Good morning! Today we finish out the book of Daniel with a final vision ascribed to him, which gives detailed but anonymous descriptions for much that will happen in Palestine’s history after Babylon’s defeat. I believe that the original audience for these prophecies was active centuries after the Babylonian defeat, and the historical information given served to persuade them that the promises of this messenger could be trusted.
Author: Oby Ballinger
Daniel 7-9
Good morning! Today with Daniel 7-9 we turn the corner to a quite different form of literature: apocalyptic. The second half of Daniel is the best example of apocalyptic literature in the Hebrew Scriptures (though we will see other examples in these final books), and Revelation is the crowning example in the New Testament. Indeed, Revelation borrows key themes and images from Daniel, so what we read today and tomorrow will show up again in different forms when we finish the Bible at the end of December.
Daniel 4-6
Good morning! Today’s passage (Daniel 4-6) continues the mythological stories of Daniel’s exploits that we began yesterday. With three successive leaders of Babylon, Daniel shows that his faithfulness preserves from every harm. In each case, the foreign leader either learns humility and praises the Hebrew God, or dies. This theme of a superhero Hebrew who trusts in God through strenuous trials (and who perseveres in the end) connects today’s reading to the miracle stories we read yesterday.
Daniel 1-3
Good morning! Today we start the book of Daniel with chapters 1-3. Taken at face value, this book presents as the exploits of a leader named Daniel among the Babylonian exiles. In actuality, scholars think it dates from centuries later, but was set in exilic, “heroic” times in order to inspire those who lived under similar oppressive circumstances later on. The book tells one story after another of faithful leaders like Daniel persevering under hostility, and coming out stronger because of their trust in God.
Ezekiel 46-48
Good morning! Today we finish Ezekiel, the last of the really long prophets! From here, the most we’ll spend in any one book is the next four days spent on Daniel. Otherwise, we’ll be reading a number of shorter books between here and October, when we start the New Testament! I’m hoping we can get some new and re-engaged folks reading along for the last three months of Daily Bible, and will be grateful for your help in welcoming others to join our reading of the New Testament when the time comes. But for today, we follow along as Ezekiel concludes instructions about ritual life in the envisioned city (chapter 46), and finishes by describing the land beyond the temple in chapters 47-48.
Ezekiel 42-45
Good morning! Today in Ezekiel 42-45, the prophet continues to describe the revelation he received of the “new Jerusalem”, which he is instructed to share with the exiles who continue to suffer in Babylon. Throughout these descriptions of the temple region (42), the return of God’s spirit (43), and the ways of a new Torah (44-45), what strikes me most is the resonance with earlier “holiness codes” from Leviticus. Unfortunately, this is most evident in codes of exclusion, reserving the divine “real estate” only for priests and turning everyone else away.
Promises in Dust
Edina Morningside Community Church
| Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8 |
Sermon audio: |
We waited until the very last day, but Javen and I made it to the State Fair this past Monday. It’s an annual tradition for us, made easier by the fact that we live just a mile south of the fairgrounds. I go for the livestock that reminds me of growing up on a farm, Javen goes for the seed art, and both of us go for the food. By Monday morning, well over a million people had been to the fairgrounds already. We saw the unmistakable signs of overpopulation in trash and traffic, while consuming four thousand calories apiece of miscellaneous deep-fried goodness. I remember waiting in line for a bucket of French fries on a grassy area next to the sidewalk. Well, it used to be grassy. Countless pairs of human feet had stood there before us, and that grass was trodden within an inch of its life. I’m sure it was thick and lush earlier in the summer, but by Monday it was trampled flat, and more brown than green. In truth, the lawn offered more dirt than plant underfoot. This is what happens when the equilibrium of people and planet gets out of whack. At such times of imbalance, the dust is revealed.
Ezekiel 39-41
Good morning! Today’s passage is Ezekiel 39-41, and much of it will make an architect’s heart go pitter-patter, for it contains dimensional information about a restored temple in a new Jerusalem that God is set to establish. The rest of us might find some of the descriptive details boring, but they deliberately connect Ezekiel’s vision to earlier descriptions of the tabernacle in the Torah, the temple that Solomon built, and the restored Jerusalem at the end of the book of Revelation.
Ezekiel 35-38
Good morning! Today’s passage (Ezekiel 35-38) takes on a more hopeful tone, at least from the perspective of Israel. For those who neighbor on or threaten Israel (like Edom—symbolized by Mount Seir in chapter 35—or Gog in chapter 38), this is very bad news indeed because they will suffer in the shadow of a stronger Israel. But for those who follow the ways of God, Israel’s unforeseen and undeserved restoration will take the form of dry bones, resuscitated into living flesh again.
Ezekiel 32-34
Good morning! In today’s passage, Ezekiel 32-34 continues for one chapter the themes of yesterday, but then changes direction to focus on a time after punishment when Israel is restored. Chapter 32 follows closely on the heels of other anti-Egypt chapters like those we read yesterday. Here, Ezekiel focuses on the death of Pharaoh and the synonymous decline of Egypt. With vivid and grotesque descriptors, the prophet emphasizes that when death comes for the Egyptians, they will not go down to eternal rest with those who have honorably died, but instead will inhabit another portion of the afterlife reserved for those who are slain by the sword.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 