Wow! I’m starting to read one of the books in the Old Testament, Ezekiel. “Be my teacher, Holy Spirit I pray; I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

(Scripture taken from New King James Version®. Copyright ©1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

I wrote out the first verse of chapter one in Ezekiel, from the HCSB version of the Bible:

“in the thirtieth year, on the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.”

I’ve been following Reading God’s Story: A Chronological Daily Bible: Copyright ©  2011 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN for close to two years now. They group the Scriptures by topic. I’ve just finished Jeremiah and Lamentations, which talk about Babylon destroying Jerusalem, killing or hurting or capturing most of the Israelites because they followed false gods of their neighbors and practiced abominable acts that infuriated God. The Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar also won wars against Egypt, the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Moabites which weren’t far from Israel.

So, when Ezekiel writes he’s in the thirtieth year of exile, I figure he’s in the midst of the prophesied banishment of the Israelites for seventy years that Jeremiah and other prophets warned them about. Always telling the people that if they repented of sin and turned back to the miracle working God of their history, they could avoid such severe punishment—sword, famine, captivity, and extremely harsh treatment from their enemies.

Since the Babylonians punished Israel with more zeal than God intended, He declared through Jeremiah that Babylon would be destroyed forever. Ezekiel saw visions of God while in exile far away from his homeland. (Ezekiel 1:2, HCSB), “on the fifth day of the month— it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile— the word of the Lord came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chedar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there.”

The Bible repeats things sometimes to help us understand God’s Word. As I’ve continued to read Ezekiel, I understand how disgusted God got as He watched His chosen people fall under the sway of the unholy beings. We, too are influenced to kill our offspring, live selfishly, promiscuously, greedily and to worship idols. If you don’t think so, turn on the television. In New York State, our governor is running ads for election. If you don’t believe in aborting a baby, you are not in line with her opinions and desires. I am very concerned for America and Canada, whom I know more of because of where I live. I’m also aware that our world is much closer to the time when Jesus returns as the Lion of Judah, not the lamb ready to be slain for our sins.

I don’t even know how to pray for our country and our world. So, I pray as best I can and leave things up to God Almighty. May God bless you, despite the trials that are going on, because in Him we live, and move, and have our being when we are His children. He helps us through any chaos and heaven is our reward. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and obey Him, because in these end times it’s prophesied that many followers of God will be deceived and fall away. Also, many non-believers will come to faith in Jesus. “Help us, Lord God, I pray! Amen.”

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