...................................................................LET US LEARN TOGETHER WHAT IS GOOD. Job 34:4b(NIV)................................................................Some people see the Bible as a long and boring book filled with incidents and events from the lives of ancient people who probably never existed. The biblical stories are seen as fables. In this blog, many of the situations and conversations found in the divinely inspired Holy Scriptures have been placed in categories that correspond to expressive sayings and phrases. Reference information, background information and links connecting the people and places are given to help you find a place to begin reading the Bible for yourself.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Just Obedience

Ezekiel the priest and prophet
receives a divine message:

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.-Ezekiel 3:1-9

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.-Ezekiel 3:10-11

Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.-Ezekiel 3:12-14

Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.-Ezekiel 3:15-21

And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.-Ezekiel 3:22-27


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Background Information:

At least 30 years after Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah to Mary, a virgin, and her husband Joseph after being conceived of the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb when Mary was a virgin, Jesus identified himself as the Son of man. Bethlehem was a town in Judea and was ruled by the Roman Empire. Over 1,900 years before Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, the Lord God promised to give Canaan, land inhabited by idolaters, to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and to Abraham's son Isaac, and to Isaac's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel), and to their descendants. When Jacob was 130 years old, he moved with his family from Canaan to Egypt, the country wherein Joseph, the 1st son born to Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel, was second-in-command. 
Sometime after 147-year old Jacob died in Egypt and his family buried his body in Canaan, and 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were from the tribe of Levi, descended from Jacob and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Egypt and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Afterwards, Moses and Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor, was from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. Throughout the years after Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the Promised Land, the Israelites were led by elders, judges and their own minds. When Samuel the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi was very old, and his sons Joel (Vashni) and Abiah were not obeying the commands of the Lord God, and King Nahash and his Ammonite army were preparing to attack, the Israelites demanded that Samuel appoint a king to lead them. The Lord God sent Samuel to anoint Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, to reign as king. At least twice, Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God. During Saul's reign, the Lord God sent Samuel to anoint David, from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah, to reign as king. David was a man after God's own heart. After Saul's self-inflicted death on the battlefield, men from the tribe of Judah anointed 30-year-old David and he began to reign only over the tribe of Judah. Saul's son Ishbosheth (Eshbaal) reigned over the other Israelite tribes. After Ishbosheth was murdered, the Israelite elders went to David, and David made a covenant with them. The elders anointed David, and 37-year-old David began to reign over all of the Israelites. Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign over all of the Israelites. During Solomon's latter years, Solomon was an idolater. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to reign over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city, and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Descendants of David, Solomon and Rehoboam ruled Judah, except for the 6-year reign of Athaliah.  Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city, and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. The northern nation was always ruled by murderers and idolaters. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites to Assyria. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Less than 140 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) was the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. Moreover, Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), and Ezekiel the prophet were among the Israelites taken to Babylon. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that the Lord God addressed Ezekiel as Son of man and the Lord God gave Ezekiel several divine assignments.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Ezekiel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26

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