Readings:
Ezekiel 3-5
2 Corinthians 8

Ezekiel 3-5

The scroll we first see in yesterday’s reading is given to Ezekiel with the command to eat the scroll. He says it’s sweet tasting and has no problem swallowing a scroll apparently, unlike John who also eats a scroll in Revelation but it’s only sweet at first and turns sour in his stomach. Some people liken this to Ezekiel’s message, presumably what the scroll contained, is one of comfort and consolation, while John’s message is more mixed, with lots of condemnation included.

After eating the scroll he is transported to a community of exiles in Babylon and he stays with them for seven days and is then called out to the wilderness for another encounter with God. Here he’s told he will basically only speak when God directs him, but at other times will be mute. Some of these things can be considered symbolic, but it’s unclear as of right now if he’s symbolically mute or actually physically unable to speak except when giving a prophecy.

God instructs him with some specific instructions how he is to lay on one side and then another for over a year, as a type of physical representation of the punishment and siege of Jerusalem. He’s also told to shave his head and beard, making him stand out even more among the Israelites, and perform several symbolic rituals with the hair.

Based on the timeframe given in the first chapter, Ezekiel is among the first group of exiles in Babylon and back home In Jerusalem the temple is still standing, but not for long.

2 Corinthians 8

Paul turns to some fundraising, even back then churches needed money, for their ministries to the poor mostly, but also to give some aid to missionaries and the ministers among them. The collection he’s taking up now was to be taken back to the Christians in Jerusalem and surrounding communities. The church in the holy land was much poorer than those elsewhere in the Roman world, and the collection was also a token of goodwill and a sign of unity between the gentiles of Greece and Asia Minor, and the Jewish Christians back in Judea and Samaria.

He tells them about the church in Macedonia, which apparently was a much poorer community than the Corinthian church, and how they gave liberally like the widow who gave her last coin.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
Ezekiel 6-9
2 Corinthians 9