Thoughts on the Bible Readings September 14th (2 Kings 20; Ezekiel 10; Luke 6)

In the record in 2 Kings 20, at the time of his nation's greatest need, their captain (LXX 'archegos' - used consistently in Hebrews of our Lord Jesus Christ - the captain of our faith chapter 2 and the "author" of our faith chapter 12 etc); is struck with leprosy (see Isaiah 53;4). But, says the prophet, lay a poultice of figs on the boil, and Hezekiah will recover, and he will go up to the temple in 3 days’ time - a time in the Bible symbolic of resurrection. The king was the representative of Judah as Isaiah 1 tells us. But when Hezekiah is faced with certain death, unless God cures him, the king has another dilemma - he is unmarried, and he has no seed i.e. offspring to continue the 'house of David'. Will he die and will the line Judah be brought to an end and will the "lamp" promised to David be extinguished? The sign of the faithful king's recovery is the sun dial of Ahaz going backwards by 10 degrees. Hezekiah's prayer in his extremity is recorded in Isaiah 38. But after his recovery Hezekiah was for a time lifted up in pride and sins in the matter of the envoys from Babylon (compare 2 Chronicles 32 verses 25-31; and also 1 Timothy 6 verses 17-19). An obvious reflection for us in life is that the more acute trials in life may be easier than the less obvious and more insidious ones such as pride. Ezekiel 10, although a short chapter, is of paramount importance. It tells of the departure of the glory from the eastern gate of Jerusalem's Temple. That glory will return when the Lord Jesus Christ returns by that very gate - see Ezekiel chapter 43 verses 1-5.
Luke chapter 6 tells us of the rebuke that our Lord Jesus' foes to issue Jesus' disciples for supposedly breaking the Sabbath. The Lord shows from the Scriptures that, based on the record of David in 1 Samuel 21 - the disciples, like David were blameless and that the Son of God was "the Lord of the Sabbath". Next our Lord cures a man with a withered hand also on the Sabbath. This man had undoubtedly been placed in the synagogue to trap the Lord. Instead, Jesus' enemies found that they themselves had the tables turned on them. Jesus uses the occasion to teach the lessons of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is for helping and healing verses  Isaiah 561-8; 58 verses 13-14. Read those words aloud and ponder their meaning for the way we must live. After a night in prayer to His Father Christ chose his twelve Apostles. The record says that multitudes come to him and are cured. The chapter follows by outlining our Lord Jesus' Sermon on the Plain. No doubt this is a separate occasion from Matthew 5-7. The themes are common as the message did not change. The Beatitudes, or blessings producing happiness, to the citizens of Zion who will be granted glory in Messiah's kingdom are outlined. They present a complete picture of the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. On this occasion the counterpart of the curses upon the enemies of the Kingdom are enumerated. Like the Matthew record, we are once more told, that we 1) need to love our enemies in order to be as our Father; 2) must not to be censorious and hypocritical by finding fault in others; 3) a tree is to be known by its fruits i.e. the outcomes, or behaviours, of our lives; 4) need to build our faith and lives on the rock that is our Lord Jesus Christ verses  Ephesians 2 verses 17-22.Thanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow