Author: Bob Bronkema

Short book of the Bible is Malachi. It is also one of those books that is filled with condemnation for Israel because they are no offering to the Lord that which ought to be offered. This is specifically true in the offerings where the people are choosing to give to the Lord that which is not worth anything at all, the blind animals, the lame, those that nobody wants. The questions comes what would happen if they offered these animals to an earthly ruler. The answer is clear, swift retribution.

The phrase that is well known is the command in chapter 3 to bring the full tithe into the storehouse. The question arises if God will be cheated. The answer is clearly no, but as people we think that this is possible, that somehow when we give to God of our tithe we can do less because we actually doubt if God is present or if he really cares or if he even notices that we have done this. Nobody at the level of his church, his receiving agent, is holding us accountable so we really are able to do that which we want. The key is to allow people to understand that what we want should be what God wants, and so the tithe would never become an issue.

I had not really noticed before how so many of the Psalms that we read are really curses against the enemy. We know psalms of praise, and kingly psalms, and psalms about nature, and psalms of lament, but we do have our fair share of psalms which curse the enemies and ask for God’s right hand and judgment to come down swiftly and in a strong fashion. These are not the psalms that we are called to remember and to use for our own good, as in a proof text kind of way, but rather recognize that those who wrote the psalms, like us, are subject to desires and wishes which may not exactly reflect what God would want us to do. This is especially true for us of the new covenant who have been shown a new way in which to live, a way that reflectes the suffering servant of Isaiah in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It does feel a bit like we are reading in Numbers or Leviticus where we have the measurements of the temple and all that has to go into the temple, similar to all the descriptions of the laws and all that had to be done to follow the laws. But remember, the people of God have been in exile for all these generations so much, if not all, was forgotten. The rebuilding of the temple was the first priority for those returning from captivity, and those who had disobeyed in the most egregious way, the Levites, had their actions curtailed. They were in charge of the “things” in the temple, but no longer were they allowed to be the ones who offered the sacrifices. Disobedience carries repercussions.

We find probably the most powerful verses in all of Scripture in Ezekiel 37 as we find ourselves in the valley of the dry bones. It is a perfect Scripture for Pentecost, a time when we recognize that God has breathed his Spirit upon us and that we have seen his presence in our midst. The knitting together of bone upon bone and sinew upon sinew allows us to see that God is in the business of recreating that which was dead, comes alive again. There is a song that says dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. That is where we find ourselves in this Scripture, and hopefully this is where we find ourselves in our faith as well. Enjoy the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wJKiOEdUsk

We begin our reading with Egypt being targeted as a country that has disobeyed and so will enter into the “pit” along with the rest of the countries who thought that they could defy the Lord and not have to take him into consideration. There is not only the warning to Egypt that this was happening, but also a listing of all the other countries who found themselves buried in the pit because they were mocking the Lord. There is an interesting caveat that we don’t see in other place in Scripture where we read that the Lord would change his mind, that God would stay his actions if the nation were to repent and turn from their ways. There is a bit of a soliloquy there that explains rationally why God would change if people changed, and why God would stay on track for destruction if the people pursue their evil ways. Not always a way in which I would think God would act, based upon our actions. The sovereignty of God is called a bit into question in this way of thinking.

You know the saying misery loves company, right? Well, Israel and Judah no longer need to feel alone in the prophecies against them for their disobedience. You can include Tyre, and Sidon, and Egypt, and all of the countries in the region because in this Scripture Ezekiel underscores the power of Babylon and its ability and its inevitability of conquering the surrounding lands. No one is exempt, all will fall. We find chapters dedicated to the power and the might of the trading country of Tyre along the waters and how successful it was, and yet it will fall just as hard. Similarly the power of Egypt will be laid waste for a full 40 years. Sound familiar? This part of Scripture reminds us that God does not suffer fools who put themselves into the position of gods themselves. He will come down hard whether they are His people or not. Good thing to remember

I have to say that this section should be censored so that anyone underage doesn’t have a chance to read it. There are sections here in regards to sexual fecundity that makes me blush. Of course I understand the metaphor. The author describes two nations, he even names them and says who they are, and then describes how they have been not only unfaithful but to the degree that it has been made public to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear. How can we not read this and understand our own unfaithfulness in the midst of all of this.

The Christian church has always understood itself to be the new Israel, and yet is not willing to see itself in the same light as the disobedient Israel, which seems inevitably to happen. But what makes us think that we will avoid the disobedience and the unfaithfulness that the people of Israel, who saw the cloud by the day and the pillar of fire by night. We live in an era of skepticism and doubt which impacts our ability to believe and be faithful to that which is unseen and not always very clear. We would do well to listen to this warning even while trying to wade through the oppressively harsh words that are given.

The primary message has to do with what is fair and what is unfair in regards to our sin and the sin of our ancestors. Ezekiel makes it clear that the children will not be blamed for the sins of their parents. This is especially true in regards to the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness until that generation has passed. So, this makes sense. The converse is also true. The parent will not be blamed for the sin of the child. The child, who is an adult according to this scenario, is responsible for their own sin.

The picture depicted is seen in that the people of Israel, regardless of the time period or the location, continue in their unfaithfulness regardless of which generation that it is. This seems to be a constant. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I had not noticed when I read this section before the usage of Noah, Daniel, and Job as figures of faith in the Old Testament. Of course I know their stories and how they do reflect a faith that is somewhat unparalleled, but normally Abraham, and Moses and maybe David are lifted up as figures of faith. So when we hear about Noah and Daniel and Job as people who are examples of faith it catches my attention. We see an image that even if these three people of faith had prayed to God to save the nation it would only be enough to save themselves and not their families or their livestock. The seriousness of the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel was such that even if these pillars of faith interceded, they could only save themselves.

It would be tempting to go straight to the familiar in Proverbs, but we have to acknowledge that once again the prophet Ezekiel is forecasting the doom of Jerusalem with language that can only be described as apocalyptic. The imagery of the cherubim leaves one wondering about the health of the prophet as we see eyes, and faces, and hands in an assortment of places that are not normal. But the point is that God is in control and has all power and is aware of all things and at this point is willing to share what will befall Jerusalem so that all who hear can be prepared. The prophet is given the insight and he is not loathe to share it.

Then we have the Proverbs Scripture which contains in vs.17 “iron sharpens iron”. This phrase is used within the context of those who are willing to challenge each other within the context of helping each other and friendship, are able to do so with the result of each person becoming more sharp, as opposed to becoming more dull. The opportunity we have to reflect the heart of a loved one allows us to be strengthened not only in our life but also in the life of the loved one as well.