The Daddy Made Me Do It (Ezekiel 18:1-32)

It’s just about time for “Don’t Blame Me” bumper stickers.

It doesn’t matter whether things improve or worsen. There’s a strange sense of catharsis in declaring that despite your candidate’s loss, you remain unwavering.

“Don’t Blame Me I Voted For Harris” stickers are available now for $5.95 on amazon.

The 6^th century Jews had a “don’t blame me” proverb. It’s quoted here, in verse two, and in the prophecies of Jeremiah. ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

It was a protest proverb. The generation of Jews in Judah were soon to be overpowered by the Babylonian empire. They put the blame on their parents.

The LORD stepped in, saying, “You shall no longer use this proverb in Israel” (v3). The LORD holds each person responsible for the way they live their life.

Human beings have been passing the fig ever since Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. God held all three responsible.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Accept Your Responsibility & Walk Righteously, and #2 Admit Your Responsibility And Repent For Walking Unrighteously.

#1 Accept Your Responsibility & Walk Righteously (v1-24)

We must address an important question: Do the terms righteousness, unrighteousness, life, and death in this chapter pertain to eternal life, or do they focus on our earthly, temporal existence?

• We immediately think of eternal life at any mention of righteousness. We can’t say enough about the Lord declaring us righteous when we believe in Jesus Christ.
• A Jew reading this would immediately think of righteousness as the practical, daily keeping of God’s Law.

These verses, this chapter, describes how Israel was expected to live on Earth.

In His covenants with Israel, the LORD promised to physically & materially bless the Israelites for obedience, but punish them for disobedience:

• Blessings for obedience included material prosperity, fruitful harvests, protection from enemies, and health.^[1]
• Penalties for disobedience included famine, defeat by enemies, disease, and exile from the Land.^[2]

The Church is nowhere promised physical & material blessings while in our corruptible bodies.

In fact, the apostle Paul makes it clear in Ephesians that we are promised spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

Ezk 18:1  The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

Ezk 18:2  “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

Cultural proverbs do not need to make sense, they only need to convey a singular idea. The Jews in Judah were facing a third incursion from King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. They blamed their predicament on the decisions of their parents.

Ezk 18:3  “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.

The LORD interrupts and says, “No, nope, no way, absolutely not, not a chance, under no circumstances, never in a million years!”

Ezk 18:4  “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.

The Titanic sank and 1,514 souls were lost. Maritime and aviation disasters use the word ‘souls’ to be sure everyone is counted, e.g., passengers, crew, etc. The LORD uses ‘souls’ in that same way here. It means people; it means everyone.

From here all the way through verse nineteen the LORD repeats the works of righteousness and the works of unrighteousness that reveal whether a person is obeying or disobeying God’s Law.

Characteristics of the righteous souls include:

• Doing what is lawful and right.
• Not eating on the mountains. (This is referring to attending feasts to pagan gods of nature).
• Not lifting up eyes to the idols of the house of Israel.
• Not defiling your neighbor’s wife.
• Not approaching a woman during her impurity.
• Not oppressing anyone, but restoring to the debtor his pledge.
• Robbing no one by violence, but giving bread to the hungry and covering the naked with clothing.
• Not exacting usury nor taking any increase.
• Withdrawing your hand from iniquity and executing true judgment between man and man.
• Walking in God’s statutes and keeping His judgments faithfully.

Characteristics of the unrighteous person include:

• Eating on the mountains.
• Defiling your neighbor’s wife.
• Oppressing the poor and needy.
• Robbing by violence.
• Not restoring the pledge.
• Lifting your eyes to the idols.
• Committing abomination.
• Exacting usury and taking increase.

The LORD illustrates using the example of a father, his son, and the grandson.

1. God introduces the obedient father (v5-9). His daily walk and work are righteous, resulting in physical and material blessings.
2. His son, however, engages in sin and will face consequences for his own actions, regardless of his father’s righteousness (v10-13).
3. The wicked son’s son observes his father’s sins but chooses righteousness and obedience to God’s Law.

The argument ends where it began. Each individual is accountable for their own actions; righteousness leads to life/blessing while wickedness leads to death/punishment (v14-19).

There is a near-perfect example. Less than 150 years earlier, Judah experienced a succession of kings:

1. King Hezekiah was obedient, walking in righteousness.
2. His son was Manasseh, Israel’s worst king.
3. Manasseh fathered Josiah. He was a great & godly king

This succession of kings serves as a clear refutation of the proverb about sour grapes, demonstrating that each individual is accountable for their own actions.

Ezk 18:20  The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Jim Gaffigan usually does a bit in his stand-up comedy where he acknowledges that the audience is probably wondering how many jokes he has on a certain topic. This chapter is more tragedy than comedy, but at some point, we start to wonder how many times God is going to say pretty much the same thing. You are responsible for your own deeds and decisions.

Ezk 18:21  “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

Ezk 18:22  None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.

If someone makes a mistake, we say he needs to “own” it. If the “wicked” unrighteous person owns his or her sin, they repent and are restored to being blessed by God.

One eye-opening realization is that God holds “all souls” on Earth responsible to obey His Law.

Christians are adept at pointing out that no one can perfectly keep God’s Law. We use it to evangelize because God’s Law condemns us as sinners in need of a Savior. Is God being unfair? Is He asking us to do what we cannot do?

Jesus emphatically said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till Heaven and Earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Heaven & Earth won’t “pass away” until after Jesus’ Second Coming, and after the one-thousand year Kingdom of God on Earth. We are going to be surprised later in the Book of Ezekiel to learn that human beings will be offering sacrifices in the Millennial Temple.

Jesus equated anger with murder in the heart (Matthew 5:21-22). This reveals our sinful nature and the impossibility of fully keeping God’s Law, highlighting our need for a new heart, as the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

God’s Law reveals our sinfulness, showing that we must repent and believe to be saved, as we cannot keep the Law to secure salvation. Yet, sitting here now, we trust others to obey the law and do not expect to be murdered.

For God to hold us personally responsible for our actions, we must possess free will. As A.W. Tozer stated, “God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, ‘What doest thou?’ Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.”

#2 Admit Your Responsibility & Repent For Walking Unrighteously (v23-32)

The Jews were attacking God’s character as someone who takes pleasure in treating people unfairly. Truth is, God treats everyone equally, and is constantly seeking to draw all men to Himself so they might be saved.

• Verse twenty-three: “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
• Verse thirty-two: For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”

Ezk 18:24  “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

The main takeaway here: The righteous man who sins knew the possible consequences and did it anyway.

The consequences of your parents decisions and deeds certainly do affect your life. Some of us has a better upbringing than did others. But you are not determined by it. You choose.

Ezk 18:25  “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?

Ezk 18:26  When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.

Ezk 18:27  Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.

Ezk 18:28  Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

Ezk 18:29  Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?

If parents are to blame for the decisions and deeds of their children, then God is unfair. He he would be holding the sons responsible for things they could not do.

Ezk 18:30  “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.

Ezk 18:31  Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?

Ezk 18:32  For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”

Ezekiel looks to Israel’s future, echoing God’s promise through Jeremiah of a New Covenant: His Law written on hearts, forgiveness, and sins remembered no more.

Jesus revealed the New Covenant at the Last Supper, saying, “This cup… is the New Covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20), signifying His sacrifice would establish it.

Israel’s rejection of Jesus delayed their full participation in the New Covenant. In the mean time the Church enjoys partial participation through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. God has not forsaken Israel; all Israel will be saved at the end of the Great Tribulation.

There’s one more thing I want to draw from this incredible text.

I am hoping it will be a word of encouragement to many who hear it. For sure you are going to want to highlight it and save it as a favorite.

The righteous father has an unrighteous son; and the unrighteous son has a righteous son.

It is not a hypothetical. It was acted out in the succession of Judah’s Kings.

Many believers endure the deep sorrow of having a prodigal son or daughter.

Part of the heartache is the inevitable, incessant blaming of yourself. You become inconsolable.

Jesus says to you, “The father [shall not] bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

We wait in hope that our prodigals would turn & return.

Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That, The Eagle You Picked Does Not Have Your Back (Ezekiel 17)

What do they call pastors in Germany?
German shepherds

What kind of lighting did Noah use on the Ark?
Floodlights

Before Boaz married, what kind of man was he?
He was Ruth-less

I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everybody.
What am I? Pencil Lead

The LORD tells Ezekiel to pose a rare riddle to the nation of Judah. He had tried many other methods to communicate that their idolatry was ruining them. Maybe this would be their “Aha!” moment.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Babylon Is Not So Bad When The Lord Wants You Discipled There, and #2 Egypt Is Always Bad Because The Lord Delivered You From There.

#1 Babylon Is Not So Bad

When The Lord Wants You Discipled There (v1-21)

If I said that I went to the University of Babylon, what would you think? Besides Iraq, there’s a Babylon in Illinois, and two in New York.

Ah, but I’m a Christian trying to be clever. What I mean to convey by saying ‘Babylon’ is that my university is not Christian, but worldly.

• Historically, Babylon is the ancient city and world empire that conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 586BC.
• Biblically, Babylon is synonymous with human pride, idolatry, and the pursuit of power apart from God.
• Spiritually, Babylon is often used as a metaphor for all worldly systems, e.g., its religions, politics, philosophies, psychologies, etc.

Anywhere a believer finds him or herself this side of eternity is Babylon.

Alistair Begg writes we must “realize that the place we are living is less and less like Jerusalem, and more and more like Babylon.”

To understand why Ezekiel’s message isn’t so dire, we look back to the prophet Habakkuk. He recognized Israel’s idolatry and cried out for God’s discipline. God’s response – that He would use the Babylonians to punish Judah – stunned him.

Discipline was well underway when Ezekiel wrote. King Nebuchadnezzar had come twice already to Jerusalem, taking captives.

With that brief background we can ‘riddle me this.’

Ezk 17:1  And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 17:2  “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

The Bible contains many genres: Historical narrative, law, wisdom literature, poetry, songs, prophecy, sermons, speeches, epistles (letters), Gospels, genealogies, covenants, etc. Add to that parables and add to that riddle parables!

Why so many types of literature?

The Creator and Sustainer of life desires to converse with you in every way that might draw you deeper in a relationship with Him.

If singing isn’t your preference, explore historical narratives in the Bible. If Proverbs are challenging, perhaps delve into prophecy. While we should engage with the whole of God’s Word, it’s natural to have personal preferences for certain sections.

A riddle must be heard or read all at once.

Ezk 17:3  and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “A great eagle with large wings and long pinions, Full of feathers of various colors, Came to Lebanon And took from the cedar the highest branch.

Ezk 17:4  He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of merchants.

Ezk 17:5  Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it in a fertile field; He placed it by abundant waters And set it like a willow tree.

Ezk 17:6  And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature; Its branches turned toward him, But its roots were under it. So it became a vine, Brought forth branches, And put forth shoots.

Ezk 17:7  “But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers; And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, And stretched its branches toward him, From the garden terrace where it had been planted, That he might water it.

Ezk 17:8  It was planted in good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, And become a majestic vine.” ’

Ezk 17:9  “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots, Cut off its fruit, And leave it to wither? All of its spring leaves will wither, And no great power or many people Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots.

Ezk 17:10  Behold, it is planted, Will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.” ’ ”

The legend of characters is thus:

• The first eagle is Babylon, “the city of merchants” (v4).
• The cedar tree and the vine represent the nation of Judah.
• The top of the cedar represents Judah’s king, Jeconiah.
• The seed the first eagle plants is Zedekiah. He was put in charge when King Jeconiah was deposed.
• The second eagle is Egypt.

The first eagle takes the top of the cedar tree and plants it in a foreign land. Babylon exiled Judah’s King Jehoiachin.

The first eagle plants a seed in fertile soil. Nebuchadnezzar replaced King Jehoiachin with his uncle, Zedekiah.

The vine grows but later seeks help from

another eagle. Zedekiah secretly approached Egypt to form an alliance against Babylon.

This disloyalty enraged Nebuchadnezzar. He conquered Egypt, then came the third time to Jerusalem, leveling it.

In verses eleven through twenty-one, the LORD reveals the decision that amped-up His discipline.

Listen for two words, one repeated four times and the other six times.

Ezk 17:11  Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 17:12  “Say now to the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon.

Ezk 17:13  And he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,

Ezk 17:14  that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

Ezk 17:15  But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?

Ezk 17:16  ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

Ezk 17:17  Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, when they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons.

Ezk 17:18  Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ”

Ezk 17:19  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head.

Ezk 17:20  I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me.

Ezk 17:21  All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.”

“Covenant” (6x) & “oath” (4x) dominate these verses. Zedekiah swore in God’s name to serve Babylon in peace. He “despised the oath” he had made. He broke it.

The LORD called it “My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke…” God rules over the nations. He gives nations delegated authority to act freely. Nebuchadnezzar was appointed by God. He had the authority to depose Jehoiachin and to appoint Zedekiah. It was wrong to break the covenant.

Nebuchadnezzar “took away the mighty of the land, that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping His covenant it might stand.”

The 6^th century Jews were in danger of extinction. They would not stop sinning without an intervention.  God intervened. As a vassal to Babylon they would enjoy its protection. They would learn humility. They would repent and ultimately return.

Despite his cruelty and temper, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed a Jew, Zedekiah, as governor over Judah, intending to maintain peace with the region.

Zedekiah broke the oath, driven to do so only by a desire to maintain their independence from God.

The Jerusalem Jews were supposed to submit to Babylon, even to exile, as an appropriate and deserved discipline. It was the LORD’s way of preserving them. They instead added oath breaking to their rebellion by seeking an alliance with Egypt.

In Jeremiah 29:1-8, Jeremiah urged them to settle down, build homes, marry, and seek the welfare of the city where they’ve been exiled.

We live in Babylon. Another Jeremiah, David Jeremiah, said, “We live in a world that is becoming more like Babylon every day – a world that is self-absorbed, materialistic, and hostile to the ways of God.”

The Church will live in spiritual Babylon until the resurrection and rapture, after which our forever home, the New Jerusalem, will appear.

Living in Babylon means being thrown into fiery furnaces and spending nights with lions, but also experiencing the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

We all know enough about Daniel to know that he bore abundant fruit for the Lord. He was taken captive in the first of Babylon’s incursions. When we first meet him, Daniel is in his teen years.

We don’t see him demanding his rights, wanting to be transferred to another group of Magi, or taking advantage of situations for his own advancement. He makes no escape attempts. Babylon was where the LORD had placed him. It was God’s will.

Remember what we learned in Ezekiel 16. The spiritual fruit of love requires adversity. You will never know self control unless you are in situations where you might lose control. That’s Babylon.

Kirk Lazarus wisely warned, “You never go full idolater.” God protected His nation. Don’t argue with where God places you – it may be to save you from sin.

#2 Egypt Is Always Bad
Because The Lord Delivered You From There (v22-24)

Egypt illustrates the flesh. The “flesh” refers to the inherent human inclination toward sin and opposition to God’s will. When you believe Jesus for your salvation, you receive a new spirit and the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. However, your new spirit and the Holy Spirit dwell within your earthly physical body. You quickly find that “the good that [you] will to do, [you] do not do; but the evil [you] will not to do, that [you] practice.”

We will struggle with the flesh daily until the Lord takes us home or returns to give us new, heavenly bodies and end sin forever.

The closing verses give us a glimpse of future glory.

Ezk 17:22  Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain.

Ezk 17:23  On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell.

In the riddle, the highest branch represents the king, and the “prominent mountain” refers to the hill where Jerusalem stands. This is the future reign of the Messiah, who we know is Jesus.

Ezk 17:24  And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.”

It reminds me of the Christmas story, The Three Trees. Though humbled when they were not crafted into anything grand, they were later exalted as the wood for the manger, the fishing boat of Galilee, and the Cross.

Humility is a theme running all through the story of Jesus:

• He humbled Himself in the Garden of Eden, promising to be the Seed of the woman who would redeem Creation & Created.
• He humbled Himself in coming as a man who will remain fully God and fully man for all eternity.
• Ultimately He humbled Himself by dying on the Cross for our sins.

From eternity to eternity, Jesus is humble. When I’m not humble, I’m not like Jesus. When something or someone lacks humility, that’s not Jesus.

Egypt beckons. It’s like the sirens in mythology whose enchanting singing lured sailors to shipwreck & death.

We are always on the verge of “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Christian recording artist Keith Green asked, “So you wanna go back to Egypt?”

We all do from time-to-time. There is no religion, or psychology, or politics, or philosophy, that is at all helpful in your Christian walk. Our help comes from the Lord. He goes to great lengths to design our circumstances so that we might be planted there and bear fruit by abiding there. Not so we can turn aside and become shipwrecked.

We can finish with this quote from Edwin Lutzer:

“Christians today are faced with at least three ways to respond: (1) Assimilate the secular culture, (2) Isolate from the secular culture, or (3) Engage the secular culture. In light of the Gospel, the only choice for the Christ follower is to engage.”

Substitute the word abide for engage and get to bearing fruit where you’re planted.

You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby, But Harlot, Look At You Now (Ezekiel 16:1-63)

“From rags to riches.”

It’s a genre beloved by every generation and culture that values great storytelling.

Cinderella immediately comes to mind. But which version? There are at least 345 variants of the story in Europe. The Brothers Grimm version is dark. To fit into the slipper, one stepsister cuts off her toes, and the other cuts off her heel. Both are exposed when the birds alert the prince to the blood in the shoe.

Israel is a rags to riches story told by the LORD.

The LORD found an abandoned baby, saved her life, and gave her a future. As she grew into a beautiful young woman, they became betrothed and later married.

Finish this sentence: “So they lived ___________ .”

Here is how it is finished in Ezekiel. “So they were married and Israel proved herself to be an insatiable idolater, an adulterous wife, a brazen harlot, and a murderer of her own children.”

Would the Babylonian invasion be the stoning she deserved for being caught in her adultery?

Israel was faithless but God remains faithful to keep His promises. In verse sixty we read, “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”

• We’ll start with the baby, in verses 1-6.
• Next Israel is betrothed, in verses 7&8.
• Next, Israel is the LORD’s bride, in verses 9-11.
• Next, she is His wife, in verses 12-14.
• After that the once beautiful bride is a “brazen harlot,” and a “sister” to the city of “Sodom.”

Ezk 16:1  Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 16:2  “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

Captain America calls SpiderMan “Queens” because that is where he is from. Throughout this chapter Ezekiel addresses Israel, all 12 tribes, as “Jerusalem.”

This story is about Israel, and that ain’t us. But does the Lord love us any less? Are not you & I chosen by Him? Do we not start-out being born again, as babes in Jesus Christ? Are we not betrothed?

And, regrettably, are we not capable of spiritual adultery & harlotry?

Ezk 16:3  and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

Jerusalem was a Canaanite city in the Promised Land. The Israelites could not capture it until David came along.

Jesus, the greater son of David, will establish Jerusalem as the world’s capital during the Millennial Kingdom and into eternity. The “New Jerusalem” is the heavenly city we should anticipate along our pilgrim journey home.

Ezk 16:4  As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.

Ezk 16:5  No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.

Some birth customs are listed. This isn’t a class on 6^th century Bible Manners & Customs. It is a poignant plea for God’s beloved to repent and return.

Has anyone here, maybe a fire-fighter, found an abandoned baby? What would it be like? In a word, it would be emotional.

It’s important to avoid attributing unbiblical traits to God, but we shouldn’t be so cautious that we overlook God’s emotional depth. The narrative begins with a vulnerable infant that affected the LORD. It is intended to tug at our heartstrings.

Ezk 16:6  “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

In the story, this two-fold exclamation to “Live!” is a shout expressing a two-fold commitment to provide life, and to provide a life for this baby.

Humans are born physically alive but spiritually dead due to sin. God offers spiritual life through Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again to bring many to glory.

The baby to whom the LORD gave life grew and was betrothed to Him.

Ezk 16:7  I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

Israel was “naked and bare” as the baby. The LORD had taken her in to grow into this beautiful woman.

Ezk 16:8  “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord GOD.

In the Bible, the act of spreading one’s garment over another symbolizes a legal engagement. Ruth asked Boaz to take her under his wing, requesting him to marry her.

Couples still try for outrageous marriage proposals. You can forget scuba diving and skydiving. Russian Alexey Bykov staged his own death to propose to his girlfriend, Irena. He hired a film director and stuntman to orchestrate a fake car accident, complete with an ambulance. When Irena arrived and believed he had died, Alexey emerged to propose. She said “Yes!”

Here comes the bride!

Ezk 16:9  “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.

Ezk 16:10  I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

Ezk 16:11  I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck.

• If you are a believer, you are “cleansed with the washing of water by the word, that Jesus might present you to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that you should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:26-27). Charles Swindoll writes, “Just as clear, fresh water cleanses our bodies, God’s written Word washes us clean deep down inside our souls. It purifies our thoughts, scrubs our motives, and cleans our conscience as we absorb it and obey its truths.”
• You have been “anointed” by receiving the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. You are a light to the world that can never exhaust its supply of oil.

• You have been clothed with a robe of righteousness. You receive it by grace at the Cross. The Lord gives you this robe in exchange for the filthy garments you wear. The Lord then adorns your robe with the good works He performs through you (Revelation 19:8).

Ezk 16:12  And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.

Body piercings are biblical!

Ezk 16:13  Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.

Ezk 16:14  Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord GOD.

Wow! Talk about an extreme makeover! What more could the LORD have done?

What more could Jesus do for you than He has already done?

Ephesians 1:1-14 lists numerous spiritual blessings Christians have in Christ:

• From God the Father (v3-6) we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (v4); holy and blameless in His sight (v4); predestined for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ (v5); grace freely given in the Beloved (v6).

• Through Jesus Christ (v7-12) we have redemption through His blood (v7); forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (v7); the mystery of His will revealed to believers (v9); all things united in Christ, both in Heaven and on Earth (v10); and an inheritance as God’s people (v11).

• By the Holy Spirit (v13-14) we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing salvation (v13); a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until redemption (14).

From here on is about a 15 minute read. We’ll need to summarize. Two scathing descriptions of Jerusalem dominate the verses:

1. From verses 15 through 41 the LORD calls His wife a “harlot” ten times.
2. The cities of Samaria & Sodom are called Jerusalem’s mother & sister from verse 46 through verse 55.

Drop down to verses 20&21. We see the depth and depravity of Israel’s whoredoms.

Ezk 16:20  “Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,

Ezk 16:21  that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?

We’ve discussed infant sacrifice. Molech’s idol had outstretched, red-hot arms where babies were placed to burn. There was no wriggling, no screaming. The parents first killed their baby, probably by slitting his or her throat.

Why would someone kill a baby? Why would they celebrate killing a baby as a right? Why would a society allow it to happen?

Shouldn’t God do something about it?

The LORD delineates Israel’s whoredoms from verse 22 through verse 43.

God condemns sexual sin and judges it. The narrative here is not about a judge but a husband whose spouse is unfaithful. He reveals the profound emotional pain caused by her betrayal.

Adultery is a profoundly injurious sin. So grievous is its impact that Jesus acknowledged it as providing biblical grounds for divorce, despite God’s deep hatred of divorce.

Drop way down to v44… In the next long section, through verse fifty-eight, the LORD calls the cities of Samaria and Sodom Jerusalem’s “mother” and “sisters.”

It’s common to rank cities, e.g., best and worst places to live. I’ve previously mentioned that my hometown, San Bernardino, is currently considered the worst city in California.

Jerusalem held that honor and was worse even than Samaria & Sodom.

What was so bad about Samaria? When Israel split and became two nations, King Ahab established Baal worship in Samaria.

God prescribed the way He was to be worshiped in the Old Testament. We have great freedom in the New Testament, seeing how our physical bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. But the gathered church is also the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We must be mindful to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

A megachurch pastor put on a Die Hard themed Christmas service where he reenacted a famous scene. Dressed as John McClane, he emerged from an air duct and lit a cigarette.

Drop down to verses 49&50…

Ezk 16:49  Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Wait… I thought that homosexuality was the cause of Sodom’s destruction? Folks who think homosexuality is not condemned in the Bible use this verse. Keep reading!

Ezk 16:50  And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.

The Hebrew word translated abomination is the same word that appears in Leviticus 19:22, where it most definitely is homosexuality.

Biblical marriage is a covenant of companionship between one biological man and one biological woman in a monogamous, heterosexual relationship intended to last a lifetime. This union is characterized by mutual submission to God and to each other in their respective biblically defined roles as husband and wife. Sexual activity is to occur exclusively within this marital relationship.

Verse 53…

Ezk 16:53  “When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them,

Sodom & Samaria will be restored when Israel is restored in the Kingdom of God on Earth.

A material Kingdom, ruled by Jesus after His Second Coming, with Jerusalem as its capital, is going to be established for one thousand years.

Verse 60…

Ezk 16:60  “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

Ezk 16:61  Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.

Ezk 16:62  And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD,

Ezk 16:63  that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

Despite their unfaithfulness, God will keep His unconditional promises. During the final days of the Great Tribulation, two-thirds of the Jews will perish, and the surviving third will hide. On the brink of extermination, they cry out to the Lord. Jesus comes, glorified and glorious, and saves them as they receive Him.

We want our judges to be impartial & unemotional in applying the law. God is more than Judge. The Father is husband to Israel, and Jesus the Bridegroom to the Church.

When we yield to sin, we break God’s Law; Do we not also ‘break’ God’s heart?

Wildwood & Vine (Ezekiel 15:1-8)

I thought that it would make great kindling.

A neighbor in San Bernardino was replacing an old wood shingle roof. Whose responsibility was it growing up to tell me that wood shingles are coated with a mixture of deadly chemicals?

Grape branches are mentioned as kindling in our text.

The LORD says, “it is thrown into the fire for fuel” (v4). He wasn’t advising them about good sources of kindling. It was an illustration. “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (v6).

• Israel was God’s vineyard. In Psalm 80 we read “You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it. You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land” (v8-9).
• Israel was no longer God’s well-tended vineyard. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5:3-4).

The Jews had gone from the Exodus to exile.

Israel was more like a wild vine of the forest whose fruit was of no value. Might as well burn it.

You can’t read this and not think of what Jesus said to His disciples. “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6).

Fruit? or Fire? Its your choice! I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Your Yield Depends Upon Your Yielding, and #2 Your Burning Comes From Your Burdening.

#1 Your Yield Depends Upon Your Yielding

(v1-6)

The most well known list of a believer’s spiritual fruit is in the apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in the region of Galatia.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love.” “Love” is the fruit and the rest describes different expressions of love. Love is “joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

This isn’t an exhaustive description of love. Another that we are familiar with is, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (First Corinthians 13:4-8).

Ezk 15:1  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

It’s good to go to the Word; the Word ought to come to you as well.

Expect to ‘hear’ from the Lord. Listen for His still, small voice. Pay attention to the Lord showing you truth through illustrations from your own experiences. For lack of a better word, be interactive. Of course, test everything by the written Word. But don’t forget that God took the initiative to contact us. He invites & enjoys dialog with you.

Ezk 15:2  “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?

I looked-up the structure of a grapevine. We would probably correctly id the roots and the trunk. After that, not so much. For example, what we call “branches” consists of the cordon, the cane, the shoots, the leaves, and the tendrils. That endpoint is where the clusters of grapes grow.

Annual pruning focuses on removing unnecessary or unproductive canes and shoots to ensure the remaining buds and shoots can produce high-quality fruit.

Careful readers will notice that the LORD is asking Ezekiel specifically about “the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest.”

Perhaps Ezekiel had walked among the mighty cedars of Lebanon before his captivity in Babylon. He came upon a wild grapevine. In that forest setting the LORD asked, “What is grape wood good for?” Before Ezekiel could answer, the LORD tells Ezekiel what it is not good for:

Ezk 15:3  Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on?

The original Hebrew is a little more lyrical. It translates, Grape wood, huh, yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, say it again.

You crafty ladies can weave grapevines into wreathes. When we first moved to rural Kings County from big city San Bernardino, one of the ladies in the fellowship invited Pam to make grapevine wreathes. Who would say “No” to that?

Pam noticed they were driving away from town and not to a store. Somewhere along Hwy 43 they pulled into a vineyard and headed up a dirt access road. They came to a pile of pruned grapevines. As if the whole thing wasn’t already like Green Acres, the gal started making wreathes right then and there. Pam asked if it was allowed. “Sure! People do it all the time.”

I guess they don’t do it all the time when the owner is there. He pulled up to them on a quad and asked them what they were doing. Pam was mortified. All she could think of was a headline reading, Pastor’s Wife Arrested for Ag Theft.

The Jews didn’t use pruned grape branches ever for building, not even as a peg.

Ezk 15:4  Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work?

Ezk 15:5  Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

No one gathered grape wood for kindling because it burns too fast. It’s like the Christmas tree I tried to burn in our fireplace in Running Springs. Again, Who was responsible to tell me about chimney fires?

What is the one thing grape branches are good for?

They bear fruit. In our case, they bear the fruit of the Spirit, which is love.

Describing His vineyard, “[The LORD] dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes…” Who does everything in the  vineyard?

Fruit is produced without any effort by the branches.

I don’t look out at my two pomegranate trees and comment, “Man! Those pomegranate branches are really trying today! Look at them sweat!”

• I didn’t buy pomegranates from SaveMart and show them to the branches, to shame them.
• I didn’t buy a bottle of POM juice so my branches would have a goal.

Dan Kimball said,”The fruit of the Spirit wasn’t intended to be a list of goals for us to produce. It is the Holy Spirit through us who produces fruit.”

“So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.”

The LORD’s expectation for every believer is that you will “bring forth good grapes.” Everything you need to produce abundant fruit is already provided. Conditions are perfect. All you do – all you can do – is yield by believing.

How do we instead “bring forth wild grapes?”

When the apostle Paul insisted that the fruit of the Spirit is love, he said its antagonist was the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh that Paul lists are things like “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

When you believe and are saved, you receive a new nature, and you receive the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. Your physical body remains unredeemed. You will be in a fierce struggle between the flesh and the Spirit until you receive your resurrection body. It will happen when Jesus comes to resurrect the deceased believers of the Church Age and rapture all living believers.

If anything on the list of “the works of the flesh” describes you or I, we are “in the woods,” spiritually speaking. We are yielding to the flesh.

There is something else that we must beware of that is not as obvious. Also in Galatians the apostle said, “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (3:2-3).

You need not wonder what this is like. Read the circular letter Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus in the Revelation. He listed a bunch of their good works, but He threatened to cancel their witness because they had left their first love for Him. The Ephesian Christians were doing works that seemed good, but they were doing them without love.

You and I can spend our entire Christian walk as pre-transformed believers being content to be wild, forest grapevines producing little or no fruit. Charles Ryrie noted, “That a Christian can be characterized as carnal cannot be denied, simply because the text of First Corinthians 3:1-3 says there were carnal believers at Corinth. Paul addresses these people as ‘brethren’ and ‘babes in Christ,’ then he describes them as ‘men of flesh’ and ‘fleshly.’ So there were carnal or fleshly Christians in Paul’s day.”

Let’s get practical and take a peek inside the marriages of believers to amplify the scope of what we are saying. I’ve done my share of sitting down with couples in crisis. It doesn’t take long to realize that one or both of them is not bearing spiritual fruit. They are most definitely not joyful, peaceful, longsuffering, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or self-controlled. They are not “bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things” (First Corinthians 13:7).

Your marriage is a vineyard where God expects to find fruit because of what He has done.

“What more could He have done that He has not done in order that you would bear fruit?”

All of the descriptions of love assume you will be in adverse circumstances. If the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, you will need to be in situations in which you would lose control if you were depending on your own efforts.

A.B. Simpson said it best: “Beloved, have you ever thought that someday you will not have anything to try you, or anyone to vex you again? There will be no opportunity in Heaven to learn or to show the spirit of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering. If you are to practice these things, it must be now.”

#2 Your Burning Comes From Your Burdening
(v6-8)

When you get saved, you see what can be, unburdened by what has been.

Jesus did invite us to be unburdened. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

In context, Jesus was talking about the religious burdens heaped upon the Jews by their leaders. “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden” (Matthew 23:4 NLT).

Let’s not be like them. Let’s say, “Go, and sin no more,” when a person deserves to be stoned.

Ezk 15:6  “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

The Jerusalem Jews could have repented, turning to God from their idolatry. They refused.

Ezk 15:7  and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. If they escaped the sword, they would perish by the famine; if they escaped the famine, they would be led away captives to Babylon.

Ezk 15:8  Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord GOD.”

“Persistent unfaithfulness” is a tragic but accurate diagnosis of the nation of Israel throughout a great deal of her history. Has God abandoned His people? Look to the East. Israel is a nation once again, in the Promised Land. She is the epicenter for the End Times. All Israel will be saved. They will recognize Jesus as their Savior.

What about the fire? Is this eternal, Hell-fire & brimstone?

No, it is not. Earlier we quoted Jesus. “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6).

• How does Jesus “abide in believers”? By the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
• How long does the Spirit’s indwelling last? In John 14:6, Jesus promised, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…”

If you have God the Holy Spirit, you will have Him “forever.”

Christianity uniquely emphasizes that God Himself dwells within believers through the Holy Spirit.^[1] Buddha doesn’t live in you… Krishna doesn’t live in you… Muhammad doesn’t live in you… Joe Smith doesn’t live in you.

These verses cannot be about losing or forfeiting the gift of salvation. They are about believers bearing fruit. You can “do nothing” apart from Jesus. What can you do with Him? All things He asks or commands, by believing and not by effort.

The Ephesian believers would 100% agree they could do nothing apart from Jesus. Even as they said it, they were doing everything without Jesus!

There are four not-so-secret ‘secrets’ to a believer bearing spiritual fruit:

1. Pray without ceasing.
2. Read your Bible in a way that it is reading you.
3. Immerse yourself in a local fellowship that holds to the inerrancy & the authority of the Bible.
4. Tell others that Jesus lives! and that He is coming back at any moment.

These are not burdens. You can burden yourself, or heap burdens on others. Or you can believe the Lord and bear fruit like you believed Him for salvation.

We Three Saints Of Righteousness Are (Ezekiel 14:12-23)

I woke up to the distant, rhythmic pounding of battering rams. It never stopped. My stomach cramped from hunger. It had been days since I’d eaten more than scraps of stale bread. Potable water was scarce. Most of the population had been drinking from puddles of who knows what.

I stepped outside. Emaciated citizens lined the streets. Is that how I looked? Rotting corpses lay all around, too many to bury. Dogs, no longer pets, prowled in packs, gnawing at edible flesh of the dead or of those yet alive too weak to resist. Rumors persisted of other wild beasts feeding in the night, though I (thankfully) had not seen or heard any.

I moved slowly, deliberately, in an attempt to remain unseen. People had grown desperate, assaulting one another. I turned down a narrow alley to avoid an altercation. Two men were struggling over a withered vegetable. The younger man struck the older with a stone, leaving him bleeding in the dirt. I don’t believe he saw me. I kept walking.

I passed by a doorway. Two women were attempting to ignite a fire using excrement as fuel. A butchering knife lay on the stoop, and a few bowls.  As I approached I could see an infant’s lifeless body, his open eyes staring up at the sky, his cheeks sunken, his tiny body wasted away. I vomited on myself as I continued walking.

The Temple came into view. Firebombs had scarred its walls. Priests no longer sang or made sacrifices there. Months ago we ran out of animals to offer.

I climbed a crumbling staircase to the top of the wall and looked out. Well equipped and well fed soldiers stationed around the city ensured no one could escape. There was a sense they were anxious to begin pillaging.

On the 9^th day of the 4^th month, in Zedekiah’s 11^th  year, the Babylonians finally breached the walls. Soldiers surged into the city. A long siege was always frustrating. They would take it out on people and property.

The city was aflame. Thick smoke choked the air, and the unmistakeable stench of burning flesh.

I ran, stumbling. Not to flee the city, for that was impossible, but to return to my family. Together we might have dignity at the very end.

The account of the ruin of Jerusalem is fictional but accurate. The prophet Jeremiah would write a lamentation, saying things like, “The hands of the compassionate women Have cooked their own children; They became food for them In the destruction of the daughter of my people. The LORD has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its foundations” (Lamentations 4:10-11).

The judgment against Judah was imminent and inevitable. There would be no changing God’s mind. The time for national repentance was past.

Individual repentance was still possible.

The Church is nowhere to be found in this passage. In the 6^th century BC, the Church remained a mystery to be revealed in the 1^st century AD.

Does that mean we’re done?! No. There are gracious gleanings to collect for our spiritual nourishment & encouragement.

Of the many possible themes we might explore in our study, the one I believe Jesus has for us, is righteousness. The righteousness of three OT saints is highlighted.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU Have Been Declared Righteous, and #2 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU Are To Display Righteousness.

#1 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU

Have Been Declared Righteous (v12-21)

► In the days of Noah God destroyed the world by water in a global flooding. Estimates are hard, but somewhere between several million or a billion perished. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. [He] was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

The few righteous were kept safe in the Ark while the unrighteous were destroyed. The 6^th century Jews thought of Jerusalem as a kind of Ark. they did not believe that the LORD would sink them.

► Daniel had been taken captive to Babylon in 605BC. The final siege would come in 586BC. During those nine years Daniel likely completed his Babylonian education, gained influence in the royal court, and interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

What could be better than having a righteous Jew in a high government position to stem the tide of any further hostility? A century later that exact scenario would play out. When Queen Esther revealed she was Jewish, it saved the Jews from a holocaust.

Daniel wasn’t raised up for such a time as that. For all his position he was powerless to help.

►  Job. It had to be Job. “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (1:8). You know the rest. The righteous suffer. Bad things do happen to good people, and to God’s people.

But after a few months, Job was restored. Surely what ever God would permit, is was not going to last long. Wrong.

We have presuppositions about God that are not derived from the Word. It is why we do think it strange when we fall into various trials.

Ezk 14:12  The word of the LORD came again to me, saying:

I wish these guys had explained exactly how the Word of the LORD came to them. We know there was a School of the Prophets established by Samuel around 1050BC. You would think lesson #1 is “How do I hear from God?” I want that syllabus!

Ezk 14:13  “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.

I was hoping we could look at this as a universal principal governing all “lands.” The LORD says “When a land sins against me.” But the LORD outlines four specific judgments He would employ upon THE land, the land of Israel. This is specific to them.

Speaking of Israel, her existence as a modern nation in her ancient homeland is both a miracle and a fulfillment of many prophecies. If you’re among those who believe that God has transferred to the church His unconditional promises made to Israel, you need to change your mind. Amos 9:5 reads, “I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them.”

Ezk 14:14  Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.

We should talk about righteousness more often. It’s a word that has lost its impact from common use. I can’t help it, but I always think of Crush the sea turtle and him saying, “Righteous” to describe something gnarly. It is gnarly – but in a much more awesome way.

In its biblical use, righteousness is the condition of being morally right or justifiable, especially in God’s eyes.

Abraham wasn’t in this trio, but it is from him we learn that when a person believes God, “it is accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).  You believe and you are declared righteous.

Martin Luther illustrates this in a story he called The Great Exchange.

Imagine a beggar standing before a king. The beggar is dressed in rags, covered in filth, and has nothing of value to offer. The king is clothed in the finest royal robes, full of glory and splendor.

Now picture this:

• The king takes off his royal robe and places it on the beggar.
• At the same time, the king takes the filthy rags of the beggar and wears them himself.

You don’t need commentary to understand what happened. In this exchange, the beggar gains the king’s wealth, honor, and status, while the king bears the beggar’s poverty and shame. The beggar did nothing to deserve this; he only received it as a gift.

• Through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, our sin is accounted to Him (He wears our “filthy rags”).
• In turn, the Lord’s righteousness is imputed to us (we are clothed in His “royal robe”).

There is only one way to be saved. It is to believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ. OT saints were never ‘saved’ by the rites, rules, rituals, and overall religion of the Law of Moses. The Law was intended to show you your need of God’s free gift. Then the Law shows you how to live a righteous life.

Ezk 14:15  “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts,

It’s a little hard for us to relate to animal attacks.

Planning a trip to Bali? The Bartering Monkeys of Bali are living the thug life. They steal things from tourists and then barter them back for food.

In New Delhi, in 2007, many government buildings, temples and residential neighborhoods were overrun by Rhesus macaques. Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa was rushed to a hospital after being attacked by a gang of them. He died from head injuries sustained falling from his balcony during the assault.

Ezk 14:16  even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.

Ezk 14:17  “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it,

Ezk 14:18  even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

Ezk 14:19  “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast,

Ezk 14:20  even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

Can you imagine going to a prayer meeting and finding Noah, Daniel, and Job there? Nevertheless no gathering of godly saints could change what was going to happen. Not this time.

Ezk 14:21  For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem – the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence – to cut off man and beast from it?

This was the unique 4-stage plan. The priests, false prophets, and Elders were bent on immorality and idolatry that exceeded that of their pagan neighbors. Like Ol’ Yeller, they had the slobberin’ fits and needed to be put down. For His part, the LORD was the best dog-gone God in the world. His providence would keep the plan of redemption on track. The Messiah would come through Israel, right on time.

I believe I confessed to you some time back that I once binge-watched the six-part Pride & Prejudice. Lady Catherine bemoans Elizabeth Bennet’s low station, and insists she must not marry Darcy. Elizabeth responds, “He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter; so far we are equal.”

Listen attentively: Everyone who believes is equally righteous.

This helps us understand the apostle Peter telling us that Abraham’s nephew, Lot, is “righteous.” He was declared righteous; he was a believer.

You are just as righteous as every other saint in either Testament.

#2 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU

Are To Display Righteousness (v22&23)

Why these three guys? What more do they communicate than righteousness?

They encourage us to be overcomers of the world, the flesh, and the devil:

• Noah overcame the world – in a big way!
• Job overcame the devil.
• Can we say that Daniel overcame the flesh? I think so. The very first episode in his book involves him refusing to eat or drink “the king’s delicacies.”

These guys were declared righteous and then they were put on display by God as examples and models. “Consider My servant Job… or Noah… or Daniel… or YOU.

Ezk 14:22  Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it.

Ezk 14:23  And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD.

The “remnant” in this case is not the godly remant that is always preserved in history by the powerful providence of God. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says,

Those who questioned the severity of God’s judgment would recognize its justice when they observed the evil character of the captives [the remnant] brought from Jerusalem. They would be forced to admit that these people did deserve to be punished and that God was not unjust.

The gem for us to discover and discuss is, “you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD.”

“God does nothing without cause” makes a great opening line if you are seeking to encourage a believer. It establishes the foundation upon which they can display righteousness.

Your circumstances, your situation, is “not without cause” as the Lord who has begun His work in you brings it to completion.

Do you have display cases at home? They are usually deep with several items in them.

Your life with Jesus can be understood as a series of display cases, or maybe one huge one. Jesus has chosen the perfect case. Working together, you & Jesus are to discover the good works He wants to display.

Some of you produce amazing crafts. Or maybe you are a builder. What if you had every possible tool, and access to all the finest materials? Would you utilize them?

In the opening verses of his letter to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…” He elaborates, saying you are chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace, given insight into God’s will, promised an inheritance, given hope, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and assured of your eternal future. That list is not exhaustive.

The apostle Peter said the same thing: “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (Second Peter  1:3-4).

Every spiritual blessing…all things…You who are righteous can don’t all things through Jesus.

Please Seize Me, O Lord, So I’ll Please You (Ezekiel 14:1-11)

Action movies typically end with fighting on at least two fronts.

• Aragorn led his force to the Gates of Mordor to distract the gaze of the Dark Lord, Sauron. Meanwhile Sam and Frodo were at Mount Doom to destroy the One ring.

• Luke Skywalker faced Darth Vader and the Emperor on the second Death Star. Han, Leia, and Chewbacca were on the forest moon of Endor fighting Imperial forces.

It’s not unusual for one of the fronts to involve the supernatural. Ron Howard’s Willow ends that way, as does Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood.  Both feature witches who must be overcome.

Christians are all too familiar with dual warfare.

We are at war in the material world, always with a supernatural component. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the believers in Ephesus, wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (6:12).

Something we rarely consider: What if my battle is with the Lord? If I pressed you for a biblical example, it wouldn’t take you long to say Jonah or Jacob.

The 6^th century Jewish captives in Babylon were fighting a losing battle with the Lord. They’re idolatry and rebellion had just about exhausted the LORD’s longsuffering. The final blow against Jerusalem and its Temple was about to land.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 The Lord Besieges You, and #2 The Lord Beseeches You.

#1 – The Lord Besieges You (v1-3)

The LORD considered the Jews of Judah to be “estranged” from Him. He loves the Jews as a husband loves his wife. He pressured them in attempts to lead them to “Repent!”

The fall of the ten tribes in the north to Assyria in 720BC; the three Babylonian sieges of Jerusalem; the destruction of the town and the Temple; the 70yr captivity in Babylon. These were how God applied pressure.

Ezk 14:1  Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.

Ezekiel previously mentioned 70 Elders. They were lay leaders to the exiles. The priests, the false prophets, and the Elders comprised the leadership. As the Elders began to hear rumors about the fall of Jerusalem, “some” sought out God’s true prophet.

At some point a person wants answers to life’s most important questions. Or at least the questions that are most important to them. We have the answer to all of them. Peace with God, and good will toward men, is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Dan Stone wrote, “We are programming for failure if we’re looking for ultimate answers in a non-ultimate realm, a realm that’s partial, fragmented, incomplete. We end up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. We can do that as believers. The total answer is a Person, Jesus Christ. It’s part of God’s program to make us dissatisfied with what the temporal realm offers, so that we might seek life in Him.”

Ezekiel ministered out of his home. His audiences were never very large. The LORD measures impact differently than we do.

Ezk 14:2  And the word of the LORD came to me…

It would be interesting to know how long they waited on the LORD, and what they did until He began speaking to Ezekiel.

Ezk 14:3  “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

A quick reminder: Idolatry is when you believe that Jesus is insufficient for your joy and satisfaction. You decide that someone or something else will satisfy you.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase, “If you have your health, you have everything.” That’s patently false. Even if you are never sick a day in your life – you are going to die.

I once heard a testimony from a dying man. He said, “I would rather have AIDS and know Jesus, than not have AIDS and not know Jesus.”

It is essential to be future-focused in order to not covet and thereby set up your material idols.

At first the LORD spoke only to Ezekiel. He invited His prophet’s opinion. Should He entertain their seeking? Or was their sin so gross that the LORD was abandoning them?

Their sins were heinous. Nevertheless the LORD commands them to “Repent!”… that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord GOD’ ” (v6,11).

Seeker friendly, seeker sensitive, are descriptions of pulpits that water down sin & the need for salvation in order to attract people. We should never dilute the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation.

There is a sense in which we should be seeker sensitive, seeker friendly. Since God reaches out to the most odious of sinners, we must be ready to be witnesses of His love & grace.

Who would be unwelcome by us, or turned away by us, because we are disgusted by their particular sin?

I’m not suggesting we ignore potentially harmful situations. We have policies in place to ensure the safety of our congregation and visitors. Especially our kids. That’s wisdom, not prejudice.

Let’s look upon unsaved sinners the way Jesus does. He’s knocking at their door, seeking them, doing all He can to capture their hearts for eternity.

When we are being besieged, we need to rule-out that our battle is with the Lord.

• Are we running from His will, like Jonah attempted? Prepare to be swallowed.
• Are we wrestling against His will, like Jacob did? He will give us a life-long limp.

I don’t want you to get into a spiritual fog, wondering if you are battling the Lord. It will be obvious. You’ll be in outward sin, a hypocrite, lying to others.

• You’ll be like Ananias & Saphira who, for the sake of receiving praise, lied to the believers and to God the Holy Spirit about the amount of money they were donating. God killed them.
• God killed believers in Corinth who were drunk, disorderly, and hoarding their food from the poor when the church gathered for the love feast prior to sharing in communion each Sunday evening.   

The Lord loves you so much that He reserves the right to kill you and bring you home to Heaven ahead of schedule.

⭆ You can’t win any battle with, i.e., against, the Lord.

⭆ You can win every battle with, i.e., aligned with, the Lord.

#2 – The Lord Beseeches You (v4-11)

• One commentator titles this section, “The condemnation of those who are set on idolatry.”
• Another calls it, “The certain judgment of the offenders.”

We agree – but keep in mind the Lord was beseeching them to “Repent!”

We explain repenting as turning to God from idols. One description of it says, “Repentance is not merely regret or remorse but a decisive change in mind and heart that results in a change in behavior. It is both a one-time act in salvation and an ongoing attitude in the Christian life.”

Christians can be reluctant to believe or receive that a person is truly repentant. We want to see the fruits of repentance. Jesus told us that if someone sinned against us 490 times in a day, we should forgive them. Jesus wasn’t establishing a limit of 490. He was employing hyperbole. But if we used that number, and assumed being awake 16hrs, we would sin against the person just short of 50 times each waking hour. Not much time to see any fruit. In fact, it would show the opposite. We need discernment.

Ezk 14:4  “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols,

Ezk 14:5  that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’

The predicament that the Jerusalem Jews were in could only be resolved by the action of the LORD prophesying for centuries and then following through with material destruction and physical captivity. If there were any other way, God would have done it.

In your life, as God conforms you into the image of Jesus, there is no other way but the way He has set before you.

Jeremiah Burroughs wrote, “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

Dr. Francis Wells, a renowned heart surgeon, said, “There is something profoundly moving about holding a human heart in your hands. It is not just a pump; it is the essence of life, the rhythm of existence. It is a privilege and a wonder to work on something so fragile yet so resilient.”

God does more than “hold” a heart. He seizes it. The verb translated as “seize” is not a gentle one. It suggests that God will grab onto His people in order to pull them away from their idols.

Think the illustration through. God suddenly pierces your chest and seizes your beating heart. If that were to actually happen, you would freeze in place. He would have your heart, but you would be all ears.

Maybe you’ve had the experience of having to grip a toddler tightly as they race into traffic. God seizes your heart, or tries to, when He sees you headed for the broad way that leads to destruction.

It can have a physical component, both for unbelievers & believers. I have a very present memory of the Lord seizing my heart when I got saved. I knew that was dead inside, and yet I was alive and going to be struck dead. It was the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Ezk 14:6  “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

God does not command you, not ever, to do what you cannot do.

• If you are not a believer, you can “Repent!” as the one-time act of salvation.
• If you are a believer, you can “Repent!” over-and-over again as the on-going attitude of your life in Christ.

If you can trust God to save you for eternity, you can trust Him to lead you for a lifetime.

Ezk 14:7  For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself.

Ezk 14:8  I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

Think of any of the many Christian leaders who have fallen. Their fall becomes a warning “sign” and a modern-day “proverb.”

Ezk 14:9  “And if the prophet [the false prophet] is induced to speak anything, I the LORD have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

God doesn’t lie, or tell anyone to lie.There is a story in First Kings^[1] that explains how this kind of thing occurs. The LORD had determined that wicked King Ahab should be killed. We have no problem with that!

“And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

Who is God talking to? The Scripture definitely teaches that there are many supernatural beings and creatures in Heaven. It strikes us as odd that not all of them are good. Satan appears in Heaven, for example, in the Book of Job. The indication is that he and other malevolent, fallen beings are there often.

In more than a few passages there seems to be a Divine Council of supernaturals to whom God speaks. They’ve been given, by God, a measure of delegated authority to act upon the earth, and especially upon the human race. Such a meeting was taking place in the passage I just read. God asks for suggestions and something intelligent called “a spirit” says he can encourage the lying prophets to keep on lying. The LORD signs-off on it.

Currently the devil is the God of this world. Thank you, Adam & Eve. He is described as “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). I lie… You lie… the world is full of lies and deceit. God, Who cannot lie, permits lying on a massive scale in the current fallen condition of our world. He permits sin on a massive scale. He has a plan to overcome sin, and He is working it out.

God didn’t lie to King Ahab. You can’t say He made the spirit lie. If you want to accuse God of something, it would be that He allows free will. But, of course, we enjoy free will, do we not?

Ezk 14:10  And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired,

Ezk 14:11  that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

When we hear the term “search and seizure,” we think of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. It protects us from authorities conducting illegal searches and seizures.

Jesus searches our hearts…Jesus seizes our hearts.

For our own good, and for his glory, He is always conducting searches of our hearts, then using His considerable resources to seize our heart so that we might be drawn back to His love and grace.

Ask Us Your Questions, We’ll Tell You Our Lies (Ezekiel 13:1-23)

They drank the Kool-Aid.

On November 18, 1978, Jim Jones, founder & leader of the People’s Temple cult, orchestrated a mass murder-suicide in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana. More than nine hundred members “drank Kool-Aid” laced with cyanide.^[1]

We say a person or persons “are drinking the Kool-Aid” to refer to blindly accepting or following ideas, beliefs, or instructions without question.

The Jews in Jerusalem were drinking the Kool-Aid.

They were being served a steady diet of false, foolish prophecy from false, foolish non-prophets.

They were offering God’s people “peace when there is no peace” (v10, 16). Judah would experience  judgment, not jubilee.

Throughout our lives we are served a steady diet of false prophecy, bad religion, foolish philosophy, fake news, the hubris of humanism, corrupt politics, absurd scientific theories, etc., etc. Their proponents promise personal peace, but there is no peace outside of a relationship with God.

The devil is a liar, and the father of lies. He is the ruler of this world. You can expect there will be as much falsehood as is absolutely possible.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 The Liars Seduce You With False Peace, and #2 The Lord Sustains You With His Peace.

#1 – The Liars Seduce You With False Peace (v1-9 & v17-23)

It was the sixth century BC. About 120 years prior the Northern Kingdom, Israel, had been conquered and taken captive by the Assyrian Empire. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was a vassal state to Babylon. Twice the Babylonian forces had descended upon Jerusalem. They threatened to come a third time to loot & level the walls and the Temple. What should the Jews do?

God’s major prophets were Jeremiah, in Jerusalem, and Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon. They urged Judah to submit to mighty Babylon. If they refused, or tried subterfuge, the Temple & the City would be destroyed and the casualties & captives would be extensive.

False prophets were promising that the LORD would never allow the Temple to be razed to the ground. He would… He did.

Ezk 13:1  And the word of the LORD came to me…

How did the Word come to OT prophets? By Direct Speech; in Visions; in Dreams, by Angel Messengers; and by Inner Inspiration.

God’s Word and the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit are everything you require to obey Jesus and live a godly life. That does not negate God from communicating in these other ways Remember two things:

1. If you, or someone else, claims God spoke to them in one of those ways, what was said must be tested using the canon of Scripture.
2. There is no office of the Prophet in the NT Church – only the gift of prophecy.

Ezk 13:2  “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ ”

Your unregenerated heart “is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). Any human attempt at self-knowledge, or self-improvement, or salvation, will fall way short. It’s not wrong to call them lies.

• Sigmund Freud – “Liar!”
• Joseph Smith – “Liar!”
• Charles Darwin – “Liar!”

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

John Flavel wrote, “By entertaining of strange persons, men sometimes entertain angels unawares. By entertaining strange doctrines, many have entertained devils unawares.”

Ezk 13:3  Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!

Ezk 13:4  O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.

Ezk 13:5  You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD.

This is a typical stone wall protecting  a vineyard. The cute but cunning foxes squeeze through weak spots to devour the fruit.

Vice-President Harris was criticized for not visiting the border when it was her responsibility to oversee it.

The non-prophets didn’t visit the proverbial wall. They didn’t do much of anything that contributed to the good and growth of the Jews.  Later the LORD will say, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (22:30).

Charles Spurgeon commented, “God will hear His people if they can but stand in the gap; but there must be one to plead, there must be a heart that feels, a man who is heart-broken with sorrow for sin, and therefore comes to God with holy boldness to ask Him to be merciful. Where are such intercessors now?”

Ezk 13:6  They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.

One of our standards for judging a ministry is encapsulated in the question, “Is you sent? Or did you just went?”

The person or Bible study or Church you are considering, What is its story? You’re going to find that many groups are really splits, formed out of division. That doesn’t always mean you shouldn’t get involved, or that the Lord won’t bless the work. But talk about red flags!

Ezk 13:7  Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The LORD says’ but I have not spoken.”

Ezk 13:8  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD.

Ezk 13:9  “My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

They would be cast out, treated as if they had never been born to Israel.   

Does that seem harsh? It isn’t. Like everything He does, God’s discipline is perfect.   

Drop down to verse seventeen…

Ezk 13:17  “Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them,

Ezk 13:18  and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive?

We could call them ‘non-prophetesses,’ but the greater emphasis is on their occult practices.

These black magic women wore charmed clothing. You recognized their adherents by their veils.

Some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) really do wear a type of sacred undergarment – the Temple garment. Magic Mormon Mentionables come in a two piece, or you can get a onesie.

Mormons testify how their underwear saved their lives in car wrecks & natural disasters. Think of it as spiritual Kevlar.

Ezk 13:19  And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”

“Barley” & “bread” were payment for occult services. These were not valuable commodities until the final Babylonian siege. It lasted 18 months and brought starvation.

I want you to note something. The LORD flat-out tells us that there was a change in His administration of providence. Some who were foreordained to live, died; and some foreordained to die, lived. God reacted to the free-will choices of His people. If you think I’m looking for verses that fortify our position on free-will, I always am!

Ezk 13:20  ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds.

Ezk 13:21  I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

Moving here in 1985 from Southern California, there was a lot to learn. Like the opening day for dove hunting. I heard gunfire; I thought it was Red Dawn!

The LORD portrays the false prophets as hunters going after prey. Christian, you are being hunted, and will be all your live-long days. Snares and traps and fiery darts and stumbling blocks are just a few of the ways malevolent supernatural beings are seeking to capture and kill believers.

Aragorn described the Nazgûl who were seeking the One Ring of Power. He told Frodo, “They will never stop hunting you.”

Believers are unusual prey. We don’t run, or hide, or withdraw. We stand, or at least that is what we can do. Our weapons are spiritual. Spiritual strength is measured by our corresponding weakness and subsequent dependence upon Jesus.

Ezk 13:22  “Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

Their message had the exact opposite effect of the Word of the LORD:

• The liars lulled the unrighteous into a false spiritual security. Don’t worry; be happy was the #1 song on their playlist.
• The righteous were “sad.” One commentator explained, “They had used deceptive and counterfeit means to dishearten the righteous, pulling them into their cultic snare and influence.”

Are you sad? It might be that you are allowing someone or something unbiblical to influence you. Prayer is an example we can all relate to. You pray, yet seemingly nothing happens. If you are not careful, lies will overwhelm you. You’re not worthy… God doesn’t hear you… You’re not saved…

Or maybe suffering comes into your life. Why, God? Why me?

Ezk 13:23  Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

The LORD lets things go on longer than we think He should, and longer than we would like – especially if we are being adversely affected by them. He has His divine timing.

Eventually He shuts down Madame Sophia.

#2 – The Lord Sustains You With His Peace (v10-16)

When I sold title insurance in Riverside & San Bernardino Counties, the Realtors I dealt with had a slogan. “Sellers aren’t tellers, and buyers are liars.”

You may have had the experience of purchasing a home only to discover that its condition is not as advertised. New homes are not exempt.

Ezekiel tells us about shoddy construction on a wall.

Ezk 13:10  “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace – and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar –

We enjoy a love relationship with God. He is spiritually jealous over us. When we begin to entertain things in our lives that are false it is spiritual adultery.

Ezk 13:11  say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down.

Ezk 13:12  Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”

False teaching constructs a brick wall without mortar that is finished by a thin plaster coat. Looks good; won’t last.

The false prophets assured them that the city, its wall, and the Temple would stand. This false hope was the plastered-over brick wall without mortar. It was a veneer. A storm was coming, a violent storm in the person of King Nebuchadnezzar. They could have been strengthened by listening to Jeremiah & Ezekiel.

The always popular health and wealth false Gospel is a whitewash. You cannot speak into existence healings. Storms will hit your life. It will crumble unless you have sound doctrine.

Ezk 13:13  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it.

Ezk 13:14  So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezk 13:15  “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it,

Ezk 13:16  that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord GOD.

C.S. Lewis made this observation: “God cannot give us… peace apart from Himself because it is not there. There is no such thing.”

Do we sing,

He has made me sad,

O He has made me sad

I will lament for He has made me sad

God doesn’t make you sad.

George Müller, the 19th-century Christian evangelist and founder of orphanages, wrote, “The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord.”

Is your God the Lord?

If He is, then here is a word from Him, a prophecy in the sense of it being an encouragement.

Happy are the people whose God is the LORD

Psalm 144:15

All My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready To Go (Ezekiel 12:1-28)

Do you know your sign?

You’re probably thinking horoscope. A horoscope is an astrological forecast based on the position of celestial bodies at the time of your birth. It involves the twelve zodiac “signs,” each representing specific birth periods throughout the year. Horoscopes are typically used for entertainment or self-reflection, although some people take them more seriously, believing they offer insights into character and destiny.

It’s not harmless fun. It is a form of divination, of which God said. The Bible expressly forbids divination, sorcery, and hidden arts. We see it in our text, in verse twenty-four, where “false vision” and “flattering divination” are condemned.

We aren’t talking about the signs of the zodiac…We’re talking about the sign of Ezekiel.

“I have made you a sign to the house of Israel,” the LORD said, and “Say, ‘I am a sign to you” (v4&11).

Where do we fit in? One of the sources I consulted said, “the Church is intended to be a visible and spiritual sign that points others to God’s character and redemptive purposes.”

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 If You Are A Believer, You Are ‘Signing’ The Redemption Of The Lord, & #2 If You Are A Believer, You Are ‘Signing’ The Return Of The Lord.

#1 – If You Are A Believer, ‘Sign’ The Redemption Of The Lord (v1-16)

American Sign Language imposters were unusually prevalent for a short time.

• The Nelson Mandela Memorial Service in 2013.
• The Tampa Bay Police Department press conference in 2017.
• A Hurricane Irma press conference in 2017.

God’s prophets are the real deal when it comes to signing. Ezekiel is perhaps the most well-known, but Jeremiah (and others) performed signs.

Biblical signs and symbols are one of my favorite things to talk about. Almost everyone gets it backwards. They think signs and symbols make the Bible more difficult to read and understand.

A great many believers balk at reading or teaching the Book of the Revelation. Too many signs & symbols, they say. Not true. The signs are all clearly defined, either in the book itself or elsewhere in the Bible.

Think of the purpose of signs in your daily life, e.g., traffic signs. Are they intended to confuse? Of course not! They clarify. And they are not subject to any independent interpretation.

605BC…597BC…586BC.

Those are the years in which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Jerusalem. Ezekiel was taken to Babylon as a captive in the second invasion. He was chosen by the LORD to be His prophet to the exiles who were already there, and to those who would come there.

A tiny bit of history is needful at this point. Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as ruler over Jerusalem. He was not the rightful king, and that’s why he is called a “prince” in verses 10&12.

Ezk 12:1  Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

Ezk 12:2  “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

Another day, another rejection of the Word of God and its messenger.

Have you ever considered how many of God’s prophets were unsuccessful by human standards?

⭆ All you need to know about Jeremiah is that he was called “the weeping prophet.”

⭆ Isaiah was told his audience would refuse to receive the Word.

⭆ In his defense before the first century rulers of the Jews, the martyr, Stephen, would say to them, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers…” (Acts 7:52).

The LORD encouraged Ezekiel when He twice says the Jews are “a rebellious house.” Ezekiel was faithful to obey the LORD.

As a servant, the Lord looks for you to be faithful. You are accountable, but not responsible.

Ezk 12:3  “Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

The LORD was showing them what was about to happen. Nevertheless, it was not too late to repent! Ezekiel’s two-act, day/night drama might yet penetrate the rebellious hearts of the Jerusalem Jews.

We all have biases. That’s not always bad. Ours is to believe that God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (First Peter 3:9). Your understanding of the character of God influences how you approach and interpret His Word.

Ezk 12:4  By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity.

Ezk 12:5  Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it.

Ezk 12:6  In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground [We would say that he left “under cover of darkness”] for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

Jason Bourne frequently relies on his Go-bag, stashed with passports, cash, weapons, and supplies, as he is constantly on the run and needs to be ready to bug-out at a moment’s notice. Ezekiel ‘signs’ to the Jews a man bugging-out with his go-bag.

Ezk 12:7  So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

Ezk 12:8  And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 12:9  “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’

I wonder: Did these guys even try to understand the “sign”? I don’t think so. They probably wanted Ezekiel to simply tell them what the LORD said. Thing is, though, they consistently rejected God’s Word, or twisted it. Signs were the way to go.

Ezk 12:10  Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.” ’

As I said, Zedekiah was not the rightful king of Judah. Ezekiel called him “prince.”

Ezk 12:11  Say, ‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall be carried away into captivity.’

Ezk 12:12  And the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes.

This story is told in Jeremiah and in Second Kings. All accounts agree.

Ezk 12:13  I will also spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there.

Ezk 12:14  I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and I will draw out the sword after them.

Ezk 12:15  “Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.

“I will spread My net… My snare… I will scatter them.” Babylon would accomplish these things. The LORD was behind them, using them, to discipline His rebellious nation.

Don’t get upset about God using the godless to discipline His people. Being disciplined by God is a show of His affection.

“Yes, Gene, I get that. But their punishment was so harsh!” Was it though? What is a proper punishment for a nation that encouraged burning infant children on the molten-hot arms of an idol of Molech?

If Zedekiah was taken to Babylon, why didn’t he “see” it? Second Kings tells us why: “They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon” (25:7).

The LORD continued to bless and use the remnant of believers. You might recall that Nebuchadnezzar – who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace – saw a fourth Person. It was Jesus. Later Nebuchadnezzar was saved. He wrote a Gospel tract that was widely circulated.

Ezk 12:16  But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

Do we not look upon the history of the dispersed Jews with wonder? In their discipline unbelievers see that there is a God Who loves them. Napoleon Bonaparte noted, “The existence of the Jews is proof of the existence of God.”

God’s plan is to redeem the Jews:

• Israel became a nation again.
• In the future they will enjoy a time of protection from the antichrist.
• Exactly half-way through the seven year Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the antichrist will launch the greatest persecution of Jews ever.
• Jews will be holed-up in Petra.
• They will finally call upon Jesus.
• He will save them, physically.
• The remnant that has survived will all be saved spiritually.
• The one-thousand year Kingdom of God on earth will begin.

A long time ago in a title insurance company far, far away, my bosses asked me to be involved in a pretty big lie. It was  worse than that; it was illegal. The Lord gave me the strength to say “I’m a Christian and I can’t do it.” I give Him all the glory for it. I kept trying to justify it. At that time in my life, that was a way to ‘sign’ what God’s redemption meant to me.

If we believe that the Lord is guiding our path, and that we are on it, then we need to talk to Him about our ‘sign’ where He has led us.

#2 – If You Are A Believer, ‘Sign’ The Return Of The Lord (v17-25)

Eschatology is the branch of theology that deals with the study of the last things. It’s almost always the last chapters in theology books. The apostle Paul taught it first in Thessalonica. Likewise the apostle Peter in his letters. Eschatology isn’t a curiosity, but a necessity.

Ezk 12:17  Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 12:18  “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety.

Ezk 12:19  And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may be emptied of all who are in it, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it.

Ezk 12:20  Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

Small Jewish cities lined the way to Jerusalem. These would be the first conquered.

They would “know” because it would be the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy.

Ezk 12:21  And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 12:22  “Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’?

Ezk 12:23  Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” But say to them, “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.

This is an OT way of saying, “Scoffers will come in the last days… saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”^[1]

Ezk 12:24  For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.

Ezk 12:25  For I am the LORD. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

Any seeming delays do not nullify God’s plans. He’s waiting; His longsuffering waits.

Ezk 12:26  Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 12:27  “Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’

Ezk 12:28  Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

Do you have a go-bag? It’s tough to limit it to bare necessities.

Do we have only the bare necessities and are we ready to go to another place? For us, it is not a departure to go into exile, but to the Father’s house.

Maybe then people will ask us why we live the way we do. Then we can point them to the wrath of God that is coming upon the world, and to the Savior Who can and wants to save from it. We can sign the hope that is in us.

⭆ Signing the return of Jesus can be as casual as you coming to Church Sunday & Wednesdays. Your neighbors see you going & coming while they mow their lawns. They’ve probably been to churches that turned them off… or had a bad experience… But there you are, excited to meet with the Lord & His peeps.

⭆ Signing the return of Jesus can be more formal. Right after I got saved, I made an appointment with my philosophy prof to share the Lord with him.

We can’t tell you how to apply this in your life. The Lord can, and He will if you talk to Him about it.

Total Exchange Of The Heart (Ezekiel 11:1-25)

• “The Zionists want to become a state. But there is no place for such a state in the Arab world.”

• “There are 30 million Arabs on one side and about 600,000 Jews on the other. Why don’t you face up to the realities?”

• “To support a Jewish state in Palestine would be to antagonize the Arab world and create serious difficulties for the United States in its relations with the Arabs.”

Those strong anti-Israel statehood comments were uttered by, respectively, Undersecretary of State Robert Lovett, Defense Secretary James Forrestal, and Loy Henderson, Director of the State Department’s Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs.

I’d be surprised if you recognized the names. They served President Harry S. Truman in the late 1940s.

The advice of his closest advisors was to not recognize the statehood of Israel.

The president went against the advice of his advisors. On May 14, 1948, just 11 minutes after they declared independence, Truman made the United States the first country to recognize the modern state of Israel.

“I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have faith in it now,” said Truman. “I believe it has a glorious future before it – not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.”

The 6^th centuryJerusalem Jews in our chapter followed the bad advice of advisors.

Adopting a well-known Jewish adage, they assured the citizens “This city is the caldron, and we are the meat.”

The LORD responded, “These are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city…” Their bad advice would get thousands of Jews killed.

As we explore what was happening in 6^th century Jerusalem & Judah we will consider the effect that advice from advisors can have on us – for better or for worse.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1Proceed With Caution When You Receive Advice From Advisors, and #2 Proceed With Comfort When You Receive Advice From Your Counselor.

#1 – Proceed With Caution When You Receive Advice From Advisors (v1-12)

Twenty-five elders were giving terrible, horrible, no good, very bad advice to the citizens in Jerusalem.

King Nebuchadnezzar had twice invaded Judah, carrying off Jews to be exiled in Babylon. God’s prophet in Jerusalem, Jeremiah, was insisting that they submit to Babylon. The elders refused to consider it. They argued that God would never allow Jerusalem to be defeated & the Temple destroyed  He would… It was.

Ezekiel had been taken captive and brought to Babylon in the second of the three invasions. He was the major prophet to the Jews exiled there. We’re in the middle of a vision the LORD gave him.

Ezk 11:1  Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the LORD’s house [We’ve seen before that quite often God’s prophets were physically transported from one geographical location to another by the Holy Spirit; it was expected, even] which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men [These guys are a second group of twenty-five, not the priests we saw previously] among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

Ezk 11:2  And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,

Ezk 11:3  who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’

Both Jeremiah & Ezekiel were predicting a long captivity. In fact it would last 70yrs. These advisors brushed it off, giving a false hope that “The time is not near to build houses” in Babylon.

‘Caldron & meat’ was an adage employed when you wanted to emphasize that no matter the circumstances, you’d get through it safely. It’s a little like “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

The “caldron” was Jerusalem. The “meat” was the Jews. As long as you were in the city, you’d feel the heat but remain protected.

Ezk 11:4  Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

Ezk 11:5  Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! [You may recall that Ezekiel was a voluntary mute for quite a while. He spoke only when the LORD gave him permission] ‘Thus says the LORD: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

Ezk 11:6  You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.”

The advice of these men would result in multitudes being “slain in” Jerusalem.

Bad advice can be lethal.

We can substitute the word “counsel” for advice. Bad counsel can cause a great deal of spiritual harm. I’ve told the sad story of a Christian woman I visited in the Mental Health ward of San Bernardino Community Hospital. She was going through a financial hardship. She approached her church leaders. They told her she was in sin for asking. If she had faith, she would not be in the spot she was in. She attempted suicide.

Ezk 11:7  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it.

The LORD borrowed their illustration but gave it a different twist. Jerusalem was the “caldron,” alright, but not to keep them safe. Quite the opposite: Many in the city would die horrible deaths, as if they were dead meat boiling in the caldron.

Ezk 11:8  You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD.

Ezk 11:9  “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you.

Ezk 11:10  You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezk 11:11  This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel.

The leaders insisted everything would be OK. But when the going got tough, they got going by trying to leave Judah. They killed by the sword.

Ezk 11:12  And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ”

God’s desire is that the Jews “know that [He] is the LORD.” Never forget when reading the Bible a bedrock principle that God is not willing that any should perish, but all come to eternal life. The LORD’s discipline would prove His love for the Jews, and preserve them to complete their abandoned  mission of being a blessing to every nation, tribe, people, and tongue on earth.

Believers should find the “customs of the Gentiles” appalling rather then appealing. Why don’t we?

Obviously there is the pull of sin upon our unredeemed physical bodies. A root cause we need to explore more-and-more is the fact that most believers do not enjoy their relationship with Jesus.

• Believers who are legalists do not enjoy Jesus. A legalist believes that their good works and obedience to God affects their salvation. Legalism focuses on God’s laws more than relationship with God. It keeps external laws without a truly submitted heart. And legalism adds human rules to divine laws and treats them as divine.
• Believers who are trying hard to live the Christian life in their own energy, rather than the enabling of the Holy Spirit, are not enjoying the Lord. My constant example of this is the plethora of self-help, how to live the Christian life books & programs. Promise Keepers, The Purpose Driven Life, The Prayer of Jabez, to name a few.

The first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

Enjoying God is a command, not an optional extra: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Even in the worst of times.

After the one ring had been cast into the fires of Mount Doom Frodo & Sam found themselves on a boulder that was floating on hot lava. Frodo said to Sam, “I’m glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things.” It was tender and moving and loving and victorious.

“I’m glad to be with You, Jesus, here in my distress…or desertion… or diagnosis… In my disease… In the death or deaths of my loved ones. After all, nothing can separate me from Your love. In my human grief I suffer but not as those who have not the hope of Heaven. Contrary to how I may feel, You can never leave me or forsake me.”

#2 – Proceed With Comfort When You Receive Advice From Your Counselor (v13-25)

Jesus said that, after His departure, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).

“Helper” can be translated “Counselor,” or “Comforter,” or “Advocate.” He is with you, and He is in you. We talk about Him coming upon you, filling you, and that’s OK as long as we remember that He is God, a Person, not a force or a power. He doesn’t come & go.

Ezk 11:13  Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”

Fausett’s Bible Dictionary offers this explanation of Pelatiah’s sudden death: “Like Ananias, [he was] stricken dead [as] an earnest of the destruction of the rest.”

Ezekiel responded to Pelatiah’s death by having a moment in which his faith wavered. Would there always be a remnant?

Of course there would! Israel must exist or God’s program of redeeming the human race and His creation would fail.

Ezk 11:14  Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 11:15  “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

Ezk 11:16  Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’

The 25 & others in Jerusalem, because they were not taken into captivity, felt themselves superior to the ‘suckers & losers’ who had been taken. But God would exit the Temple, no longer making His presence known there.  Meanwhile He would be what He calls “a little Sanctuary” for those He scattered all over the world. In other words, the exiles would enjoy a presence of God at least preserving them that those in Jerusalem would not.

Ezk 11:17  Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’

Ezk 11:18  And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.

This prophecy was partially fulfilled after the 70yr Babylonian captivity. Ezra, then Nehemiah, return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, the walls, and the city.

The ultimate fulfillment is currently underway. Jews are back in their land and have been returning since 1948. They have a name for it – “Aliyah.” The word “aliyah” is Hebrew for ascent or rise. Jerusalem is built on a hill, to get there you must ascend & rise.

New immigrants to Israel are called olim. Nearly 30,000 olim have ‘made aliyah’ since the current conflict began.

Ezk 11:19  Then I will give them one heart [The NT writers refer to this as being baptized into the Body of Jesus, being made one with every person who shares God the Holy Spirit’s indwelling] and I will put a new spirit within them [the “new spirit” is God the Holy Spirit] and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh. [Normally the word “flesh” indicates our unredeemed physical body with its propensity to sin. Here it simply refers to life. We are alive and functioning on some level even though born with a stone heart – a heart dead to God. When saved, God gives you a heart appropriate to your new life].

Ezk 11:20  that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

This is a promise of the literal, future one-thousand year Kingdom of God on Earth. At its start, all mortal Israelites who survive the Tribulation will be saved. (As well, all Gentile believers who survive). The Lord will give them, as promised, the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.

When the 1^st century Jews said “No” to Jesus, God hit ‘pause’ on establishing the one-thousand year Kingdom on earth. We live in the pause. When a person believes God and is saved, he or she is an early recipient of the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.

According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary,“The inauguration of the New Covenant, which includes this permanent indwelling,^[1] began with the death of Christ,^[2] but the ultimate fulfillment awaits the national regathering of Israel. The church today is participating in the spiritual (not the physical) benefits of the covenant through its association with Jesus.”

Ezk 11:21  But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.

You are born with a fatal heart disease, Stony Heart. The only remedy is to call upon the Lord to be saved. If you, in the end, stand before God unsaved, you are asking Him to let you enter Heaven on the basis of your “deeds.” “Recompense” means punish. If you do not have Jesus as your Savior, your deeds are insufficient, and you must be punished. Jesus took upon Himself the punishment you deserve.

Ezk 11:22  So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.

Ezk 11:23  And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.

A major theme in this vision was the departure from the Temple the glory of the LORD, Shekinah – the cloud that manifested His presence among His people. He left ahead of the Temple’s destruction.

Ezk 11:24  Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me.

Ezk 11:25  So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.

Ezekiel returned to “Chaldea” (Babylon), and shared what the LORD had shown him with his fellow exiles. They were his mission.

Darrell Mansfield was a pioneer of Christian rock. His song, Bible Study, is fascinating. A teenager is talking to his friends and at one point he says, “Now the house is empty and my folks are gone.”

What do they decide to do? “Hey! Let’s have a Bible Study!”

When you are in love, where do you want to be? You want to be with the person you love. You’re sick over being parted.

This does not mean you can never go anywhere or do anything that isn’t overtly Christian. It does mean that wherever you go, whatever you do, you can experience the love, joy, hope, and peace of God.

“Jesus, I’m glad you are here with me”

Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory Of The Leaving Of The Lord (Ezekiel 10:1-22)

Where were you when the world stopped turnin’?

Most of us recognize that as the title & the opening lyric of the Alan Jackson song. He wrote it in reaction to the terror attacks on 9/11/2001. Have you noticed that when we talk about it, we always preface our comments by giving a short account of where we were when we heard the news?

September 17^th, 592BC is a date all Israelites ought to remember.

It is the probable date on which the glory of God exited His Temple in Jerusalem. To say it was a monumental day in Jewish history should top the list of the greatest understatements of all time.

The LORD dwelt among His people in the Holy of Holies, using the Ark of the Covenant with its Mercy Seat as a throne. The glory of God departs the Holy of Holies to the threshold of the Temple (10:4). It then moves from the Temple to the east gate of the Temple (10:18-19). Finally, it departs entirely from the city, pausing on the Mount of Olives (11:23).

Then glory was gone…and has not returned.

I’ve used a quote from A.W. Tozer too many times, but it’s so good. He challenges us, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the Church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference.”

Would we know the difference? The way I asked the question assumes that God the Holy Spirit has not already withdrawn.

God’s Temple departure gives us opportunity to examine the State of the Church. I’ll organize my comments around two questions: #1 Can You See God’s Withdrawing?, and #2 Can You Stop God’s Withdrawing?

#1 – Can You See God’s Withdrawing? (v1-17)

When Solomon dedicated the Temple we read, “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud [Shekinah] filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (First Kings 8:10-11).

Fast forward 400yrs. His people spiritually & physically have turned their backs to Him. They placed abominable idols in the Temple. Like Snagglepuss, God would “exit stage north.”

It’s hard for us to understand the scope of the LORD’s departure. This was easily one of the ‘darkest’ (pun intended) days in the history of Israel.

Not just Israel. Her task was to reveal the glory of God to all nations. What happens to Israel affects all human history profoundly.

Ezk 10:1  And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the Cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

We saw this conveyance in the first chapter. We call it God’s Throne Chariot. It involves four supernatural beings, identified as Cherubim, supporting a platform upon which is a Throne for God.

Ufologists excitedly see the Throne Chariot as a spaceship piloted by alien astronauts. Among their arguments is that a 6^th century observer would have a difficult time describing spaceships.

They’re listening to way too much Coast to Coast AM Radio in the middle of the night.

Look at verse eighteen: “As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “Wheel.” When God uses symbols & signs, He usually defines them within a few verses. In this case, there is no symbolism. “Wheels” are defined as “wheels.” It counters any suggestion that he was describing chariots of the gods. This was the chariot of God – the God of the Bible.

Are UFO’s (and USO’s) ‘real’? Of course! But what are they? Everything about the UFO phenomena, including abductions, can be explained by fallen angels prepping humans for a great deception.

Ezk 10:2  Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the Cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

Scattering the hot coals represents God’s judgment falling upon the city. It was a necessary, holy judgement. It couldn’t happen while the glory of the LORD was in the Cherubim.

Ezk 10:3  Now the Cherubim were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.

Ezk 10:4  Then the glory of the LORD went up from the Cherub, and paused over the threshold of the Temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’s glory.

Ezk 10:5  And the sound of the wings of the Cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

Scholars are split over whether or not Jews in the Temple and the surrounding area could see these phenomena. In verse five we’re told it was “heard even in the outer court.” If it was “heard” it implies there were people who heard it.

Jerusalem is situated on a hill. The people in areas surrounding the city could have seen the radiance coming from the hilltop.

It would have been beautiful, but terrifying. Shekinah stayed put in the Holy of Holies.

Ezk 10:6  Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the Cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels.

Ezk 10:7  And the Cherub stretched out his hand from among the Cherubim to the fire that was among the Cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out.

Ezk 10:8  The Cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

This is an incredibly detailed description. True, it is hard to depict, and if you search for images they are mostly too weird. Ezekiel was not confused. He knew what he was seeing.

Ezk 10:9  And when I looked, there were four wheels by the Cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone.

Ezk 10:10  As for their appearance, all four looked alike – as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

Ezk 10:11  When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went.

Ezk 10:12  And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around.

Ezk 10:13  As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “Wheel.”

I can almost hear someone asking Ezekiel what the wheels represent, and him answering, “They were wheels.”

Ezk 10:14  Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

In chapter one the Cherubim had faces of lion, eagle, man & ox. Here the ox is replaced by “the face of a Cherub.”  The simple answer is that the face of a Cherub looks like the face of a bull or an ox. Cherubs are not little baby angels with wings.

Ezk 10:15  And the Cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar.

Ezk 10:16  When the Cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the Cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them.

Ezk 10:17  When the Cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one was lifted up, the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

It sounds like they had on the new  $400,000.00 helmets our courageous F35 pilots have.

Remembering back to 9-11, can you imagine a scenario where you saw the planes crashing into the World Trade Center and then went about your business as if nothing monumental had occurred?   

The Jerusalem Jews kept committing their abominations as if nothing of any real significance had occurred.

Unlike OT Israel, every NT believer receives the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t come & go.

What can happen is this:

• A believer who begins in the Spirit can try to live the Christian life in his or her own energy. The apostle Paul put it this way, “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).
• A Church that begins in the Spirit can, according to Jesus, leave their first love for Him. If it persists, the Lord says He will withdraw that Church’s “lampstand.” Intellect will begin to overwhelm intimacy. Thus it becomes works-oriented rather than grace-sufficient. D.L. Moody said, “The Bible was not given for our information, but for our transformation.”

You can see this shift. The Tozer quote has a second part: “If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95% of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”

• Paul saw it in Galatia.
• Jesus saw it in Ephesus.

One of the great questions we hear every presidential election is, “Are you better off today than you were 4yrs ago?”

We can ask, “Am I farther along spiritually today than when I first was saved?” Or, “Is my life characterized by my plans for it or God’s?”

#2 – Can You Stop God’s Withdrawing? (v18-22)

There is something quite important to notice in God’s withdrawal. The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary says,

Successive steps are marked in His departure; so slowly and reluctantly does the merciful God leave His house. First, He goes up from the Cherub, whereupon He was, to the Threshold of the Temple (9:3); then He elevates His throne above the Threshold of the house (10:1); leaving the Cherubim ‘on the right side of the house’ (10:3). Then He mounts up and sits on the throne (10:4); He and the Cherubim, after standing for a time at the door of the east gate (10:18-19), where was the exit to the lower court of the people – leave the house altogether (11:2-3), not to return until Ezekiel 43:2.

Reluctant to leave, the LORD made significant pauses during His departure. He loved (and loves) Israel with an everlasting love. He desired their repentance. He made a spectacular exit, pausing. They paid it no mind. The pauses could have, as we say, “given them pause,” to repent.

We need to establish that this idea of our human disobedience causing pauses along the redemption timeline is Scriptural.

• God hit ‘pause’ for Abram. He was told to go to Bethel. He went, but on account of a famine, he headed to Egypt. It was a thirteen year pause until he got back to where he once belonged.

• God hit ‘pause’ for the Exodus generation. The Hebrews who Exodus-ed balked at the border of the Promised Land. Their refusal to go in stalled the Jews for a period of 40yrs.

In the NT, the apostle Peter has a rather unusual approach to the passage of divine time and it involves at least one very long pause.

• He first reminds us that what we consider to be a long time is a mere day with the Lord (Second Peter 3:8).
• Next he tells us that, although the Lord could come at any time, His longsuffering with sinners waits giving them opportunities to repent and be saved.
• While He is waiting, we are told we can “hasten,” meaning speed-up, His return.

Ezk 10:18  Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the Temple and stood over the Cherubim.

Ezk 10:19  And the Cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

After 400 years of being among His people, Shekinah was gone.

Ezk 10:20  This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were Cherubim.

Ezk 10:21  Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

Ezk 10:22  And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

Here is a quote from Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken: “The time has come for us to admit our insignificance by making discoveries in the infinite unexplored cosmos. Only then shall we realize that we are nothing but ants in the vast state of the universe.”

I prefer what David said: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet…” (Psalm 8:3-6).

The glory of God returned briefly when Jesus came. The apostle John said, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14).

Jesus came preaching that the Kingdom of God on earth was at hand. It was; unfortunately the Jews hard-passed on Jesus being their King.

Their rejection marked the beginning of God’s longest pause.

Paul describes the pause in the last chapter of the Book of Acts, “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” (28:28).^[1]

Paul goes on to explain that God is using the salvation of Gentiles in the Church Age to make the nation of Israel jealous. In the end, with clarity and all Heaven’s authority, Paul said, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26).

He means ethnic Jews, the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.

We are living in the longest historic pause – The Church Age.

Let’s live continuing in the Spirit and rekindling our first love.