Bible Commentaries: from 26 August to 01 September 2024

The result of the word of the Lord

• In Jeremiah 15:16, we read that the prophet encounters the Word of God, which was sweet in his mouth, with joy and gladness in his heart. In Ezekiel 3:3, we also find the moment when the Lord gives him the scroll with the Word for the prophet to eat. It was as sweet as honey in his mouth when he ate it. In Revelation 10:8-11, the same thing happens to John. When he ate the little book, it was sweet in his mouth, but it wasn't enjoyable in his belly.

• God's Word is the same at all times, from the beginning. The prophet Elijah said his voice was still small, and now we discover that his Word was as sweet as honey. What is different is the type of person who receives the Word. For those who receive it and put it on their hearts, it is joy and gladness because it reveals salvation in Jesus, the great love of the Father, and the beauty of the Work of the Holy Spirit. For those who receive it but don't put it into their lives, it is nothing; it produces nothing; it tastes of nothing. Nothing happens inside them.

• John was a faithful servant of God. The text shows that it is bitter for those who receive the Word and use it to satisfy their interests (satisfy the belly). Because it does not accord with reason, it does not satisfy the flesh and brings judgment. The Word of God must be deposited in the heart, not the belly (Ps 119:11).

Jesus, our rest

• The verses in Jeremiah 17:24-27 talk about the Sabbath day, the day of rest. As we know, the Sabbath means rest. We often think we're fine, that our bodies don't need to rest, and that we continue working. We work until very late at night, we don't enjoy our holidays, every day seems the same. But the body needs rest because as the years go by, it gets older and sicker and wants to rest. Many people only realize that their bodies need it when they get sick. Similarly, our soul feels the same need. Just as God gave the physical Sabbath to rest the body, he also gave the spiritual Sabbath to rest the soul.

• The law commanded Israel to keep the Sabbath so they could rest their bodies and do God's work. But prophetically, the Sabbath symbolizes the person of the Lord Jesus. Our soul needs him. So when Israel, in their attitudes, said they didn't need the Sabbath to rest, it was the same as saying that their soul didn't need the rest that Jesus Christ came to give it. Don't allow merchants to go through your doors on the Sabbath; don't trade the visitation of the Holy Spirit for other things. Don't open the doors of your hearts for cargo to enter through them because Jesus wants to give you rest, peace, health, and life.

The fruits of the Fig Tree for God's people

• The Word says that those who had already died were more fortunate than those who had left because the vast majority of the Jews who were taken captive died during the seventy years they were outside Israel. Their bones were buried in a strange land, and many were born, lived, and died without seeing Jerusalem (Jer 22:10). The fig tree (Jeremiah 24:1-2) symbolizes Israel. The Word speaks of the fig tree planted by the wayside. This fig tree, planted by the side of the road, was supposed to bear fruit for the foreigner so that he would be happy with the fruit he found and would want to stay in Israel and get to know the customs and, above all, the God of Israel. For a while, Israel did this perfectly. That's how Rahab from Jericho became part of Israel; the Gibeonites made a covenant with Joshua; that's how Ruth the Moabitess was added to God's people... and so many more. Eternal blessing was upon Israel, and through this people, all nations and peoples would be blessed; that was the promise made to Abraham. For this reason, Israel was a priestly nation. But Israel forgot this or perhaps didn't understand its role.

It was fruitless when Jesus looked for figs on the fig tree; then he said, ‘Why does the earth occupy itself if it bears no fruit? The fig tree withered away as a result. The Lord said that some men and women feared him among those people, but many did not. The Lord promised those who were his servants and went to Babylon would be treated with honor and would return to Israel, but the wicked would die in captivity. Some examples of the Lord's faithfulness to his people include Esther, who married King Ahasuerus and became queen over 127 provinces. Mordecai, whose cousin Esther was, was second in line to King Ahasuerus. Ezra was a priest who returned from exile together with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, by order of King Cyrus, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 24:6. Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer and was later appointed governor of Judea. Daniel held a high position in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. Ananias, Azariah, and Mishael, friends of Daniel who was magnified in the kingdom of Babylon.

The vision of Ezekiel

• Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1:5-12) is challenging to imagine precisely as he describes it, but the prophetic meaning is clear to those who already know the Word. The vision refers to the person of the Lord Jesus. Here, the four animals symbolize how the Lord Jesus is presented in the gospels.

i) Face like a lion: This relates to the Gospel according to Matthew, which presents Jesus as the King. This gospel was written for the Jews and demonstrates his authority as Lord and King.

ii) Face like an ox: This is related to the Gospel according to Mark, which presents Jesus as the one who came to serve. This gospel was written to the Romans and demonstrates God's work for man's salvation.

iii) Face like a man: This is related to the Gospel according to Luke, which presents Jesus as a man. This gospel was written to the Greeks and demonstrates Jesus' humanity as a perfect man.

iv) Face like an eagle: This is related to the Gospel according to John, which presents Jesus as the Son of God. This gospel was written to the church and demonstrates God's immeasurable love for man.

• In verse 12, we read that each of these beings walked in front of them and didn't turn round or round as they walked. How is that possible? A being with four faces, one facing each direction. While one stepped forward, another had to walk backward and two to the side! But the vision shows that they were all walking forward simultaneously. The significance of this is that the Lord Jesus presented himself as King, Servant, Man, and Son of God at the same time, and in each of his acts, it is possible to recognize these four characteristics together, and no act performed cancels out one of his personalities. In healing in Assisi, for example, Jesus was exercising an act of justice, as a king, to one of his servants. Jesus was working as a servant for the well-being of man. Jesus demonstrated his humanity when he understood the man's need and met it by doing what he needed. Jesus was working a miracle, which only God can perform. You can see these characteristics in all his deeds, but each gospel emphasizes one of them, and they are all about achieving the project of Salvation in Jesus.