Tag: Prophecy

Rebellion is their Name

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It was my observation after reading Ezekiel chapter 1 and then progressing to chapter 2 that we are given a detailed image of the throne. Why did God show this to Ezekiel? Consider the message that Paul heard on the Damascus Road. Paul was clearly chosen by God, things happened around hi to be sure he got the message. There was no question in his mind what had happened. Now in the case of Ezekiel we see something similar.  His nickname appears in this chapter – Son of Man.  I suspect God applied this phrase to Ezekiel as an affectionate nickname; as a term of endearment. The Hebrew term for Son of Man is Ben-Adam. We see something similar in Daniel 7:17, we find the term Son of Adam, Son of the earth. I think this means he was called to be a representative of God on earth.

In the passage we are about to read, Ezekiel is told — Get up. Get off the ground, I want to talk to you.  I think that God did not want to talk to the back of Ezekiel’s head. He stood Ezekiel up so Ezekiel was looking at the glory before him – this reveals the affection God has for people who walk with God.  As much as we could imagine, within the confines of extreme holiness and the translucent shroud that protected us, they were looking at each other.  Ezekiel’s instinct is to get prostrate, God says to him, not today.  I am affirming your commission.  Right here, right now. Face to Face.

Ezekiel 2:1-5 says — He said to me, Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you. As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says. And whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are a rebellious people, they will know that a prophet has been among them. [NIV]

The short version of this passage is simple – Get up.  You are my prophet to Isreal.  They will not like you, but they will know one thing for sure – A prophet has been called to walk among them.  They will know that I am the Lord their God and I am not Silent.  This tells us something about how God thinks.  He is immensely pleased to work with us.  He delights in our willingness to serve.  When we show a tiny bit of interest, he is all over it.  He brings power and strength. He fills us with himself and then works from within us to accomplish his tasks.  If you ponder this for a bit, you will realize how truly amazing this situation is.  The one true living God choosing to work through us, training us in his way.  He does not need help, but he has decided to partner with us to implement his plan.  Goodness.  We are loved.


Matthew Henry said — Thus, in a similar case, Daniel was strengthened by a divine touch (Daniel 10:18) and John was raised by the right hand of Christ laid upon him (Revelation 1:17). The Spirit set him upon his feet, made him willing and forward to do as he was bidden, and then he heard him that spoke to him. He heard the voice before, but now he heard it more distinctly and clearly, heard it and submitted to it. The Spirit sets us upon our feet by inclining our will to our duty, and thereby disposes the understanding to receive the knowledge of it.

We find the conclusion of this passage, Ezekiel is being called, prepared, strengthened and sent to deliver a message to a rabble. A rebellious group of people who have been pushed off the island, the land of the promise to the land of Babylon.  Ezekiel knew what this was all about.  He knew it would not be an easy life.  But he had a calling and purpose.  His people were in captivity for rebellion against Gods law.  He hoped God would be gracious, but his resolve to serve was clear.  We do the same. I choose Jesus.bellion is their Name

Rebellion Is Their Name

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It was my observation after reading Ezekiel chapter 1 and then progressing to chapter 2 that we are given a detailed image of the throne. Why did God show this to Ezekiel? Consider the message that Paul heard on the Damascus Road. Paul was clearly chosen by God, things happened around hi to be sure he got the message. There was no question in his mind what had happened. Now in the case of Ezekiel we see something similar.  His nickname appears in this chapter – Son of Man.  I suspect God applied this phrase to Ezekiel as an affectionate nickname; as a term of endearment. The Hebrew term for Son of Man is Ben-Adam. We see something similar in Daniel 7:17, we find the term Son of Adam, Son of the earth. I think this means he was called to be a representative of God on earth.

In the passage we are about to read, Ezekiel is told — Get up. Get off the ground, I want to talk to you.  I think that God did not want to talk to the back of Ezekiel’s head. He stood Ezekiel up so Ezekiel was looking at the glory before him – this reveals the affection God has for people who walk with God.  As much as we could imagine, within the confines of extreme holiness and the translucent shroud that protected us, they were looking at each other.  Ezekiel’s instinct is to get prostrate, God says to him, not today.  I am affirming your commission.  Right here, right now. Face to Face.

Ezekiel 2:1-5 says — He said to me, Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you. As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says. And whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are a rebellious people, they will know that a prophet has been among them. [NIV]

The short version of this passage is simple – Get up.  You are my prophet to Isreal.  They will not like you, but they will know one thing for sure – A prophet has been called to walk among them.  They will know that I am the Lord their God and I am not Silent.  This tells us something about how God thinks.  He is immensely pleased to work with us.  He delights in our willingness to serve.  When we show a tiny bit of interest, he is all over it.  He brings power and strength. He fills us with himself and then works from within us to accomplish his tasks.  If you ponder this for a bit, you will realize how truly amazing this situation is.  The one true living God choosing to work through us, training us in his way.  He does not need help, but he has decided to partner with us to implement his plan.  Goodness.  We are loved.


Matthew Henry said — Thus, in a similar case, Daniel was strengthened by a divine touch (Daniel 10:18) and John was raised by the right hand of Christ laid upon him (Revelation 1:17). The Spirit set him upon his feet, made him willing and forward to do as he was bidden, and then he heard him that spoke to him. He heard the voice before, but now he heard it more distinctly and clearly, heard it and submitted to it. The Spirit sets us upon our feet by inclining our will to our duty, and thereby disposes the understanding to receive the knowledge of it.

We find the conclusion of this passage, Ezekiel is being called, prepared, strengthened and sent to deliver a message to a rabble. A rebellious group of people who have been pushed off the island, the land of the promise to the land of Babylon.  Ezekiel knew what this was all about.  He knew it would not be an easy life.  But he had a calling and purpose.  His people were in captivity for rebellion against Gods law.  He hoped God would be gracious, but his resolve to serve was clear.  We do the same. I choose Jesus.

We Are Neither Forgotten Nor Abandoned

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It has been my observation that most people think Jesus and the story of Christmas are unnecessary because they do not believe there is a need for Grace. They just do not accept the situation as painted by scripture.

This is what I think — The birth of Christ is an amazing declaration, an eternal statement to all of us. The arrival of Jesus clearly established — God is real; God is just; God offers grace. The heavens were opened and a completely different world came into view through Jesus. The coming of the Messiah as our Savior is confirmed by the veracity of the Old Testament message concerning the new covenant. We know that humans are isolated from God, but we are not forgotten or abandoned. If we were forgotten, no Savior would have been required. If we were abandoned, no Savior would have come. Yet, the Logos came to us in the humblest of circumstances.

So, now what? We were made to traverse this world Walking with God. The birth of that lowly child is the bridge between the old self and the new self. Psalms 111:6-10 says “He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”

Isaiah 7:10-17 says — “The Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’  But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’ Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and, on your people, and on the house of your father, a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.’ “See 2 Chronicles 28:14-27 (if you are curious about the king of Assyria).

Jeremiah 31:31-34 says “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

I wonder if Isaiah and Jerimiah understood the full depth and meaning of their prophetic message when they first spoke the message aloud. It is an amazing glimpse into the future, our future.

I choose Jesus.

The Things We Never See

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It has been my observation while browsing Ezra — he was instrumental in restoring the use of the Jewish scripture and temple practices to the Israelites after returning from Babylon. Ezra was a contemporary of Cyrus. It was Cyrus who conquered Babylon, facilitated the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity, and Cyrus who ordered Babylonian people to furnish the Israelites with necessaries, so that they did not go out empty handed from Babylon any more than from Egypt (implied in Ezra 1:4).

Cyrus told the Israelis — The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me (Cyrus) all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with gold, goods, livestock, and freewill offerings for the new temple in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:2-4 paraphrased)

As word traveled amongst the nations, the gentiles, trapped in their old ways, came to the Israelis seeking freedom. They approached the Israelis and fell before them saying – surely God is in you – we see what he has done. They wanted to be a part of this migration (Isaiah 45:11-14). They humbly begged to go with the Israelis – they were able to see God moving. This interest by the gentiles is a glimpse of what happened when the New Covenant was put into place.

Zachariah 8:14-23 (paraphrased) says — Just as I had determined to bring disaster to your ancestors and showed no pity when your ancestors rebelled against me, says the Lord Almighty, so now I have determined to do good again to you. As of today, do not be afraid. Speak the truth to each other, render true and sound judgment in your courts. Do not plot evil against each other. Rather, you should love the truth and live peacefully. Many people and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to seek the Lord and petition the Lord Almighty. Many people and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to find the Lord Almighty. In those days, many people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you (NIV).

This promise to Cyrus and the Israelites was a forerunner of the gospel message. We are encouraged in this Zachariah passage to not be afraid, we are told to speak the truth, respect each other, help each other. How do we implement this passage in our life? Consider the incredible potential of the Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit upon our daily life. Go back and review the Zachariah passage above. Many of the elements of life in Judah after Babylon are the type of things that the Fruit of the Spirit and Gifts of the Spirit cultivate in us. We are told to live peacefully and avoid creating friction with other people. This is the Holy Spirit in action. This is the focus of the new covenant. Love each other!

Imagine a world where people are seeking the one true living God, they are helping each other and worshiping the God they serve. Their prayer is focused on others rather than themselves, seeking help to fix issues. People within all stratifications of life from the immensely powerful to the lowliest are seeking the counsel of God (Gifts of the Spirit). For those who are speaking God’s word into others, people clamor to hear and learn. This is an amazing vision of what could be. What ought to be. What can be.

We the redeemed are enabled by God. His Spirit infuses us, always leading us to do things that help others. We may see three things done for us by God, but rest assured there are ten thousand things accomplished for us that we never see. It is in that context we are encouraged to be helpful to others.

I choose Jesus.