Scripture
Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached.
~Psalm 122:3, NLT
Quote
Rebellion against our Creator–The One who gives us breath and loves us every miniute of every day–is not only unreasonable, it is outrageous.
~Elisebeth Elliot
I remember my first trip to Israel back in 1990. I cannot lie, I was disappointed. I don’t know what I expected to see, I guess some towering mountain with a clear peak and a city on top. Jerusalem in built on a craggy hill and it is not majestic. Don’t go to Israel with the Smokey Mountains in mind, they are nothing alike. The one thing that did get my undivided attention was the wall surrounding Jerusalem. Most everything in America is less than 400 years old, but the walls around Jerusalem are thousands of years old, at least parts of them. I do not know of a single city in America that is surrounded by a wall but this was common in biblical times. Matter of fact, most cities had walls. Walls were for security, or for protection. They could be used to separate or to confine. All prisons have walls.
Israels strength was in keeping the covenant or obeying God’s law. You might say there strength was their morality. When Ezekiel speaks of a breach in the wall, he is talking about Israel’s rebellion against God and the broken covenant. The wall was a symbol of strength and security but in truth, God was their wall–He was their High Protector–Their Warrior King. His protection was conditioned on their obedience. Think of it as an umbrella; if we obey, we stay under the umbrella. When we rebel and do our own thing, we step out from under the umbrella. I have told more own children more than once, you can’t be disobedient to parents without paying a price. Pride never wants to submit to authority; it bristles when it is instructed. There is a better way and it is found in Psalm 143.
- Show me the road that I must walk {143:8}
- Teach me to do what pleases You {143:10}
- Revive me, O LORD {143:11}
- Bring all my foes {pride, lust, greed, etc.} to naught {143:12}
Cloverdale Translation
Extra
PTL we are getting some good old fashion bug killing weather. The frost finally got everything but the poinsettia outside my office that Jean Smith gave June three years ago. It is so big I am not going to move it into the house this year. The first hard freeze will get it.
Holly has me employed in a carpenter project and I am slow as Christmas in my old age. I hope to knock a serious dent in it today barring something unexpected. You never know what a day will bring.
Jean Narrels stint procedure will be Monday and so is David’s surgery.
I hope you have a wonderful Black Friday.