Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Ezekiel chapters 9 and 10.
9:2 A slaughter weapon suggests the massive destruction of human life that was impending.
10:4 The saddest even witnessed by Ezekiel was the departure of the Lord's glory from the temple. The glory moved from the cherubim in the holy of holies to the threshold of the house. Later, "the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold...and stood over the cherubim" (verse 18), when the cherubim went and stood "at the door of the east gate" (verse 19). Next, the "glory of the Lord...stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (11:23), that is, on the Mount of Olives. Finally, the glory disappeared. The reluctant departure of God's glory from the temple demonstrates that only with great long-suffering and hesitation did God's Spirit leave His abode. The fact that the Spirit of God was not present in the temple explains how Nebuchadnezzar's men were later, in 586 B.C., able to destroy the temple completely, including the Holy of Holies, without divine judgment. For the scriptural teaching on the shekinah glory, see the note on 1 Kings 8:10-12.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Ezekiel chapters 7 and 8.
7:1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me introduces another sermon that describes the natures of the judgment to fall on the nation. It will be exhaustive: "The sword is without, and the pestilence and famine within" (verse 15).
8:1 chapters 8-11 are a unit, though the subject matter may be divided. These chapters constituted a vision that the prophet had while transported by the Spirit of God from Babylon to Jerusalem (verse 3). The first thing Ezekiel witnessed was the presence of loathsome, idolatrous figures and detestable pagan practices within the temple confines itself, "the wicked abominations" (verse 9).
8:14 Tammuz is the Semitic equivalent of the Sumerian Dumuzi whose ill-fated love of Inanna (Semitic Ishtar) the goddess of love is recounted in the Sumerian myths of Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld and The Death of Dumuzi. Betrayed by Inanna and consigned to the underworld, his demise was limited in the fourth month, which was named after him. Evidently the women of Judah lamented Tammuz on the fifth day of the sixth month. The worship of Tammuz was on of the many fertility cults of the ancient Near East that had several local variations. Weeping for Tammuz was an act of worship intended to bring him back from the netherworld. Thus, these women were worshiping this Assyrian diety.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
I'm back. (smile)
Today, we study the Book of Ezekiel chapter 3.
3:1 Ezekiel was commanded to eat this roll (or scroll). This depicted the fact that he was first to receive the Word of God. He who would communicated God's Word must first assimilate it (Revelation 10:9-11). The fact that it was "written within and without" (i.e., on both sides, 2:10) is a picture of the extensive content of what God intended to communicate through him.
3:4 Speak with my words unto them sets forth the second aspect of Ezekiel's calling. Not only was he to receive God's Word, but he was also to deliver it faithfully to Israel.
3:7 Ezekiel was warned at the outset of his ministry that the people would not listen to him.
3:14 The hand of the Lord was strong upon me pictures the divine enablement given to Ezekiel to sustain him during his difficult ministry.
3:1 Tel-abib was located in Babylonia and is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.
3:17 The watchman was a familiar figure in the ancient Near East. It was his duty to watch for approaching enemies and to warn the city of danger. In the same way Ezekiel was God's watchman who was called to warn both the "wicked" (verses 18, 19) and the "righteous" (verses 20, 21). See the note on Jeremiah 6:17.
3:23 Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord a second time, resulting in his prostrate submission.
3:24 Shut thyself within thine house refers to limited fellowship with the people in order to maintain his role as leader.
3:26 Thou shalt be dumb was a prophecy that Ezekiel would be unable to speak except by divine permission. This would be a sign to Israel that when Ezekiel did speak his words were certainly from God.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
As the Presiding Prelate of Discovered Being Ministry, Incorporated having been placed under the unction of the Holy Ghost, and commanded to proclaim the word of God, it is now that I email you to inform you that there will be a pause in the studies very shortly.
However, the lessons will continue.
Today, we study the Book of Psalm, chapter 105
105- One of two historical psalms (see ch. 78), this psalm traces the history of Israel for its didactic value in the psalmist’s own day. It could also be classified as a hymn of praise
since it includes the characteristic threefold content: a call to praise (vv. 1-6), a cause for praise (vv. 7-41), and a conclusion (vv. 42-45). The call to praise is unmistakable with its talk, and so on. The cause for praise constitutes a brief historical survey of what the Lord did for Israel in the past: He made an unconditional covenant with Abraham and reaffirmed it to Isaac and Jacob (vv. 7-11). He protected Joseph and used him to sustain His people (vv. 12-22). He delivered His people from Egypt (vv. 23-38). He provided for them in the wilderness (vv. 39-41). In light so such a faithful, promise-keeping God, the psalmist concludes with a summary of God’s blessings (the Abrahamic covenant, the Exodus, and the Conquest) and an appropriate call to praise (vv. 42-45).
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Psalms chapters 74 and 75.
Psalm 74 Though the psalms contains no historical superscription, the content reveals that it was written when an enemy had invaded the temple (verse 3) and buried it (verse 7). The occasion certainly seems to be the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the beginning of the Babylonian exile. The speaker in this psalm is the nation itself, making it a national lament psalm. There are two distinct parts to the psalm: first, the lament of the present destruction is stated (verses 1-11); then, introduced by the word For (verse 12), the hope of the psalmist is voiced (verses 12-23). His confidence is based on the Lord's past interventions (verses 12-17) and issues in the psalmist's current petition (verses 18-23).
Psalm 75 The message of the psalm is summarized in verse 7: God is the judge. Consequently the psalm may be outlined as follows: thanksgiving for God' s presence and work (verse 1), promise of God's judgment (verses 2-5), explanation of God's judgment (verses 6-8), and confidence in God's judgment (verses 9-10).
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Genesis chapter 50.
50:1-14 Jacob was embalmed and Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians (haropeim) to do the work. Medicine and the embalming were two distinct professions. He may have employed the physicians so as to avoid the magic and mysticism of the embalmers and priests. The threescore and ten days for mourning accord with the traditional period for mummification and mourning. The various internal viscera were removed and placed in canopic jars of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonated and sodium bicarbonate), causing rapid dehydration and preventing decomposition of the body. Following a seven-day period of mourning at the threshing floor of Atad (named Abel-mizraim or "Mourning of Egypt," because of the sorrow expressed by the Egyptians), the body was placed in the cave of Machpelah with the other patriarchs.
50:15-26 What the brothers had meant for evil, God had intended for good. This is one of the clearest declarations of divine providence found anywhere in the Bible, reminding us the God's purpose prevails over the evil of men. Joseph was buried in Egypt, but made the Israelites pledge an oath that they would carry his bones to the Promised Land when God visited them to bring them out of Egypt (which they did Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32). Like his father he was embalmed and put in a coffin (aron) which is the same word used for the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we continue the study of the Book of Genesis chapter 49.
49:1-27 (continued) The scepter was a symbol of royal power. Lawgiver, according to Speiser, refers to a mace. Etymologically, it is something pertaining to a legislator or one in authority, and from the context, an analogue of the scepter. When a dignitary was seated, the staff would rest between his feet. Jacob was not saying his rule would end when Shiloh came. On the contrary, this term denotes the turning point at which the superiority of Judah will continue, not then to cease, but at that time to be enlarged so as to embrace all nations. Shiloh is a hidden name for Messiah; it is made up of three grammatical parts (sh-l-oh) meaning "Him to Whom It [the Scepter or Kingdom] Belongs." The sh is the relative pronoun, the l is the possessive, and the oh is the pronominal suffix (Ezekiel 21:27). Thus it is not to be taken as a proper name for Messiah, nor does it refer to the town where the tabernacle was later established, for this would be meaningless prophetically. The phrase and unto him shall the gathering of the people be means, literally, "And unto him shall be the obedience of the peoples." This can refer only to the Messiah. Thus, the reference to a lion in verse 9 points to that One who is called "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Revelation 5:5). Verse 11 and 12 describe the millennial prosperity (Isaiah 11:1-9; Ezekiel 34:23-31; Amos (9:11-15).
49:28-33 I am to be gathered unto my people...and was gathered unto his people. Jacob requested that he be buried in the cave that Abraham has purchased from Ephron the Hittite (verses 29, 30), where Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Rebekah, and Leah (verse 31) were already buried. He was not only gathered to his people in the cave of Machpelah, but it may be a reference reflecting Jacob's belief that his people, thought dead, still exist (verse 29; 47:30 with verse 33).
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Genesis chapter 49.
49:1-27 Jacob concludes his life as other saints who spoke a blessing before their end: Issac (chapter 27), Moses (Deuteronomy 33), Joshua (Joshua 24), and Samuel (1 Samuel 12). In the last days introduces the whole prophecy, and functions in an important way in the Old Testament. It refers to Israel's future in dual perspective: the period of their occupation of Canaan, and the time of the coming of Messiah. Sometimes, the expression refers to Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation (Deuteronomy 4:30: Ezekiel 38:16), sometimes to the history of Gentile nations (Daniel 2:28), and sometimes to the present church in its entirety (Hebrews 1:2) or at its conclusion (2 Timothy 3:1; James 5:3). Jacob's pronouncements in chapter 49 included both prophecy (verse 1) and blessing (verse 28). Reuben is referred to as being unstable as water. Unstable literally means "a boiling over" of water , a vivid metaphor for unstable emotions (Judges 9:4; Zephaniah 3:4, where the same root denotes pride and frivolity). It is said of Simeon and Levi that in their self-will they digged down a wall. It is literally "At their pleasure they lamed oxen." This is supplementary to 34:27-29. What these two men did not capture as plunder they destroyed in the fierceness of their anger. The key thought is expressed as the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
