Oct 21, 2022
EZEKIEL 18-19:
Yesterday in Ezekiel we read the riddle of the
two eagles, portraying Israel’s king breaking his sworn covenant
with Babylon. There is a lesson here for us. Normally Babylon would
be considered the enemy, and getting free from the enemy would be
considered a good thing. But NOT SO if the country has made a
promise of loyalty sealed by a vow taken in God’s name!
Faithfulness to oaths and promises in God’s name take precedence
over ‘business as usual’.
ISAIAH 3:
These famous words from yesterday’s chapter in
Isaiah bear repeating today:
Isaiah 2:2-4 NLT
2 In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there
to worship.
3 People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.
4 The Lord will mediate between nations
and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore.
JUDE:
We
come today to the little epistle from Jude, the brother of Jesus.
But, significantly, he doesn’t call himself Jesus’ half-brother. He
calls himself the Slave of Christ Jesus. Jude wrote his letter
around the same time as 2 Peter, sometime around AD 60-80. I think
that Peter borrowed material from Jude, rather than the other way
around. One thing that makes me think this is that Jude uses more
material from extra-biblical sources than Peter does in 2 Peter 2.
Jude and Peter were writing in a very difficult time for
Christians, and Jude calls us to contend for the ‘faith’— the
teachings that God has given to us to fully believe.
NLT Translation
notes:
Jud.
1This letter is from Jude, a
slave of [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ] and a brother of
James.
I am
writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves
you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus
Christ.
20
But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most
holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy
Spirit,
[Footnote: Faith
= belief. Holy beliefs can be summarized as the content of the
Gospel and all of God’s Word. These are the ‘healthy teachings’
that Paul spoke about in Titus and his other books.]
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.