west side

November 5, 2017

The terrible punishment (Am 6:12-6:14)

“Do horses run

On rocks?

Does one plow the sea

With oxen?

But you have turned

Justice

Into poison.

You have turned

The fruit of righteousness

Into wormwood.

You who rejoice

In Lo-debar!

You who say,

‘Have we not

By our own strength

Taken Karnaim

For ourselves?’

Indeed,

I am raising up

Against you

A nation.

O house of Israel!’

Says Yahweh!

The God of hosts!

They shall oppress you

From Lebo-Hamath

To the Wadi Arabah.”

Amos asked whether horses could run on rocks? Do you send oxen to plow the sea? While this may seem stupid, it is not sillier than turning justice into poison or the sweetness of righteousness into the bitterness of wormwood, which the Israelites had done. While the Israelite King Jeroboam II (783-743 BCE) had captured Lo-debar and Karnaim on the west side of the Jordan, that happiness would come to an end. They thought that they had done it by themselves. Now Yahweh, the God of heavenly armies, was going to send the Assyrians to wipe out the northern kingdom of the house of Israel, from its northern border in Syria at Lebo-Hamath to the southern border of the Wadi Arabah. Yahweh, the God of heavenly hosts, would put an end to the northern kingdom of Israel.

July 26, 2017

The tribe of Gad (Ezek 48:27-48:27)

“Adjoining the territory

Of Zebulun,

From the east side

To the west side,

Gad shall have

One portion.”

Gad was originally on the east side of the Jordan River in Joshua, chapter 13. They were originally surrounded by Manasseh on the north and west side, with Reuben to its south. It was never close to Zebulun. However, both might have been small tribes by this time.

July 23, 2017

The tribe of Reuben (Ezek 48:6-48:6)

“Adjoining the territory

Of Ephraim,

From the east side

To the west side,

Reuben was

One portion.”

Once again, in a very summary fashion of east to west, the territory of Reuben was next to Ephraim. However, in Joshua, chapter 13, Reuben was an east bank territory and had no land on the west side of the Jordan River. Somehow it would be south of Ephraim, maybe in the old Dan territory or the Benjamin territory. From this description, it is hard to tell.

July 19, 2017

The priest’s chambers (Ezek 46:19-46:19)

“Then he brought me

Through the entrance,

That was at the side

Of the gate,

To the north row

Of the holy chambers

For the priests.

There I saw

A place

At the extreme western end

Of them.”

This passage seems to belong earlier when the bronze man was leading Ezekiel all over the place. Here, this bronze man brought Ezekiel to the northern gate, facing west to the holy chambers for the priests. He could see all the priest chambers on the west side.

July 8, 2017

Measuring all four sides of the square wall (Ezek 42:16-42:20)

“He measured the east side

With the measuring reed.

It was five hundred cubits

By the measuring reed.

Then he turned.

He measured the north side.

It was five hundred cubits

By the measuring reed.

Then he turned.

He measured the south side.

It was five hundred cubits

By the measuring reed.

Then he turned to the west side.

He measured it.

It was five hundred cubits

By the measuring reed.

He measured it

On the four sides.

It had a wall around it.

It was

Five hundred cubits long,

Five hundred cubits wide.

This made a separation

Between the holy

With the common.”

The bronze man then measured the outer Temple wall. Guess what? It was a square of 500 cubits or about 800 feet square all around, a fairly large enclosed square area. He measured first the east side, then the north, south, and west side with his measuring stick or reed. Each time the result was the same. Thus, there was a separation between the interior holy place and the common area outside the wall.