Category: Human

By the Rivers of Babylon

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It was my observation browsing through Ezekiel, this vision in chapter 1 is not like any other message I’ve ever read in scripture. Ezekiel is very precise about his calling. He was sitting by a tributary of the river of Babylon (Euphrates), known as the Kabar River. It did not go unnoticed by me that the Euphrates is one of the four rivers that’s connected to the Garden of Eden. It also did not go unnoticed to me that Bob Marley wrote about this river in his landmark song by the Rivers of Babylon. We all know that Bob pulled his references from Psalms 137; but it was humorous to me that Ezekiel was hanging out on that same river that Bob spoke about. I’m not saying in any way that Bob’s writings are prophetic. In fact, he got the intent of Psalms 137 wrong. But I am observing that you find the most interesting things when you allow God to muse a bit with you. And so, we begin.

Ezekiel 1:1-3 says — In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians [NIV].

In this opening statement from Ezekiel, we find the circumstances of this prophecy. The first few verses define who was involved and they define the audience. The entire 1st chapter is a vision of God. I’ve read this chapter 15-20 times. I’ve done audio playbacks; I’ve tried to draw pictures of what the vision shows. This initial vision is the most profound thing I’ve encountered in a long time when reading the scriptures. Of course, this vision will have some competition for that prize once I finally get to evaluating Revelation. On the other hand, there is Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel 37. We will see.

The glory of God (the vision) starts with the discussion of the four angels with extended wings, supporting him. There is a strong loud continuous sound of thunder accompanied by lightening. And it outlines the wheels that they stand upon and the platform that they hold up with their wings. Then the throne and the one true living God is described. When you try to make a picture from this vision, God’s glory speaks loud and clear. You are foolish to approach this without reverence, I think we would be at peril if we disrespect this vision. We see the throne through a veil, we are given but a glimpse.

We can glean from these initial few verses the approximate time when Ezekiel started his ministry. He was about 30 years old. He was at the age to be called into priesthood. But we should note Ezekiel is in Babylon. There are no temple services. God calls him to be a prophet to the people that have rejected the covenant law and temple ordinances. Later, God tells Ezekiel that he will need a forehead made out of flint. Why? Because the message he is to deliver will cause people to reject him aggressively.

The deeper truth. Most everybody I read agrees that this calling came to Ezekiel on the sabbath day. John’s Revelation also came on the sabbath day (see Revelation 1:10). Then we read in Lamentations 1:7 — In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the enemy, with no one to help her, the adversaries saw her and mocked at her downfall [NKJV].

The footnote in NKJV for Lamentations 1:7 suggests the Hebrew term underneath the word ‘downfall’ refers to the mocking of sabbaths. Do you think that it was an accident the initial message of Ezekiel and message of Revelation were delivered to the prophets on the Sabbath? I think not. Both messages have been mocked by men. I choose Jesus.

Those who Escape will Remember Me

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It was my observation that Israel had been the Jewel in God’s eye, but Ezekiel (chapter 6) declares they were polluted in their thinking and their actions. Their worship of the most high had become wallowing in the mud of idolatry. For reasons that seemed foolish they had rejected the realness and beauty of the one true living God for wooden and stone models of a god ‘made up’ by humans.

You might think the Hebrew nation is going to crash and burn. A sad ending indeed. But this is not the ending. God’s grace will prevail. There will be a remnant. A few will remain faithful, they will suffer along with the rest of the Hebrews, but they will not perish. Their heart will not be extinguished. God will shelter them from the deepest troubles. They will pass through the fire unblemished.

Ezekiel 6:8-10 says — But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them [NIV].

If you take a look at Isaiah 1:9 we see the same theme. The entire group deserves to be cut off, but by grace, God maintains a remnant. Some will die by the sword but some will escape. None of the people marked to fall by the sword escaped, they put their trust in the walls of the city rather than the God of the city. Their shame of trusting wood, mud and stone was their fall.  Those who trusted God, were spared and their seed became the new inhabitants of the City of God.

God’s patience left them room for repentance and for receiving forgiveness. Those who repented, escaped death, he gave them life for their repentance. This story is an encouragement to us that repentance matters. We mess up, we repent, we find forgiveness and restoration. We find a path to weather the storm and find the eye of the hurricane. It is clear this remnant was marked for salvation. God, in his foreknowledge knew who was trusting the walls of the city and who was trusting God. They were made safe by God’s mercy through their repentance.

Please understand, they did suffer, they were carried off as captives, but this was better than death. They were driven out of the promised land but not out of God’s hand. We need to learn from this small patch of history. True repentance shall be accepted by the one true living God. In this light, our troubles are permitted by God who uses the troubles to bring us back to him. Our troubles reinforce the need to repent and demonstrate the depth of his grace and mercy. We make a mess, he cleans it up, but we are wise to never think that repenting is a ‘get out of jail’ card. Sometimes we are simply placed in the eye of the hurricane while the storm rages on. We walk through the valley of death, our God is with us, even there in our deepest troubles. We rest in his peace.

Sin starts when we lose sight of God (implied Jeremiah 3:21). Repentance starts when we restore our gaze upon him. His mercy brings himself to our mind. We respond. Grace finds us in our deepest mess, he brings us hope, he brings us mercy, he brings us out. We resist, he persists. We take the role of the prodigal, we head home, and he runs out to meet us. My friends, make no mistake. God will cause us to know we are in deep trouble, that he is Lord of all, and then provide the opportunity (our choice) for repentance (and a safe haven) or complete chaos. What do you pray for? A safe haven. Let God manage the problems. Find his peace. Move towards his peace. This leads to life. I choose Jesus.

According To Your Conduct

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It was my observation while reading Ezekiel (chapter 6) we find a message of firmness interspersed with grace for the Hebrew remnant, now in chapter 7 we find a much different message for those who were continuing to resist the mercy of God and seek solace in the idols of their neighbors.  The approaching armies were pressing on Jerusalem, the imagery was strong and persistent.  Repent or die.  The messaging was very clear.  For those who do not repent there will be complete and utter destruction of Jerusalem, they will reach the end of their life.  It will not be a gentle death.

Ezekiel 7:1-4 — The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land! The end is now upon you, and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity; I will not spare you. I will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the Lord. [NIV]

In my view this was a fair and substantive warning of the judgement to come. It is unreasonable to assume that some were left unaware of the reason for the attack and siege from the Chaldeans. The prophets of God have been talking about this purging since Isaiah and even before. The message from God has been consistent. Now, the Hebrews can see the armies they have heard about.  God kept his word. Yet most of the people are deaf, foolish and uncaring of the message. Jerusalem is in deep trouble, yet the men of the city are not concerned. They are trusting the walls of the city to stop the attack.  Ezekiel continues on – the end is near, it has come, he that has ears, let him hear. This is the final event, the end that consummates the foregoing judgements.  Now the trouble begins. This is on par with the message of Genesis 6:13 to Noah, which discussed the period of their depraved state, the destruction of the Hebrew nation, the serious deluge that was the end of almost all flesh.

The message was speaking of the end, the end you have been warned about, the end that leaves a scant measure of remnant to build upon after the trouble (see Jeremiah 29:10-14). They were expecting that God would bail them out. But that was not the case (see Deuteronomy 29:28-33). Their pride had obscured the proper impact of God’s wisdom. They were fooling themselves.

This messaging provides us with hints of the things to come down the road, even after Cyrus restores Jerusalem and they wait for the final stretch until the Messiah comes onto the scene.  This hint points to the Romans (a replacement for the Chaldeans as a judgement tool). When we read messaging such as the end of things as we know it is at hand, we get the feeling of the thoughts found in Matthew 24:3. It seems that the once the Davidic reign came to close, the Hebrews were always feeling a sense of trouble on the horizon.  This day was no different. With one exception.  Destruction was going to happen soon, really soon.  The veiled warnings were coming to fruit.  If it is the last days for Jerusalem, then Daniel 12:13 applies — As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. [NIV]

Nahum tells us about this kind of evil and trouble that ensues.  There is no need to continue day-to-day business.  Nahum 1:9 says — What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time [NIV].  The Babylonian thing is a final event.  The Hebrew nation is forever changed.  The trouble is without precedent or parallel (implied in Psalms 75:8).

This situation exhibits God’s wrath, yet we do see his mercy protecting the remnant.  This font of calamity, river of pain, this is the wormwood we find in the depth of Ezekiel’s message.  His fury is poured out on the city.  Jeremiah 4:18 says — Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you.  This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart! [NIV].  As for me?   I choose Jesus.

You Have Been Unruly (Part III)

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This is the third message present in chapter 5. I addressed the first two messages from Chapter 5 in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. In this third message, we find a clear statement, I will put you down, I will bring you famine, childlessness, bloodshed, and the plague. You are done. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Ezekiel 5:14-17 says — I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning, and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the Lord have spoken. When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken [NIV]

This situation is far more dire than any previous judgement. All of the minor prophets deal with this situation. Once the judgement is over and the Hebrews limp home from Babylon, they never really get their luster restored. They dribble along looking for unity, shifting the blame for their problems from Babylon, to Alexander the Great, then the Romans. Eventually the Messiah appears. Then after the rejection of the Messiah, the temple is destroyed by the Romans and the Hebrews are scattered.

This is a bad thing, on the scale of the problem that led to Noah and the ‘reset’ button (the flood and the ark). Nobody makes fun of God. Nobody! The Hebrews have caused the other nations to mock and make fun of the one true living God. God’s judgment is announced with time for repentance provided.  Then Judgement comes — his way, his time, his severity, and with his finality. He tried extremely hard to make a path for the Hebrews. They simply balked at the gesture.  He put the hammer down.

The one true living God is determined to school this rebellious crowd. He is determined to cause the knee to bend. They will learn to fear him and then learn to respect his power and his mercy. The closer the human is to God’s grace the more severely he refutes the sin. The Hebrews were to teach the other nations about virtue and piety. They were to be water in a dry land. But they chose to abdicate that role, pursuing with vigor the depravity of the other nations. They rolled in the mud, imbedded their minds with the filth of sin. They lifted their haughty fist in anger towards God and rebelled.

The outcome. We are watching the demise of the Hebrew nation, they are reduced in stature to serve the neighboring kingdoms, they build somebody else’s city rather than their own city. In their final days of freedom, they resort to eating their children. Their lifeblood is squandered to fill their belly. Is that not similar to what is happening today? Do we not kill our own children to be free?

The sword of the Lord that once defended the city is now used to destroy the city. The warriors who attach the city move like evil beasts making prey of the inhabitants of the city. Women were not safe, children are not safe, this is a bad situation as the city grinds down to embers. No one escapes, even the ones who try to flee to the deserts and mountains are hacked down. But there is still more.

As we push our way through this story, we see God’s mercy emerging. We see the promises of a future once God pulls back his wrath and replaces it once again with his mercy. We see an amazing vision of a valley of bones that are brought back to life in Chapter 37. God promises to end the exile and then, taking a page from the new covenant yet to be written, God tells them how they will be returned to life. When we walk in with his eyes, at his pace, watching things unfold, his mercy is endless. I choose Jesus.

You Have Been Unruly (Part II)

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It has been my observation that Ezekiel 5 contains three messages, each building upon the other. I reviewed the first message in — You have been Unruly (part 1). Now we are moving to the second of the three messages. What makes Ezekiel 5 worthy of detailed examination is simple – this is the first real message presented by Ezekiel in his writings. First, the Hebrews abdicated their position as the light of the world. Second, the Hebrews are about to endure something that God has never done in the past and will not do again. Parents will eat their children and children will eat their parents. Third, God says He will bring them bloodshed, famine, drought, childlessness, and the plague. This is intense.

Ezekiel 5:8-11 says — Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. Therefore, in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds. Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look at you with pity or spare you.

This is a harsh message compared to the first message from Ezekiel 5 (see part 1 of this essay series). Is he justified? Yes. They brought this judgement to their own doorstep. They knew the right path and had experienced the benefit that comes from following the right path, yet they rejected the mantle of God and decided they could do better for themselves, if they took matters into their own hands.

Standing against the one true living God is a lonely place to be. There is nowhere on the face of this earth to hide. There is nothing that can be hidden. All is known. Those who will not acknowledge God’s judgement will suffer the consequences. The ability to hide behind the mercy of God and sidestep the judgement of God is over. The punishment of famine and cannibalism is the only path forward. When God’s sovereignty is set aside and dishonored by man’s sin, God is grieved (implied in Psalms 95:10). Their destruction brings the situation to closure. The books are balanced.

The notion of ransom and mitigation defers or resolves the impact of sin. But when God’s mercy has been stayed, then we find only wrath with no pity. This is not a place any person ever wants to find themselves. From this place there is no recourse. You never want to find yourself the intended audience of this message.  Notice the intent of Ezekiel 7:4 — I will not look at you with pity; I will not spare you. I will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD [NIV].  The Hebrews have crossed the line.

We do not know the exact details surrounding their cannibalism, it appears they engaged in this detestable practice because of the lack of food. We know that as the siege progresses, life becomes difficult, people lose hope and physical strength. They did not have any manna to help them, they were left with few options to maintain life.

Even if they managed to escape the famine, they knew the Judgement was still in full force. It did not matter where they went, God was there. He was calling them back to him. He was telling them to turn back or die. It is remarkable that so many chose death rather than repent. They were a stubborn group who had completely abandoned the God of their forefathers. The remnant was a very thin line during this period of Israelite history. But the remnant survived. I choose Jesus.

You have been Unruly (Part I)

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It has been my observation while reading the first four chapters of Ezekiel, we are presented with visions and theatrical presentations. But, at the beginning of chapter 5, things change.  Ezekiel is asked to shave his face and his head. Then he is asked to play with his fresh cut hair, throwing it into the air and cutting it with his sword. I was amazed by the sharpness of his sword, similar to a Samurai Sword, to cut in this manner. I think his head and face were shaved to reflect the stripping of Jerusalem from its inhabitants, to be set naked and bare, to be shaved with a razor (see Isaiah 7:20).  But there is more. Now, for the first time in Ezekiel, we get a plain unvarnished message. Ezekiel tells it straight. You have rebelled. You have rejected my laws. You have been unruly!

Ezekiel 5:5-7 says — This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not evenconformed to the standards of the nations around you [NIV].

Initially, God set Jerusalem up as the center of admiration from of all the nations surrounding her. The location of the promised land was not a random decision. She was not a remote village but placed in the middle of countries of large populations, these countries were full of learning and sophisticated cultures, famed for their arts and science. Yet, Jerusalem, with a culture designed by God, was a jewel amongst the best the world had to offer.

Because of her strong morality and solid culture, Jerusalem was dignified and desired above the neighboring countries and was, in many ways, excelling over all of them. Other countries clamored to do business with the Hebrews because of their honesty.  The holy mountain (city) was exalted above all the other hills (implied in Isaiah 2:2). This was the hill God desired; the other nations were aware of this affection (See Psalms 68:16). Some looked at Jerusalem with a kind-eye, others with a jealous-eye.

God set up Jerusalem on display to influence the other nations, setting the stage for the new covenant. This city on a hill was to be a candle upon a candlestick to spread the light to the dark corners of the world. The other nations had observed the excellent culture created by God’s statues and law. As noted during Soloman’s time, the people of Jerusalem were viewed as a wise people to be respected (see Deuteronomy 4:6) but now they squandered this position.

By failing to meet the goals, this flow of influence through the earth would be reserved for the latter days, the time of the new covenant. Once this situation was clear, once Jerusalem no longer held this position, the light burned dim and eventually was extinguished. In fact, the glory of the Lord departs Jerusalem as presented in Ezekiel’s visions in chapter 10.

So, it goes without much thought, when people are placed in visible leader roles by God, it may be by design they do well, not because they are particularly talented, but because it furthers the message and mission of the one true living God. For this reason, the light shines. God is glorified. When the men start carving a bit of the glory out for themselves or turn away from the source of success, then the trouble begins.

With that, we find the core of Israel’s trouble. They took their eyes off of God and his plan. They backed away from God’s structure, the Hebrews began to despise the things that their neighbors admired. Consider the confusion that followed. Consider the pettiness their neighbors saw. The neighbor’s admiration turned to greed – they desired the wealth assimilated by the Hebrews. And, with that, the downward turn was complete. How easily the snare was set for Jerusalem to fall. We must never take our eye off the prize. There will always be a snare at our doorstep. I choose Jesus.

The Clay City (Part 2)

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It has been my observation that the Clay model of Jerusalem built by Ezekiel in the fourth chapter was an interesting tool to illustrate the 390 years of apostacy within the House of Israel and the 40 years of sin for the house of Judah. First, he was asked to lay on his right side for 390 days. Then he is asked to lay on his left side for 40 days. You might wonder how he managed to eat. Well, God provided explicit instructions on provisions and food preparation. Everything was planned for Ezekiel to be successful for the 430 days (390 + 40) of hanging out on display with the clay model of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 4:4-8 says — Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So, for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel. After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm, prophesy against her. I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege [NIV].

In my essay titled ‘The Clay City (Part 1) I outlined the creation of the clay model and the 390 days of lying near the model on his left side to display the sin of the House of Israel. Now we take a look at the 40 days he laid on his right side to bear the sin of the House of Judah. This 40-year period demonstrated the reign of King Josiah.

In 2 Kings 23:27, we read — I will banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored [NIV].

I think this suggests that in spite of Josiah’s meager effort to turn the nation back to God, the House of Judah was already too deep into rebellion. The judgement of God was moving forward, the actions of the few could not hold back the judgement for the actions of the many. Their corporate sin and rebellion had set the course.

Ezekiel was told to set his face. This suggests he was to exude commitment and assurance of his actions; in much the same way the Babylonians were aggressive because Zedekiah broke his agreement with Nebuchadnezzar. This entire theatrical display was a sign to the House of Israel (the captives in Babylon) who were eyewitness to the actions of Ezekiel. I think the prophet was directed to use this imagery (theatrical display) in much the same way that Jesus made use of parables. Jesus constantly spoke about hearing things they might not fully understand, seeing things they might not fully perceive (see Matthew 13:14-15). In time, the apostles would gradually learn the meaning and then generate an understanding of what was plain, yet difficult to accept.

The message in this Clay City presentation from Ezekiel was designed to help the people see their sin and find the path to repentance. He was not saying the hand of God would be stayed, he was clear on the cause of their trouble. But he was saying there would be an eventual end to the trouble for those who repented. He was calling them to engage in sorrow, lament the cause of their trouble, reject the sin that pulled them away from God. As they embraced the shame of their sin, they started on the path towards God’s mercy.

These periods (390 years for Israel and 40 years for Judah) were the time of sorrow. They both ended with the emancipation by Cyrus and return of the Hebrews to Jerusalem (see Ezra 9:13). This display demonstrated why the Hebrews were bound by the cords of their sin (see Lamentations 1:14). But later

in Ezekiel’s ministry, he tells them of the redemption coming. As we continue through the analysis of Ezekiel in coming essays, we will soon see their sorrow does not last forever. I choose Jesus.