Tag: Biblical History

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.

The Clay City (Part I)

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It was my observation while reading the fourth chapter of Ezekiel that God introduced Ezekiel to the House of Israel with unconventional tactics, almost theater in nature. He was bound up with ropes in his house for a while. Now, he is outside and building a model of Jerusalem in clay. He is told in clear words; this model is a sign for the house of Israel. No big amphitheater events, no drama at the river, no shouting in the streets on a soap box. This is a picture of the siege for Jerusalem that is soon to come.

Ezekiel 4:1-3 says — “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel [NIV].

These people were a long way from Jerusalem, they had been forced with the threat of death to leave their homes and walk to a place along the Kabar River to make things for Babylon. They longed to go home. Their heart was still in Jerusalem, the faithful had their eye on God (see Daniel 6:10). The presumptuous were arrogant in their belief the trip back to their home was just around the corner – after all, they were God’s people.

They were sure the King of Jerusalem would stand tall and get them back. He would get them out of the mess. It is possible that communication occurred from time to time between the captives and the people in Jerusalem. Clearly, they were not prepared for the message that was coming to them from Ezekiel. They had no sense of what was soon to happen – the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldean Army (from southern Babylon, the army of Nebuchadnezzar II) and the famine inside the city that would be associated with that siege.

This display from Ezekiel was designed to catch the attention of the more thoughtful of the group. They had to come by and look at the event. Then they had to talk about what they were seeing with Ezekiel and with others to make some sense of it. I would suspect most saw it as mere theatre, but some realized what was portrayed and wondered what to make of the message.

He was told to build small structures representing the temporary forts built by the Chaldeans. He placed an iron pan between the clay city and himself. Most think this represents the inflexible position of both sides. The Chaldeans were pressing to become masters of the city, crushing the culture and the government. The Jews were resolved to resist, but eventually after about 13 months they lost the event.

I should also say that the total timeline for the siege was 18 months. There was about 5 months in the 18-month window that the Chaldeans were preoccupied with an advancing Egyptian army (see (Jeremiah 37:5-8). Once that situation was resolved by pushing back the Egyptians, they continued working the siege to completion (see Jeremiah 52:4-6).

After the clay model was built, Ezekiel lay on his side for a long time (390 days, yes over a year) to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation. Most commentators suggest the 390 days spoke to the 390 years of Hebrew apostacy from Jeroboam (approximately 929BC) to the fall of Babylon by Cyrus (approximately 539BC). This is the period of time that the house of Israel (the ten tribes) had been in rebellion. It was Cyrus who sent the House of Israel back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. God will have his way. He is sovereign.  I choose Jesus.

Guard your Heart.

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It has been my observation that we are vulnerable to the many variations of Lucifer’s foolishness that will ultimately reduce to a single initiative — Distraction. There are plenty of distractions in this universe to pull our attention away from the things we need to embrace to experience God’s abundant life. David tells us — I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle while the wicked are in my presence (Psalms 39:1). Paul says — Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, … as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you (1 Timothy 4:16). Peter says – Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

The ultimate outcome of an abundant life is undistracted worship of the one true living God in appreciation for what he has accomplished in our life. Concerning the worship of God, I have noted that Soloman views worship as a remedy to negate the impact of Lucifers distractions. When we worship and drink in scripture, we are protected by God’s firm assurances that lead us to action – he has our back. ‘Learning how to Learn’ is a vanguard concept that helps us to (1) avoid being deceived by Lucifer’s distractions, (2) avoid having our heart vexed with the disappointments that are hidden in the distractions, and (3) illuminate a path to embracing the fruit and gifts of the Spirit. God will overcome our struggle, he will teach us how to learn his way, he will teach us the truth. We shall win!

If we keep our heart focused, we can maintain the communion we enjoy with the one true living God; but we must be cautious and aware of the troubles that can come our way. We need to identify the path and move towards an authentic undistracted life – live your life in a consistent manner. Think about the same stuff alone that we think about around others. Say the same thing to people that we say directly to God. Do the same things alone that you do in front of others. This notion starts and ends with respect, respect for the things of God, respect for others, respect for self.

Jeremiah said —   Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, … and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, … and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:8-14).

We must pay attention to the messaging we are bombarded with inside the church and outside the church. Be careful of the things you let creep into your heart. Test everything you hear from all sources; align the messaging you are hearing with scripture. If it is not reinforced by God’s word, ignore the messaging. For the messages that are true, let go of the uneasiness, find a way to embrace the truth. God will not refrain from telling the truth, He will unfold truth in a way that we can grab onto, but he is quick to offer mercy to our tender repentant hearts. His eye is on our soul, His eye is on our heart, His eye is on our mind. He is gentle and kind. Yield to Him.

Proverbs tell us — My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:20-23).   

I choose Jesus.

The Hand Stretched out Before Me

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It was my observation when pondering upon the commissioning of Ezekiel as prophet in Ezekiel 2:6-10, we find God advising him how to function in his role. He is told to be very bold. He must act with confidence.  His work will not be easy.  He must stand firm, and not be driven off of his tasks no matter how weird the task appears.  He must never lose sight of who he is working for.  God makes it clear to Ezekiel — They are a rebellious bunch of scorpions but they are my scorpions and I need to talk to them and get them back on track. 

Ezekiel 2:6-10 says — And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, for they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you. Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. [NIV]

If you have been called to do things for God, then it is imperative that you are not afraid of mere men.  At the end of the day we work for God, we answer to him not the men that surround us.  The scorpions are constantly harassing God’s called, entangling them in their talk, looking for fault (see Matthew 22:15). We all know the bite of a scorpion is 1000 times harsher than a thorn-hedge (see Micah 7:4). 

These scorpions are also hurtful to the Israelis caught up in the rebellion but not sure what to do. To those who would listen to Ezekiel, the scorpions choke out the message and belittle the messenger. God will not fail to reward the scorpions for their evil if they do not repent. Therefore, even in their disbelief, God makes use of the scorpions for correction and instruction in much the same way that Gideon taught the men of Succoth with thorns and briers (see Judges 8:16).

Clearly these people have earned the wrath of God, yet he tries again and again to bring them back to their senses. However, while the bad stuff continues, Ezekiel knows he lives amongst them. He will not be safe in the quiet of his own home, these are his neighbors and they are not nice people. Given the opportunity, they will make his life extremely difficult. We are reminded of the things that Jesus said to one of the churches in the book of Revelation – I know where you live, the same place where Lucifer’s seat resides (see Revelation 2:13). This is a strong statement and I suspect it applies to these scorpions.

Imagine the transition for Ezekiel, first he is hanging out in the middle of a vision, then he is talking with God about stuff.  But when he edges back to reality, he finds himself with a parcel of scorpions, people who are hecklers doing their utmost to drive him away. I think they knew their captivity was self-inflected, they were being controlled by Babylon, but they could bark out all manner of threats and noise to scare Ezekiel in the same way that people railed against Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 3:5).

In the midst of all this commotion, Ezekiel has learned to keep his eye on the endgame.  He knows that he must be faithful to his calling. The people who are harassing him need him and need the message.  He knows that God will eventually soften their hearts. He knows God will do the work if Ezekiel does his part and accurately reflects the message. The weight of this mantle is no small thing for him. It would be easier to blend in and avoid trouble. But God has placed a love for these scorpions in his heart and he is determined to stay faithful. Goodness, if only we had a heart similar to this, amen.  And, with the missive that comes from this final thought, I choose Jesus.

I am not doing This for Your Sake

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It was my observation the message in the first part of Ezekiel 36 is a broad scale explanation of why God has hammered the friends and neighbors of the Hebrews. They understand what is going on and some are still defiant, others are perplexed. In their discouragement, they know of their unworthiness, and they are unsure of their future. They know their resistance was strong and unabated. God feels their uneasiness and chooses to introduce them to their distant future.

In this chapter we find a powerful promise of a new covenant. They are not specifically told it is a new covenant, but the messianic promise is clear. God has a new plan. He does it all, we are the recipients of a new life. He delivers a promise that we would be prepared, reformed by his grace and mercy, to walk with him. In the end he makes it clear that this message is page two of their life.

There is more, God makes it clear there is life with Him after exile; there is a path out of their dilemma, there is a way to extract themselves from spiritual infidelity. At first, they did not see the solution but it explains why they were in Babylon. The subliminal message feels like ‘absence makes the heart grow fond once again’. The separation from the thing they have known all their life was soon felt and that which they had taken for granted, now absent, was missed and then lamented.

I think the exile is also intended as an introduction to the full impact of the new covenant of grace, the full power of grace is magnified by the harshness of the exile as an antithesis to walking with God. You might recall the messianic hints in Ezekiel 34. In that chapter we explored a promise of the coming shepherd, and all the implications of that shepherd. Now, in this chapter, we expand on that message, we talk about the promises of the Holy Spirit, and the richness of the soon-to-be new covenant. We get a glimpse of his gracious influence, methods of operation, sanctification model, and the process for justification.

Yet, he also knows that some may still resist. They will remember their ways and not believe that God can and will forgive them. In that mindset, they truly lament, then he offers honesty and hope…

Ezekiel 36: 24-32 says — For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct! [NIV]

In our worst day, defiant of his grace, we will always find self-love at the core of our sin. What causes us to repent? It’s simple, I suspect repenting occurs when we cannot but wince when we notice the absurdness of our action that set us at odds with God. But before we can get to that point there will be a self-quarrel to accept the facts and then reconcile to the need to repent. It is constant, this wincing thing, because our mistakes and transgressions are non-stop. How then shall we live?

We find solace in the Goodness of God. His goodness overcomes our badness and leads us into the proper state of mind to repent. We resist kicking and yelling right up to the point where we relent and repent (or we do not repent and consequences happen). It is a repetitive cycle. Our God loves us through it all. He smiles as we struggle, because he knows the outcome and humors us as we work through the details. Who could love us more than God does. Anyone? I suspect not. Our wife and children take a close second in that race, but he is king of the hill. I choose Jesus.

The Hand Stretched out Before Me

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It was my observation when pondering upon the commissioning of Ezekiel as prophet in Ezekiel 2:6-10, we find God advising him how to function in his role. He is told to be very bold. He must act with confidence.  His work will not be easy.  He must stand firm, and not be driven off of his tasks no matter how weird the task appears.  He must never lose sight of who he is working for.  God makes it clear to Ezekiel — They are a rebellious bunch of scorpions but they are my scorpions and I need to talk to them and get them back on track. 

Ezekiel 2:6-10 says — And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, for they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you. Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. [NIV]

If you have been called to do things for God, then it is imperative that you are not afraid of mere men.  At the end of the day we work for God, we answer to him not the men that surround us.  The scorpions are constantly harassing God’s called, entangling them in their talk, looking for fault (see Matthew 22:15). We all know the bite of a scorpion is 1000 times harsher than a thorn-hedge (see Micah 7:4). 

These scorpions are also hurtful to the Israelis caught up in the rebellion but not sure what to do. To those who would listen to Ezekiel, the scorpions choke out the message and belittle the messenger. God will not fail to reward the scorpions for their evil if they do not repent. Therefore, even in their disbelief, God makes use of the scorpions for correction and instruction in much the same way that Gideon taught the men of Succoth with thorns and briers (see Judges 8:16).

Clearly these people have earned the wrath of God, yet he tries again and again to bring them back to their senses. However, while the bad stuff continues, Ezekiel knows he lives amongst them. He will not be safe in the quiet of his own home, these are his neighbors and they are not nice people. Given the opportunity, they will make his life extremely difficult. We are reminded of the things that Jesus said to one of the churches in the book of Revelation – I know where you live, the same place where Lucifer’s seat resides (see Revelation 2:13). This is a strong statement and I suspect it applies to these scorpions.

Imagine the transition for Ezekiel, first he is hanging out in the middle of a vision, then he is talking with God about stuff.  But when he edges back to reality, he finds himself with a parcel of scorpions, people who are hecklers doing their utmost to drive him away. I think they knew their captivity was self-inflected, they were being controlled by Babylon, but they could bark out all manner of threats and noise to scare Ezekiel in the same way that people railed against Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 3:5).

In the midst of all this commotion, Ezekiel has learned to keep his eye on the endgame.  He knows that he must be faithful to his calling. The people who are harassing him need him and need the message.  He knows that God will eventually soften their hearts. He knows God will do the work if Ezekiel does his part and accurately reflects the message. The weight of this mantle is no small thing for him. It would be easier to blend in and avoid trouble. But God has placed a love for these scorpions in his heart and he is determined to stay faithful. Goodness, if only we had a heart similar to this, amen.  And, with the missive that comes from this final thought, I choose Jesus.