A Parable of Unfaithfulness and Consequences

Ezekiel 17:1-24 

1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

"A great eagle with large wings and long pinions,
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And took from the cedar the highest branch.
4 He cropped off its topmost young twig
And carried it to a land of trade;
He set it in a city of merchants.

5 Then he took some of the seed of the land
And planted it in a fertile field;
He placed it by abundant waters
And set it like a willow tree.

6 And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature;
Its branches turned toward him,
But its roots were under it.
So it became a vine,
Brought forth branches,
And put forth shoots.

7 "But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers;
And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him,
And stretched its branches toward him,
From the garden terrace where it had been planted,
That he might water it.
8 It was planted in good soil by many waters,
To bring forth branches, bear fruit,
And become a majestic vine."'

9 "Say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:
"Will it thrive?
Will he not pull up its roots,
Cut off its fruit,
And leave it to wither?
All of its spring leaves will wither,
And no great power or many people
Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots.

10 Behold, it is planted,
Will it thrive?
Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it?
It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew."'"

11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 "Say now to the rebellious house: 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Tell them, 'Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. 13 And he took the king's offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, 14 that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?

16 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, when they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons. 18 Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.'"

19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. 20 I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me. 21 All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken."

22 Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it."

What the LORD spoke, He has done.  He spoke these things in a hidden riddle to be considered and understood only by those with ears to hear the consequences of their unfaithfulness to the LORD in breaking His covenant with them and turning elsewhere for help and worship as a harlot does to her husband in defiling and despising that solemn marriage covenant.  He spoke of being chosen, made fruitful, and then overtaken by a larger vine as a temptation to rest under its protection instead.  God would cause it to wither me be easily uprooted as a result.  God then explained the riddle by their rebellion leading to Babylon being sent to uproot Israel from the land of milk and honey where they had everything needed and more.  He did this to humble them to repentance and faith to trust the LORD alone for protection and provision, not Egypt’s army or their own determination based on strength not their own but imputed by God only.  Because they despised God’s oath of covenant and rejected Him, Israel was overrun in judgment to learn humility and faithfulness to worship God alone.  There was no escape but through captivity in Babylon as corrective discipline for their cosmic treason, their unfaithful trespasses.  He would then bring down the mighty tree of Babylon and raise up the lowly tree again.  The LORD had brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree (1 Peter 5:6-7) as He does with all His chosen ones who continue in the unrepentant sin of pride that they may be delivered and made prosperous in humility and worship God alone.  The LORD has spoken and has done it for Israel and for all those in Christ who come to Him in humility to admit their sin of rebellion with unbelief and trust only Him to deliver and worship.  This is the good news, the gospel, foreshadowed and told in a parable long ago that we might learn from these examples (1 Corinthians 10:11).  May we then resolve each new year to remind ourselves anew to pursue Christ by faithfulness of willing obedience to avoid such hard lessons of corrective discipline.  Amen.

Consequences of Spiritual Adultery and Pride

Ezekiel 16:35-63

35 'Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD! 36 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them, 37 surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. 39 I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

40 "They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. 41 They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers. 42 So I will lay to rest My fury toward you, and My jealousy shall depart from you. I will be quiet, and be angry no more. 43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but agitated Me with all these things, surely I will also recompense your deeds on your own head," says the Lord GOD. "And you shall not commit lewdness in addition to all your abominations.

44 "Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: 'Like mother, like daughter!' 45 You are your mother's daughter, loathing husband and children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children; your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

46 "Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways.

48 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.

51 "Samaria did not commit half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done. 52 You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you. Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters.

53 "When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them, 54 that you may bear your own shame and be disgraced by all that you did when you comforted them. 55 When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 For your sister Sodom was not a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered. It was like the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, who despise you everywhere. 58 You have paid for your lewdness and your abominations," says the LORD. 59 For thus says the Lord GOD: "I will deal with you as you have done, who despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

60 "Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you. 62 And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done," says the Lord GOD.'"

Jerusalem’s lovers led them into idolatry and immortality with dire consequences for their spiritual adultery and pride in judging others for doing less.  Pride is almost greater than the sin of worshiping false gods and defaming the temple of stone and of flesh.  God hated the sin so much that He called out His wandering people in the wilderness of their sin who had rejected Him, calling down judgment and destruction on their high places of low worship and immortality.  They were to lose everything they possessed as a result.  They would be stoned and slim with the sword.  His wrath would only be satisfied when they stopped their adulterous ways and turned from their sin to Him and lived according to His word.  They first felt the recompense of their abominations before the forgiveness of grace through repentance.  They had judged their sisters Samaria and Sodom as if the sin of those two was worse than their own heinous rebellion and rejection.  Even though they did not walk in their ways or act according to their abominations, they became even more corrupt in all their ways of idolatry and immortality and were judged more harshly because they knew better and had His covenant for protection and prosperity.  In the end her sisters were more righteous than God’s people of Jerusalem with more abominations and resulting disgrace with shame due to their greater pride.  Their wickedness was uncovered as a harlot who despised their sworn oath of commitment to the LORD in His gracious covenant.  Ah, but even then God offered an Everlasting Covenant to come, a foreshadowing of the Mew Covenant of grace in Jesus Christ!  Their shame would lead to repentance and they would again know and worship the LORD in humility because of the memories of their sin and it’s shame.  His atonement would be what humbled their pride and stopped their idolatry and immortality against His word and will.  This is an example for we who are now found as His people in this new covenant of grace, one which leads us to not be proud or judgmental but remembers the mercy shown us to show others in turn.  Who are we to judge the world (1 Peter 4:17-18, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13) and neglect to exhort and correct each other in the church instead?  If we so humble ourselves in His sight He will lift us up, and if we show mercy instead of thinking ourselves better than other sinners because of that grace, we will win souls and worship in spirit and truth.  Remember the consequences of pride and adultery of all forms.

Degenerate Spiritual Harlotry

Ezekiel 16:15-34 

15 "But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be. 17 You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. 18 You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. 19 Also My food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as sweet incense; and so it was," says the Lord GOD.

20 "Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, 21 that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire? 22 And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

23 "Then it was so, after all your wickedness—'Woe, woe to you!' says the Lord GOD— 24 that you also built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street. 25 You built your high places at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. 26 You also committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to provoke Me to anger.

27 "Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

30 "How degenerate is your heart!" says the Lord GOD, "seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

31 "You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned payment. 32 You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. 33 Men make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. 34 You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite."

Jerusalem’s spiritual harlotry was adulterous against the LORD whom she was joined to in a holy covenant just like marriage, which she violated not for asking money but giving it for her own fleeting pleasure (Hebrews 11:25-26) instead of living according to God’s word in holiness.  They trusted in themselves and what God had given as if it was their own which they developed and deserved in living their own way and for the pride of life (1 John 2:15-16) instead of God’s way.  This made them spiritual (and physical) adulterers who were intimate with every ungodly pursuit of idolatry and immortality that they discovered in those around them who were not His.  They worshiped false gods in the high places where they burned incense and literally fornicated with each other in their adoration of non-existent deities.  They did the opposite of everything the LORD had commanded to please and honor Him.  All the holy provisions and precious things they stripped from God’s house to repurpose for adulterous use as spiritual and physical harlots.  They even offered up their children as sacrifices to these false gods, taking the holy inheritance of God and destroying them with no spiritual return instead, forgetting their birth as a nation of His people who were washed from their blood as babes and weaned in His tender lovingkindness, spilling their blood instead.  This wickedness of immortality and murder of babies was worsened by their idolatry in worshiping others instead of God as the first commandment had made clear in their covenant with the LORD their husband (Isaiah 54:5, Hosea 2:16-17).  These acts of harlotry incensed God’s wrath as they substituted other inferior lovers for the greatest Lover of their souls.  They exchanged the truth and love of God for a lie (Romans 1:25) to earn His wrath of judgment as they broke the covenant and lived in defiance of their God, earning their wages due to them in return (Romans 6:23).  Their hearts became degenerate as brazen harlots without shame or remorse as a result of their defiance.  They even took others instead of the LORD their husband and paid those to violate them instead of enjoying the true pleasure found in their real husband who loved and cared for them as a nation and individually.  Such a waste to throw away true love for fleeting pleasure and empty lives without purpose!  This is what people continue to pursue and do who reject Him still.  May they turn from worshiping false gods and immortality to discover the lover of their souls in Jesus Christ as Lord by faith in following His word for deliverance from the wrath to come! 

God’s Love and Care for His People

Ezekiel 16:1-14 

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: "Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.

6 "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' 7 I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

8 "When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine," says the Lord GOD.

9 "Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord GOD.

God showed His love and care for His people and told them so many times as here through Ezekiel in the midst of their rejection of idolatry and immortality.  The LORD made them see and und the depth of their abominations of sin against Him and reminded them of His tender loving care from the beginning of Israel’s calling as a people according to His word and promises.  When they were unwanted as an abandoned baby in the wilderness, He pitied and had compassion on them when no one else would as nobody else could.  As they struggled to live and survive, God made them thrive.  They grew to become a beautiful child of the LORD by His lovingkindness and grace because He had called them to and for Himself.  Such is God’s love and care for His people even now as one in Christ!  He gave Israel His divine love and covered their nakedness of sin as in the Garden with atoning grace (Genesis 3:10, 21).  Then He made a covenant with them to seal them as His own, just as now He seals everyone with Himself as a guarantee forever of this new and unbreakable covenant (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 5:5, Hebrews 12:24).  We are also His special people now (1 Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14) according to His certain promise according to that same grace.  Just as He had cleaned up Israel, anointed them as His, clothed them with the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29) as fine jewels, and made as royalty, so are we in Christ for eternity to praise Him for it all.  Their fame went into the whole world, but in Christ our fame echoes into forever and into heaven as well as on earth (Ephesians 3:10-11).  This perfect grace makes us beautifully righteous in Christ, perfect because it is His splendor which we are clothed with, even more than in the beginning with God’s people then!  Remember, therefore, God’s love and care for we the people of the heavenly kingdom as the depth of its entirety was foreshadowed here.

Parable of The Outcast Vine

Ezekiel 15:1-8 

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 "Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

6 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 7 and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them. 8 Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,' says the Lord GOD."

The parable of a vine was used by the LORD to tell Ezekiel about the coming judgment on Jerusalem and all living there who had rejected Him for idolatry and immortality.  The description of a vine being useless for wood to make carved items such as a peg to hang clothing on was given to see the only use for inferior wood is the fire to consume it to warm oneself or cook with.  It is not suitable for articles for living, let alone for holy use in building the temple or houses for God or man to live inhabit.  It is useless for any good or useful work, unlike the people of God who could repent and be made useful to the Master for good works (2 Timothy 2:21).  When such inferior wood is then burned, what remains is also useless when consumed to ash.  God used this descriptive parable as a picture of the spiritual state of His people who continually rejected Him and His word and now would be given as fuel for a consuming fire in His burning wrath of justice (Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:28-29) as 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 also describes the final Day of judgment which this is a foreshadowing of.  Yes, God set His face against those who constantly rejected Him and persisted in unfaithfulness against Him by their idolatry and immortality, replacing worship and obedience with pursuit of dead gods of their own making and immortality of living contrary to His word meant for their good and His glory.  We who are redeemed in Christ, bought at such a great price, we now have His word in our heart fueling our thoughts to focus on faithful and righteous living based on the scriptures that we may worship Him in spirit and truth.  We are not the outcast vine, but abide in the true and living vine (John 15:4-5, 8-10) of use to our sovereign Creator by bearing good fruit and not consumed in the fire of His just and due wrath of punishment for having other gods and rejection of obedience to glorify Him as we were created to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Consequence of Persistent Unfaithfulness

Ezekiel 14:12-23 

12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying: 13 "Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. 14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD.

15 "If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.

17 "Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, 'Sword, go through the land,' and I cut off man and beast from it, 18 even though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

19 "Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness."

21 For thus says the Lord GOD: "How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it," says the Lord GOD.

Persistent unfaithfulness to the LORD called God’s people into accountability with judgment served as divine justice.  God spoke through Ezekiel to set the account straight as to His expectations and the price of consistent disobedience to His word.  When people sin in persistent unfaithfulness to Him, worshiping idols and living in immortality, then He reaches out with His hand of infinite power and just purpose to cut them off from all their blessings and provision of His common grace given to all as well as the special grace given to those called out as His own.  It was so bad that even if the three righteous men gone before (Noah, Daniel, and Job) were there, they could only save themselves and no other among them, not even protecting them from the sword of judgment by God’s hand.  None would be found righteous (Romans 3:23) and delivered either if a pandemic would sweep the land except those three chosen ones who humbled themselves and repented of their own shortcomings of sin which Israel had not done.  These four severe judgments on Jerusalem of the sword of war, famine as for God’s word, the attacks of wild beasts, and even ravaging pestilence of pandemic disease were therefore passed on God’s people for rejecting Him and refusing to confess their sin and repent.  Yet even then there was a small remnant left who He would show favor to, ones who had not forgotten or rejected the LORD.  They would be seen in the way they lived and how they acted according to His word.  This deliverance was comforting to Ezekiel and the hearers of these words of God to and through him, even in light of the utter destruction of Jerusalem and her place of worship with atoning sacrifices.  This display of the few saved on the narrow path of faithfulness taken by the remnant demonstrated God’s justice and reason for all He did against and for His people.  He did nothing without cause in all He did.  That is divine providence and the goodness of His grace is all the Sovereign King does even now as demonstrated in the gospel to sinners such as you and I.  Judgment is necessary to His justice and holiness.  Judgment is earned by us all because we all have sinned and come short of His measure of holiness and righteousness.  Mercy and grace are given to those He chooses to pull out of the fire (Jude 1:23) with eternal atonement (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 10:10) as a remnant of all mankind created in His image.  Many are called, but not many are so chosen (Matthew 22:14).  The rest only receive justice according to their impenitent hearts (Romans 2:4-6) hardened further by idolatry and immortality in refusing to accept Christ as the answer (Acts 4:12) instead of their own works (John 6:29) and turn from both their inherited (Romans 5:14-15, 7, 18, 19) and self-willed sin to Him.  May we all learn from these things of the consequences of persistent unfaithfulness that we may confess our sin, turn from it, and worship God alone in Christ.  As 1 John 5:21 says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

Idolatry Will Be Punished

Ezekiel 14:1-11

1 Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 3 "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

4 "Therefore speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols."'

6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself. 8 I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

9 "And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the LORD have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, 11 that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God," says the Lord GOD.'"

Israel set up idols in their hearts which caused them to stumble and fall off the way God set before them to walk according to His word and into iniquity, sin of their thoughts and affections and deeds.  The LORD therefore refused to hear their prayers and requests for counsel from the messenger of God because they had set their own gods in His place and the sin of putting their hearts elsewhere.  God told Ezekiel to tell them about the idols in their hearts that lead them into sin and warned them of daring to ask His counsel when they were worshiping their idols instead of heeding the counsel of the first commandment as it was written in His word to hear and obey.  He seized such ones estranged from Him by the heart due to false worship and divided affection.  The call to them was given to repent from such sin and turn to Him alone.  By separating themselves from the LORD and setting stones of stumbling (Romans 11:9-10, 1 Peter 2:7-8) in front of their path instead of clearing the way to God without such roadblocks (Hebrews 12:1) tripping them and keeping them from pleasing Him in sole worship and allegiance.  If they continued in such sin and came to hear a word from Him, they would be turned back to first repent or face rejection as they rejected Him.  If a prophet then spoke to appease them instead of telling the truth of the whole counsel of God, that one would also find God’s hand against him along with the one coming for false peace and safety from the prophet.  They would suffer the same fate.  This was all corrective discipline to keep God’s people from straying as wandering sheep from their good Shepherd.  He told them plainly that if they worshiped Him alone that they would be His people and He their God.  His sovereign authority gave protection in grace when they followed Him and stopped setting up their own idols and the immortality coming from them in His place.  Idolatry will be punished but repentance by faith in His grace and righteousness leads to life as we now know in Christ through the gospel.  He was born this day we celebrate as Christmas so that we might find that forgiveness in grace unearned to call us out of the darkness of idolatry and immortality to worship Him only and live in step with His Spirit in we who have been reborn in the child who was God’s Word born as a man to deliver us from straying any longer.  We wandering sheep without a Shepherd no have one (Matthew 2:6, Mark 6:34, 1 Peter 2:25).  Turn and follow Him by faith today, oh lost sheep! 

Foolish Prophets of False Peace

Ezekiel 13:1-23

1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, 'Hear the word of the LORD!'"

3 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. 5 You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. 6 They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, 'Thus says the LORD!' But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. 7 Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, 'The LORD says,' but I have not spoken."

8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord GOD. 9 "My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

10 "Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar— 11 say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. 12 Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?'"

13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. 14 So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

15 "Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, 'The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, 16 that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,'" says the Lord GOD.

17 "Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, 18 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? 19 And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?"

20 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

22 "Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. 23 Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

Here is the warning to false prophets and those who seek their own gain and notoriety over the souls of others and their good.  These foolish prophets of a false peace only make the wicked stronger and keep them from repentance to turn from their sin to Him.  These then and now prophesy out of their own heart instead of reading scripture and instead, 'Hear the word of the LORD!”  They follow their own imagination and conjure up dramatic and ear pleasing words to give temporary joy in a false peace contrary to God’s wrath on sin and forgiveness of grace.  They make it all about a best life now and gloss over the admonition of the Bible to submit to the Lordship of their Maker.  These in the time of Ezekiel offered victory claimed in every battle and prosperity in peace without adversity or battles which are echoed in today’s utterances and teachings because the ear like to hear them, not because they are what God said.  Many spoke then as if for God when it was not Him speaking.  It continues today, unfortunately.  They had spoken nonsense and envisioned lies with the result being God’s wrath on them, which could have been avoided by speaking the truth according to His word as it was written and not as it would be wished heard.  Such a false foundation is easily broken down by the LORD as is ours if not built on the truth of the gospel and person of Jesus Christ who sacrificed Himself for us that we might hear and repent in hearing truth (Luke 6:48-49, 1 Corinthians 3:11).  The flood would come and wash away such construction of a building and its walls built of the mud of lies instead of the mortar of His word.  Prophetic utterances that do not find a foundation and construction of truth will fail and bring down the whole building of a life or a church.  We are to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22) and not listen to false prophecies of peace (Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, and prosperity when we are promised adversity and tribulations (2 Timothy 3:12) because we have an roaring enemy set against us (Revelation 12:17, 1 Peter 5:8).  Ezekiel also spoke against those leading men into sin to hunt their souls to destruction as a consequence of immortality and lies.  These all gave false hope and dashed souls down to destruction and death by making the righteous sad for their sin and keeping some from turning to Him in repentance by faith in His forgiveness of grace.  It is the same message for today’s listeners to hear and be valiant for the truth in what we choose to hear and follow.  It is only found in accordance with the truth of God’s word; may we therefore be equipped with the defense of the word of God to try every teaching and hold fast to the good to follow and not heed the foolish and popular prophets of false peace, but abstain from every kind of evil in any form that is not truth.  Amen. 

Imminent Judgment without Delay

Ezekiel 12:17-28 

17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 "Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: "They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may be emptied of all who are in it, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

21 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 22 "Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, The days are prolonged, and every vision fails'? 23 Tell them therefore, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel."' But say to them, '"The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision. 24 For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the LORD. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it," says the Lord GOD.'"

26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 27 "Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.' 28 Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done," says the Lord GOD.'"

There was imminent judgment without further delay to come on God’s people who rejected Him and His word through His messengers such as Ezekiel.  Judgment would not be postponed any longer as the people said to escape divine justice.  God preferred to give them a chance to repent but they repeatedly ignored the warnings and opportunities.  Now it would be postponed no longer.  Even the prophet ate with fear and trembling.  Of course for we who are in Christ now who have not rejected His gospel message and follow His word, we work out that sure salvation with fear and trembling of what we once faced and do so no longer.  We have a more certain hope (Hebrews 6:18-19), sure and rock steady, to anchor our souls on the foundation of Christ our Rock (Matthew 7:24, 2 Timothy 2:19).  Israel, however, refused for the majority to look to this veiled promise to come.  They continued in refusing to hear or see and hardened their stiff necks in rejection and without repentance.  Their city and nation would be laid waste until they humbled themselves and looked to Him as they had covenanted with the LORD to do (Joshua 24:24-25) but which agreement they continually violated.  They even had a proverb, a saying, that God would delay judgment and accountability and all the prophets gave messages which were not to come pass.  They reasoned away God’s word of warning and lived for their own idolatry and immortality because they refused to take the LORD seriously.  God told them through Ezekiel, "The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision. For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.”  God’s word would certainly come true and their false communication with manmade dead gods would not.  There would be no more postponement of His word holding them accountable.  It would happen while they still lived and not to their future generations as they had falsely wished.  His word would be done.  Period.  Then some would repent who were of the planned remnant (Romans 9:27-28, of His people.  Hope is for those He chooses, calls, makes holy, and brings to Himself (Romans 8:29) as they repent and trust His work and word by the grace gift of faith.  There will be an immediate judgment in the latter days which will offer no more such opportunity.  These things are a shadow of the final judgment to come swiftly upon the world which rejects Him and refuses to turn from sin to Him.  May all who hear and consider these things turn to Him before then! 

Into Captivity as a Thief in the Night

Ezekiel 12:1-16 

1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 "Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

3 "Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house. 4 By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity. 5 Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it. 6 In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."

7 So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

8 And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 "Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?' 10 Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them."' 11 Say, I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall be carried away into captivity.' 12 And the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes. 13 I will also spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. 14 I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and I will draw out the sword after them.

15 "Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. 16 But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."

Judah's captivity was portrayed by Ezekiel digging through a wall at night as a thief digs to steal with his face covered so he could not see where he was putting his feet as he went into captivity to Babylon.  That was the visual prophetic message to Judah, escape as a thief in the night, just as judgment will come to us all in the end who are not in Christ when He returns to take us from the captivity of sin to be with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10, 13).  The rebellious people of God, however, did not have eyes to see nor ears to hear the clear message of the warning of judgment into captivity.  He dug through the wall so all could see even if they were unable to fully grasp what the LORD was saying through the acting out by Ezekiel.  He bore the burdensome weight of his belongings and covered his face from seeing where he was headed, just as even the richest ruler among them would do when taken captive in their sin to Babylon.  These would be carried off yet not see that destination and die there.  All the armies of the leaders would be scattered and killed by the sword for their rejection of the LORD.  This was a testimony to all who observed these things as they were disperse in the ungodly nations, but a remnant would be spared to bear witness of these adverse things to warn others by their testimony of God’s wrath in judgment on those who should have been following Him instead of living for sin.  Then they would know who the LORD is.  We also have the message of the gospel which illuminates the coming wrath of justice and judgment of God’s righteousness.  Many will see and hear but not take it to heart because their eyes and ears have been kept shut by God in their rejection of that good news.  They accept bad news of judgment by ignoring its reality and giving glory and honor to God alone.  We all have been taken into the captivity of sin and only escape through Him, not by attempting to escape by our own hands through the walls with all our possessions as our treasure instead of Him and His work to free us from that imprisonment.  He will return as a thief in the night, but to steal us away instead.  That is the warning and certain hope we possess.

Restoration and New Life

Ezekiel 11:14-25 

14 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 "Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.' 16 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone."' 17 Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."' 18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. 

19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

22 So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. 23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.

24 Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.

God judged the idolatry and immortality of His people, but a remnant was promised restoration and new life.  Those who continued to pursue those things would be held accountable and judged according to their own wages earned by unrepentant sin.  The nations mocked those under God’s judgment and told them to leave Jerusalem and their God.  The LORD told them through Ezekiel that He was still Israel’s sanctuary to come back to no matter how far they had been scattered because of their sin.  They would be given their land as promised because His word is irrevocable (Romans 11:29).  When they returned, they would remove and destroy the remaining idols of abomination in the sight of God.  Those who continued to reject Him and continued to worship lifeless gods of their own imagination would be recompensed in kind.  Those who repented and sought His face would be given a new heart that was not hardened and a new spirit from God Himself for the willingness and ability to obey His word willingly and wholeheartedly (Jeremiah 31:33, 32:39-40, Ezekiel 36:26-27, 2 Corinthians 3:3).  This is a foreshadowing and prophetic explanation of the new life of a reborn man or woman in Christ.  We now have His Spirit in us and a heart willing to desire and do according to His word and heart (Philippians 2:13).  Those continuing to reject God’s Son reject Him and will earn the wages of their sin, namely death (Romans 6:23), just as the Israelites who continued in idolatry and immortality in the time of Ezekiel.  After hearing this message to tell others, Ezekiel witnessed the glory of God and saw a vision of those still in captivity.  He bore witness of that message of hope to them for restoration and reconciliation of the remnant according to grace, a message of future metamorphosis of the heart and mind and will with strength to fulfill God’s word.  That is the beginning of the hope we now have fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord, restoration and new life! 

Judgment on Evil Leaders

Ezekiel 11:1-13 

1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the LORD's house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And He said to me: "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, 3 who say, 'The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.' 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!"

5 Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, "Speak! 'Thus says the LORD: "Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. 6 You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain." 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. 8 You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you," says the Lord GOD. 9 "And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you. 10 You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. 11 This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you."'"

13 Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?"

There was judgment pronounced on evil leaders of God’s people who advised contrary to His word and stated will.  God’s Spirit picked up the prophet Ezekiel and placed him at the East Gate of the temple of the LORD where twenty-five leaders of Judah were gathered.  According to the Bible and tradition, the Messiah will come from the east of Jerusalem (Zech. 14:4), bringing deliverance from the wrath of God on such sin as they had committed and as we all do.  Here the leaders had assembled who were not looking for the Messiah but further plotted iniquity and came up with bad counsel for the people, city, and nation which was wicked because it went against all the LORD was telling them through the prophets and as it was written in the scriptures.  They had given up hope and called the holy city a boiling cauldron where they all would die in the oppression of their enemies.  God reminded them that they had caused the deaths of many but that they would be taken out of the cauldron and die by the sword in battle which they referred more instead because of their continued unrepentant sin and misleading counsel to the people.  They would be judged by the unholy nations and killed at Israel’s border instead of in the city once set aside for worship and sacrifice to the one true God whom they despised and rejected.  They had rejected God’s word as the measure and rule of life and lived according to the unholy nations around them which they never completely drove out of the promised land as commanded in the beginning.  Because they walked off the path set before them and despised His word of Law and judgments, they would feel the consequences and confess He is the LORD.  Ezekiel saw another die and asked God if this was the complete end of the remnant of His people.  We will see that it is not the absolute end because there is always a remnant according to grace (Romans 9:27, 11:1-2, 5) in God’s plan.  There is hope for the righteous in Christ but none for the rest.  Evil leaders of God’s people will face certain judgment for leading the sheep astray, but the Shepherd will lead the remnant to a certain eternal home in His time.

God’s Glory Departs from the Temple

Ezekiel 10:1-22 

1 And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, "Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in as I watched.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory. 5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

6 Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," that he went in and stood beside the wheels. 7 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man's hand under their wings.

9 And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 11 When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. 12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, "Wheel."

14 Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. 16 When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one was lifted up, the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

Because of the continuing unrepentant sin of God’s people in which they broke the covenant which He had made with them conditional on their obedience to His Law, God finally left the house of worship and sin’s atonement which He had given to them according to the heavenly pattern to be built.  The vision between heaven and earth which was shown to Ezekiel described a sky with a sapphire stone looking throne surrounded by the cherubim of the inner sanctuary.  The living wheels which he had seen in the first vision (Ezekiel 1:13-15) under that throne had burning coals under the angelic beings which a man was instructed to gather by hand and scatter over the city in judgment.  The coals did not burn the messenger, only those under judgment.  The cloud of God’s bright glory filled the temple as that man went in to the holy of holies as the sound of the flapping cherubim wings sounded like the voice of the LORD (Ezekiel 1:24) in bubbling sounds so glorious.  The cherubim had a man’s hands and handed the coals to the man in linen to carry to implement God’s justice.  What a confusing and marvelous scene that that must have been which was shown to Ezekiel!  These words cannot ignite our imaginations enough to fully understand the glory and awe of that heavenly inspiring sight.  Even the description of the angelic ones with four different faces is difficult to visualize and the words Ezekiel used are not enough to put us there alongside him to appreciate the magnificent awe of that moment, just as the Revelation given to John later to see things of the heavenly realm and struggle to find the words to fully describe it all, such as how they could move only straight ahead and yet maneuver around.  Here were same living wheels moving the throne around with coals seemingly part of and under the cherubim which is so beyond our grasp that Ezekiel had seen before by the River Chebar, the  'Royal Canal' of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 1:1).  God’s glory came from the temple and rested over these as they arose and stood by the east gate.  These things may seem to only have meaning for the judgment on Israel at the time, but also give a glimpse, a glimmer, into the heavenly majesty of God’s unseen kingdom which we will experience face to face after the final judgment of all as He brings heaven down to earth in the New Jerusalem (Hebrews 11:10, Revelation 21:2) without sinners there to be judged (Isaiah 52:1) and where He will live with His people face to face at last (Job 19:26-27).  The redeemed of the Lord say so (Psalm 107:2) in one accord.  His glory which departed the temple will return forever in that Celestial City and we will worship the Lamb on the throne who sacrificed Himself for us as no temporary sacrifice of animals in the old temple ever could.  His people therefore say, Glory to God and the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:12)!

The Righteous Are Not Written Off

Ezekiel 9:1-11 

1 Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, "Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand." 2 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at his side; 4 and the LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it."

5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 7 Then He said to them, "Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!" And they went out and killed in the city.

8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?"

9 Then He said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see!' 10 And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head."

11 Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, "I have done as You commanded me."

The wicked were not written on their foreheads to identify as the LORD’s, while the unrepentant and unrighteous were written off for judgment and destruction.  This calls to mid Revelation 7:2, 9:4, 14:1 in the final judgment where those marked as God’s people are delivered from the justice of due punishment for their sins of idolatry and immortality in rejecting God’s righteousness in Christ alone.  Here Ezekiel heard God called six executioners and one scribe to the altar of atoning sacrifices for their mission.  God’s glory moved from the cherub over the mercy seat to the threshold where He would send them from there into the city.  His glory had enough of the abominations and would leave there so His wrath could be poured out without mercy on all not marked clearly as His own.  Those who were marked were the ones who were repentant and grieved over the state of all those defiling the worship and honor of the LORD with abominable desecrations of idols and immortality in God’s stone temple and their own fleshly ones.  They were held to account just as all will be in the end.  The good news now as then is for the righteous marked as God’s by His work of grace and not our sullied and ineffective works.  The executioners stated from the sanctuary and marched into the city to kill all not His and their bodies filled the temple court where they should have been worshiping and finding atonement for sin.  Ezekiel fell prostrate and begged for understanding of why so many had to suffer the wages of sin, which is death for all not chosen and set aside by God (Romans 6:23).  The reason was all had turned from Him to sin (Romans 3:23) and had not repented.  They earned their wages.  It was their just due.  Only those seeking refuge who God had already identified as His would and will survive the judgment.  This is the reason the gospel was preached to them then and us now that the remnant will be saved.  The righteous in Christ are never written off because they are written on by God as His forever.  All others are.  Amen. 

Abominations in the Temple

Ezekiel 8:1-18 

1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

5 Then He said to me, "Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north." So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

6 Furthermore He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations." 7 So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then He said to me, "Son of man, dig into the wall"; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

9 And He said to me, "Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there." 10 So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.'"

13 And He said to me, "Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing." 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these." 16 So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.

17 And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."

Ezekiel had a vision while dining with the elders of God’s people.  God’s hand lifted him to a place between heaven and earth, much like Paul described in 2 Corinthians 12:2-3, 4 as a vision to talk with the LORD and receive that word of prophetic guidance.  He had a vision of the likeness of God’s glory in a spiritual representation as far as we can tell, just as John had in Revelation.  He took him by the hair and place Ezekiel in the spiritual representation of the temple’s inner court to see the image of jealousy which idolatrous Judah had placed there to worship.  Probably the image or idol of jealousy was one an Asherah, the Canaanite goddess of fertility set up in the temple by Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:7; 2 Chr. 33:7,15) which was an abomination to the true and jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Hebrews 12:28-29).  Such abominations in that temple should warn us to keep the temples of our own bodies free from competition with worship of other things and defilement by idolatry of covetous desires and immortality.  Their idol worship defamed the first commandment (Exodus 20:3-5) by putting other false gods before Him and put the LORD out of His own place of worship made according to the heavenly pattern (Hebrews 8:5) this immortality of idolatry broke the covenant made with man by God as the condition to keep it (Leviticus 24:14-16).  The works to obey God according to his word in the covenant meant to obey all the Law, including the first commandment, which they despised by these actions and culminating in the idol placed in God’s house of worship and service.  This also is a warning to us not to desecrate the temple of our bodies by coveting other objects of worship and immortality to make the holy profane.  The vision to Ezekiel revealed how many other gods were worshiped by the leaders of God’s people in the temple as if hidden away in the wall behind closed doors!  God sees everything and everyone everywhere at all times.  He is not mocked not fooled as we often are.  He has not forsaken His people as the vision showed by the people’s accusations, but they left Him and diverted their worship to empty gods with no power of life or death.  They did not want accountability because it was impossible to keep all the law and so they stopped doing any of it and pursued the opposite (Deuteronomy 27:26, Galatians 3:10, Romans 7:7-8) instead of being instructed to pursue grace to be found later in the Messiah, Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:23-25) as we now know fully.  What was needed instead was repentance from dead works (Hebrews 9:14) which cannot save because they cannot be perfectly performed to save us through faith in God’s deliverance.  Before then they should have repented and sought yearly atonement through sacrifices in the temple instead of replacing confession and rep with idolatry.  This is a lesson for us to keep 1 John 1:7-9 in mind to keep sin confessed that it does not overtake us and corrupt our temples with immortality (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) and desiring other things leading us away from doing the will of God according to His word (1 John 2:15-17).  May we not worship the sun of eastern philosophy or religions as those of Judah did here in verse 16!  There is no part to integrate such into God’s house.  Such immortality and idolatry aroused God’s wrath against Judah and turned Him away from hearing them.  Sin obstructs prayer when left unconfessed and unrepentant.  May we not make the same mistakes of bringing abominations into these temples.

Deliverance is Not by Wealth

Ezekiel 7:14-27

14 'They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready,
But no one goes to battle;
For My wrath is on all their multitude.

15 The sword is outside,
And the pestilence and famine within.
Whoever is in the field
Will die by the sword;
And whoever is in the city,
Famine and pestilence will devour him.

16 'Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains
Like doves of the valleys,
All of them mourning,
Each for his iniquity.

17 Every hand will be feeble,
And every knee will be as weak as water.
18 They will also be girded with sackcloth;
Horror will cover them;
Shame will be on every face,
Baldness on all their heads.

19 'They will throw their silver into the streets,
And their gold will be like refuse;
Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them
In the day of the wrath of the LORD;
They will not satisfy their souls,
Nor fill their stomachs,
Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.

20 'As for the beauty of his ornaments,
He set it in majesty;
But they made from it
The images of their abominations—
Their detestable things;
Therefore I have made it
Like refuse to them.
21 I will give it as plunder
Into the hands of strangers,
And to the wicked of the earth as spoil;
And they shall defile it.

22 I will turn My face from them,
And they will defile My secret place;
For robbers shall enter it and defile it.

23 'Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be defiled.

25 Destruction comes;
They will seek peace, but there shall be none.
26 Disaster will come upon disaster,
And rumor will be upon rumor.
Then they will seek a vision from a prophet;
But the law will perish from the priest,
And counsel from the elders.

27 'The king will mourn,
The prince will be clothed with desolation,
And the hands of the common people will tremble.
I will do to them according to their way,
And according to what they deserve I will judge them;
Then they shall know that I am the LORD!'"

The judgments on God’s people are further exposed and explained to rebellious Israel.  They who had trusted in the riches of precious metal and jewels of the unused and misused temple of worship for the LORD now found it all worthless to deliver them because they considered it as mere monetary wealth.  The ornaments of God’s house were crafted according to the heavenly pattern given as a shadow of the heavenly one (Exodus 25:40, Acts 7:44, Hebrews 8:5) where He dwells, yet they made it ordinary and defiled by their misuse in burning incense to unholy manmade gods without life, honor, or glory due to them as is fitting for the owner and King over that place.  Therefore, the trumpet of God was blown against them and the sword came from without as starvation and disease spread within those walls and in themselves whom they defiled with sinful immortality of idolatry.  They defiled not only the physical temple, but their own bodies where God was to be seated as Sovereign on the throne of the heart and worshiped from that sanctuary (1 Corinthians 6:19) where He desired to live.  Those who survived the onslaught from within and without would go hide in the mountains and mourn their iniquity; but would they turn from it in humble repentance, or continue only to be sad at all they had lost?  They were made weak in their shame and horror at what had become of them, as if being part of God’s people gave them license to sin and protection from all accountability.  We must also beware of those errors, learning humility and what grace means for all we have been freely given and yet held accountable for in holiness and righteousness.  Their silver and gold could not save them because they warped it into dead idols and put their hearts on the work of their hands instead of God who formed them by his hand on His Potter’s wheel of life according to His design and purpose.  Their wealth was cast into the streets as worthless to save and taken away by the strangers of the surrounding nations for further desecration.  The LORD turned away from them to leave them to the consequences and allowed His defiled place of corrupt worship to be taken away from them.  The nations came in and took everything, including their houses and the chain of violence which they began came full circle to enslave them and take them into captivity as sin always does as it defiles and leads often to violence and destruction.  Israel cried out in the suffering but not to true repentance and so could not find peace with God or in themselves.  Disaster came as they could no longer discover or discern the word of the LORD.  He had left them because they left in rejection and disbelief of Him and His word.  All their mourning and tears only led them to hear this from God, that they were getting only what they earned according to their ways (Matthew 7:2, Romans 6:23).  Then they would know and acknowledge Him as their LORD and no other.  Sometimes it takes the loss of everything we own, our health and wealth, to appreciate and worship our Lord as He should be in response.  May we instead humble ourselves and keep from idols (1 John 5:18-19, 20, 21) to avoid such drastic consequences for sin’s captivity instead of deliverance from its bondage.  We have been set free who are in Christ.  Let us worship Him only.  As 1 John 5:21 says “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”  Amen.