2 signs and a Sermon

 Read Ezekiel 12.

Several times in the Old and New Testaments those with rebellious hearts toward God are referred to as being spiritually blind and deaf.  In other words, they are incapable of seeing and hearing what the LORD is saying to them.  The words are there, but the comprehension is not.  Yet, God in His faithfulness sent His spokespersons, the prophets, to communicate His word.  First, the prophet must gain their attention.

1.  Sign One. (vv.1-16)
God instructed Ezekiel to pack a bag with his belongings and carry it over his shoulder.  Next, he was to dig a hole in the wall in an act of escape.  Then, God told him to cover his face so he could not see.  All of this was performed in plain sight of the people so they would ask, "What are you doing?" (v.9).

God used the skit to depict what He was going to do so they would listen to the message.  As the Babylonians threatened, some hurriedly took only what they could carry and tried to escape Jerusalem, but they were captured.  The royal family member, or prince (v.12), proved to be Zedekiah.  The enemy slaughtered his sons and put his eyes out as he was escorted in exile.

2. Sign Two. (vv.17-20)
Ezekiel acted out the second sign of this chapter by eating and drinking while shaking violently.  This demonstrated to the people how they would feel emotionally during the invasion.  They would come to realize that Jeremiah's messages of surrender had been the best course of action for them.  Instead, they persecuted Jeremiah and chose to believe the false prophets who preached peace and prosperity.

3. The Sermon. (vv.21-28)
Actually, this is the first of five sermons that will continue through chapter 14.  Not all well-known sayings and adages are in alignment with God's word.  The prophets of God had preached judgment upon Jerusalem.  But, time had passed, and nothing happened.  A folk proverb emerged: "The days are long and every vision comes to nothing" (v.22).  In other words, God is not going to do anything.  So, the LORD sent Ezekiel to counter that false proverb with "The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision" (v.23).  "It will be performed.  It will no longer be delayed" (v.25).  And the rest is history.

A similar sense is found in 2 Peter 3:4 concerning the return of Christ and His coming judgment of the nations.  "They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."  The answer to that question in 2 Peter 3:9 is the same as in Ezekiel's day.  "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

 

The 2 key elements of true Worship

 Read Ezekiel 11.

Having left the holy place in the Temple, the glory of God hovered over the eastern gate of Jerusalem.  This is the last of four parts to the vision the LORD gave Ezekiel concerning why the Babylonian exile took place.

Commercial and legal transactions happened at the city gate.  The twenty-five men depicted here were civic leaders and not the same group mentioned in chapter 8.  The "rules" by which they administrated were not what God instructed.  Instead of operating by the word of God, they "acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you" (v.12).

When the prophets, like Jeremiah, warned of the coming invasion, the false prophets and these leaders encouraged the people to build houses (v.3).  They were to have helped the people do what was right and please the LORD.  But, they actually turned the people from Him.  In the absence of justice, innocent citizens were killed (v.7).  The message to them was that they would die at the border where the Babylonians processed the exiles at Riblah (v.11).

But what about the faithful?  There were those who never stopped loving God and obeying Him.  With the loss of the Temple, they had no identifiable place of worship.  So, God provided both current and future reassurance to them concerning true worship.

1. Worship of God is a Person, not a place. (v.16)
The beautiful Temple Solomon built provided a designated location for worship.  But what made it of any spiritual value was their sincere and obedient response to the presence of God.  To the exiled believers, He declared, "I have been a sanctuary to them."  Such was one of the religious hang-ups of the woman at the well in her conversation with Jesus.  Some say that true worship should take place in Jerusalem, while others argue for Samaria.  Jesus responded, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)  It is not a religion but a relationship with a Person.

2. Worship of God comes from a changed heart. (vv.19-20)
The context has to do with the future restoration of Israel.  He will bring the Jews back to the land.  In that day, they will no longer tolerate false worship.  God will give them a new heart and a new spirit.  Then, as a unified nation, Israel will love and serve the LORD.  The Apostle Paul wrote of such a change for those who place their faith in Jesus.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 

What caused God to remove His Glory?

 Read Ezekiel 10.

Ezekiel had been taken exile from Judah to Babylon.  While there, God gave the prophet a vision to show him vividly what caused the downfall of Judah.  Chapter 10 is the third part of that vision.  He was transported back to Jerusalem and stood by the altar in the Temple.

The prophet saw specially created angelic beings and the mobile throne of God.  He recognized the cherubim and the throne as the same that appeared in his first vision (see chapter 1). Here the glory and visible presence of God had moved from behind the veil to the threshold.  The sights and sounds of this vision truly fit the dictionary definition of the word awesome.

Other angelic beings were also present (see chapter 9).  The LORD ordered the one with the writing case to take some of the burning coals from the altar and "scatter them over the city."  The scattered fire alludes to God's purifying judgment of Jerusalem.  And, indeed, the Babylonian army literally burned the city to the ground.

From the threshold of the Temple, the brightness of the glory of God filled the inner court.  Finally, the cherubim and the mobile throne of God mounted "up from the earth" (v.16).  God remained Omnipresent in the world, of course, but He refused to share His glory with the sin and false worship that had desecrated His place of worship.

This is the not the only occurrence of the LORD removing His glory from a holy place.  In 1 Samuel 4, we have the account of God allowing the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant due to the sin in Israel.  When the devastating news was reported, Eli's daughter-in-law gave birth to a son.  She named him Ichabod which means "the glory has departed from Israel."   God told Jeremiah to remind Judah of that historical fact in Jeremiah 7:12.  Just like He removed His glory from Shiloh, He would remove it from Jerusalem.

As believers in Jesus, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  However, He demands purity of His people.  "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)  May others see the glory of God's presence in our lives today.

 

With the LORD there is Safety

 Read Ezekiel 9.

In the previous chapter, the exiled elders in Babylon sat down with Ezekiel in his house.  Presumably, the question on their minds was a further explanation of why Judah had lost everything.  This, then, is part two of the vision God gave the prophet in chapter 8.

What prompted God's judgment against them was their multiple and detestable sins.  In His anger, the LORD unleashed the punishment.  He used the Babylonian army to invade and destroy Jerusalem.  In verse one they are called "the executioners" because that is the role they performed.

The vision showed six men (angelic beings), standing by the bronze altar, ready to strike.  A seventh man, a scribe, carried "a writing case".  In 8:16, there were twenty-five leaders of Judah between the altar and the porch of the Temple praying to a sun god.  Those twenty-five were probably the first victims slain for their planetary worship.  With that the glory of God moved from the holy place behind the veil in the Temple to the threshold.  The LORD prepared to vacate the Temple.

Not everyone was doomed for disaster.  There were those, like Jeremiah, in the city who trusted and obeyed the LORD.  They grieved over the sin of their city (v.4).  For these, God ordered the scribe to put a mark on each one to set them apart for protection during the killings.

When the LORD looked upon the land He had given to Abraham and his descendants, all He could see was violence and injustice (v.9).  The character of God in such judgments is consistent throughout Scripture.  For example:
1. Before the worldwide flood, God's heart was grieved because "every intention (of the people) was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5-6)  But He protected Noah and his family who had faith in the LORD.
2. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He led Lot out of the area. (Genesis 19).
3. Before the Great Tribulation strikes the earth, believers will be caught up and taken out of the way. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 4:1)
4. Even during the Great Tribulation, God will have 144,000 chosen Jews to serve Him.  They will be protected by the "Father's name written on their foreheads." (Revelation 14:1)

Hebrews 11 makes it clear that there have been and will be martyrs among believers.  Death is merely the gateway to eternal protection.  Still, the safest place in the world, in any era or time, is in the hands of Jesus.  His grace and care are present to sustain us.  That is why we may trust Him when He repeatedly says, "Fear not."  "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

 

Why is this happening to Us?

 Read Ezekiel 8.

Still confined to his house (3:24) near Babylon, the elders of Judah in exile visited the prophet, presumably for a word from God.  The elders may be still endeavoring to understand, what caused such severity as they had endured.  In other words, "Why is this happening to us?"

Fourteen months had gone by since Ezekiel's first recorded vision from the LORD in chapter 1.   As Ezekiel inquired of the LORD on their behalf, "the hand of the LORD fell upon me there" (v.1).  He first saw an appearance like that of a man.  The description with its gleaming brightness is similar to John's vision of Jesus in Revelation 1.  In the vision, not physically, God snatched Ezekiel up from his house near Babylon and took him back to Jerusalem.  God wanted him to see precisely the sins that brought about such harsh punishment upon Israel.  The sinfulness became so bad that God said it would "drive me from my sanctuary" (v.6).  It required four chapters (8-11) to explain all that he was shown.

1. An idol at the north gate. (vv.3-6)
In the Temple's inner court stood an idol.  This place is where God was to be worshiped.  Ezekiel called it "the image of jealousy" that provoked God to anger.  Isaiah 42:8, "I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols."  If that was what captured the hearts of the people, God would leave His Temple.

2. Images behind the wall. (vv.7-13)
In private, where people could not see, were idols and pictures of creepy, loathsome, detestable things.  Before them stood seventy elders of Judah involved in acts of worship, looking to and even praying to these.  They did it in the dark thinking that no one would see.  "For they say, 'The LORD does not see us." (v.12)

3. Weeping for Tammuz. (vv.14-15)
This is a reference to the Sumerian god of vegetation.  In mythology, in seasons when there were no crops, it was due to the so-called death of this deity.  The women mourned his death, praying he would return in the spring so they would have plenty of food.  They looked to creation instead of the Creator.  In short, they forgot it is the Sovereign God who controls the seasons and the rain.

4. False worship in the Temple. (v.16)
Twenty-five men were seen gathered in the Temple where priests normally would have been pleading for the LORD's mercy.  But, physically their backs were turned to God and they were looking to the sun for help and guidance.  God called such planetary worship, or commonly known as astrology, an evil abomination.

How much more simple and easier it would have been to place child-like faith in the LORD who loved them?  In His faithfulness, He supplied all their needs.  He gave them His word.  If only they had trusted and obeyed Him in loving response. 

 

The losses of not listening to God

 Read Ezekiel 7.

This is the second sermon God gave to Ezekiel.  He performed his assignment from chapter 3 of being a watchman for the nation.  Disaster was about to strike and the faithful watchman sounded the alarm.  Israel's sin reached the tipping point of the LORD's patience and plan.  Over and over, the message states that this is "the end" or "the time has come."

In His wrath, God will remove from Israel both the cause of the punishment and the benefits of His blessings.

1. No more pride. (v.24)
"I will put an end to the pride of the strong..."  Their hubris caused them to think they were safe from harm and that they did not need the God of heaven.  All the stuff that made them feel secure and esteemed would be taken from them.  Nothing of any value would be left.  In the famine and battle to come, buying and selling, gold and silver, land and buildings--all would be worthless to them.  God even allowed His Temple to be desecrated and destroyed.

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5b)

2. No more peace. (v.25)
"When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none."  As the LORD gave warning of His judgment and called for them to repent.  It was the false prophets who tried to counter God by preaching peace.  The end had come.  They did not listen to God and paid a severe price.

"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3)

3. No more prophetic vision. (v.26b)
"They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders."  Having rejected God's messages from His prophets, the people kept trying to find a message that pleased them and made them feel good. 

"Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors."  (Psalm 119:24)

 

The danger of mixed Beliefs

 Read Ezekiel 6.

When the LORD gave the land to Abraham and his descendants, it was for the purpose of raising up a people for His name and glory.  In Exodus, He powerfully brought the Jews out of Egypt and back to the land with the same intent.  But instead of honoring God and influencing others to know and serve Him, Israel became ensnared by the evil practices of the surrounding nations.

The Canaanites participated in a complex system of multiple false gods.  For example, they worshiped a made-up fertility god, Baal, with sacrifices on altars in high places.  They built temples for others, like Dagon.  The burning of incense symbolized their prayers to these idols. As He stated in 5:13, the LORD is a jealous God and will not share His rightful worship.

In a straightforward sermon, God announced that He would destroy these places of man-made religion, whether on the mountains or in the valleys.    All will be wiped out, including the worshipers.  The cause of the judgment remained the same: sin.  The purpose of the corrective punishment remained the same: "And you shall know that I am the LORD." (vv.7,10,13,14)

God's own words inscribed in the Ten Commandments should have been enough for Israel.
"You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)

This should serve as a severe warning to anyone who claims to know the LORD, yet mixes their beliefs with other forms of life-guidance, philosophies, and religious systems.