Day 821 of 939
EZK 8
EZK 8 · 1TI 5:11-25
Not written yet
The reading for this day is below. The commentary has not been written and reviewed yet — it is added a book at a time, and every day is read by a person before it appears here.
EZK 8
1In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me. 2Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber. 3He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated. 4And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain. 5“Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy. 6“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.” 7Then He brought me to the entrance to the court, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall. 8“Son of man,” He told me, “dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and discovered a doorway. 9Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations they are committing here.” 10So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. 11Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising. 12“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” 13Again, He told me, “You will see them committing even greater abominations.” 14Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. 15“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.” 16So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun. 17“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose! 18Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
Secondary reading — 1TI 5:11-25
11But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them away from Christ, they will want to marry, 12and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith. 13At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention. 14So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander. 15For some have already turned aside to follow Satan. 16If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need. 17Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.” 19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 20But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin. 21I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality. 22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 23Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 24The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others do not surface until later. 25In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even the ones that are inconspicuous cannot remain hidden.