Month: August 2026

I have set my Face Against Them (Part 1)

Dan

It has been my observation that Ezekiel has been called, over and over again to warn the Hebrews of the impending disaster that is coming. I think that Ezekiel is grieving over the turmoil and his inability to capture the attention of his countrymen. Furthermore, his grieving reflects God’s empathy as he moves forward to the required completion of the plan (the expulsion of his children to the hands of others).

For anyone who thinks the death of Jesus was hard stuff for the Father, you are wise to be careful and peek under the hood of Ezekiel’s messages to see the emotions and feelings of God over losing his child – Israel. I know on the larger scale there is no comparison, but this event (the exile thingy) certainly was a prelude to the main event (the death of Jesus). The cause was the same. The impact was the same.

God tried to get their attention. He used visions, he used theatrics, he used direct messaging.

We, his people, understood, we simply refused to accept the message. We were happy to accept the delusion from Lucifer. How full of himself Lucifer must have been as he watched the City of God, the lamp on the hill, the candle of light, flicker and fade. But God prevailed, his victory was documented in the last few chapters of Ezekiel. Simply stated, God raises his hand and hammers Lucifer. The hammer of Thor is child’s play compared to God’s hand.  God’s city emerges and his people inhabit the city.

Ezekiel 15: 1-5 says — The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? [NIV]

Huh. What now? Ezekiel had his mind on the trouble that was descending upon Jerusalem, his city the noble structure it was, the city of God was in dire straits. God describes the city in terms of a vine. In Ezekiel’s day the vineyard was a desirable business and the vine that is fruitful was a star in the vineyard (see Judges 9:12-13 and Psalms 104:15). When Jerusalem was on task, the fruit was amazing; the city of God was a visible demonstration of the impact of blessings from God (see Psalms 80:8-15).

But, if the vine is not fruitful, it is taking up space in the vineyard (see Hosea 10:1-4). Wasted space. But God says — the wood can still be of use. He demonstrates. He gives the vine branches over to common slave labor. He says — Let us use nonproductive vines for firewood. Goodness, if the vine has no interest in producing fruit, God will still use it anyways. But the impact of the service will be more draconian.

In Hebrew culture, the vine, a highly valuable economic tool, should never be used as mere firewood. Yet, all through the Old Testament we see references that discuss making idols from firewood (see Isaiah 44:14-20). Now we see the Hebrews being called firewood. Don’t let this get by you. Make no mistake about God’s intent. El Shaddai loves every man-jack reading this essay. But Adonai calls us to repent. Elohim’s palm is opened to us, mercy at his fingertips. Jehovah-Jireh reaches out to us and makes the path home possible.

Read this slowly. He has a plan. He has things for us to do. But our resistance to the plan will have dire consequences. It will cripple our life. Resistance will cripple our relationships. Resistance is futile. The consequences will transfer our penchant for resistance to our children. They imitate us. Hanging out in the fireplace as defiant forced labor, is no place to be. I choose Jesus.

Soothsayers and Star Gazers.

Dan

It has been my observation that God has little respect for the soothsayers and star readers. He called Cyrus to pull God’s people out of Babylon and allow them to return to their homeland after 70 years of isolation and captivity in Babylon. I think there were two different things happening at the same time. First God was using Cyrus (in his heathen state) for a mission, and I think God was trying to get his attention. The message in Isaiah 47 seems to address problems in Babylon, but in a broader sense to problems with those who tried ridiculously hard to make their own version of God.

This message is partially for Cyrus, to bring him out of the sin of his legacy, to walk away from the idolatry of his ancestors, which included sorcery, star gazing, and worship of wood, metal, and stone images. Often, when people conquered a culture, they tried to act benevolent; this caused them to integrate their culture with the conquered culture. Additionally, they would often get a ‘big head’ and add a new god into the mix – themselves. I think the one true living God was trying to help Cyrus, when he when he settled into Babylon, he becomes rich and more powerful than ever. Yet he must remember that still he is but a man, and there is no God but one. Babylon fell because of Elohim, not because of Cyrus. If God wanted the Hebrews to stay in Babylon, Cyrus would have not been successful.

Isaiah 47:10-15 says You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me. Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror. All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely, they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by. That is all they are to you—these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you. [NIV]

I am not surprised to hear that the pagan rites had similar language about their puffed-up belief of self-deity. The message from the rebellious human is clear, I (the human) am, there is none (no other God) besides me. The human vainly declares – I am god! Are we astonished? Not really. The message has not changed for three centuries. Lucifer is on the job. From his viewpoint, if it is not broken, do not change it. We are told all the time by the mystics of today – look inside yourself, find the God that you are.

I have learned in my lifetime the stuff we pursue, the objects we place in our house (big boy toys) do not bring real comfort. The objects cannot feel the sound of my laugh or feel my gleeful giggle from the pleasure the objects provide. There is nothing. No response, no empathy, no power. Nothing. The tools of soothsayers and star gazers offer nothing that a 6-year-old cannot easily refute.

I have learned to appreciate why our glorious God formed the light we use every day, all day to see things. It is merely a precursor to the spiritual light that men feel enveloped around the throne. There is nothing like this in the universe. Spiritual light originates from the presence and person of God – injected into our heart. This light flows into our minds through the Holy Spirit who enlightens, teaches, and leads us to do the right thing (implied in John 14:26, John 16:13.) Selah.

I choose Jesus.

There is none besides me.

Dan

It has been my observation while reading Isaiah 45 that Cyrus was given incredible understanding of his role in God’s Plan for the emancipation of the Hebrews held captive in Babylon. God pushes his agenda forward as the sole and sovereign overseer for Israel. God then asserts his plan to use Cyrus to crush the Babylonian’s and free the Hebrews. As I review Isaiah 45, I can see Elohim’s sovereignty defined by two statements: (1) I am the Lord and there is no other; (2) I the Lord, have done these things.

Isaiah 45:5-10 says — I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. You, heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Woe to the one who says to a father, what have you begotten? or to a mother, what have you brought to birth? [NIV].

There are several fundamental truths present in this passage. The repetition of ‘I am the Lord’ drives home the point. We can do nothing else but engage in a firm belief built upon immutable truth.

I think if any person reads and embraces the purity of this message, they will not be able to form any conclusion except to abandon idolatry and self-worship immediately. I get the feeling that God was not pleased, he speaks with commanding authority, the air of majesty infuses the words, power, dominance, and sheer animosity displayed for all pretenders. This message thunders power to the world. How much stronger can it be — I am the Lord, there is no other, there is no God besides me, there is no other self-existent, self-sufficient, infinite, and eternal God. Selah.

Sometimes I drive downtown Tucson and wander through the shops on Fourth Street. Over and over, I see defiance of the one true living God. Some of the shops sell trinkets and tools that mislead and entice our people away from the things they might have learned as children. God thunders out – There is none besides me. None! The enemy smiles and continues to sell things (tools of necromancy) that appear to be innocent but compete with the one true living God, these things are counterfeits; they are mere distractions. These resellers are like a potter who makes and sells idols. They sell chaff to distract the mind and prevent the truth of God from hitting the mark. Who gave the earthly potter permission to use clay from God’s earth to build their distractions. Who gave the earthly potter permission to use things from earth to discern the future? Lucifer’s day of reckoning is coming. Selah.

Here is the deeper truth – Jehovah Shammah is the first cause of all things we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste and know. Lightening surrounds his voice when he speaks. None can stand in his presence. He says — I am the Lord, the origin of all beings, the source of all power and wisdom. He who formed the natural light (Genesis 1:3) forms the spiritual light in our hearts.

He who at first made our peace with the principles of nature has also offered peace in the affairs of men. He who allowed the absence of light, created natural light. He who brings grace to all, is slow to judgment. He who stands against evil, offers a hand of peace to avert our afflictions. Our God, in all his wisdom, brings order to chaos. I choose Jesus.

Reaching the Ends of the Earth.

Dan

It was my observation while digging into Cyrus, Babylon and the clay potters that make idols that I encountered an unexpected maxim; Woe unto him that strives with his Maker (Isaiah 45:9). God is the Maker of all things, and therefore our Maker, which is a good reason to avoid becoming contentious with him and never stand against him.

Let us not align ourselves accidently with the sly oppressors who plot designs against God concerning the deliverance of his people (Nehemiah 4:8), nor think to detain them any longer when the time shall come for their release. Woe to the insulting and designing Babylonians that set God at defiance, as Pharaoh did, and will not let his people go! (Ezra 4:5).

As I drive the streets of Tucson, I can see the homeless and the poor in their oppression, in the dejection of their spirits, some are murmuring and quarreling with themselves, family, government, or God. I do not have an answer to homelessness, but I can see the despair, and passionately believe Jesus is the answer. I think that the Gospel Rescue Mission (GRM) can help with mental health, addictions, or despair. The GRM can help them get back on their feet, Goodwill can help with job skills. Then, I think that Habitat for Humanity can provide them with a home, but at the same time I know this plan is too simplistic and unsatisfactory because they also need community. Who provides community? Only the Church can deliver real community. We are part of the solution. We need to be part of the solution.

Jeremiah 18:1-10 says — This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: go down to the potter’s house and there I will give you, my message. So, I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so, the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it [NIV].

One thing I know – if the homeless strive with their maker, then they will have difficulty egressing from the woeful condition they have entered. No one hardened his heart against God and prospers.

At best we are contentious people, quarrelsome brutes; but we are wise to let the potsherds strive with the potsherds and move forward as best we can. The despairing homeless, they are broken potsherds, and their trouble is magnified by their discord and friction – only God can repair them. We should encourage them to lay down the sword; but if they persist in rancor, caution them to never contend with Him that is infinitely wiser and more powerful than anything they will ever encounter.

So then, what do you say to the ones that earnestly long for change, quietly seeking their redemption from trouble and from sin. Two words — Grace abounds. I think the precepts of scripture are very clear – God is in control, he will help. He comes and He shepherds the flock. God is our strength. He can and will move in our life and their life. Then we live securely, confident of his majesty, and of his protection. His greatness reaches every corner, hidden street, culvert, everywhere. He will reach the ends of the earth to redeem anyone who calls his name (implied in Micah 5:4).

I choose Jesus.