Day 66 - Jonah and a 1 verse summary of the Old Testament

It is both a good thing and a bad thing that Jonah is so well known for having been swallowed by the big fish. A good thing in that practically everyone has heard of Jonah, even if some people think he doesn't exist. He is referred to in 2 Kings 14:25, so his existence is better attested to than some of the other prophets. The bad news is that as a result, it seems harder to get beyond the fish.

This is a shame as Jonah is a very interesting prophet. Told to go the very headquarters of the most evil and ruthless empire the world had seen, not surprisingly he legs it the other way as far as he can go. What is more interesting is the justification Jonah gives. it is not out of fear that he runs away, but because he knew that God wanted to forgive the Assyrians, and he wanted God to destroy them instead (Jonah 4:2).

In Jonah's prayer in chapter 2, there is a good 1 verse summary of the consequences of our decision on whom to worship:

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

Can I also recommend this 50 minute radio programme with Michael Card, Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor talking about Jonah.

Day 61 - Ezekiel's vision of the Temple

Ploughing through the very detailed description of Ezekiel's temple at the end of the book, I was struck by the question - why didn't the returning exiles use this design when they came back to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel?

I think the simple explanation is that they chose to use the same dimensions as for Solomon's temple. I guess this is understandable. Would they have recognised Ezekiel's prophecy? If they did, how would they have reached the decision to prefer Ezekiel's vision to the temple they were mourning?

Am I correct in thinking that the design for the temple came from David and is not set out in scripture, unlike the Tabernacle?

Questions, questions? Can anyone shed any light on this?