s Dutch settlers knew the hopes that this sickly boy carried with him of settling divisions between them and the home country. They hoped he would succeed and make his way back to minister to them.

Livingston did well in his studies, returning to America in 1769. For the rest of his life, he worked hard for the Dutch Reform Church in the New World. In fact, he did so much for them that he became known as the “Father of the Dutch Reformed Church” in America. He negotiated peace between rivals in America and worked out a measure of independence for the American church, which was still ruled from Holland.

Livingston pastored in several cities in New York, always seeking positions that would allow him to be of the most use. At one time, he was the only Dutch Reform pastor in the city. This meant he carried a huge workload. And the load was increased as the Dutch Reform appointed him Professor of Theology. In addition to this, he wrote hymns, contributed to the church constitution, prepared its liturgy (form of service), backed missionary endeavors, and was chaplain of the U. S. Congress. Then in 1810, the General Synod of the Reformed Church combined its theological training with Queens College (now known as Rutgers) in New Brunswick, N. J. They made Dr. Livingston the president of the college. In all of these endeavors, Livingston was helped by a good wife. Sarah brought common sense, love, and piety to the marriage.

Livingston is the author of: Meditations Adapted to Funeral Addresses (1812); and A Dissertation on the Marriage of a Man with his Sister-in-Law (1816). He was chairman of a committee appointed in 1787 to compile Selection of Psahos for Use in Public Worship. Livingston died in New Brunswick, N.J., in 1825.

A Little Humor

One beautiful Sunday morning, Rev. Barnard announces to his congregation, “My good people, I have here in my hands three sermons - a $100 sermon that lasts five minutes, a $50 sermon that lasts fifteen minutes, and a $20 sermon that lasts a full hour. Now, we’ll take the collection and see which one I will deliver.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“The cross is a symbol of God’s heartbreak over a world that has gone astray!”