At the moment I'm reading through Ezekiel for my regular personal Bible readings.

I'm reading a chapter at a time and reflecting upon this sometimes dark and yet strangely optimistic book of Old Testament prophesy.

As I was reading Ezekiel 17 last week, I got excited.

As I read about the Lord's plan to take a shoot from a cedar and plant it on a mountain, I noticed that it said that this sprig would "produce branches and bear fruit" and that "birds of every kind will nest in it" and "they will find shelter in the shade of its branches".

What made me excited about this was that I realised that this reading in Ezekiel was fulfilled in Luke 13 verse 19, part of the Bible passage I preached from earlier this year.

Suddenly, as I discovered this link, the whole chapter in Ezekiel gained a special degree of immediacy and relevance.

I realised that as Jesus spoke of the mustard seed that grew into the tree upon which the birds found shelter, that he may well have had in mind this prophesy of Ezekiel from during his time in Babylonian exile.

I get excited about these connections because I love to see how things work.

I'm the kind of guy that loves to take the lid off a computer and see all the parts inside.

I enjoy pulling things apart and putting them back together again (and sheepishly hiding the parts that didn't fit when I reassembled the item).

I would have loved to have listened to Jesus as he told two of his disciples on the road to Damascus after his resurrection "what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:26-27), as our Lord himself joined the dots from the Old to the New Testament.

But here's the question. Should I expect others to enjoy these Biblical Theological associations?

Is it reasonable to assume that all those who listen to my sermons should also enjoy these hermeneutical links or is it just a hobby of a theological nerd?

Should it be part of the normal experience of Christians to get excited about connecting these Biblical dots?