Ezekiel 26 - 1.13.26
Scripture: Ezekiel 26:1-6
In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Observation:
Tyre is a kingdom with ties to the Israelites as far back as King David. We know that King Hiram of Tyre made a covenant with King Solomon in 1 Kings 5:10-12 the scripture says:
“ So Hiram gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. Solomon then gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.”
We later see in scripture how this covenant was broken by Tyre in two places in the pre-exilic scriptures of Joel and Amos.
Joel 3: 4-7 “Moreover, what are you to Me, Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying Me with retribution? But if you are showing Me retribution, swiftly and speedily I will return your retribution on your head! Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, behold, I am going to stir them up from the place where you have sold them, and return your retribution on your head.”
Amos 1: 9-10 “For three offenses of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they turned an entire population over to Edom and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. So I will send fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will consume her citadels.”
Tyre was a place of commerce with towering walls surrounding it’s cities. They rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem thinking they would be able to get the business that was going to Jerusalem now that she had fallen and been taken over by Babylon. Little did they know this prideful boasting would cause their ruin and they would never return to their former glory.
Application:
We can learn much from this scripture about rejoicing over others when they fall. Even when we have people in our lives that may seem like enemies to us or seem to have been in the way of us getting what we wanted we should seek justice and restoration for them not gloat over their fall. We must remain humble and rely on God, ultimately vengeance is His and repays each person accordingly. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Another lesson I see in this is God’s sovereignty because though the people of Tyre did not serve Him, He was able to destroy them because He IS GOD. Psalm 33: 10-11 “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” this applies to us today to remind us that though we may be in a world surrounded by people who do not choose to serve the Lord they are all inevitably under His lordship whether they submit to it or not. In the parable of the wheat and the tares the Lord allows all of us to grow together but ultimately in the end He will separate out those who were faithful till the end from the others and they will not escape His wrath. We would do well to remember that we serve an almighty, all-knowing God and by His name every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Gloating over those who fall will never bring us any joy but may make us look like fools in the end if we don’t remain humble.
Prayer:
Lord, Thank you for your divine protection that guards us on every side. Remind us every day to remain humble and help us to guard our hearts from pride and seeking the downfall of others. Help us to pray for our enemies and seek the good of others even when they don’t seek it for us because our blessings flow directly from you no one can take them away and our treasures are stored up in heaven where no thief can take them. Let us therefore pray for our enemies with fervor resting in the knowledge that the precious treasure we hold is more valuable than our pride. Amen.
- Shanese Hamilton
Romans 11 - 1.12.26
Scripture: Romans 11:11-24
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Observation
In this Epistle, the Apostle Paul was writing to Jewish and Gentile believers in the Roman Church. He was addressing the unique and diverse relationship that had grown in the Church as more Gentiles were being saved by the Messiah who was Jewish, fulfilling the promise that God had made with Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Paul depicted the Israelites as the cultivated olive tree branches and the Gentiles as wild olive tree branches. Cultivated fruit trees tend to be more healthy due to proper watering, fertilization schedule and planted in the right area to get sunlight, so those branches should bear abundant fruit. Wild fruit trees must survive the elements without proper care and will produce fruit but the fruit may be substandard. Since the Israelites, who were the cultivated branches, did not produce fruit, many were pruned by being cut off due to their unbelief. We Gentiles were grafted into the healthy cultivated tree having the ability to produce quality fruit with the same growing conditions as the natural branches. The grafting process involves the cutting away of a branch from its entire source of life, location, environment, and even identity to be placed unto another. The grafted branch must then be placed and wrapped where the previous branch was cut off. It takes some time for the grafted branch to connect and merge with the tree. Once the grafted branch is established with the tree, it will no longer need to be protected and wrapped but will spring forth new stems and produce fruit. We read in this passage that unbelief will stop the production of fruit which is what the Father is seeking. If Christ is the Vine, the Trunk, and the Root, we all have life and connected to the Life Source, and every branch should bear fruit.
Application
Paul gives a warning to Gentile believers to not be arrogant about our part in our salvation because God can prune us and cut off just as He did the Israelites. We must bear the fruit that God is seeking. In Mark 11:12-13, Christ cursed the fig tree who did not have fruit growing at the proper time to be harvested later in the season; it looked the part and had the leaves but no fruit nor any indication of budding on its branches. Our requirement as Christians is to bear fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Our DSC mission statement also sums up fruit production by loving God, loving people and making disciples.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You for salvation. I thank You for cutting us off from the world (wild olive tree) and placing us among Your branches to be well watered, fed (fertilized), and placed in the light to produce the fruit that You are seeking. Help us to not be arrogant but pruned in areas of our life that we may not be completely cut off from You. Let us use our fruit that You’ve helped us produce to attract others to Your goodness. We thank You for fulfilling Your promises that You made thousands of years ago to Abraham to reconnect us all back to You. Help us to walk in our calling to ultimately glorify You, in Jesus name, Amen.
- Darrence Hamilton
Psalm 139 - 1.9.26
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-14
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Observations:
God is with us wherever we go. There is no place when can go that he is not present. He knows everything about us, even what we will say before we say it. He knit us together in our mother‘s womb. Knitting is a procedure that takes time. This shows that God carefully planned out who we are and the characteristics he would give us. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.
Application
I so enjoy God’s creation and marvel at His design. Yesterday I was at a botanical garden and ended up stopped every few steps to take a picture of a unique flower. That same beauty is in all of us. God knit us in our mother’s womb. Thinking on this makes me realize I need to look at myself and others with that same amazement. Everything God creates is wonderful and has a purpose. He loves us so much He will never leave us. He’s always by my side.
David declares, “I know that full well.” He had walked through hard times and recognized God’s hand on his life in the midst of it all, even waiting after being anointed king and having to run for his life.
Prayer
Father God,
Your handiwork is amazing. Thank you for all the variety and intricate design this earth contains. You created me wonderfully with the same care. Thank you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Please help me remember this as I go about my day. As I look at others, even when I’m annoyed, please help me remember they are your creation. May I find the same beauty in them as I find looking at the ocean. Thank you for always being with me and surrounding me with your presence. Help me to look to your Holy Spirit for guidance throughout my day. May what I do honor you as shine to others how incredible you are.
Amen
- Cindy Howard