Other comments on this day's readings can be found here.
Reading 1 - 1Ch 22:8
"But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much
blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name,
because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight' " (1Ch
22:8).
It almost looks as though David is being punished because he
had been a warrior. But Solomon's words in 1Ki 5:3 may put this in better
perspective: "You know that because of the wars waged against my father David
from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God
until the LORD put his enemies under his feet."
That is, until his death, David had to devote most of his time
to fighting his enemies and expanding his kingdom to its rightful bounds. This
was a necessity, and David -- a man of faith -- did as the LORD required. But
David was not GUILTY for "shedding much blood" in wars, because he was fighting
the wars God had commanded.
Reading 2 - Eze 32:15
"When I make Egypt desolate and strip the land of everything
in it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the
LORD' " (Eze 32:15).
"The oracles against the nations in Eze 25 -- 32 were
originally delivered to the people of Judah. Although the words written seem to
be solely for those particular nations, they are foremost for the people of
Judah in Jerusalem and Babylon and serve at least three purposes. First, these
oracles reveal God's judgment against the nations that either mocked or aided in
Jerusalem's fall [cf Gen 12:3: "whoever curses you I will curse"]. Second, as
with both the king of Tyre and the Pharaoh of Egypt, God would throw them down
from their self-elevated positions of power -- there is no room for such
arrogance and pride in God's creation. Third, the oracles are essentially a
dismantling of the gods of the nations, which is in turn a dismantling of the
gods Judah had begun to rely wrongly upon, and the proclamation that Yahweh is
the one and only true God for all nations... the phrase 'know I am the LORD'
occurs nineteen times. The primary purpose of these oracles is that everyone
should come to 'know the LORD' " (David Cooper, cited in "Expository Notes", by
Thomas Constable).
Reading 3 - Eph 4:14,15
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by
the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning
and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth
in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is,
Christ" (Eph 4:14,15).
"Be a 'man of God' -- externally and internally: to the world,
and to yourself. Bring everything you do into harmony with this holy pattern.
Make it your life's goal and ideal. Eschew everything that is inconsistent with
it. Be real, and solid, and genuine all through. Man is not true man at all,
unless he becomes a man of God. This is his divinely intended glory and destiny.
Grow up unto God -- this is the purpose for which we are given the wonderful
gift of life. Keep growing, keep learning, keep developing. So many are content
to stop growing, and to just vegetate -- to be childish and ignorant and
immature all their lives. It is a tragedy, when the human mind and character
have such incredible potentials for divine development" (GVG).