Soteriology

The Dross of Silver

Dan

It was my observation in Ezekiel 22 that the message of Elohim becomes resolute. Bad stuff is at your doorstep. God tells His people that their defiance is soon to stop. Justice is the only remaining path. God tells us: I have offered you grace and mercy repeatedly. It is still on the table, but your defiance has hardened your heart. Only justice remains. You did this to yourself. I did not cause your troubles. You did!

These people were fully aware that Nebuchadnezzar was on the road. The Hebrews started moving from the hills toward the city for protection. They gathered together in the City of God—the city with walls that had never been defeated. They believed they were coming to a place of absolute safety. But then they find out they have gathered together for destruction. They were piling into a crucible, a forge, that was to hammer out all the dross from them. They are trapped by the very walls that were supposed to be their sanctuary.

Ezekiel 22:18-22 says: “Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath on you.” (NIV)

If you meditate on the notion of the City of God and all that it was intended to be, this is indeed a sad message. The melancholy is intense. The various turns of rebellion are defined in metaphors, and the use of the concept of dross is incredibly powerful. They are to be consumed in fire. If you take some time and review the message presented in Psalm 119:113-120, you will see a very similar theme.

Notice the declination of the source of dross, moving from the finer metals down to the common base metals. This appears to represent the wide strata of sin and worldviews present among the Hebrew people. These people were clearly dull of mind. The dross tells us of the dirt, the rubbish, and the useless nature of their thinking and lifestyle. It shows the vile nature of their degenerate thought leaders, and the contemptible reach of their influence to drag others down into their pit. All of this is dross compared to the holiness of Elohim. Hence, they have become useless for any service to man, and they are only suitable as firewood. These are hard words for me to write. I shudder because we deserve this same fate. May the mercy of God truly be everlasting. Selah.

We see the full wrath of Elohim defined in terms they understand. His wrath is kindled in a furnace—the very city Elohim established for them to be a candle on a candle stand. Now they are contained within a raging fire, soon to be destroyed, never to be seen again at the level of culture and beauty that God intended for them. This honor is moved to a new group, the Church, through a new covenant of grace. Elohim plans to rebuild again. His point is clear: He is full of mercy, but He will not be dismissed.

His mercy is forever, yet He requires honesty, walking in mercy, walking in humility, and treating others in a just way while showing kindness and forbearance. He delivers blessings in return. Elohim will provide the tools you need to walk with Him. Elohim tells us: I fill you with my Spirit, I write my laws upon your heart with the blood of Jesus, and I provide the ransom necessary to purchase your life.

What do I require from you? Nothing. Please exercise your free will to follow me. That is it. Take my yoke upon yourself and I will give you rest. Lordship and resurrection equal salvation, as noted in Romans 10:9. That is the whole story.  Yield your hearts and Elohim will meet you with an amazing life…

I choose Jesus.

Standing in Awe of God

Dan

It was my observation while reading the 28th chapter of Job. The Book of Job is a vital part of what is known as Scripture’s Wisdom Literature, and fittingly, these books closely associate true wisdom with the fear of God.  This is no small thing.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 implores us to “hear the conclusion of the whole matter,” instructing us to “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Proverbs 9:10 reminds us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Walking in the fear (deep respect) of the Lord yields incredible spiritual fruit:

  • It grants us deep wisdom (implied in Psalm 111:10).
  • It shields us from falling into transgression (implied in Exodus 20:20).
  • It emboldens us during evangelism (implied in 2 Corinthians 5:11).

But what does it really mean to fear God? It does not mean being terrified of Him. It means having an internal attitude of profound reverence and awe toward Him because we earnestly respect His absolute power and holiness.

When the Chips Are Down

Consider the incredible moment when Elohim spoke to Lucifer regarding Job’s character (implied in Job 1:8 and 2:3). The Lord said, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

Think about that for a moment. All throughout his immense trials, Job stood in awe of God. Now, when the chips are down, the Almighty Himself vouches for Job’s integrity. Can you think of anything grander?

Unfortunately, Job’s friends lacked this humble awe. They approached his suffering as if everything were a “known known.” They were absolutely certain they knew exactly why these tragedies were happening to Job. They presumed to fully understand Elohim’s hidden purposes and formed their rigid answers based on their own limited perspective.

Twice in this chapter, Job asked: Where is wisdom? One thing was absolutely certain—it was not to be found in the words of his friends. They completely misread Job’s troubles.

The Natural vs. The Supernatural

When Job spoke so eloquently about nature and creation, he seemed to be delivering a message to his friends: If you do not even understand the natural world—such as the complex paths of rain and thunder—how can you claim to understand the supernatural? If you cannot explain the physical and temporal, how can you presume to explain the spiritual and eternal things of God?

Clearly, his friends were completely unable to comprehend Job’s suffering. To them, it remained an incomprehensible unknown unknown.

(Note to readers: If you want to dive deeper into this concept, please review my previously posted essay, “Figuring out the Unknown Unknowns,” to fully glean the meaning behind that phrase!)

When Job’s friends pretended to understand the mind of Elohim, they did not display divine wisdom—merely flawed human wisdom. Instead, they portrayed arrogance and presumption. That is precisely why Elohim’s anger was kindled against them. Job 42:7-8 records:

“After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.’” (NIV)

Twice, Elohim explicitly stated that their message was wrong. In a beautiful twist of grace, God then asked Job to pray for the very friends who had misjudged him.

True Wisdom Defined

Here is the deeper truth at the heart of it all: Only Elohim knows why certain things happen. Only He knows why He permits specific trials. They are “known knowns” to Him, but most of the time, they are complete “unknown unknowns” to us.

So, this begs the final question: What is wisdom?

Wisdom is remaining in awe and reverent fear of God regardless of what is happening in our lives—even when we do not understand a single bit of it. Job was completely vindicated before his friends and shown to be truly wise, not because he finally figured out what Elohim was doing, but because he continued to trust Elohim even when he did not understand what Elohim was doing.

Let us look at Job’s definitive words one more time. Job 28:28 states: “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom” (NIV).

Wisdom is realizing that there are a lot of unknown unknowns out there in this life. It is choosing to stand in awe and trust Elohim through every single one of them. We may not know or understand the issue, but we rest in the fact that God does—and He has it completely under control.

As for me, I choose Jesus.

Those who Escape will Remember Me

Dan

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 hearts 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.

Like a Fragrant Incense

Dan

It was my observation that Ezekiel 20 provides an interesting view into God’s thoughts concerning rebellion and restoration. He takes a rather pragmatic view towards the practice of sin and the fragile nature of the human mind. He makes it clear the Hebrews have no more power to protect themselves than the Babylonians do (consider the things Cyrus will soon implement in Babylon).

I was reminded of 1 Kings 18:18-21; where we find a conversation between Ahab and Elijah. Ahab calls Elijah a troubler, Elijah replies I am no such thing. You abandoned God and took up Baal. Then speaking to a large group of Hebrews, Elijah was clear – he asked them how long they would waffle between two viewpoints. If Elohim is the Lord of their life, follow him; if Baal is their God, follow Baal, but get on with it, make a decision! It is very unwise to fake a relationship with God and act out the part – we must avoid contaminating his name with fake offerings and gifts (also see Amos 5:21-27).

The listeners of Ezekiel were standing naked, swimming in foolishness, for the most part unaware of the troubles coming. Soon God will separate the sheep in their midst from the imposters. He will cause them to pass through a threshold, where he determines who is part of the Remnant (Leviticus 27:32). He will isolate the rebels from the sheep, those who have brought grief, scandal, and calamity to the flock. They will be isolated and dispersed into the wilderness. They have no place in the promised land nor will they access the safe haven God has provided during their time in Babylon. The judgement of God will find them and vanquish them.

Ezekiel 20:38-44 says – I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. … Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols, for on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. … Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors. There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord [NIV].

And now we see his Grace in action. He will help them find the path to repentance and restoration. They come to understand the full depth of their rebellion. They learn how gracious God really is as they begin to walk with him. They find truth and deep joy in their walk. Their happiness points to a prevailing disposition for God’s service. Now, their offerings and fruit are found to be acceptable at the altar.

Now as they learn about the gracious attitude of God towards them, they are overcome with his kindness, the blush as the recall their poor attitudes and rebellion towards the one true living God. In his mercy he tells them of the wonderful things that will be found on the holy mountain of God. He will reveal himself to them, they shall know firsthand of his power and majesty. They shall know firsthand of his kindness and faithful ness to his covenant – he will keep his oath. They will grow as the days pass into a much deeper walk with him. They learn that he nurtures his people that they may glorify him through their service, that he may be known as the God who pardons sin and keeps his promises (see Psalms 126:3). That the people around those he blesses, take notice, and know that God is on the move.  I choose Jesus.

Do not Fear the Speedbumps

Dan

It was my observation while reading Solomon, He delivers a powerful call for us to embrace the wisdom of God (Ecclesiastes 8). It is difficult to read this chapter and not be affected by the clarity of God’s wisdom, the assurance of his grace, the power of service, and the outcome for evil.

He wrote an overview of God’s wisdom 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; … 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].

The judicious person seeks a wise heart. Finding the wise heart, we move with prudence, looking for the opportunities granted by God’s grace to help others. We use that wise heart to help us understand what needs to be done, when to act, and how to act. We use that wise heart to identify someone who needs help. Consider Mother Theresa’s decision theorem — How did she know who the help next? She just looked forward and noted who was standing in front of her. That person was the person that God has placed in her life, that was the person she helped.

What do we do with the person in front of us? We simply need to ask that person – what can I do to be helpful? God will provide the means to be helpful. Solomon clearly states our heart, properly infused by the Spirit of God, is able to discern both the right time to act and the right thing to do. It is the Father’s mercy that empowers this action, the blood of Jesus that justifies this action, and God’s Spirit that teaches us strategy and tactics. We will know how to prepare and move forward. God’s plan will prevail.

Consider the actions of Ester. We read in Esther 4:12-16 — When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. … I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish [NIV].

A person guided by God’s wisdom knows — be helpful. A simple mantra, but an incredibly powerful watch phrase to live by. We are to love others as Jesus loved us. We are to ‘be helpful’ in a manner driven by Gods love. When we are in the zone, we will be effective and find the right solution. Esther moved with haste and purpose. She was in the zone.  Alas, sometimes we miss the guidepost.

Therefore, we are wise to always respect the king. We must pay attention to what we say and what we do. Proverbs 30:32 says — If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth! For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife [NIV]. We are wise not to race out of his sight at the first sign of displeasure with us, or when we are displeased with the outcome of his action.

As we walk through life, we may miss God’s guidepost and be drawn into a dark path. When this happens, immediately confess the sin and pull back. Do not stand in the sin. Recede to safe ground and then deal with the aftermath. God will light a path. He will love you back to safety. Wisdom and mercy will prevail. In God’s Grace, be helpful to others. Do not fear the speedbump, embrace wisdom.

I choose Jesus.

Give Them an Undivided Heart (Part 1)

Dan

It was my observation that Ezekiel was given an interesting sense of how the remnant was to be treated while they were in captivity. In Chapter 10 we see the shekinah glory of God leave Jerusalem. Now, in Chapter 11, we see the plan for the remnant that leads to the new covenant.

This is what I think – prophecy is a simple concept – every person in the valley is given an exit plan they can choose to follow, every person standing on self-made mountains are soon to be knee capped (see Isaiah 40:4). The exit plans are full of hope, the kneecapping can be avoided. This is simple stuff.

God’s prophets such as Ezekiel speak with conviction, they warn the presumptuous and secure and bring comfort to the despised and despondent. He that tremble at God’s word and God’s voice has nothing to fear from the message of a Prophet. And so, we see Ezekiel in the service of the one true living God, bringing these words of comfort to the remnant by the Kabar River as they mourned over Zion.

Ezekiel 11:14-16 says — The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, they are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession. Therefore say: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone. [NIV]

When we read that the people of Jerusalem have said they (the remnant) are far away from the Lord, this land was given to us (not to the remnant), we find the audacity of the stiff-necked Hebrews at a high point. The revelers cut themselves off from the remnant. This was done in reaction to the remnant separating themselves from the local leaders in Jerusalem and demonstrating allegiance to God by willingly heading to Babylon as a slave.

The one true living God used this specific message to respond to the shunning of his remnant by the rebellious Hebrews. He speaks of his protection and comfort extended to his remnant even while they are working as a slave for the city of Babylon (see Isaiah 66:5-6). Then he takes ownership of the judgements rendered in Jerusalem. He reminds them the remnant may look abandoned, but they are still connected by grace to the one true living God. Their current state is temporary. Mercy is on the way. Those who remain in Jerusalem may have the Temple but they do not have God. On the other hand, those who left for Babylon have the shekinah glory of God overseeing them, but they do not have the temple. I think it is obvious who is the winner.

Go back and read the last sentence of the cited Ezekiel passage closely. Notice the phrase “I have been a sanctuary for them” (Ezekiel 11:16). Specifically, they have been provided with a place of refuge, a refuge within God himself, while in Babylon. They still had communion with God even when in captivity. The rebellious people remaining in Jerusalem were stuck on the notion they could only know the presence of God within the confines of the temple. They could not be further from the truth.

So, now we find the key point. The sanctuary provided by God is scattered about to be sure each person within the remnant has a place of respite (see 1 Kings 9:6-9). Compared to the Hebrews remaining in Jerusalem (think about those who will not be raptured, who remain on earth), the number of people in the remnant is small. God is aware of the low status of his people, he fusses over their wellbeing, He brings little things along to let them know he loves them still. The God of this universe becomes their sanctuary. Oh my, this reminds me of the stable in Bethlehem.  I choose Jesus.

Give Them an Undivided Heart (Part 2)

Dan

It was my observation; to understand the depth of Ezekiel 11:17-20, we need to examine Isaiah 43. This message from Isaiah is connected to the message of Ezekiel. I do not want to take the assessment too far. But I see hints of the mediator in Isaiah 43, the mediator being applied to the plight of the remnant banished to Babylon. Read this passage from Isaiah slowly, then read the passage in Ezekiel. Consider the departure of the shekinah glory from the temple, consider the fury of God demonstrated by 6 angels hammering Jerusalem starting with the leaders in the temple. With that, let us get started.

Isaiah 43:25-28 says — I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence. Your first father sinned; those I sent to teach you rebelled against me. So, I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple… [NIV]

God makes it clear he, the highest authority existent, has blotted out our transgressions. What a way to start the conversation. Did you notice the place in this quote from Isaiah that tells the reader to think about your history, bring your case before God, argue the matter in the high court, present the facts for your innocence? Consider what this is saying. God is telling us to come to him and make clear in his court we stand in the circle of the Remnant.

There is more. I cannot see any circumstance that would cause me to seek out the courthouse of God without a mediator. I am convinced Jesus would greet us as we approached the court and tell us how to behave during the court proceedings. Finally, Isaiah tells us the people to blame are the leaders God assigned to teach us. They failed in their duties. We were misled. These three verses from Isaiah are profound. Now let us learn from Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 11:17-20 says — “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God [NIV].

The idols. The thing that stands between us and a vibrant relationship with God. The idols. The thing that distracts our thoughts. The idols. The thing we turn to when we are sad. The idols. The thing we believe makes us better, stronger, wiser. The idols. If you have such things that replace your direct interaction with God, this is spiritual infidelity, those things need to go. The idols. They must go.

When the remnant returns, they will learn to look upon the idols with disgust. They will return standing in God’s mercy with a new heart, they will bulldoze the idols and turn to God. He gave them peace, he will end their troubles, they will be home once more. He will plant good judgement in them, prepare them for proper service, prepare them to glorify God in all things. He resolved to give them a new heart, not divided between the old and the new, but an entirely new heart. A sincere, upright heart. He will put a new spirit within, a guide to enlighten their walk. And a new direction to walk.

For we all know that if any person is a new person, we are made that way by Jesus, by his ransom. He mediates our case before God. He is an excellent lawyer. He has never lost a case. This action is God’s work, this work is a gift from him. A wonderful change that moves us from death to life. I choose Jesus.