"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: . . . When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning . . . the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand" (Ezekiel 3:17-18).

The length of the days of Genesis 1 has been much debated. Are the days of Genesis 1 regular solar days, referring to the rotation of the earth on its axis, or could each day be a long, indefinite period of time, equivalent in total to the vast time spans of geology? Such an interpretation would give solace to Christians who try to harmonize long ages with Genesis.

A few years ago I authored a series of "Days of Praise" devotionals based on the words to favorite Christian hymns. Quoting the hymn lyrics, I showed how the authors often used much Scripture in their writing, and clustered their thoughts around Scriptural themes. By doing so I had hoped to help keep those grand old hymns alive, for they are so rich.

"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him" (Mark 6:3).

"Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made
heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and
all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein,
and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven
worshippeth thee" (Nehemiah 9:6).