May 7 ▪ Day 127

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 17:3
Ezekiel 3–4
Acts 24
Psalms 127

Verse Focus (Proverbs 17:3)

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
     but the LORD tests the heart.

Meditation

I love Proverbs 17:3! As the NIV translates it, “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.” We immediately understand that silver and gold are purified by fire; likewise, God tests our hearts and purifies us by the situations he places us in. We think of silver and gold as valuable, but rarely think of the process that made it valuable and coveted. The raw ore is not pure enough to use in jewelry or coins or whatever else we might want the metal to become, so it must be smelted down. Refined. Purified.

When God tests us, it is like being in the fire. And rarely do we understand what God is doing when we are in the midst of difficulties. Only afterward are we able to see the fruit that came through that suffering.

We do not enjoy testing. But James exhorts us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” As Job 23:10 says, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Father God, help us to understand that you are refining us through the things that we find difficult. Teach us to cling to you. Thank you that you are with us even in the midst of the fire. May we also come forth as gold for your kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Ezekiel 3 continues the description of the prophet’s first encounter with the glory of the LORD. Throughout the chapter I hear echoes of God’s dealings with his other prophets. When Ezekiel is told in verse 1 to “Eat this scroll,” it reminds me of Jeremiah 15:16 and Revelation 10:9-10. In verse 5, God says, “For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel.” This reminds me of how Jonah was sent to prophesy to the people of Ninevah — to a people of foreign speech and hard language. And it is an irony, too, that even now Ezekiel lives in Babylon, among a people of foreign speech and hard language. Yet God is sending him to speak with his own people, the Israelites. In verse 8, when God tells Ezekiel that He has made his face hard, I hear the echoes of God’s call to Jeremiah, whom He made as iron (Jeremiah 1:18).

Verse 10 is significant. “Son of man,” God says to Ezekiel, “all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.” This is always God’s call — to hear Him, and to receive His words in our heart. And this is precisely the charge against those who stray — that they do not listen. That they do not heed. That they do not receive God’s word into their hearts.

Again, the voice and the sound of the wings of the cherubim is likened to a great earthquake declaring the glory of the LORD (v. 12-13).

As the vision concludes, Ezekiel tells us in verse 14, “I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.” Bitterness — or pain — and anger. God’s words had been sweet to Ezekiel’s mouth, but now — just like in Revelation 10:9-10 — it has resulted in bitterness. Perhaps because he realized the immensity of the task he had been given. He experienced the righteous anger at the house of Israel’s rebellion; perhaps, too, a part of him quailed and rebelled at the idea of being God’s prophet. He returns to his home with the exiles near the Kebar River — “and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days (v. 15).”

Verse 15 resonated for me. We may and often do find an intense experience of God completely overwhelming. I know there have been times in my life when I felt that, although not to the degree that Ezekiel experienced these emotions. However, God does not let this emotional paralysis stand. After seven days, God calls Ezekiel again.

God’s word comes to Ezekiel. He tells him that He has made Ezekiel a watchman for the house of Israel. If Ezekiel fails to warn the people of coming disaster, then when they die the LORD promises to hold Ezekiel “accountable for their blood (v. 18).” But if Ezekiel does warn them, whether the people repent and live or whether they die in their sins, Ezekiel will have saved his own soul.

The LORD directs Ezekiel to go out to the valley. When he does, he once again sees a vision of the glory of the LORD. He again falls facedown. But the Spirit raises Ezekiel up and he receives more instructions.

A few years ago, I was particularly struck by verse 25. God tells Ezekiel, “And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.” He goes on to relate that Ezekiel will become mute, and unable to speak except when the LORD wants him to prophesy. Of course, we don’t know exactly what happened with Ezekiel or what this verse means. The language could be figurative rather than literal. However, it occurred to me that the exiles may have thought that Ezekiel was mentally ill. He was not known to be a prophet, and he had just spent a week in their presence being completely overwhelmed. Binding Ezekiel with cords may have been their way of trying to restrain him, and protect him from himself. So it’s possible that Ezekiel did experience this verse literally rather than metaphorically.

Despite my insight that Ezekiel may have been initially understood to be mentally ill by his contemporaries, chapter 4 argues against this interpretation as it speaks about God placing Ezekiel in cords to prevent him from turning to one side or another while he does his performance art prophecy (v. 8). In this chapter, the “cords” seem more metaphorical rather than literal. And I suspect that either both examples of being bound with cords are literal, or both are symbolic.

I find myself uncomfortable with these descriptions of Old Testament prophets demonstrating their prophecies through some type of performance. So chapter 4 is no exception. God tells Ezekiel to create a kind of model siegeworks — the siege of Jerusalem is still four years away, but this prophecy will demonstrate the upcoming threat. Ezekiel is further directed to lie on his left side for 390 days to symbolize the 390 years of punishment for the Israelites. Then he is to lie on his right side for 40 days to symbolize the punishment of Judah. While he is on his side, he is to make his own bread. At first God tells Ezekiel to bake the bread over human dung to show how the Israelites will eat unclean bread in the nations to which they will be exiled. But when Ezekiel objects to this, God relents and tells him that he may bake his bread over cow dung.

Today I notice that the 390 years of Israel’s punishment combined with the 40 years of Judah’s punishment totals up to 430 years — which is the number of years that the Bible says that the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt before the Exodus. There are some suggestions that the 430 years in Egypt are not meant to be taken as a literal number (mostly based on genealogical evidence); if so, the fact that the punishment also adds up to this number seems symbolic. However, delving too deeply into numerical symbolism in the Bible can lead you down a rabbit hole. So I’m not sure that there’s much further to do with this parallelism other than to remark that it’s interesting. 430 days is just a little over 14 months long — a very long time for Ezekiel to be lying down as he fulfills this prophecy.

Acts 24 records Paul’s time in captivity in Caesarea, which lasted over two years. Governor Felix had decreed that he would hold a hearing for Paul once his accusers arrived from Jerusalem. The high priest Ananias and the lawyer Tertullus arrive five days later to present their case against Paul. I am amused at how Tertullus butters up the governor, claiming the Jews have prospered under Roman leadership.

The charges against Paul are a mixture of truth and lies (v. 5-6). They say that he is a “plague” — and I’m sure the high priest and the council believed so. They accuse him of stirring up riots. And while it’s true Paul didn’t start the riots himself, his presence did spark other troublemakers to riot. They claim he is a “ringleader” of the sect of the Nazarenes. True, sort of. “Ringleader” is a negative and pejorative term. But it is true that Paul was a leader of the Christian sect, if not one of the leaders in Jerusalem. They also claim he profaned the temple — an obvious and galling lie.

Felix, however, does not want to rule in this hearing since he has “a rather accurate knowledge of the Way (v. 22).” So he puts them off, saying that he must wait until the tribune Claudius Lysias arrives. Perhaps his knowledge of the Way came through his wife, Drusilla, since she was Jewish. Or perhaps, as governor, he may have had many prior occasions to see the impact on the region of the spreading faith in Jesus.

Felix is an interesting character. He liked to listen to Paul — but he was frightened, too, at the possibility of judgment. So he would send him away. Then he would bring him back again — partly in hopes of receiving a bribe, but partly because he was drawn to the gospel message. After two years, Felix steps down as governor and Porcius Festus becomes the new authority. But Felix leaves Paul in prison as a favor to the Jews. Some day we’ll find out whether or not Felix ever accepted the message of salvation; Paul certainly planted enough seeds during his time in prison in Caesarea.

Psalm 127 is a beloved psalm for many. This pilgrimage song was written by Solomon. We see the wisdom immediately as the psalmist reminds us that without having the LORD on our side, whatever we do will be in vain. Christians will exhort one another on the basis of this psalm. It is easy to run ahead and to try to accomplish projects in our own strength. But we need to seek the LORD’s blessing for all that we do, and we must keep in step with the Spirit.

Verse 2 was both an inspiration and a challenge for me for many years. “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Instead of focusing on the vanity of striving to make a living (without seeking help from God, that is), I would focus on the last phrase. “He grants sleep to those he loves.” Inevitably, this phrase would ring in my ears on nights when I struggled with insomnia. Can’t sleep, can’t sleep. Toss, turn, punch the pillow. Can’t sleep. He grants sleep to those he loves. As the minutes and hours ticked by, part of me would begin to doubt God’s love.

But a year or so ago I learned a completely new interpretation of this verse. There is a small footnote in the NIV that tells us that this phrase can also be translated as “for while they sleep he provides for those he loves.” Suddenly, my doubts as to God’s love for me disappear. This makes sense! Those who toil to support themselves apart from God do so in vain — because God provides for His beloved people even while they are sleeping. They have no need to toil at all. Hallelujah, amen!

After speaking of the vanity of effort without reliance on God, the rest of Psalm 127 details some of the blessings that God grants to those He loves. Verse 4 tells us, “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.” It may not always be expressed so succinctly, but this is essential wisdom. The Bible celebrates families. Our Triune God is one who has relationship as part of His core being. Family and community are some of the blessings God gives so that we also may be in loving relationships.

Father God, thank you for this reminder that we need you in everything we do — in our work, in our responsibilities, in our relationships, in our lives. You are the one who builds. You are the one who establishes. You are the one who provides and protects. Thank you for that.

Help us to learn wisdom from your Scripture. Today’s reading in Ezekiel is very sobering. We don’t want to have blood on our hands through failing to give the gospel message. Help us to hear your Spirit and to heed your call. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.