Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Sep 26 2019 - Ezekiel 16:1-22 – Unfaithful Jerusalem

These verses describe God's relationship with Jerusalem in terms of a story of an abandoned baby. The baby was born of parents who did not worship the living God and was left to die in its own blood. The Lord pictures himself as a man passing by who saw the baby and said "Live". He took the child and cared for her. When she was grown to adulthood, the Lord says, "I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine (v. 8 – remember Ruth asking Boaz to cover her with his cloak). The Lord speaks of himself as having clothed his bride in the finest of garments and jewellery and providing her with the finest of food until she "became very beautiful and rose to be a queen" (v. 13). Her beauty became famous among the nations.

The city of Jerusalem had been occupied by other nations worshipping other gods before God enabled David's army to capture it and make it his capital city. The Lord blessed David and enabled him to bring the tabernacle to Jerusalem. The Lord then enabled David's son, Solomon, to build a temple for the Lord to house the Ark of the Covenant. The temple was, in symbolic terms, the house of God, the place where he dwelt among his people. So Jerusalem became "the city of the Great King", and, in the words of Psalm 48, "the joy of the whole earth". God made a covenant with David that he would bless David's descendants and would dwell with them if only they would obey him.

But now the story of the Lord's marriage with the child he has raised from death to be his beautiful queen goes very wrong. In the parable of Ezekiel's prophecy, the beautiful woman abandons her husband and turns to prostitution. She has her beautiful gold and silver jewellery melted down and made into idols for her to worship. Even her children are sacrificed to her idols. She did not remember the one who had rescued her from death and lavished his love on her.

This dramatic story is a reflection of the history of Jerusalem, its kings, residents and the nation of Judah. They had turned from devotion to the Lord to the worship of idols. They had even brought idols into the temple of God. Later in this awful chapter of Ezekiel, the Lord refers to Jerusalem's two sisters, Samaria to the north and Sodom to the south (v. 46). Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom had been swept away into captivity many years earlier by the Assyrians. Sodom was destroyed by God in the days of Abraham for its wickedness. These three cities have now been grouped together as sisters. Jerusalem, once the glorious city where God lived amongst his people, had become like Sodom. It's a shocking picture, designed to bring the exiles to repentance.

The Lord Jesus is called the bridegroom of his people – by John the Baptist in John 3:29, by Jesus himself in Mark 2:19-20, by Paul in Ephesians 5:25-33 and in the wonderful imagery of Revelation 19:6-10 which speaks of "the marriage supper of the Lamb". The Lord Jesus looked upon us wallowing and dying in our own mess, if I can use for a moment the graphic language of Ezekiel. He looked upon us and said, "Live". More than that, he gave himself for us that we might have life.

From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy Bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.

He has decked us in the glorious dress of his own righteousness and has raised us up to share his throne. How shall we respond to all of this? Surely we cannot offer him anything less than the absolute and exclusive devotion of our lives. Surely we need to take care to keep ourselves from idols, to resist and to turn away from anything that would draw us away from devotion to him.

Living and triune God, thank you for saving us and making us your own. By your Spirit, fill us with a deep sense of your love for us and fill us with such heartfelt love for you that we may not be drawn away by the idols which fascinate and preoccupy the world around us. Help us also by your Spirit to urge others to come and discover the riches and blessing of belonging to the Lamb.

Sep 26 2020 - Matthew 24:29-51 – The faithful and wise servant

Let me return for a moment to the theme of yesterday’s notes. In this chapter Jesus is answering a double question raised by the disciples, “When will the Temple be destroyed?” and “What will be the signs of Jesus’ return and the end of the age?” In the minds of the disciples these were one question and in Jesus answer it is not easy to separate the two themes.

Nevertheless, Jesus is concerned both to give his followers clear signs of when the former is about to occur so that they might ‘flee to the mountains’ and escape destruction, while warning them against the folly of seeking to predict the latter. The parable of the fig tree may be intended as part of the warning concerning the fall of Jerusalem with its conclusion, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34), while the reminder concerning the days of Noah – beginning with the words “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (v. 36) – is a warning concerning the return of Christ.

The chapter concludes with a parable Jesus told concerning two servants. Each is put in charge of his master's household while the master is away. The first is a faithful and wise servant who takes good care of the household in his master's absence and is duly rewarded on the master's return. The second is a wicked servant who mistreats his fellow servants and uses his master's food and drink to live it up with his friends. When the master returns unexpectedly, the wickedness of the servant is discovered and he is punished severely. This is one of a series of parables that Jesus tells, all of which teach the necessity of being ready for the coming of the Lord.

There is some discussion about the original context and meaning of these parables. We, quite naturally, read them as exhortations to be ready for the return of Christ; we need to be about the Master's business so that we may not be ashamed when he appears. Some, however, have argued that when Jesus told these parables he was not speaking of his second coming but his first. They are parables concerning Israel's unreadiness for the coming of the Lord – "Suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple... But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?" (Malachi 3:1-2).

Whatever the original context and lesson of these parables, they spoke to Matthew's readers as they speak to us of the need to be ready for the return of our Lord. As we noticed yesterday, Jesus said that the gospel of the kingdom must be preached throughout the whole world (24:12). Matthew ends his gospel with Jesus' commission to his disciples to make disciples of the nations (28:18-20). All authority belongs to him, and with that authority he has entrusted us with his kingdom project. We have work to do and need to be about the Master’s business. The unreadiness of Israel at the coming of the Messiah acts as an additional prompt to us to be faithful and active in the work that the Master has entrusted to us: "You ... must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (24:44).

Lord Jesus, I find it easy to get preoccupied in the busyness of daily life and to lose my zeal for the work of the kingdom. Stir me up by your Spirit to pray for the day of your coming. Keep me from becoming too comfortable with this present age and its passing fashions. Rather, may I continually long for and work towards the day when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

Peter Misselbrook