Reading from Monday, November 15

Hey gang.

Reading for November 15
Ezekiel 31:1-32:32
So this whole first chapter is about the nation of Assyria. God compares it to a tree and marvels at how it once was a mighty and powerful Cedar which provided shade and water to all the other nations. After scratching my head about how Assyria played into Biblical history, I did a little Google search. Way back in 2 Kings, there was a raid on Jerusalem by the Assyrians. This is the one (I think) where they were all camped outside the walls and about to come in and destroy everything the next day, but when the Jews woke up they found all the Assyrian army dead.

This is certainly reminiscent of the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem, the only difference being that Babylon succeeded where Assyria failed. What does that say about God and the Jews? To me it says that when the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem, God was still patient with his people. The nation had just started to get its foothold, and he didn't want to see that taken away so quickly and ruthlessly. But then fast forward a few hundred years, and God's patience had run thin. He allowed Babylon to overthrow his city and give his people over to another nation.

I know I'm way off topic at this point, but since the destruction of Jerusalem is a fairly meaty topic in the Bible, I think it's worth investigating. So here's what I think is interesting: God is very concerned with his own image - he's got a rep to maintain, right? He's constantly saying things like "So you will know that I am the LORD" and "For my own sake I will..." and I think doing things like wiping out an entire army of thousands of soldiers and parting the Red Sea certainly proved his power and authority, but also his devout love and protective attitude toward Israel. So why fail them when the Babylonians attacked? Well, someone who is powerful can sometimes appear even more powerful when that power is taken away. Think of a mother and son. The mother constantly cooks, cleans and organizes for her son. What if one day, she just stopped doing those things. Would the son know how to take care of himself? Probably not. Would he gain a new found appreciation for the power and skill and work his mother has? Absolutely.

Hebrews 12:14-29

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

As is my MO, I will always highlight verses that showcase the inclusive, forgiving elements of Christianity. Such is the case here with this verse. But as you may know, I've been consciously avoiding the use of Christianese, and there is a bad case of that here as well. "Be holy".  What in the world does that mean? At first glance, it appears to be an impossible challenge. Holy means divine, no? Like wouldn't that be like asking me to "Be God"? Well, again I did a little research and one of the definitions of holy is as follows:

devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity 

Now, is this not the calling of every Christian? To be completely and wholly (not holy) devoted to the God who came to save us?

That's pretty neat, hey?

Psalm 113:1-114:8
Another nature/God combo deal

⁷ Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
   at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸ who turned the rock into a pool,
   the hard rock into springs of water.

Proverbs 27:18-20
 ¹⁸ The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
   and whoever protects their master will be honored.
 ¹⁹ As water reflects the face,
   so one’s life reflects the heart.^[a]
 20 Death and Destruction^[b] are never satisfied,
   and neither are human eyes. 

Verse 20 is a good one. I should commit it to memory.