Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12, NIV
Ezekiel, prophet of God, points out the right way to live that is pleasing to God. “God’s not fair!,” the sinners shout, because He won’t let us do things that hurt us and others. God always wants the best life for us. He wants us to live well. We want to do it our way and die!
So, how’s that going for you? Ezekiel’s words from God clearly, without doubt or misunderstanding, show the difference in living God’s original commandments given to Moses on the original “tablets”. The difference is life or death. Your choice. One way leads to life and the opposite way leads to heartache and eventually death. Every person, parent or child, as a choice to make with consequences of that choice.
Ezekiel 18, The Message
Judged According to the Way You Live
1-2 God’s Message to me: “What do you people mean by going around the country repeating the saying,
The parents ate green apples, The children got the stomachache?
3-4 “As sure as I’m the living God, you’re not going to repeat this saying in Israel any longer. Every soul—man, woman, child—belongs to me, parent and child alike. You die for your own sin, not another’s.
5-9 “Imagine a person who lives well, treating others fairly, keeping good relationships—
doesn’t eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn’t worship the idols so popular in Israel,
doesn’t seduce a neighbor’s spouse,
doesn’t indulge in casual sex,
doesn’t bully anyone,
doesn’t pile up bad debts,
doesn’t steal,
doesn’t refuse foodto the hungry,
doesn’t refuse clothing to the ill-clad,
doesn’t exploit the poor,
doesn’t live by impulse and greed,
doesn’t treat one person better than another,
But lives by my statutes and faithfully
honors and obeys my laws.
This person who lives upright and well
shall live a full and true life.
Decree of God, the Master.
10-13 “But if this person has a child who turns violent and murders and goes off and does any of these things, even though the parent has done none of them—
eats at the pagan shrines,
seduces his neighbor’s spouse,
bullies the weak,
steals,
piles up bad debts,
admires idols,
commits outrageous obscenities,
exploits the poor
“—do you think this person, the child, will live? Not a chance! Because he’s done all these vile things, he’ll die. And his death will be his own fault.
14-17 “Now look: Suppose that this child has a child who sees all the sins done by his parent. The child sees them, but doesn’t follow in the parent’s footsteps—
doesn’t eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn’t worship the popular idols of Israel,
doesn’t seduce his neighbor’s spouse,
doesn’t bully anyone,
doesn’t refuse to loan money,
doesn’t steal,
doesn’t refuse food to the hungry,
doesn’t refuse to give clothes to the ill-clad,
doesn’t live by impulse and greed,
doesn’t exploit the poor.
He does what I say;
he performs my laws and lives by my statutes.
17-18 “This person will not die for the sins of the parent; he will live truly and well. But the parent will die for what the parent did, for the sins of—
oppressing the weak,
robbing brothers and sisters,
doing what is dead wrong in the community.
19-20 “Do you need to ask, ‘So why does the child not share the guilt of the parent?’
“Isn’t it plain? It’s because the child did what is fair and right. Since the child was careful to do what is lawful and right, the child will live truly and well. The soul that sins is the soul that dies. The child does not share the guilt of the parent, nor the parent the guilt of the child. If you live upright and well, you get the credit; if you live a wicked life, you’re guilty as charged.
21-23 “But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he’ll live, really live. He won’t die. I won’t keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn’t it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living?
24 “The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don’t keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he’ll die.
25-28 “Do I hear you saying, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair!’?
“Listen, Israel. I’m not fair? You’re the ones who aren’t fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he’ll die for it. He’ll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he’s committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won’t die.
29 “And yet Israel keeps on whining, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair.’
“I’m not fair, Israel? You’re the ones who aren’t fair.
30-32 “The upshot is this, Israel: I’ll judge each of you according to the way you live. So turn around! Turn your backs on your rebellious living so that sin won’t drag you down. Clean house. No more rebellions, please. Get a new heart! Get a new spirit! Why would you choose to die, Israel? I take no pleasure in anyone’s death. Decree of God, the Master.
“Make a clean break! Live!”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
The way to God and all his blessings of growing His character deep within us is to repent of our sins to Jesus, His Son who took the punishment for our sins. This is the “way” to God. We can rely on Jesus because He is Truth, there is no falsehood in Him. Jesus died so that we may live forever with God. Therefore, He is Life!
God is very fair, completely righteous, and desires that all would escape death and live forever with Him. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
So, make a clean break! Live!Believe and be saved!
Love God. Love Others like He loves us. It’s revolutionary!
Lord,
I trust you, dear Jesus! God, I believe all that you have said is really real and can be trusted. Thank you for life everlasting all because of your relentless love for me. Help me to grow in this love. Help me to love others like you love me.
“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28, NLT
Nothing escapes the notice of God who created all, is in all and over all. Driven by a love for His created, God moves in ways we won’t understand at the time but will save us from ourselves in the process. God’s done it before, He’ll do it again!
Ezekiel 17, The Message
The Great Tree Is Made Small and the Small Tree Great
1-6 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, make a riddle for the house of Israel. Tell them a story. Say, ‘God, the Master, says:
“‘A great eagle with a huge wingspan and long feathers, In full plumage and bright colors, came to Lebanon And took the top off a cedar, broke off the top branch, Took it to a land of traders, and set it down in a city of shopkeepers. Then he took a cutting from the land and planted it in good, well-watered soil, like a willow on a riverbank. It sprouted into a flourishing vine, low to the ground. Its branches grew toward the eagle and the roots became established— A vine putting out shoots, developing branches.
7-8 “‘There was another great eagle with a huge wingspan and thickly feathered. This vine sent out its roots toward him from the place where it was planted. Its branches reached out to him so he could water it from a long distance. It had been planted in good, well-watered soil, And it put out branches and bore fruit, and became a noble vine.
9-10 “‘God, the Master, says, Will it thrive? Won’t he just pull it up by the roots and leave the grapes to rot And the branches to shrivel up, a withered, dead vine? It won’t take much strength or many hands to pull it up. Even if it’s transplanted, will it thrive? When the hot east wind strikes it, won’t it shrivel up? Won’t it dry up and blow away from the place where it was planted?’”
* * *
11-12 God’s Message came to me: “Tell this house of rebels, ‘Do you get it? Do you know what this means?’
12-14 “Tell them, ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its leaders back to Babylon. He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, making him swear his loyalty. The king of Babylon took all the top leaders into exile to make sure that this kingdom stayed weak—didn’t get any big ideas of itself—and kept the covenant with him so that it would have a future.
15 “‘But he rebelled and sent emissaries to Egypt to recruit horses and a big army. Do you think that’s going to work? Are they going to get by with this? Does anyone break a covenant and get off scot-free?
16-18 “‘As sure as I am the living God, this king who broke his pledge of loyalty and his covenant will die in that country, in Babylon. Pharaoh with his big army—all those soldiers!—won’t lift a finger to fight for him when Babylon sets siege to the city and kills everyone inside. Because he broke his word and broke the covenant, even though he gave his solemn promise, because he went ahead and did all these things anyway, he won’t escape.
19-21 “‘Therefore, God, the Master, says, As sure as I am the living God, because the king despised my oath and broke my covenant, I’ll bring the consequences crashing down on his head. I’ll send out a search party and catch him. I’ll take him to Babylon and have him brought to trial because of his total disregard for me. All his elite soldiers, along with the rest of the army, will be killed in battle, and whoever is left will be scattered to the four winds. Then you’ll realize that I, God, have spoken.
22-24 “‘God, the Master, says, I personally will take a shoot from the top of the towering cedar, a cutting from the crown of the tree, and plant it on a high and towering mountain, on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow, putting out branches and fruit—a majestic cedar. Birds of every sort and kind will live under it. They’ll build nests in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will recognize that I, God, made the great tree small and the small tree great, made the green tree turn dry and the dry tree sprout green branches. I, God, said it—and I did it.’”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
The Jewish people were fond of discussing the wise sayings of the ancients and were always seeking to discover deeper meanings. Ezekiel’s hope was that this allegory would open deaf ears.
For greater understanding, here’s background history:
“This allegory is about three kings (“branch” and “seedling”), because the cedar tree represents the royal dynasty of David. David’s dynasty was very important because through it God had promised to bring a Savior to His people and to the world. (See the book of Samuel.) A descendant of David had to sit on the throne so that the blessing of God’s covenant with David might rest on the land.” –Wiersbe Study Bible
The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar swooped down on Judah in 597 B.C., he deposed King Jehoiachin and took him and his family and staff to Babylon. He also took the temple treasures and ten thousand officers, artisans, and soldiers.
After deposing Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah the new king and changed his name to Zedekiah. Remember Zedekiah? He was the one who ask the prophet Jeremiah to pray for him. Nebuchadnezzar “planted” him in Judah where he “grew” for eleven years. But instead of producing a tree, King Zedekiah produced a humble vine. Though Jeremiah did pray for him, Zed didn’t obey God, died in Babylon. Would this mean that the line of David would be broken, not to produce a Savior, the Messiah? Uh, nope!
God was, is and always will be in control. The messianic line did not die out. After Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their land. One of their leaders was Zerubbabel, a great-great-grandson of godly King Josiah and an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The day was dark for the people of Israel; but when the day is the darkest, the Lord’s promises shine the brightest. God’s people today need to take hold to this prophetic Word, which is a light that shines in our dark world. Just as Jesus fulfilled prophecy and came the first time to die for the sins of the world, so He will come the second time and reign over His righteous kingdom. The tender “shoot” of David will be the mighty monarch, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
God did it then and he’ll do it again—and again until we see how great and loving He is.
“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and themorning star rises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 2:19 NIV
Jesus changes everything. Believe and be saved forever. He is coming back, you know.
Lord,
Thank you for teaching us through the prophets. Though challenging, we see a greater picture of who you are—and that’s the point, isn’t it, Lord? Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole while working on and in me until I am all you created me to be.
In Jesus Name, Amen
And we’re singing…Do it Again—Elevation Worship
Walking around these walls I thought by now they’d fall But You have never failed me yet
Waiting for change to come Knowing the battle’s won For You have never failed me yet
Your promise still stands Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness I’m still in Your hands This is my confidence You’ve never failed me yet
I know the night won’t last Your word will come to pass My heart will sing Your praise again
Jesus You’re still enough Keep me within Your love, oh My heart will sing Your praise again (Oh, yes, it will)
Your promise still stands Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness I’m still in Your hands This is my confidence You’ve never failed
Your promise still stands Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness I’m still in Your hands This is my confidence You’ve never failed me yet Never failed me yet Oh, oh-oh
I’ve seen You move, You move the mountains And I believe I’ll see You do it again You made a way, where there was no way And I believe I’ll see You do it again
I’ve seen You move, You move the mountains And I believe I’ll see You do it again You made a way, where there was no way And I believe I’ll see You do it again
I’ve seen You move, You move the mountains And I believe I’ll see You do it again You made a way, where there was no way And I believe I’ll see You do it again I’ll see You do it again
Your promise still stands Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness I’m still in Your hands This is my confidence You’ve never failed…
The prince came riding into a small village on his white horse and decided to stop and rest. While getting a drink at the well, he noticed a rather plain looking young woman passing by. He loved her the minute he saw her. He could see in her what others didn’t see—the potential to love him back unconditionally. He asked her to marry him. She was so astonished that such a beautiful soul of a man would even pay attention to her much less want to marry her and take her from rags to riches! So, she said yes.
But it gets weird. The prince told her he would have to leave for now, but he promised he would be back to get her and then they would live happily ever after. But while he was gone, the girl told no one of her encounter with the prince. She went on to live her life as she had before the “engagement”. She worked hard to survive the day to day and partied even harder. She never told anyone of her encounter with the prince. She dated others and lived her life as if she had never experienced this love expressed to her through the prince!
Amazing story, right? Unimaginable outcomes for a girl who had nothing, rescued from poverty and promised everything—but then forgot the promise.
But we’re not like that as God’s people, his church of believers—are we?
Ezekiel 16, The Message
Your Beauty Went to Your Head
1-3 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her outrageous violations. Say this: ‘The Message of God, the Master, to Jerusalem: You were born and bred among Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
4-5 “‘On the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you weren’t bathed and cleaned up, you weren’t rubbed with salt, you weren’t wrapped in a baby blanket. No one cared a fig for you. No one did one thing to care for you tenderly in these ways. You were thrown out into a vacant lot and left there, dirty and unwashed—a newborn nobody wanted.
6-7 “‘And then I came by. I saw you all miserable and bloody. Yes, I said to you, lying there helpless and filthy, “Live! Grow up like a plant in the field!” And you did. You grew up. You grew tall and matured as a woman, full-breasted, with flowing hair. But you were naked and vulnerable, fragile and exposed.
8-14 “‘I came by again and saw you, saw that you were ready for love and a lover. I took care of you, dressed you and protected you. I promised you my love and entered the covenant of marriage with you. I, God, the Master, gave my word. You became mine. I gave you a good bath, washing off all that old blood, and anointed you with aromatic oils. I dressed you in a colorful gown and put leather sandals on your feet. I gave you linen blouses and a fashionable wardrobe of expensive clothing. I adorned you with jewelry: I placed bracelets on your wrists, fitted you out with a necklace, emerald rings, sapphire earrings, and a diamond tiara. You were provided with everything precious and beautiful: with exquisite clothes and elegant food, garnished with honey and oil. You were absolutely stunning. You were a queen! You became world-famous, a legendary beauty brought to perfection by my adornments. Decree of God, the Master.
15-16 “‘But your beauty went to your head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street and taking him into your bed. You took your fine dresses and made “tents” of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of thing should never happen, never.
What a Sick Soul!
17-19 “‘And then you took all that fine jewelry I gave you, my gold and my silver, and made pornographic images of them for your brothels. You decorated your beds with fashionable silks and cottons, and perfumed them with my aromatic oils and incense. And then you set out the wonderful foods I provided—the fresh breads and fruits, with fine herbs and spices, which were my gifts to you—and you served them as delicacies in your whorehouses. That’s what happened, says God, the Master.
20-21 “‘And then you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had given birth to as my children, and you killed them, sacrificing them to idols. Wasn’t it bad enough that you had become a whore? And now you’re a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to idols.
22 “‘Not once during these years of outrageous obscenities and whorings did you remember your infancy, when you were naked and exposed, a blood-smeared newborn.
23-24 “‘And then to top off all your evil acts, you built your bold brothels in every town square. Doom! Doom to you, says God, the Master! At every major intersection you built your bold brothels and exposed your sluttish sex, spreading your legs for everyone who passed by.
25-27 “‘And then you went international with your whoring. You fornicated with the Egyptians, seeking them out in their sex orgies. The more promiscuous you became, the angrier I got. Finally, I intervened, reduced your borders and turned you over to the rapacity of your enemies. Even the Philistine women—can you believe it?—were shocked at your sluttish life.
28-29 “‘You went on to fornicate with the Assyrians. Your appetite was insatiable. But still you weren’t satisfied. You took on the Babylonians, a country of businessmen, and still you weren’t satisfied.
30-31 “‘What a sick soul! Doing all this stuff—the champion whore! You built your bold brothels at every major intersection, opened up your whorehouses in every neighborhood, but you were different from regular whores in that you wouldn’t accept a fee.
32-34 “‘Wives who are unfaithful to their husbands accept gifts from their lovers. And men commonly pay their whores. But you pay your lovers! You bribe men from all over to come to bed with you! You’re just the opposite of the regular whores who get paid for sex. Instead, you pay men for their favors! You even pervert whoredom!
35-38 “‘Therefore, whore, listen to God’s Message: I, God, the Master, say, Because you’ve been unrestrained in your promiscuity, stripped down for every lover, flaunting your sex, and because of your pornographic idols and all the slaughtered children you offered to them, therefore, because of all this, I’m going to get all your lovers together, all those you’ve used for your own pleasure, the ones you loved and the ones you loathed. I’ll assemble them as a courtroom of spectators around you. In broad daylight I’ll strip you naked before them—they’ll see what you really look like. Then I’ll sentence you to the punishment for an adulterous woman and a murderous woman. I’ll give you a taste of my wrath!
39-41 “‘I’ll gather all your lovers around you and turn you over to them. They’ll tear down your bold brothels and sex shrines. They’ll rip off your clothes, take your jewels, and leave you naked and exposed. Then they’ll call for a mass meeting. The mob will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. They’ll burn down your houses. A massive judgment—with all the women watching!
41-42 “‘I’ll have put a full stop to your whoring life—no more paying lovers to come to your bed! By then my anger will be played out. My jealousy will subside.
43 “‘Because you didn’t remember what happened when you were young but made me angry with all this behavior, I’ll make you pay for your waywardness. Didn’t you just exponentially compound your outrageous obscenities with all your sluttish ways?
44-45 “‘Everyone who likes to use proverbs will use this one: “Like mother, like daughter.” You’re the daughter of your mother, who couldn’t stand her husband and children. And you’re a true sister of your sisters, who couldn’t stand their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
46-48 “‘Your older sister is Samaria. She lived to the north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister is Sodom, who lived to the south of you with her daughters. Haven’t you lived just like they did? Haven’t you engaged in outrageous obscenities just like they did? In fact, it didn’t take you long to catch up and pass them! As sure as I am the living God!—Decree of God, the Master—your sister Sodom and her daughters never even came close to what you and your daughters have done.
49-50 “‘The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury—proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor. They put on airs and lived obscene lives. And you know what happened: I did away with them.
51-52 “‘And Samaria. Samaria didn’t sin half as much as you. You’ve committed far more obscenities than she ever did. Why, you make your two sisters look good in comparison with what you’ve done! Face it, your sisters look mighty good compared with you. Because you’ve outsinned them so completely, you’ve actually made them look righteous. Aren’t you ashamed? But you’re going to have to live with it. What a reputation to carry into history: outsinning your two sisters!
53-58 “‘But I’m going to reverse their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters. And—get this—your fortunes right along with them! Still, you’re going to have to live with your shame. And by facing and accepting your shame, you’re going to provide some comfort to your two sisters. Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will become what they were before, and you will become what you were before. Remember the days when you were putting on airs, acting so high and mighty, looking down on sister Sodom? That was before your evil ways were exposed. And now you’re the butt of contempt, despised by the Edomite women, the Philistine women, and everybody else around. But you have to face it, to accept the shame of your obscene and vile life. Decree of God, the Master.
59-63 “‘God, the Master, says, I’ll do to you just as you have already done, you who have treated my oath with contempt and broken the covenant. All the same, I’ll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I’ll make a new covenant with you that will last forever. You’ll remember your sorry past and be properly contrite when you receive back your sisters, both the older and the younger. I’ll give them to you as daughters, but not as participants in your covenant. I’ll firmly establish my covenant with you and you’ll know that I am God. You’ll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you, make everything right after all you’ve done, it will leave you speechless.’” Decree of God, the Master.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
(With the help of the Wiersbe Study Bible)
This long chapter contains some of the most vivid language found anywhere in Scripture. It is addressed to the city of Jerusalem but refers to the entire nation. The chapter traces the spiritual history of the Jews from “birth” (God’s call of Abraham) through “marriage” (God’s covenant with the people), and up to their “spiritual prostitution” (idolatry) and the sad consequences that followed (ruin and exile).
Israel is pictured here as an unwanted child—exposed, abandoned, and left to die, but then rescued by the Lord and, eventually, becoming his wife. Many Jews were excessively proud of their heritage and called the Gentiles “dogs,” but the Lord reminded them that they had descended from the Amorites and the Hittites.
God compared Jerusalem to a newborn child whose parents did not give her the humane treatment that every baby deserves. The Lord passed by, saw the helpless baby, took pity on her, and saved her. By the power of His Word He gave her life, and this was wholly an act of divine grace. God was saying, “Remember who you were when I found you and what I have done for you!”
When Israel became prosperous and famous, she forgot the Lord who had given her such great wealth and began to use God’s generous gifts for worshiping idols. She worshiped the creation rather than the Creator and abandoned her “husband” for false gods. She even paid others to sin with her. The Lord announced that Israel would suffer a great discipline. Her punishments would be for being a prostitute, an adulteress, and an idolater because the nation had committed those very sins.
The people left in Israel were proud and haughty, overfed, idle, unconcerned about the poor and needy, and guilty of detestable acts against each other for sport.
Are we living any better today, church? Members of local churches commit the same sins we hear on the news, and the media loves to expose believers of their sins so their sins are minimized. The sad news is that congregations are being torn apart because of professed believers in Jesus who are involved in lawsuits, divorces, immorality, family feuds, crooked business deals, financial scandals, and a host of other activities that belong to the world. No wonder lost sinners pay little attention to our public ministry or our personal witness!
Israel will experience a great restoration. The captives in Babylon would be restored, return to the land, and rebuild the temple. God’s goodness in allowing this to happen would bring them to shame and repentance. Paul explains, “Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:3-4, ESV
Believe, call on the Name of Jesus, repent and be saved.
Lord,
Help us. Save us from ourselves. May we never forget what you have done for us and be humbled at the very thought of you dying in our place of punishment for our sins.
We show faith when we flip the switch on in a dark room expecting the energy running through the house to give us light. We show faith when we turn on the faucet to take a shower fully expecting clean water to pour out for our cleansing. We show faith when we turn on the stove to cook our food. We have faith that our vehicle will start when we turn the ignition to begin the engine that drives to work or school. We expect things to happen when we push, pull, flip, start, or drive. Engineers have done their part, we do our part to purchase and use what has been created as our faith grows greater in things.
God’s people had put their faith in things. All their hope was based on what their shiny objects of affection placed on shrines in their homes, at the city gate or on a hill would do for them. They forgot what God commanded of them, “There shall be no other gods before Me” as well as the other Big Ten given to them to protect them. They left their God who loved them more than they could imagine and put all their faith and hope in things they created with their own hands. This is called sin. God is “dead-set” against sin that leads to death and destruction, sending his beloved into the fire of faithlessness.
Without God, apart from God, we are in trouble. We have no divine protection, leaning only on our puny, unreliable human reasoning to solve problems. We gather provisions in ways that are not pleasing to God. When we are on our own, we do want comes “naturally.” We desperately grab for all we can get before anyone else can get it, having it “our way,” feeling we are in competition with the whole world. We plot, scheme, cheat and lie, pushing others down while we climb over the bodies who got in our way as we grab all the resources we think we need to be successful.
Ezekiel 15, The Message
Used as Fuel for the Fire
1-3 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, how would you compare the wood of a vine with the branches of any tree you’d find in the forest? Is vine wood ever used to make anything? Is it used to make pegs to hang things from?
4 “I don’t think so. At best it’s good for fuel. Look at it: A flimsy piece of vine, thrown in the fire and then rescued—the ends burned off and the middle charred. Now is it good for anything?
5 “Hardly. When it was whole it wasn’t good for anything. Half-burned is no improvement. What’s it good for?
6-8 “So here’s the Message of God, the Master: Like the wood of the vine I selected from among the trees of the forest and used as fuel for the fire, just so I’ll treat those who live in Jerusalem. I am dead set against them. Even though at one time they got out of the fire charred, the fire’s going to burn them up. When I take my stand against them, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll turn this country into a wilderness because they’ve been faithless.” Decree of God, the Master.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
Ezekiel spoke about a vine, an unfaithful wife, and three shoots from a tree, and each of these images conveyed God’s truth to those who really wanted to understand. These pictures and parables not only described the sins of the nation of Israel, but they also declared her terrible judgment. Ezekiel spoke to his people in the most vivid language found anywhere in Scripture, but the messages fell on deaf ears.
“I Am the Vine; You Are the Branches”—Come to the Vine who gives Life
The vine is an image found often in God’s Word to us. Jesus compared Himself to a vine and His disciples to branches in the vine, because we depend wholly on Him for life and fruitfulness (See John 15). Without Him, we can do nothing. Unattached, we do not receive the life-giving sustenance we need to live. Branches cannot live without being connected to the vine.
Ezekiel’s contribution to the recurring illustration was to point out the worthlessness of the vine if it doesn’t bear fruit. If a tree becomes useless, we can at least cut it down and make something useful out of the wood; but what can we make out of the wood of a vine? We can’t even carve a tent peg or a wall peg out of it! It’s good for only one thing, and that’s fuel for the fire. If the wood was useless before being thrown into the fire, it’s even more worthless after it’s been singed and marred by the flames.
Those of us who are branches in Jesus Christ, the true vine, need to take this lesson to heart. If we fail to abide in Christ, we lose our spiritual power, wither, and fail to bear fruit for His glory. The fruitless branch is tossed aside and eventually burned (John 15:6). This burning does not mean condemnation in the lake of fire, for no true believer can be condemned for sins for which Jesus died (John 6:37; 10:27–29; Rom. 8:1). Jesus paid it all, all our sins. Stay attached the One who gives life forever with Him. Let us grow our faith in Jesus, as a habit of daily life.
Let us worship the God of Promise who never lets us down. Believe and call on the Name of Jesus. He is our Vine, we are His branches. He is the one who grows the fruits of His Holy Spirit on our branches that give and sustain Life.
This song is playing in the background as I meditate on God’s Word today….
Promises (Maverick City Music)
God of Abraham You’re the God of covenant and of faithful promises Time and time again You have proven
You’ll do just what You said
Though the storms may come and the
Winds may blow I’ll remain steadfast And let my heart learn when You speak a word it will come to pass
Great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me From the rising sun to the setting same I will praise Your name Great is Your faithfulness to me
God from age to age,
Though the earth may pass away, Your word remains the same Your history can prove there’s nothing You can’t do, You’re faithful and True
Though the storms may come and the
Winds may blow I’ll remain steadfast And let my heart learn when You speak a word it will come to pass
Great is Your faithfulness to me Great is Your faithfulness to me From the rising sun to the setting same I will praise Your name Great is Your faithfulness to me
Oh, oh your faithfulnesss it never runs out
I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation He’ll never let me down
I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation He’ll never let me down
I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation He’ll never let me down
I put my faith in Jesus My anchor to the ground My hope and firm foundation He’ll never let me down//
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 ESV
God chose David, described as “a man after God’s own heart” as the one who would be the next king of Judah. All his other brothers did not pass God’s heart check.
God is God and we are not. Nothing is hidden from God. God knows what we are thinking. God knows where our thinking will go before the first words of the thought come to our minds. God knows how we will respond as a result of what we are thinking.
What were we thinking? What is occupying our thoughts right now? What we think and what we do reflects the condition of our hearts. We need to check our hearts daily to stay healthy and clean of all impurities—all that offends God and stands in the way of our hearing and seeing God. The “idols” of our day that enter our hearts and monopolize our minds and subsequent behaviors of pursuit of them, may look differently than in Ezekiel’s day but they are just as lethal to our relationship to God.
Ezekiel 14, The Message
Idols in Their Hearts
1-5 Some of the leaders of Israel approached me and sat down with me. God’s Message came to me: “Son of Man, these people have installed idols in their hearts. They have embraced the wickedness that will ruin them. Why should I even bother with their prayers? Therefore tell them, ‘The Message of God, the Master: All in Israel who install idols in their hearts and embrace the wickedness that will ruin them and still have the gall to come to a prophet, be on notice: I, God, will step in and personally answer them as they come dragging along their mob of idols. I am ready to go to work on the hearts of the house of Israel, all of whom have left me for their idols.’
6-8 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: ‘God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols. Turn your backs on all your outrageous obscenities. To every last person from the house of Israel, including any of the resident aliens who live in Israel—all who turn their backs on me and embrace idols, who install the wickedness that will ruin them at the center of their lives and then have the gall to go to the prophet to ask me questions—I, God, will step in and give the answer myself. I’ll oppose those people to their faces, make an example of them—a warning lesson—and get rid of them so you will realize that I am God.
9-11 “‘If a prophet is deceived and tells these idolaters the lies they want to hear, I, God, get blamed for those lies. He won’t get by with it. I’ll grab him by the scruff of the neck and get him out of there. They’ll be equally guilty, the prophet and the one who goes to the prophet, so that the house of Israel will never again wander off my paths and make themselves filthy in their rebellions, but will rather be my people, just as I am their God. Decree of God, the Master.’”
* * *
12-14 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, when a country sins against me by living faithlessly and I reach out and destroy its food supply by bringing on a famine, wiping out humans and animals alike, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job—the Big Three—were alive at the time, it wouldn’t do the population any good. Their righteousness would only save their own lives.” Decree of God, the Master.
15-16 “Or, if I make wild animals go through the country so that everyone has to leave and the country becomes wilderness and no one dares enter it anymore because of the wild animals, even if these three men were living there, as sure as I am the living God, neither their sons nor daughters would be rescued, but only those three, and the country would revert to wilderness.
17-18 “Or, if I bring war on that country and give the order, ‘Let the killing begin!’ leaving both people and animals dead, even if those three men were alive at the time, as sure as I am the living God, neither sons nor daughters would be rescued, but only these three.
19-20 “Or, if I visit a deadly disease on that country, pouring out my lethal anger, killing both people and animals, and Noah, Daniel, and Job happened to be alive at the time, as sure as I am the living God, not a son, not a daughter, would be rescued. Only these three would be delivered because of their righteousness.
21-23 “Now then, that’s the picture,” says God, the Master, “once I’ve sent my four catastrophic judgments on Jerusalem—war, famine, wild animals, disease—to kill off people and animals alike. But look! Believe it or not, there’ll be survivors. Some of their sons and daughters will be brought out. When they come out to you and their salvation is right in your face, you’ll see for yourself the life they’ve been saved from. You’ll know that this severe judgment I brought on Jerusalem was worth it, that it had to be. Yes, when you see in detail the kind of lives they’ve been living, you’ll feel much better. You’ll see the reason behind all that I’ve done in Jerusalem.” Decree of God, the Master.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
Even if “everyone” is doing it, worshiping idols that satisfy our selfness, is it right? We tell our kids, if “everyone” jumped off a bridge, would you do it? And do we really want the answer? Mm, God does.
“All we are like sheep”, so God’s Word identifies us. Shepherds will tell you that sheep are kind of dumb. If you can get the leader to go the way you want them to go, then the rest will follow. But if even one turns and goes another way, they will all turn and go that way. Yep, “all we like sheep” without a Shepherd will follow whoever is in front of us. Sad, but true.
Outwardly the religious leaders were serving the Lord, but secretly they were worshiping idols. Instead of loving God and His Word, the leaders loved idols. Yet they piously sat before God’s prophet and acted spiritual. Listening to Ezekiel speak was more like religious entertainment than receiving spiritual warnings about their sins.
Are we like that? Ears to hear and eyes to see but refuse to leave our idol thinking?
Believers today probably would not love physical idols—images. But anything that replaces God in our affections and our obedience is certainly an idol. What we have in our hearts affects what we see and how we live. If Christ is our Lord, then we will have no place for idols.
“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 1 Peter 3:15, NLT
Repentance is a change of mind; it means turning from sin and turning to the Lord. The Jewish exiles needed to change their minds about idols and the sin of worshiping idols and then turn to the Lord who alone is worthy of worship. Like the believers in the church of Ephesus, they had left their first love (Revelation 2:4).
The condition of a person’s heart determines his or her response to the Lord’s test, for God deals with people according to their hearts. Warren Wiersbe relates, “The attitude of the lost world today is that no absolutes exist; therefore, we cannot know “truth.” Satan is the liar and the deceiver, and He has blinded the minds of people so that they believe lies and reject God’s truth. We must do all we can to share the truth of the Word with a blind and deaf world, trusting the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and ears and save them by His grace.” Wiersbe Study Bible
Why did the Lord choose these three men? For one thing, all three of them are identified in the Old Testament Scriptures as righteous (See Genesis, Job and Daniel for clarification.) All of them were tested and proved faithful—Noah by the flood, Daniel in the lions’ den, and Job by painful trials from Satan. All were men of faith.
God doesn’t punish people because of the sins of others, nor will God accept the righteousness of others to compensate for the wicked deeds of sinners. EXCEPT when Jesus was sent to save us from our sins. The only time God abandoned this principle was when Jesus Christ His Son died on the cross: He suffered for the sins of the world. When we trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, we receive the gift of His righteousness, and God accepts us because of His Son.
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24
Jesus enters our hearts, forgives us of all our sins and makes us right with God! May we live as redeemed people with God’s smile reflecting on our faces because of His glory working deep within our hearts!
Lord,
You are God and I am not. What you did for me I could not do for myself. I believe. Purify my heart today and renew my spirit with Your Holy Spirit who lives in me.
“Lookin’ good!” We love to hear it said to us. All of us, believers or not, have a desire to look good to others. This desire is so strong within us that this pride/envy way about us expresses itself easily in our thoughts, spilling out into what we say. Looking good to each other promotes exaggerating what is really real and what is truthfully going on. Let’s call exaggerations for what they really are. It is called lying in God’s thinking and God does not like liars. He abhors false statements that lead people away from Truth.
Friends, as leaders in the church, we do it all the time! When we talk with other leaders in God’s churches who also boast about “how many” they have on any given Sunday, the numbers are always exaggerated. When we talk of how many are serving in the church, the numbers are rounded up when reported to others. (We rarely ask each other what God is doing in our own lives to help us grow in His character!) When we lie (exaggerate) from the platform or in the hallways to the congregation we think that it will encouraging more from them, but when we lie the opposite happens, especially when people see what is really going on. Trust is ruptured and is hard to rebuild.
When the illusion that we are successful overrides what is truth, we are in trouble.
I’m reminded of Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” We produce illusions with our lies. God gives visions to those who will listen to understand in obedience to Him. Jesus, God’s Son, was Truth and came to show us how to live a life pleasing to God. So, what do we seek and what will we choose—man-made illusions or visions (revelations) from God?
Ezekiel points out, at least to me today, just how much we disappoint God when we lie—just to look good.
Ezekiel 13, The Message
People Who Love Listening to Lies
13 1-2 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, preach against the prophets of Israel who are making things up out of their own heads and calling it ‘prophesying.’
2-6 “Preach to them the real thing. Tell them, ‘Listen to God’s Message!’ God, the Master, pronounces doom on the empty-headed prophets who do their own thing and know nothing of what’s going on! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals scavenging through the ruins. They haven’t lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on God’s Day of Judgment. All they do is fantasize comforting illusions and preach lying sermons. They say ‘God says . . .’ when God hasn’t so much as breathed in their direction. And yet they stand around thinking that something they said is going to happen.
7-9 “Haven’t you fantasized sheer nonsense? Aren’t your sermons tissues of lies, saying ‘God says . . .’ when I’ve done nothing of the kind? Therefore—and this is the Message of God, the Master, remember—I’m dead set against prophets who substitute illusions for visions and use sermons to tell lies. I’m going to ban them from the council of my people, remove them from membership in Israel, and outlaw them from the land of Israel. Then you’ll realize that I am God, the Master.
10-12 “The fact is that they’ve lied to my people. They’ve said, ‘No problem; everything’s just fine,’ when things are not at all fine. When people build a wall, they’re right behind them slapping on whitewash. Tell those who are slapping on the whitewash, ‘When a torrent of rain comes and the hailstones crash down and the hurricane sweeps in and the wall collapses, what’s the good of the whitewash that you slapped on so liberally, making it look so good?’
13-14 “And that’s exactly what will happen. I, God, the Master, say so: ‘I’ll let the hurricane of my wrath loose, a torrent of my hailstone-anger. I’ll make that wall you’ve slapped with whitewash collapse. I’ll level it to the ground so that only the foundation stones will be left. And in the ruin you’ll all die. You’ll realize then that I am God.
15-16 “‘I’ll dump my wrath on that wall, all of it, and on those who plastered it with whitewash. I will say to them, There is no wall, and those who did such a good job of whitewashing it wasted their time, those prophets of Israel who preached to Jerusalem and announced all their visions telling us things were just fine when they weren’t at all fine. Decree of God, the Master.’
17-19 “And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say ‘Doom’ to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, ‘Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn’t live. You’ve lied to people who love listening to lies.’
20-21 “Therefore God says, ‘I am against all the devices and techniques you use to hunt down souls. I’ll rip them out of your hands. I’ll free the souls you’re trying to catch. I’ll rip your magic bracelets and scarves to shreds and deliver my people from your influence so they’ll no longer be victimized by you. That’s how you’ll come to realize that I am God.
22-23 “‘Because you’ve confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you’ve made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn’t even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you’re finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I’m going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you’ll realize that I am God.’”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
“For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
If we consistently chase the natural desire to “look good” we will always be at war with evil and ourselves. Evil delights in our fall to pride, envy and jealousy for he is the inventor of all that is not God. However, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Instead of spending wasted time and energy on lying to look good—SEEK all who is good alone and that is God.
We are all called to minister and our calling is serious.“To be called of God and to speak His Word to His people is serious and should not be taken lightly. To assume a place of ministry without being called and gifted is arrogance, and to manufacture messages without receiving them from the Lord is impertinence. The false prophets in Ezekiel’s day were guilty of both. Popularity is not a test of truth. History shows that those who spoke the truth were usually rejected by the majority, persecuted, and even killed.” –Warren Wiersbe
The Ministry of Reconciliation—Who we are and what we do
“Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, NIV (Emphasis mine.)
Be reconciled to God through repenting to Jesus, His Son.
Really believe that what God says and does is really real. And we will be saved forever.
Trust God. God always says what He will do.
God does not lie. Jesus is Truth. His Holy Spirit guides us in all that is truth. We can rely on Him.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Instead of looking good, seek the only one who is good—God.
Lord,
Help us to run from the temptation to merely look good for the moment but to be reconciled to you who is good.
God will do what He says He will do. It doesn’t matter who we are and what we do really; what matters is who is God, are we with God, following in His ways, hearing and believing, seeing and praising Him as the One and Only God. Are we rebels or realists when it comes to God. God is real. The question is: Do we rebel against Him or really believe what God says to be really real? Pack up your thoughts and camp on these thoughts. Our behaviors will reflect what we really believe to be true.
Ezekiel 12, The Message
Put the Bundle on Your Shoulder and Walk into the Night
1-6 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, you’re living with a bunch of rebellious people. They have eyes but don’t see a thing, they have ears but don’t hear a thing. They’re rebels all. So, son of man, pack up your exile duffel bags. Leave in broad daylight with everyone watching and go off, as if into exile. Maybe then they’ll understand what’s going on, rebels though they are. You’ll take up your baggage while they watch, a bundle of the bare necessities of someone going into exile, and toward evening leave, just like a person going off into exile. As they watch, dig through the wall of the house and carry your bundle through it. In full sight of the people, put the bundle on your shoulder and walk out into the night. Cover your face so you won’t have to look at what you’ll never see again. I’m using you as a sign for the family of Israel.”
7 I did exactly as he commanded me. I got my stuff together and brought it out in the street where everyone could see me, bundled it up the way someone being taken off into exile would, and then, as the sun went down, made a hole in the wall of the house with my hands. As it grew dark and as they watched, I left, throwing my bundle across my shoulders.
8-10 The next morning God spoke to me: “Son of man, when anyone in Israel, that bunch of rebels, asks you, ‘What are you doing?’ Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says that this Message especially concerns the prince in Jerusalem—Zedekiah—but includes all the people of Israel.’
11 “Also tell them, ‘I am drawing a picture for you. As I am now doing, it will be done to all the people of Israel. They will go into exile as captives.’
12-15 “The prince will put his bundle on his shoulders in the dark and leave. He’ll dig through the wall of the house, covering his face so he won’t have to look at the land he’ll never see again. But I’ll make sure he gets caught and is taken to Babylon. Blinded, he’ll never see that land in which he’ll die. I’ll scatter to the four winds those who helped him escape, along with his troops, and many will die in battle. They’ll realize that I am God when I scatter them among foreign countries.
16 “I’ll permit a few of them to escape the killing, starvation, and deadly sickness so that they can confess among the foreign countries all the disgusting obscenities they’ve been involved in. They will realize that I am God.”
* * *
17-20 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, eat your meals shaking in your boots, drink your water trembling with fear. Tell the people of this land, everyone living in Jerusalem and Israel, God’s Message: ‘You’ll eat your meals shaking in your boots and drink your water in terror because your land is going to be stripped bare as punishment for the brutality rampant in it. All the cities and villages will be emptied out and the fields destroyed. Then you’ll realize that I am God.’”
* * *
21-22 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, what’s this proverb making the rounds in the land of Israel that says, ‘Everything goes on the same as ever; all the prophetic warnings are false alarms’?
23-25 “Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, This proverb’s going to have a short life!’
“Tell them, ‘Time’s about up. Every warning is about to come true. False alarms and easygoing preaching are a thing of the past in the life of Israel. I, God, am doing the speaking. What I say happens. None of what I say is on hold. What I say, I’ll do—and soon, you rebels!’ Decree of God the Master.”
* * *
26-28 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, do you hear what Israel is saying: that the alarm the prophet raises is for a long time off, that he’s preaching about the far-off future? Well, tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, “Nothing of what I say is on hold. What I say happens.”’ Decree of God, the Master.”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
When the Lord called Ezekiel, He warned him that he would be ministering to a rebellious people who were spiritually blind and deaf. In fact, Isaiah knew the same. Prophets knew going in that they would be God’s mouthpiece to those who did not want to hear what God had to say. In order to understand God’s truth, we must be obedient to God’s will, but Israel was far from being obedient. This is rebellion. Disobedience.
Another object lesson—
God told Ezekiel to play the part of a fugitive escaping from a war-torn city. Part of Ezekiel’s act occurred in the daytime and part at twilight. The curious onlookers were curious but perplexed Jewish exiles watched his strange actions.
Packing the knapsack and leaving it at a distance from his house conveyed the message that the leaders in Jerusalem were planning to flee for their lives.
Digging through the wall from outside the house pictured the Babylonian army’s assault on the walls of Jerusalem.
That evening, when Ezekiel climbed out of the house through the hole and with the knapsack on his back, he depicted the Jewish leaders secretly trying to flee from the city to save their lives.
In the “final act”, Ezekiel ate his meal outside and continued the fugitive image. He ate his bread and drank his water—a frugal meal—while shaking and trembling as if in fear. He was illustrating the tragic condition of the people in Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege.
What God says, He will certainly do—
The people were quoting a proverb that may have been devised by the false prophets to humiliate Ezekiel: “Everything goes on the same as ever; all the prophetic warnings are false alarms”. But they soon learned that what God says, He will do. With God’s timing, appearances can certainly be misleading. We must obey and wait.
Because Ezekiel’s prophecies had not been fulfilled immediately, the people were paying more attention to the false prophets than to the true Word of God. The visions of the false prophets were false and misleading, and they delivered only the soothing and encouraging words that the people wanted to hear (See Jeremiah for the same rendition of the same song). God made clear that His word would be fulfilled with no more delays.
God made it clear that Ezekiel’s words would be fulfilled very soon when He stated, “Nothing of what I say is on hold. What I say happens.” Six years later, the Babylonian army breached the walls of Jerusalem, and Ezekiel’s predictions came true.
How tragic when people deliberately ignore or reject the dependable Word of God and put their faith in the empty but soothing words of false religious leaders!
Believe on the Name of Jesus and be saved. Jesus IS coming back, you know. That is our message for today. Listen for the voice of the Lord over all other voices and obey. Trust and obey for there’s no other way….
Lord,
Thank you for more and more words of wisdom from Ezekiel and the other prophets carried down through the generations until Jesus came, died, rose again to pay what we owe for living rebellious lives in sin. Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole. Thank you for teaching us how to live by your example of how to love, showing mercy and grace. That you for helping us steer away from all that is not you in this world. We do not deserve what you have done for us. I believe. I trust you, dear Jesus. I love you with all my heart, mind and soul. Therefore, I am confident because of you in me. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
We love going along and getting along with others, don’t we? Quarreling with someone over the details of how to do something becomes exhausting so we avoid getting caught up in the conversation. But when wrong is brushed up and glossed over to look like right, we must stand up and say what is right, not for the fight, but because we care about the outcome of the lives of those around us. This is the attitude that we must take when standing firm for what God says is right and good for our best life. Paul reminds us to “Speak the Truth in love”. Love guides the conversation because we are not concerned with winning the argument but with winning a soul for Christ.
When right looks good and seems right enough what do we do? Do we go along just to keep the peace? Is there a better way, a better plan? I’m glad you asked. (Pretty sure I heard you ask.) In this world, evil has an uncanny knack at making lifestyles and ways of thinking look good, fun and oh so right in all walks of life, in all workplaces and in all churches where people gather to work, play, rest, eat, and relate. But we must be careful and not be fooled. If what seems right doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. If it is confusing, goes against what God’s Word says, then evil has a hold already.
What do we do? How do we know? Ask God. We are told to ask for wisdom, insight and understanding and God will give these precious gifts of discernment of right and wrong to us. We ask God to point out what is really true, right and good according to His will and plan and His Holy Spirit living in us will guide and lead us. This promise of guidance is forever. We listen after the ask! God will never let us down in our quest for His wisdom.
Evil has become so obscene and perverted in Ezekiel’s day that God has “picked him up” and taken him above the world to “see” a vision of what is really going on in the minds of evil leaders, men who “draw up blueprints for sin” and lead others to sin. God not only shows Ezekiel what is right but what to say against what is evil.
God also delivers an encouraging promise to Ezekiel at the end of this “seeing” that shows us that God is always and forever in control over evil. God wins. Always. The promise is this: I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. When we “clean house” of all that is not God, God returns to guide and lead us into all that is good for us. The depth of love we have for God is measured in our obedience to Him. We are His people; He is our One and Only God. This is the most important relationship we will ever have and we must protect it at all costs. It’s a matter of life or death!
Ezekiel 11, The Message
A New Heart and a New Spirit
11 Then the Spirit picked me up and took me to the gate of the Temple that faces east. There were twenty-five men standing at the gate. I recognized the leaders, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah.
2-3 God said, “Son of man, these are the men who draw up blueprints for sin, who think up new programs for evil in this city. They say, ‘We can make anything happen here. We’re the best. We’re the choice pieces of meat in the soup pot.’
4 “Oppose them, son of man. Preach against them.”
5-6 Then the Spirit of God came upon me and told me what to say: “This is what God says: ‘That’s a fine public speech, Israel, but I know what you are thinking. You’ve murdered a lot of people in this city. The streets are piled high with corpses.’
7-12 “Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: ‘The corpses that you’ve piled in the streets are the meat and this city is the soup pot, and you’re not even in the pot! I’m throwing you out! You fear war, but war is what you’re going to get. I’m bringing war against you. I’m throwing you out of this city, giving you over to foreigners, and punishing you good. You’ll be killed in battle. I’ll carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you’ll realize that I am God. This city will not be your soup pot and you won’t be the choice pieces of meat in it either. Hardly. I will carry out judgment on you at the borders of Israel and you’ll realize that I am God, for you haven’t followed my statutes and ordinances. Instead of following my ways, you’ve sunk to the level of the laws of the nations around you.’”
13 Even while I was preaching, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. I fell down, face to the ground, and prayed loudly, “O Master, God! Will you completely wipe out what’s left of Israel?”
14-15 The answer from God came back: “Son of man, your brothers—I mean the whole people of Israel who are in exile with you—are the people of whom the citizens of Jerusalem are saying, ‘They’re in the far country, far from God. This land has been given to us to own.’
16-20 “Well, tell them this, ‘This is your Message from God, the Master. True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through other lands. All the same, I’ve provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you’ve gone. I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you’ve been scattered and give you back the land of Israel. You’ll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols. I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. I’ll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. Then you’ll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!
21 “‘But not those who are self-willedand addicted to their rotten images and obscene idols! I’ll see that they’re paid in full for what they’ve done.’ Decree of God, the Master.”
22-23 Then the cherubim spread their wings, with the wheels beside them and the Glory of the God of Israel hovering over them. The Glory of God ascended from within the city and rested on the mountain to the east of the city.
* * *
24-25 Then, still in the vision given me by the Spirit of God, the Spirit took me and carried me back to the exiles in Babylon. And then the vision left me. I told the exiles everything that God had shown me.
Lord,
Give us your spirit of discernment for the world we live in right now. Show us and teach us your ways, your will along with your plan for our good and best life. I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul. I love hearing from you! Renew my mind, cleanse my heart and fill my soul with all of you in all of me.
Holy is the Lord, God Almighty The earth is filled with His glory Holy is the Lord, God Almighty The earth is filled with His glory The earth is filled with His glory
Yeah, it’s rising up all around It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown It’s rising up all around It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown
Together we sing And everyone sing
Holy is the Lord, God Almighty The earth is filled with His glory…
(Excerpt from Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio)
This is the anthem I hear in the background of the reading today as the Glory of God ascends and fills The Temple in Ezekiel’s vision of what is to come for Israel.
Ezekiel 10, The Message
The Temple, Filled with the Presence of God
10 When I next looked, oh! Above the dome over the heads of the cherubim-angels was what looked like a throne, sky-blue, like a sapphire!
2-5 God said to the man dressed in linen, “Enter the place of the wheels under the cherubim-angels. Fill your hands with burning coals from beneath the cherubim and scatter them over the city.”
I watched as he entered. The cherubim were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man entered. A cloud filled the inside courtyard. Then the Glory of God ascended from the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the Temple. The cloud filled the Temple. Court and Temple were both filled with the blazing presence of the Glory of God. And the sound! The wings of the cherubim were audible all the way to the outer court—the sound of the voice was like The Strong God in thunder.
6-8 When God commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. One of the cherubim reached into the fire, took some coals, and put them in the hands of the man dressed in linen. He took them and went out. Something that looked like a human hand could be seen under the wings of the cherubim.
9-13 And then I saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub. The wheels radiating were sparkling like diamonds in the sun. All four wheels looked alike, each like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they went in any of the four directions but in a perfectly straight line. Where the cherubim went, the wheels went straight ahead. The cherubim were full of eyes in their backs, hands, and wings. The wheels likewise were full of eyes. I heard the wheels called “wheels within wheels.”
14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first, of an angel; the second, a human; the third, a lion; the fourth, an eagle.
15-17 Then the cherubim ascended. They were the same living creatures I had seen at the Kebar River. When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved. When the cherubim spread their wings to take off from the ground, the wheels stayed right with them. When the cherubim stopped, the wheels stopped. When the cherubim rose, the wheels rose, because the spirit of the living creatures was also in the wheels.
18-19 Then the Glory of God left the Temple entrance and hovered over the cherubim. I watched as the cherubim spread their wings and left the ground, the wheels right with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Temple. The Glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20-22 These were the same living creatures I had seen previously beneath the God of Israel at the Kebar River. I recognized them as cherubim. Each had four faces and four wings. Under their wings were what looked like human hands. Their faces looked exactly like those I had seen at the Kebar River. Each went straight ahead.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
In response to Ezekiel’s concern and prayer, the Lord revealed His glory once again in the same vision he had went he first encountered God’s Glory. The burning coals were significant. Not only would the city be visited by famine, pestilence, and sword, but it would be burned by the Babylonian army. This was not a fire of purification, such as Isaiah experienced (Is. 6:5–7), but a fire of condemnation and judgment for their obscene acts of perverted sins.
“One new feature is the fact that the living creatures “were full of eyes all around” just like the wheels, which suggests God’s omniscience. God’s providential working in this world is not aimless or haphazard. Everything is done by the One who ‘works all things according to the counsel of His will’”. (Ephesians 1:11). –Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible
Ezekiel was learning that the most important part of the nation’s life was to magnify the glory of God. The presence of God in the sanctuary was a great privilege for the people of Israel to see and feel the Glory of God, but it was also a great responsibility. The glory of God cannot dwell with the sins of God’s people. So, the Glory of God left the sanctuary and sin-filled people were judged.
Before Jesus came to earth people were lost without God. People had little to no relationship with God. Access to God was broken. Why? Simply because of their sins that stood between God and mankind. God cannot be or dwell where sin is living. God still loved His created people so He made a way for mankind and this sin problem to be reconciled once and for all the people of the earth. God wanted to reconnect with us! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Jesus, His only Son, God in flesh, came to earth, leaving His glory behind, to dwell with mankind. He came “not to be served but to serve”. He came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus was and is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus pointed the way to God in all that he said and did. His final mission was to pay for our sins, not in part but the whole, once and for all. Jesus sacrificed his life and stood in our place of judgment for our sins and laid down his life and took our punishment. Those who believe are redeemed and set free. Debt paid in full.
WE are God’s Temple
Jesus now lives in all who believe in all that He is, said and did for us. He forgave all our sins and set us free to love like He loves—without conditions. Paul describes our bodies as temples in which God’s glory can now dwell as believers, saved by the grace of God through Jesus, His Son. God no longer desires a building but he desires us!
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
When we repent of sins, our sins are forgiven! The glory of God, His Holy Spirit, comes to live in us! Wow! What a blessed thought! My sins forgiven—all of them—and the glory of God lives in me! Holy is the Lord, God Almighty indeed!
Paul goes to emphasize the responsibility we have as believers with whom Christ dwells in His glory within us as His “temple” …
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Upon forgiveness from our sins, God helps us to flee from sin, resist the temptations to sin and avoid allowing the sins of the past to revisit His temple—us! His Holy Spirit living in us will help us when we ask. Remember God cannot and will not live where sin resides. If we desire God to live in us, then we need to repent and clean house, the temple—us.
One final thought from Paul, the Apostle of Jesus, who teaches us…
“This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.” Colossians 1:26-29, Msg
Yes, Paul, we hear you, it is just that simple. Believe and be saved. Forever. Keep the temple clean for God’s Presence.
Lord,
Create in me a clean heart in which you can enter in and live forever. Renew my spirit with Your Holy Spirit. Restore the joy of your salvation in and through me. May my face reflect the Light of your glory and grace.
In Jesus Name, Amen
And I’m singing…
Lord prepare me To be a sanctuary Pure and holy Tried and true And with thanksgiving I’ll be a living Sanctuary, oh for You
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood? In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
I want to tell you a story of the time Randy and I accepted a request to come as speakers for a church youth camp in another state. This camp was located much farther north from where we had directed camps in our home state. We were accustomed to teens behaviors and the need for fun as they learned, so we thought we were prepared. We completed directing the camp in our home state with a bevy of incredible staff around us. So sure, going to do what God gave us to do in another state seemed fun.
However, we learned quickly, in the first hours of arrival, that we (the two of us) were the “staff” over all their teens. This meant that our work was to not only be the speakers but included being with the teens 24/7 as counselors in the dorms, prepare other games and activities during the day, lead worship and watch over them as they ate their meals. This was not fully disclosed in the original “ask.” But, no problem, kids are kids, God gave us lessons we had used for the youth in our home state, so we were armed and ready to do the work. Then we met the teens.
Most of the teens brought (or dumped in some cases) by extended family expected us to “save their souls” and make ‘em behave. Alrighty, then. The attitude of both teens and family were going to be a challenge. Still, not to worry, Randy and I were public school teachers, we know challenging circumstances. We took this in stride and adjusted our plans–greatly. Because of past experiences as youth workers and school teachers, God had given us an arsenal of activities in our life time of service to Him.
Then we met them as a group. They had looks that could kill on their faces that would challenge any teacher. They pushed each other around as the “pecking order” for the week was being established. This happens in any group of people you put together. That was expected. What was not expected was the level of meanness and the darkness that seem to come in the door with most of them. Being a “sheltered” servant, I suppose, Randy and I agreed this was our first experience of being in a small room with a clear and present Darkness of evil face to face. It threw us, but it did not overwhelm us. As we worshiped together the first night, it became evident we were entering a war with Satan and his demons for the souls of these teens. Obscenities became louder than worship.
After the service, Randy and went to a room to pray, to cry out to God, actually. Lord, what have we gotten ourselves into? Why did you send us here? What are we to do, how are we to say what you want to those who refuse to hear? Everything changed—first in us. This was lesson one for us. Never assume that what you have prepared for one group, even though effective, will be “just as good” for another. We took the basic elements and changed how we presented it.
Darkness had a hold on these kids. Even as we worshiped, one young lady at the back mocked all the words of the songs of worship we sang. This is just one example, so you can get a feel of the room. The second night we challenged the Darkness. We saw a glimpse of “Light” from the eyes of a few gathered there. We zeroed in on their Light, though dim. They seemed to be begging for help and we wanted to reach out to them. Randy ended his talk that night, not with a warning or punishment but with a call to learn and grow, while dismissing those who did not want to be there. “Leave, go away, for right now.” “We see God in some of you who want more, so stay for a few minutes and let’s talk.” I know this sounds like a weird “call to meet Jesus,” but it worked.
Darkness was asked to leave and it went out with the mockers and bullies. We stayed with the “remnant” who cried and thanked us. (I’m tearing up in emotion just to remember this time of challenging the Darkness!) We prayed together for God’s intervention to deliver us from the Darkness that presented as “bullies” of our faith in Him. We prayed for words of wisdom and insights for our behaviors as representatives of our Savior, Jesus.
After prayer and talking for over an hour, the remnant, “marked” as God’s Light, became more confident. Their timid, bowed heads, turned upward with smiles on their faces. God reigns, no matter the number, and His glory was seen that night. We took them on as “staff” for the week. They faced the bullies with strength because of knowing Jesus was living powerfully in them. Interestingly, The teens who left looked in the windows from the outside wondering what was going on.
Sometimes you just keep doing what God asks, and you wait. We did what God asked us to do, said what He wanted us to say, even when it surprised even us. We loved on the bullies prompted by the Darkness (which threw them off guard) while we encouraged the “children of Light.” The last night of camp together in worship, we provided the opportunity to wash each other’s feet as Jesus did and took communion together. Randy explicitly gave them a choice without cause for reprisal or reprimand. “Do this only because you want to and because you love Jesus and want to become like Him.”
As those “of the Light” came to sit in the circles, one for boys and one for girls, we waited for others to join. We went on with the service of feet washing, explaining why Jesus washed the dirty feet of his disciples. One by one, those from the Darkness timidly got up from their chairs and joined the circle with tears rolling down their faces. God was in charge. God was honored. Jesus was declared King above all! Hallelujah!
I must ask, are you “marked” for Jesus? I pray you are and that people know you are marked as one of His.
Ezekiel 9, The Message
A Mark on the Forehead
Then I heard him call out loudly, “Executioners, come! And bring your deadly weapons with you.”
2 Six men came down the road from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying his lethal weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen with a writing case slung from his shoulder. They entered and stood by the bronze altar.
3-4 The Glory of the God of Israel ascended from his usual place above the cherubim-angels, moved to the threshold of the Temple, and called to the man with the writing case who was dressed in linen: “Go through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city.”
5-6 I listened as he went on to address the executioners: “Follow him through the city and kill. Feel sorry for no one. Show no compassion. Kill old men and women, young men and women, mothers and children. But don’t lay a hand on anyone with the mark. Start at my Temple.”
They started with the leaders in front of the Temple.
7-8 He told the executioners, “Desecrate the Temple. Fill it with corpses. Then go out and continue the killing.” So they went out and struck the city.
While the massacre went forward, I was left alone. I fell on my face in prayer: “Oh, oh, God, my Master! Are you going to kill everyone left in Israel in this pouring out of your anger on Jerusalem?”
9-10 He said, “The guilt of Israel and Judah is enormous. The land is swollen with murder. The city is bloated with injustice. They all say, ‘God has forsaken the country. He doesn’t see anything we do.’ Well, I do see, and I’m not feeling sorry for any of them. They’re going to pay for what they’ve done.”
11 Just then, the man dressed in linen and carrying the writing case came back and reported, “I’ve done what you told me.”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
Not all the teens at that camp came forward. Not all were saved from walking in Darkness but they were presented with the Light that dispels darkness for life. Most received Jesus and decided He was better than walking in darkness. We pray and obey and God does the rest.
Ezekiel’s message, and delivering it must have broken his heart. After reading the Book of Lamentations and seeing how thoroughly the Lord “dealt in fury” with His people we feel his broken heart. Jeremiah was an eyewitness of the destruction of Jerusalem, and what Ezekiel predicted, Jeremiah saw fulfilled.
Lost people in our world should break our hearts. Pray for the lost. Be the Light of Jesus who reflects from our being so they will know and be drawn to Him, too. Never give up. Be marked for Christ forever!
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 