SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 READINGS...1 Chronicles 8:29-9:1a & Daniel 4:1-37 & Ezekiel 40:1-37
A king is saved! Today we read the story of King Nebuchadnezzar coming to a place where he believes in God. Up until the end of chapter 4 of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar always referred to the Lord as Daniel’s God. The Lord gave the king a dream. The essence of the dream was that the Lord would make the proud and sinful king go insane. For seven year he would live among the animals, eating grass, until he was ready to respond to the Lord and acknowledge Him as God. This long scenario shows the grace of God toward even this despot king. At the end of seven years in the wilderness Nebuchadnezzar became sane and called out in believe to the one true and living God. A great lesson for us…if God can save Nebuchadnezzar, who can’t He save. No one is beyond His grace. Nebuchadnezzar was moved to a place of response to believe by the hand of God…and he believed. God moves on our human heart, He brings us to the place where we can respond. It is at that point we either believe, trusting in Him…or we walk away. I hope each of you has trusted in Him.
The second part of our reading has to do with a vision the Lord gave Ezekiel. Remember he is still in captivity with the other Jews in Babylon. It has been 14 years since the Temple and Jerusalem have been destroyed, and they have been in captivity for 25 years. The Lord gave Ezekiel a vision of a new Temple. Some believe this to be the Temple that would be build by Zerubbabel and later redone/expanded by Herod (the 2nd Temple). This is the one there in the time of Christ on the earth…destroyed in 70AD. Few believe this to be the Temple spoken of in Revelation built during the tribulation, the one where Antichrist blasphemes God. Many believe this to be the Temple of the Millennium (Christ thousand year reign here on the earth).
Ezekiel is given great details about this Temple. He is told to watch as an angel measures the Temple…much like when John measures the Temple in Revelation. This is important to the Lord as He tell Ezekiel to pay close attention to everything he sees. The Lord has great promises to His people, it is incumbent on us to pay attention when God desires to show us things.
Please share any thoughts and insights you have from today’s readings. Keep you heart turned toward Him in all things.
TOMORROW’S READINGS…Ezekiel 40:38-43:27