Category Archives: Days and Times

Tree of Knowledge – Trees and Garden in Ezekiel

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In this post, I will focus on the trees in chapter 31 of Ezekiel.  In studying the topic of trees in the Book of Ezekiel I saw four groupings of trees throughout its chapters:

  1. Chapters 6 – 20 – are a mixture of unfaithfulness and judgment. 
  2. Chapter 31 – Pharaoh and his hordes being compared to Assyria.
  3. Chapters 34 and 36 – a promise of provision and “more than enough”.
  4. Chapters 40 and 41 – palm trees (art) in the new temple.

Fact – Bible Gateway (NIV) has Ezekiel with thirty verses that have the word trees in it.  That is more verses with the word “tree” than any other book in the Bible.

Chapter 31 starts with a timestamp of the “eleventh year, the first day of the third month” and verse 29:20 has the “eleventh year, the seventh day of the first month” so some background is in order.  I will digress and talk about world events outside of this chapter to help explain what we are reading.  The two timestamps are Ezekiel’s time in exile with King Jehoiachin (see 1:2) and possibly referring to the Hebrew calendar.  So first, it is after Passover and in the time of the “Counting of the Omer” that leads to what Christians call Pentecost (see Leviticus 23).  This is from the month and day portion of the timestamps.  The eleventh year is placing this just before the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:2).

The Other Prophets – A part of this study that has been eye-opening is that Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel where all alive at this time.  Jeremiah was nearing his death and the fall of Jerusalem.  Daniel was in the time period of his first four chapters – the fiery furnace, golden statues, and dreams interpreted.  (Like Jeremiah, I do not believe that Ezekiel and Daniel are in chronological order within their chapters.)  I wonder just how much of their doings and prophecies were known to the others?  We know from Daniel’s fast that he was aware of the seventy-year exile that was spoken by Jeremiah. Zephaniah may be the oldest of the group but little of his background is known except that he was active during the reign of Josiah (1:1). 

World Events – This will be a brief placement of Tyre, Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt in context with Ezekiel 28 through 31.  You will need to do your own searches on these topics as I am not giving references.  There are too many and they seem to overlap or not go far enough on any one topic. 

  1. Tyre – In chapter 28 the king of Tyre is given the characteristics of Satan and his fall into pride is discussed (See the Bad Guy post).  Tyre was destroyed by Babylon, even though it was on an island.  It was part of the Assyrian Empire and is associated with Lebanon. 
  2. Assyria – This is the nation that defeated and exported Northern Israel and brought the “Samaritans” to take their place.  By Ezekiel’s time, Assyria had been defeated by Babylon, so they were a good object lesson. 
  3. Babylon – They are a good/evil tree in the history of mankind.  In their day they were a chosen instrument to do the bidding of God, unfortunately, they took things to unneeded levels and reaped that reward.  But the empire did do much for humanity.  The use of Babylon as an example goes all the way into the book of Revelations.
  4. Egypt – The focus of Ezekiel 29 through 32 is Egypt.  By this time, they had been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish.  Josiah had been killed in the fighting with Neco, as he was going to Carchemish.  Neco also changed who was king in Israel setting the stage for Jerusalem’s fall.  They are given to Babylon as plunder in 29:17. This verse’s timestamp seems out of place!  The twenty-seventh year may refer to his age but that still is out of place (1:1), or this was his very first word from the Lord. Very little of Egypt’s and Israel’s interactions could be considered good.  Starting with Abraham Egypt has been a snare for Israel and all of the words from the Lord are about to be fulfilled.  Egypt would still be a “player” but never the world power that it had been.

 Trees and the Garden – The analogy of Pharaoh and Assyria uses the metaphor of trees to explain the fallen angels and Satan with the men/nations who supported them.  I am going on the premise that the “garden of God” and “garden of Eden” are being used to separate the ideas of angels and men.  To me the trees in the “garden of God” in verse eight are angels and a transition occurs in verse nine to bring both realms together, and then in verses 16 – 18 it shifts to the men who are the allies.  The end results of these comparisons were that Babylon did humble Assyria and that Egypt would fair no better.  

In the Bible – The Book of Jonah was written about the city of Nineveh, which at that time was the capital of Assyria.  

The words to Ezekiel are not done with the enemies of God before He sets up the New Jerusalem.  The “unfaithful shepherds”, Edom, and Gog are still to be dealt with before the “valley of dry bones” becomes God’s army and the new Temple comes.  Edom is the land of Esau, Jacob’s brother.  Gog has been referenced as Russia or China, but I am starting to think that it is Europe and the coalition of the Beast.

So, starting with the trees of the garden in chapter 31 I wonder if the rest of the Book is a “timeline” of events before the return of Jesus?

pic ; http://clipart.christiansunite.com/Bible_Characters_Clipart

Passover to Pentecost – Three Days

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Passover to Pentecost – Three Days        Week 2 Day 7

After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers.  Luke 2:46 (NIV)

I have done many number studies just because they are interesting.  This number related study came as a surprise; the term “three days” has been several places in connection with the Exodus and Counting the Omer.  The ones that caught my attention have been:

  1. “three days” to go to worship in the desert
  2. same time after each of the first two Passover’s, with no water or complaining about the food
  3. the story in Luke of Joseph and Mary looking for Jesus
  4. the plague where the sun was darkened for three days
  5. Joshua moving the people into the Promised Land, they had a three-day notice
  6. The three days Jesus spent in the tomb

Pre-Exodus stories include the sacking of Shechem by Jacob’s sons and Joseph with Pharaoh’s servants and their dreams.  Shechem is where Joshua read the blessings and curses to the people, and the dream helped get Joseph into the position to help his family.  Post-Exodus stories include Jonah in the whale which is a shadow for Jesus being in the tomb three days (Passover).

To help you study use https://www.biblegateway.com and search “three days.”

The number three maybe associated with God (triune).  But this “three-day” period seems to be a waiting period and frequently there is a test at the end of it.   In Exodus 15 (three days after the first Passover) God talks about testing the people, and in Numbers 10 (2nd Passover) God said they had tested Him ten times and it was over!  I view the story in Luke as a test for Mary and Joseph in their understanding of who Jesus really was.

Passover to Pentecost – Food

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Passover to Pentecost – Food        Week 2 Day 6

Your children will be shepherds for forty years. Numbers 14: 33 (NIV)

Food has been a reoccurring topic so I thought we needed to put these thoughts together in a post.  Israel and the rabble with them did a lot of complaining about the food they had and the food they remembered.  Their diet was probably simple compared to many of our daily meals, but the thoughts of food carry powerful emotions.

The three main elements for the Passover meal were unleavened bread (no yeast/sin), bitter herbs to represent slavery, and the lamb (the sacrifice and the protector).  The typology of the unleavened bread and lamb points to Jesus our sinless sacrifice.

After the second Passover, the people that came with them out of Egypt got the people all worked up about food.  They remembered the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic they had in Egypt.  And it was free!  I guess they forgot about slavery, plus the rabble could have left and gone back to Egypt.

Quail is mentioned twice in Scripture as the meat that God gave the people – Exodus 16 and Numbers 11.  It is interesting that both of these were in the days right after Passover in the time of the Counting of the Omer.  Even today there are large migrations of quail over this general area.

Exodus 12 talks about the large herds of livestock they brought with them as they left Egypt.  So they would have had milk (cheese) and meat as a regular part of their diet.  Since God (the cloud) could move at any time planting crops would have been useless.  This lifestyle was part of the burden the children were to carry because of the complaining of the parents.

Manna, the “what is it” food of the Bible; it looked like dried tree sap and tasted liked olive oil and coriander seed.  It would not keep overnight and had to be picked up fresh every day.  This miraculous food is a shadow of Jesus.  It is referred to as manna and the bread of Heaven in several places in the Old and New Testament.  Some references for this are found in Psalm 105:40, Nehemiah 9:15, and John 6.  In Hebrews 9:4 an omer of manna is mentioned again as being in the Ark and then in Revelations 2:17 manna will be given to those who overcome.

Passover to Pentecost – Passover Number Two

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Passover to Pentecost – Passover Number Two        Week 2 Day 4

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Exodus 40: 34 (NIV)

This may help with the timetable of events if you remember that Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are really one long story.  The first part of Numbers is out of sequence because it starts with the second month of the second year and then in Chapter 7 it goes back to the first month. (This was done to determine marching order and camp placement so that the offerings for the Tabernacle would make sense.)  If the legend is correct and Israel made it to Mount Sinai in fifty days, Moses spent forty days with God before the golden calf episode in Exodus 32 and then another forty days after that.  That puts them at more than 130 days out of Egypt.  Exodus 40 is the first day of the first month of the second year; that gives an idea of how long it took to make everything God showed Moses.

Leviticus has a lot of action in it, but it is set between the laws and rules that have been given.  The ordination of Aaron and his sons is an important part of the Book and is a little hard to place timewise.  It probably happened between Exodus 40 and Numbers 7, in which case that was a busy fourteen day period leading up to the second Passover.  There had to be seven days for the ordination of Aaron’s family and twelve days to dedicate the Tabernacle.  The tent that Moses and Joshua used to meet with God, which was set up outside the camp, was also called the “tent of meeting.”  The context of the scriptures really does point to a very busy fourteen days.  God may have been doing a little cleaning out the “yeast” in Aaron’s family before Passover.

After Passover, during the time of the Counting of the Omer Moses took a census (Numbers 1) and by the 20th day of the second month, they were moving again towards the Promise Land.  Like the first time, there was a three day journey and the people started complaining (Numbers 10: 33 to 11:3).  Timestamps are missing but in Numbers 11:24 is a perfect place to put the Day of Pentecost because the Lord poured His Spirit out on the seventy elders.  The next real-time stamp is Numbers 20 and the death of Miriam; this is the first month of the 40th year.

An important date was set in Numbers 9: 9 and that is the “Second Passover.”  God does want certain things to remembered and celebrated.  He made an allowance for people who were unclean to have time to rejoice and remember His mighty works.  (More on this on May 10th.)

Passover to Pentecost – What Is Important

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Passover to Pentecost – What Is Important        Week 2 Day 3

Genesis 15: 13 “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own….they will come out with great possessions. (NIV)

Abraham and Moses both lead groups of people out of Egypt.  When they left they were given riches, and had other people added to their groups.  The focus today is those things that you take with you when you leave Egypt.  Face it, I have not met anyone who has “left Egypt” that has not had some kind of “baggage” with them.

People

It is significant that Abraham and Moses both had family with them when they left.  Moses’ wife and kids must have been sent to Jethro because he returned them to Moses in Exodus 18.  It is the “other people”, non-family that we need to look at. Hagar and the other slaves are the “shadow” (Genesis 12: 16).  We know that Abraham made a mistake and their child would spawn enemies for Israel for many centuries. (See Enemies Part 1)

Exodus 12: 38 states, “Many other people went up with them.”  These people may have been other slaves, etc. but they did cause Israel to stumble in Numbers 11: 4.  There are many references to how God expected aliens or foreigners to be treated.  No, special rules against them, but they did have to follow the laws of the land (Israel).  Leviticus 24: 10 is the story of an Egyptian and Israelite son who blasphemed and was stoned.  God made it possible for aliens to participate in Passover, they just needed to be circumcised (Exodus 12: 48).

Water

It seems they had enough to make it three days into the desert before they ran out.  Remember, this was the length of time for the original trip to worship God (Exodus 15: 22).  I have heard creative preachers say that the piece of wood Moses threw in the water stuck upright and resembled a cross.  For sure this was a test and God reminded them that He was their healer (26 + 27).

Food

We know they brought their bread dough out of Egypt (no yeast), but Exodus 16 tells that the food lasted thirty days before it ran out.  This was another test and the people failed it.  God would have met the need, and He did, they just needed to learn to ask.

Riches

They asked for and received silver, gold, and clothing from the Egyptians.  They had more riches than ever had in their lives.  They could have bought anything they wanted.  It seems, however, all of the money that they now possessed was not all that important when they ran out of water and food.

All of the riches did come into play in Exodus 25 when they gave for the building of the Ark and all of the furnishings and tent of the Tabernacle.  It took a minute of reflection to realize that the Egyptians paid to make the items of worship for a God they did not believe in.

Skills

Exodus 35: 30 is the beginning of the story where they assembled the Tabernacle and the Ark.   As you read this and chapter 36 it repeatedly talks about skilled men, craftsmen, and designers.  Some of these people were doing other things than make bricks.

Yeast

They should not have had yeast because of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  So they just let the bread dough “sour” and they were back in business!  The thought hit me though that yeast (connected to a goddess) was not usable once they started using the manna.  It would not have had time to rise well (or kept) before it had to be thrown away because they could not keep it overnight.  God did not want “yeast” in His miracle.