Month: May 2026

The Man Clothed in Linen (Part 2)

Dan

It was my observation that things are getting serious for Jerusalem as I continue reading Ezekiel. The first thing I notice in chapter 9 is the markings of the remnant. But there are many things that define that mark. I can feel the remnant shuddering at the changes in the City of God. I am sure Ezekiel could see the coming trouble and felt sad for his people. I hope they did what they could to turn the tide back toward the one true living God. Once the angels begin, if you did not have the mark, you were going to die. If you did have the mark, you were heading to Babylon. Not much of a prize for being in the remnant. But at least they were alive and part of the solution, not part of the problem.

I think it prudent to say clearly – we are not getting it done of we think a simple ‘turning away’ from the sin of others is good enough. We do not hate them for their actions, but we do not embrace or overlook the sin. We avoid embracing their sin. We need to carefully reach out to help others find their way out of trouble. We mourn for them as we see their trouble unfold. We grief for those who push away from our hand of help. This tenderness we exude comes from God, we are asked to love mercy and walk humbly, for it is only the Grace of God that separates us from those we are trying to help.

Ezekiel 9:3-6 says — Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. As I listened, he said to the others, follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers, and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary. So, they began with the old men who were in front of the temple. [NIV]

As we can see the Angels rolling through the city, hunting down the remnant, placing a mark on their head of all people on the list, this clearly pulls the remnant from the fire, they are a work of grace, chosen by God so the Angels know to leave them alone. This mark is a calming event, they become aware they will be spared from the coming trouble.

The Hebrews who stayed clear of the rampant sin were protected from this extreme judgement. I think they would have been somewhat concerned, but they had been trusting God, so there was no real solid reason to not continue trusting God. They had every reason to expect delivery or extreme peace as they endured trouble. We are reminded of the sealing of the servants of God on their forehead (see Revelation 7:3) as the same mark of care and protection related in this passage. In Ezekiel’s situation the mark protects from immediate death, in the case of Revelation, the seal protects the heart from seduction soon to happen.

So, the angelic work begins. Without exception they move through the city. They kill everyone who does not have the mark. The make no distinction to age or sex. There is no hesitation. Those who live in sin die. They resisted change, they pursued their sin even when pursued by God, day after day. They died.

The angels are warned to avoid people with the mark. Coming close would create unnecessary concern and fear. God made promises to the remnant (see Jeremiah 15:11) they should be treated well; things should go well for them. We have no evidence that any of the remnant were killed. And, in other times we see the remnant protected such as when the romans crushed Jerusalem, the Christians were secured in a city called Pella. None perished. But the unbelieving Jews were crushed. They started in the temple, the Ringleaders were first meet the judgement, the sin of the eminent were quashed first. Then the rest of the city. There is no place to hide. Therefore… I choose Jesus.

The Man clothed in Linen (Part 1)

Dan

It was my observation in the vision that Ezekiel saw and wrote about in Chapter 9 was focused on the trouble in the land, the misbehavior and evil that was accomplished in Jerusalem even within the walls of the temple. He clearly was troubled by the situation, and he felt the sorrow from God. He could see the outcome of their lifestyle choices and was helpless to cause them to change. Yet he stayed the course, speaking God’s thoughts and visions even though he could see the ruin coming. It is inevitable, where sin is not abated, judgement will follow. He could see the angels coming with weapons. He knew why they were at the gate. They could not be allowed at the altar if they were not on God’s business. Then the glory of God, the shelter of the Hebrews, started moving towards the threshold of the temple. This is the beginning of the departure of God from Jerusalem. How helpless Ezekiel must have felt as he watched this vision unfold in front of his eyes.

Ezekiel 9:1-3 says — Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand. And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple [NIV].

God wanted Ezekiel’s complete attention, he speaks in a loud voice, a commander is speaking to his cohort. Position the troops. Prepare for action. Notice, at this point, we are no longer talking about the Chaldeans attacking. We are talking about Angels attacking the city. This is a demonstration of the strong hand of the Lord. Clearly, we need to respect the hand of God and his Angels. (see Isaiah 8:11-13)

God deployed one Warrior Angel to support Moses during the extraction of the Hebrews from Egypt. Two Warrior Angels were deployed to support operations during the destruction of the city of Sodom. Now we see six Warrior Angels deployed to flatten the population of Jerusalem, one for each gate of the city. No one leaves the city unless they have permission. In Revelation we see seven warrior angels pouring out the vials of God’s wrath (see Revelation 16:1). Considering the magnitude of the last days, we clearly see the importance of this event.

Standing near the altar, they felt no sense of personal revenge from God. This was not his intent. Rather, we see a pure and sincere expression of the Glory of God. The angels were standing near the altar to protect the integrity of the Altar as they went forward to accomplish their tasks. I think that God was determined to follow through with his plan; however, he took no pleasure from the work accomplished by the Angels.

The identity of the man clothed with linen is not clear, but I think we are looking at our High Priest, who arrived at this event with a writer’s inkhorn, similar to one carried by the ancient attorneys and lawyers.  I think this is Jesus, functioning as the Mediator (see 1 Timothy 2:5) isolating the remnant from the swords of Justice yielded by the warrior angels (see Revelation 19:6-10).  In the middle of this vision, we see God’s grace, his redemptive solution, his son, protecting the remnant.

Finally, we see the removal of God’s glory from the core of the temple. It moves to the outer edge of the temple. In chapter 10, God’s Glory departs the temple. This is a sad day, but God’s mercy is still present. His Mediator is on the job, protecting the remnant. Having read this passage and considered the gravity of the message, my decision is easy. I choose Jesus.

Where is thy Sting?

Dan

It was my observation while reading Ecclesiastes 8:6-8 that Solomon commented on proper government procedures, future events, our time of death, and sustained wickedness in this section. Solomon writes — For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery. Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come? As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, wickedness will not release those who practice it [NIV].

Most of us know that a wise man can manage his time and make proper judgements during his day-to-day business activities. He knows God’s assurance — blessings will come his way. Yet, at the same time, Solomon is aware that few men are actually wise. Furthermore, he knows that are times when even the wisest man does not foresee the trouble on the horizon. And that leads to our passage in Ecclesiastes; there is a proper time for us to deal with every matter and there is a proper method to deal with each matter, with all this coming together at the right time, to accomplish the task in front of us. When we accept our task from God, he will help us understand what is needed to render the task successful. We know that following the plan will rarely lead to trouble (if we stick to the plan).

It is a sure thing that we are in the dark about the future, in fact it could be considered a blessing to be in the dark about the future. Who among us at the Saturday morning group (given most are type A personalities) could resist tweaking God’s plan to ‘make it better.’ I think it is a blessing we do not know. We are told what we need to know when we need to know it. I suggest you are wary of those who would tell you about the future. They may have some insight and perhaps not. Seek God before you act.

Now, being weighed down by misery can be difficult, to be sure, we are pressed from all sides when trouble strikes. It could be troubles with the county or the city, it could be troubles with your HOA, it could be troubles with your neighbors, it could be troubles with your family. For example, when dealing with government or local officials we may struggle because they have one way, a method or process to fix the issue. If we have little recourse or interest to avoid the problem, misery can move right in and take control of our thoughts. Then we experience diminished capability to solve problems because we are burning brain cells thinking about our angst, caught in the circle of self-pity and misery. Once we let misery in, we will make mistakes, and we will have trouble pushing misery back out the door.

What do we do? We take the time to get close to God, we look for the goodness in the situation, even if it is hard to find. We work hard to be attentive to the situation and look for the best (not easiest or quickest) path to rectify the situation and move on – never looking back. Most of all – We look for God.

On the topic of death. We cannot run from death, hide from it, or otherwise prevent death. When our soul is called to heaven we shall respond. Fortunately, it is not an actual time of sorrow, rather it is a time to be happy. We are going home. Evil men fear this event, they try to bring their fear into our life and supplant our hope. But the evil will fail, those who remain will be sad for a season, but in time they will heal and move on. Evil does not ultimately win, it may hinder us for a time, but it will never win. Jesus has already won!

The deeper truth — for those who have yielded to Jesus, misery has no hold, death has no sting. Death calls us home and we go, knowing of the glory to come. Evil men try to crush our hope, but they cannot. We stand tall, pointing to the cross, resting in the restoration of Grace – safe in the palm of the Father.

I choose Jesus.

The Wise Man Knows

Dan

It was my observation while reading Ecclesiastes, Solomon delivers an amazing compendium of wisdom in chapter 8, the nature of true humility is defined, a humility enabled by all manner of awareness and discernment. Solomon intimates that the wise man exhibits meekness, walks with God, and this man attributes all success in their life to the grace of God. This wise man knows himself and carries himself in an upright manner, is content with the things of God, is content in his place; is gentle in spirit, and able to communicate this wisdom to others in need.

Solomon wrote In Ecclesiastes 8:1-5 — Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes their hard appearance. Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure [NIV].

Solomon suggests in this passage that wisdom will give a person an edge when dealing with the people that surround him. It will help him understand things, respond properly to things, and know when to stand firm and when to let things go. This type of wisdom sets us apart from others. Not in a haughty or elevated manner, rather in a quite assurance, grace driven, confident but not arrogant, competent but not prideful, comfortable with himself and others in his circle. This person becomes rich, not in wealth but in contentment, content with the place his has been given by God. Content that he walks with God, content he serves God, and lives at peace with his surroundings.

This type of personality will cause people to find us, Why? We are helpful on the job or at home with our family. This type of personality is somebody you can rely upon. This type of person understands the larger set of events that drive our life, understands the times and events, can identify the critical junctures and discern how to move through the mine field of life events (see 1 Chronicles 12:32).

This wisdom can make his face shine with the shekinah glory that comes from God, similar to what happened to Moses when he walked from the mount. This kind of wisdom brings a quiet confidence that draws people to his words and guidance (see Job 29:7) and the strength of his resolve when confronted with the troubles of the day, bring peace to the situation. This man is never very far from God’s word. He walks with God. There is something obliging and calming with God’s presence.

Even for people who have a natural temperament of roughness, they are altered by the grace of God, they become easier to be around, mild and gentle – God intervenes into their firmness and build a new work in them. Their roughness is transformed by God into courage, their strength is transformed by God into helpmates for the downtrodden.  They see beyond themselves to the larger need.  Where wisdom goes, grace follows. The enemy has no tools, no power, no influence. God prevails.

In this wisdom a wise man learns to respect the things of God. When dealing with human affairs we are to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to hand all things that belong to God, to God. We know to always hold back and not quarrel with God in any fashion or manner. We may not always know why God has moved the way he did, we may not understand why evil appears to be prevailing at the moment, we may not always understand why we feel alone. But the wise man knows – above all else, to respect the decisions of God, in all things, in all places, no matter what the outcome.

I choose Jesus.

Detestable Things

Dan

It was my observation that detestable things come in many flavors. Ezekiel defines one of those flavors in Chapter 8. He makes it clear the Hebrews are on a dark slippery slope downward. They thought they were on high ground and were navigating the speedbumps, even pointing fingers at others. But they were fools. They criticized God; they missed the point. Never pick a fight with the boss. All you do is condemn yourself. This is the plain truth. They work hard to deflect their sin to something else or somebody else. But God sees through their smoke screen and knows the plain truth.

Ezekiel 8:14-18 says – He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz. He said to me, do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this. He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. He said to me, have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! Therefore, I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them. [NIV]

Only a fool believes he can deceive the one true living God. Only a fool thinks they can negotiate with God. Never assume you can divert God’s attention and then press him to play the nice guy card, getting yourself off the hook. Bad move. He is a merciful God but not a pushover. Ezekiel, speaking for God, hammers out the message. In his kindness, he leads us firmly, holding our hand with a strong grip, and leading us to truth. Then God looks you in the eye and says – You still want to resist? Bad move!

And so, here we are. Idols worshiped in the temple courtyard. Women mourning and weeping for Tammuz. This practice was an ancient Sumerian cult ritual commemorating the death of seasonal fertility. Not much trust of God in this activity. It was clear that atheism or some form of God denying was at the core of their idolatry. The Hebrews seems to be flippant about their view – God does not hear us, so we can do what we want to do. They seem to feel they are out of God’s purview. God’s response? I cannot hear? I am deaf?  Not really. It is because of your behavior; I choose to not hear you.

I suspect, in most of these cases that Ezekiel was prophesying about, the essential problem was a denial or disbelief of the omniscience of God, this denial feeds the Hebrew departures from his law and leads many people from today’s church into chaos. This departure, to find yourself, to find some new truth, to find an easier path to walk, to find ‘real’ truth, to find a better set of friends, this departure starts when we stop accepting the omniscience of God. Huh? We start doubting that God knows everything about everything. We start assuming he is dated, out of step with the new and improved moral ideas. This pushes you to step away from an ignorant God. God starts feeling a little too small for your ‘higher level’ world. You start feeling like you got a handle on things and a better plan than God has. You start thinking God’s old, outdated moral law is not as pure as your new moral law. You start feeling superior in thought to this ancient God. And, in that instant, you are starting to cross the line.

And so, we place the branch to our nose to negate the detestable things. The branch, in this case, is often thought to be a highly aromatic branch used to shield us from detestable odors. Odor? You know. The kind of aroma we smell in a field frequented by a large herd of Javelina. We are talking about that unmistakable smell. You cannot see them, but you can hear their hooves and that detestable smell. That unmistakable smell. You know danger is near and you try hard to convince yourself you can avoid the trouble. After all, Javelina cannot see very well!  As for me?     I choose Jesus.