Ezekiel 1:1-3:15, Hebrews 3:1-19, Psalm 104:1-23, Proverbs 26:24-26
Today is the first day of November, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, welcome to the 11th month of the year. Today is the 305th day of our journey which contains 365 days in it and seems like we reach this point, the 11th month of the year and by the time this month is over its Christmas around the world and we’re all focused in on the holiday season. We’ve already talked about that and we’ll talk about it some more, we’ve already talked about that and determined what we’re going to do is finish strong and all we have to do in order to do that is show up, show up every day as we continue our journey through the Scriptures and we are led once again into a bit of a transition. So yesterday, we concluded the book of Lamentations, which today leads us as we begin a new month into the book of Ezekiel.
Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel:
And so, let’s just kind of get a lay of the land or orient ourselves because we are moving into a new book with a new voice but we are still in this Babylonian exile time. So, we went through Jeremiah and all of the warnings and prophetic instructions from God, we saw nobody paying attention to those warnings, we saw those prophecies then come true and then we mourned it in the book of Lamentations. So now, we’re in a new month and moving into a new book known as Ezekiel but we’re not changing much in terms of time like, we haven’t jumped a couple centuries, we’re in the same time period. Ezekiel was an educated person deeply loyal to God, deeply loyal to God’s people. He came from a priestly family, and often he was instructed to symbolically prophesy or act out a prophecy in some sort of metaphorical or literal way, not unlike Jeremiah and they were prophesying at the same time. So, Jeremiah prophesied a bit before Ezekiel, but then also was prophesying at the same time as Ezekiel. They were just prophesying from two sides of the same story. Jeremiah was prophesying from Jerusalem and so, we were there, we were there watching all of this go down as we read through Jeremiah. Ezekiel’s prophecies were from the other side. They were from exile in Babylon. There was a lot going on in the world at that time. So, the Babylonian empire conquered the Assyrian Empire and if we just remember, it was the Assyrian Empire that conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and took them into exile where those 10 tribes disappeared. So now, the Assyrian Empire’s conquered by the Babylonian Empire, so now these superpowers, Babylon and Egypt, their clashing with each other and their clashing essentially in the land of ancient Israel because that little strip of land that was like to control, that is to control the trade routes between continents and all of the different countries that we just talked about, they all had interaction with ancient Judah or Israel. Like, at one point or another Israel was subdued by all these different empires it’s just that the city of Jerusalem was still standing. So, if they fell into a situation where they were about to be utterly destroyed than they would make some kind of treaty, pay tribute, be a vassal, essentially a, sort of a country with allegiance to another and we read about this when we read Kings and Chronicles, just the back and forth of all that happened and we read, as we read through the Kings, the decline, generational decline in leadership among the people and idolatry and just all of the stuff that we’ve gone through. It has led to this place where when Babylon destroys Jerusalem the ancient Israel of the Bible that we’ve read so far, it is over. So, it’s 597 BC, the Babylonians, they conquer Jerusalem and that’s when exile begins. So, they begin deporting people into different regions of the Babylonian empire. Ezekiel was among those first to go into exile. So, then Babylon puts it like a vassal king, a king to kind of rule and reign but not as a sovereign unto himself, as a client king for Babylon and that kings name was Zedekiah. And Zedekiah ended up rebelling against the Babylonians. Even though Jeremiah is prophesying against that kind of action and gives totally different advice. The rebellion still happens. And so, the Babylonians come back. So, in 588, they come back and lay siege, takes two years and then the walls are breached and yeah Jerusalem is utterly and completely destroyed. So, from the time of the Babylonians take over until the time that Jerusalem is completely destroyed is a little over a decade. Ezekiel, during this time, is exiled in Babylon and he prophesies of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is prophesying the same thing from Jerusalem. And as we know those prophecies came true. Jerusalem was destroyed which is tremendously sad but after that, after the destruction then the prophetic utterances from Ezekiel become some of the most hope filled messages that we can find in the Bible. There’s also some interesting features about Ezekiel because of his visions. So, he has visions and they almost feel like science fiction in a way, especially when you think of them coming from thousands of years ago, there just cinematic. There are other places in Scripture that are like this, for example the book of Daniel or the book of Revelation. And so, because it’s so highly symbolic, those that study eschatology, the study of the end of all things or the end times, certainly use Ezekiel as part of that study along with Daniel and Revelation, many of the other prophecies in the Bible. So, as we approached some of that territory in Ezekiel, we can decide, I’m gonna figure this out. Right, just sit here and intently listen and try to sort out what the symbology is, we would be entering into something that’s been going on for a very, very long time and has been argued about for a very, very long time and that’s fine. But if eschatology isn’t something we’re seeking a degree in then we might want to just let the words, the metaphors, the imagery come to us. Just allow it to wash over us, and allow the Holy Spirit just see what it’s bringing up inside of us as we encounter those portions of Scripture. Let’s dive in, let’s get going. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week, Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 1 through 3 verse 15.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for the gift and we thank You for these 300+ days now that we have been together on this journey. We thank You for this new territory that we’re moving into in the book of Ezekiel and we open our hearts, we open our hands to You. We ask that You lead us, even as these next week’s how they start speeding, speeding us toward the conclusion of a year and things get more busy. We thank You that we have this anchor. So, we invite You, Holy Spirit, come, lead us into all truth, we become aware of Your presence that is always near us, always available. So, we seek it, come Jesus we pray in Your mighty name we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base and it’s where you find out what’s going on around here and man what’s going on around here right now is this is the first day of the 11th month of the year. We’re like in the 11th month of the year. I’m still trying to get my head around it because where did those first 10 months ago, but that’s how it works, where they went was day by day, step by step forward. And so, we find ourselves here, beginning to move into, into what becomes, the more busy parts of the year. And it’s just great, it is great to have taken this journey this far in this year, together. And we’ve come this far through the Scriptures and we have come a long way and we have a ways to go. Some really, really important things for us out in front of us. So, it’s good to be here. Fresh start. Brand-new month and if we keep going we will finish strong together at the end of the 12 month and that’s always exciting. So, yeah, we just keep taking one step forward each day and we will arrive at our destination. One of the ways that we do arrive at our destination is that well, we show up every day and it’s more than just showing up every day and listening the Scriptures, although that’s completely fine but because were showing up every day, we’ve gotten into a rhythm and we’ve gotten into a rhythm, together with tens of thousands of people all over the world. And one of those beautiful distinctives that has arisen out of that rhythm is that we pray for each other, we love each other through prayer, we hear each other stories and because we’re spread all over the place, the primary way we can get involved with one another is through prayer and it’s a beautiful thing. So, there are a number of ways to engage: the Prayer Wall is a primary way, that is found in the Community section at dailyaudiobible.com or in the app by pushing the drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner. The Community section, there’s a bunch of stuff in their, links to different social media channels that we participate in but the Prayer Wall is there, day or night, 24/7. If you’re getting crushed, you don’t have to be alone, but if you just can’t sleep or you’re just in a good place, it’s wonderful to reach back out knowing that things kind of go in cycles and we may be on top of things right now, but there also may come a day where we need our brothers and sisters to hold us up and the Prayer Wall is a great place to go for that. Also, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that is the little red button up at the top no matter where you are in the world, no matter what time zone it is, what time of day or night it is, you can share from there or you can dial 877-942-4253.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hi friends this is Erin in Michigan, I’m a teacher. I teach seniors in high school and on Tuesday a student brought a gun to school and a lot of kids saw it on the bus and one junior high student went in and told and the rest just kept it to themselves. So, then yesterday there were three fights, two of them before 9:30 AM, and O friends, are students are crying out, every behavior is a communication and their telling us that they don’t feel safe and that they don’t feel loved and that they don’t belong. So, family if you’ll pray with me, Father God, Father God, I cry out to you, our children, are in crisis. Our children are faced with the world that says snitches get stiches and that fighting is the way to go and fighting is the way to get that respect and that fear and Lord God we just pray over our students, we pray over our teachers our administrators Lord God our families, moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, Lord God and I just lift them up to You. Help our students, help our students in the school that I teach in, help our students across the nation, Lord God, help every single student understand that guns are not the answer, that violence and fights are not the answer, Lord God, that standing by watching it, videotaping it, posting these fights are not the answer. Help our students to stand-up, help them feel empowered to take back their school, Lord God, everyone just wants to feel safe and Lord God, help us, help us teachers to love our students, to build those relationships, to look them in the eye and to help them know that they belong. Father God, You are the only answer, You’re the only answer, we’re in crisis. We call out to You Lord God, help our schools, help our students, help our teachers, help our security staff, help our administrators Lord God, help us to be bold in Your love and Your belonging. In Your Holy and precious name. Amen. Thank you, family. Love you.
Hello my DAB family. This is Terry the Trucker. Quick praise report, new jobs going great. No stress, I can go at my own pace, I can work whenever I want to work as long as I do ten loads a day or 10 loads a week, 620 miles a day, I believe it was 620/640, I love it. Anyway, prayer request: called in about my sister, she’s taking care of her grandbabies. My nephew and his wife, they’ve been separated for I think about two years now, they’ve both been on meth. He was arrested today October 27th around 10am. The charge was manufacturing and delivering of a controlled substance, over two grams, under 4. He runs around a really sketchy crew. We’re praying that it’s not true, I mean, yes he is making bad decisions, yes he is on meth, he can’t be around his kids, my mom’s too old to be doing this, my sisters just at her wits end. Sisters name is Tina, moms name is Nellie, my nephews name is Brandon. So, I just ask you all to lift him up in prayer, pray that he can, I pray it ain’t true, pray that he can get his life straight, comfort for my mom and my sister, financial support. And always remember this is Terry the Trucker and I’m praying for you as I travel up and down these Texas highways. Ya’ll have a blessed one.
Hey, this is Tear from Texas. I wanted to just give a little praise report for my father. He basically has been going to visit my grandma again in my grandparents’ house. My grandpa, his dad passed away about a year ago and it had been very hard for him to cope with his death. And just, you know, cope with his house being different now and him going over there and him not being there. And I am just glad that in the same time that my mom and I are praying for him is healing that he’s taken the first steps to healing. I don’t think anyone can ever truly heal from losing a parent and I sure don’t want to think about that right now, but I was glad that as an adult you know, God allows us to still heal from things that happened to us as a child, things that happened to us as adults. And I just pray that every family new and old can heal from trauma, from you know, toxic habits that plagued a lot of households. New and old households can you know, stop the cycle of those toxic habits of those behaviors that you know, just come with being human. We hurt people or we forget that we hurt people, I just pray that every person in a family within Christ can conscientiously grow from there past, from their mistakes and be able to speak out and about their hurt and their pain and that we can all heal and grow and learn within Christ. In these blessings, I ask, in the sons Holy name Jesus. Amen.
Hi this is Victorious Soldier just calling to pray with some of the DABers. I wanted to tell you all thanks so much for the prayers you’ve given me, you’ve been such a tremendous blessing, you’ve lifted my spirit and my soul and I just want to say thank you. I love you all so much you’re such a, such a precious group of friends and safe people of God. And I just pray that life and savior for everyone. Whatever your need that God has it. I wanna pray for a couple of the DABers also. I wanna pray for Janet regarding her husband and I wanna pray for Kristen Fletcher and her son Paul. I wanna also pray for Mark and I wanna pray for those who are going through with mental illness. I want to pray for the lady who’s been married 27 years, has five kids and the husband has gone. I wanna pray that God would touch his mind and give him the power to come back and do what is right and what is good and what is wonderful to a wife that gave him the 5 kids and that God gave to him, the good things that God has given to him. I want to pray for Jen also and I want to pray for Jasmine from Burbank and all the challenges that she’s going through. And I want to pray for all the people of God and those that who’s going through with family members who’s going through with these challenges that we’re going through with the COVID. We just want to ask You to have Your way and I want to pray for Collen Powell who died and we miss him dearly and thank You for the __ he made in his life and we give You the glory Lord. We just ask You to have Your way. Your mighty name, heal and deliver and provide. In Jesus name
Good morning, this is for Tom and Susan from Phoenix, Arizona. From the October 28th broadcast requesting prayer for restoration of his marriage. My heart hurt when I heard the pain in your voice Tom and I do pray that God heals your marriage, restores that marriage. Just stay faithful in His word, continue to pray and hope and pray that He heals you and I will continue to pray for you. A Scripture to the member is, that I pray that the God of hope fills you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit Romans 15:13 and then just remember He does heal the broken hearted. It’s the scripture from Psalm that I leaned on many times. Again, I’m continuing to pray for you. This is Tracy from Tennessee.