Other comments on this day's readings can be found here.
Reading 1 - 1Ch 9:27
"They would spend the night stationed around the house of God,
because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each
morning" (1Ch 9:27).
Each morning...
Manna was given (Exo 16:21).
The house of the LORD was opened, and service
was offered (1Ch 9:27).
Fire was renewed on the
altar (Lev 6:12).
Incense was offered (Exo
30:7).
Praise was offered (1Ch 23:30).
Sacrifice was presented (2Ch 2:4; 13:11).
God visits (Job 7:18).
God is their arm (Isa 33:2).
His compassions are new (Lam 3:23).
The Philistines present themselves (1Sa 17:16).
God silences the wicked (Psa 101:8).
God dispenses justice (Zep 3:5).
Rulers should administer justice (Jer
21:12).
Reading 2 - Eze 22
Jerusalem is a city of guilt, a city of bloods. It is said to
them as it had been said to Cain: "Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me
from the ground" (Gen 4:10).
"Patriot as he was, Ezekiel was not, like some sincere
patriots, blind to his country's faults. His conscience and judgment were
enlightened, and his emotional nature was rendered especially sensitive, so that
a just and deep impression was made upon his mind by the contemplation of his
countrymen's errors and iniquities. Leaders of public opinion, teachers of the
time, are ever in danger of flattering those among whom their lot is cast, with
whom their interests are identified. Yet Ezekiel proves himself to have the true
spirit of the prophet, who rises superior to this temptation, and whose motto
is, 'Be just, and fear not!'
"The catalogue of the people's sins is both a long and an
awful one. It suffices to mention these as boldly charged upon them by the
faithful prophet of the Lord:
Idolatry;
Violence and murder;
Disregard for parents;
Oppression of strangers, of the widows and fatherless;
Profaning of the
sabbath;
Lewdness and vile indulgence of lust;
Bribery;
and
Extortion.
"Was ever such an indictment brought against a community? The
marvel is, not that the threatened judgment came, but that it was so long
delayed.
"It certainly seems strange, all but incredible, that the
highly favored Jerusalem should be famed among the very heathen for degradation
in iniquity and moral debasement. But the language of Ezekiel is explicit; and
he would be more likely to soften than to exaggerate the charge. Jerusalem a
reproach, a mocking, infamous, defiled, full of tumult! How are the mighty
fallen! The city of the great King, the seat of the temple of Jehovah, the home
of the consecrated priesthood -- infamous among the surrounding idolaters for
flagrant violation of those very moral laws which the city was consecrated to
conserve!" (Pulpit Commentary).
Reading 3 - Luk 19:45
"Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those
who were selling" (Luk 19:45).
"The action of the Lord in cleansing the temple is often
quoted as an example of righteous indignation. Yet in all the four records (Mat
21, Mar 11, Luk 19, John 2) it is nowhere stated that the Lord was angry.
Certainly it was not righteous indignation which drove back those soldiers,
ordered to arrest him (John 7:46); nor was it righteous indignation which made
armed men retreat and fall to the ground in Gethsemane (John 18:6). Was not the
same power at work in the temple incident? But even if we concede that the Lord
might have been expressing righteous indignation, what right have we unrighteous
ones to claim that we can also show righteous indignation? It is more likely
that we are confusing righteous indignation with wrathful feelings of revenge,
personal provocation, and wounded pride. Certainly the Lord never lost his
temper. Every word and action was under complete control" (Bilton, "The
Christadelphian" 114:218).
"There is much cause for righteous anger in the world; the
travesties and misrepresentations of religion, the hypocrisy of politics, the
perversions of justice, and the abomination of modern warfare. Cruelty and
injustice often go hand in hand with professions of kindness and mercy; an
affectation of extreme righteousness is often used as a cloak to cover
dishonesty. There are still men who try to thwart good work while parading their
excessive piety, whether in zeal for the Sabbath as in the first century, or in
some more modem way. Yet these evils do not often excite a righteous anger. When
we find an angry man he is not often protesting against the prevalent
perversions of divine law. Far more frequently it is a matter of personal
interests or personal feeling. The anger of worldly greed and pride is manifest
every day while righteous anger is a rarity. It is not quite unknown however.
Brethren have sometimes been stirred up by flagrant perversions of truth and
have done some of their best work in a spirit of righteous anger. How good it
would be if this was the only kind of anger ever known among us" (Islip Collyer,
"Principles and Proverbs" 204).