November 6 – Which of these righteous men are not like the other?

November 6
Ezekiel 14:12-16:41
Hebrews 7:18-28
Psalm 106:1-12
Proverbs 27:4-6

Ezekiel 14:14 – God would spare Sodom and Gomorrah for 10 righteous people (Genesis 18:32). Yet now God says that if Noah (the one who roughly 2000 years earlier had preached and worked for decades), Job (the one who roughly 2000 years earlier had passed Satan’s tests), and Daniel (Wait a minute – Daniel is a contemporary of Ezekiel! And Abraham didn’t even make the list!) were in Jerusalem, God wouldn’t even give them the opportunity He gave Lot to get his family out (Genesis 19:12). On a side note – notice that Daniel is the only one listed in 2,000 years as an example of a righteous man. When we get into Daniel soon, remember what God had to say about Daniel.

Ezekiel 16:4 – This is the longest chapter in Ezekiel. Some of the customs are foreign to us (salting a newborn), but were in practice (Enduring Word):

“Cutting the cord, washing, rubbing down with salt, and clothing the newborn were also customary legal acts of legitimation. In the neglect and abandonment of the infant in the open field, the parent legally relinquished all rights to and responsibilities for the child.” (Block)

Ezekiel 16:15 – You could draw a comparison to America here. The Pilgrims who arrived in America had nothing. Half of them died the first winter. Now America is “decked with gold and silver” (Ezekiel 16:13). But like Israel, America is trusting in the blessings she has received as opposed to the One who gave the blessings to her!

Ezekiel 16:21 – Jeremiah mentioned this sin once (Jeremiah 32:35), but this is the first of three references by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 20:26, Ezekiel 20:31). God made it clear in the Torah (Leviticus 18:21, Deuteronomy 18:10), and yet in the historical books it was done (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Kings 17:17, 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Kings 23:10, 2 Chronicles 33:6). As we talked about in Jeremiah, instead of the children being redeemed for the LORD (Exodus 13:2, Exodus 22:29, Exodus 34:20, Numbers 3:13), the children were sacrificed to Satan. Tragically in America we have said this is a right guaranteed in our highest governing document.

Ezekiel 16:41 – Breaking off of sin is tough. But God is willing to go to drastic measures to “cause thee to cease from playing the harlot.” In the New Testament we read about this in Hebrews 12:6.

Hebrews 7:22 – How was Jesus better?

Priests were many – Jesus is one (Hebrews 7:23-24)
Priests would die – Jesus “continueth ever” (Hebrews 7:23-24)
Priests sacrifices last maybe 24 hours – Jesus can save to the uttermost (eternally) (Hebrews 7:25-27)
Priests offer sacrifices every day – Jesus offered a sacrifice once (Hebrews 7:27)
Priests have infirmities – Jesus is perfect (Hebrews 7:28)

Psalm 106:3 – Righteousness won’t get you to heaven (Psalm 14:3), but those who seek righteousness (Matthew 6:33) by obeying God (John 14:15). The first step is repentance (Psalm 106:6), then belief (Psalm 106:12).

Proverbs 27:6 – Patch the Pirate released an adventure on this theme – “The Friendship Mutiny,” and the importance of a faithful friend.