Ezekiel 20

Read Ezekiel 20

“Certain of the elders of Israel” came to Ezekiel “to inquire of the Lord.” The Almighty knew all that was in their hearts and He was not impressed. His response? “I will not be inquired of by you.”

The Lord went on to review the history of Israel from the days of their bondage in Egypt up to the present time of exile in Babylon. Though there appeared to be high and low points in this survey of nearly 1000 years, the story of the entire millennium was remarkably consistent. God had always commanded that they “cast away the detestable things that their eyes feasted upon,” yet they stubbornly continued in idolatry. He gave to them His statutes “by which, if a person does them, he shall live,” but they would not obey. He provided them with the gift of His Sabbaths for their growth in holiness, but they refused to rest in Him.

Throughout this entire era the Lord disciplined His people for their sins, yet ultimately, His “eye spared them.” They continued to resist His commandments. Now they pretended to desire His direction for living, but they would not sincerely repent of their disobedience. God revealed to Ezekiel what these elders really wanted: “Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.”

The plan of the Almighty was far better, though it would involve much suffering. He would “enter into judgment” with them “face to face.” Though He would eventually bring them back into the land, He made this solemn promise: “I will purge out the rebels from among you.”

As God had earlier revealed both to Ezekiel and to other prophets, He would one day change His people inside and out. The Lord would manifest His holiness among His beloved children “in the sight of the nations.” They would hate their former lawlessness in that future glorious era. “And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for My Name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel.”

The reaction of the elders of Israel to this very sobering message was most alarming. Ezekiel said, “Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, 'Is he not a maker of parables?'” They loved the entertainment provided by the prophet, but the seriousness of his message seemed to be lost upon them.

James 4 suggests that this odd reaction to the Word of the Lord was not limited to the Old Covenant people. The church also claims to want to inquire of the Lord, yet we have not entirely made our peace with the truth that we cannot seek God for the satisfaction of our own selfish “passions.” James writes, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” Yet James also assures us that God will glorify His own Name and will give us more grace. As followers of Jesus we must do what was required of Israel in every era: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:10)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Sovereign Lord, Your Word is true and good. We want to hear the truth. What is wrong with our hearts that we would ever resist You? You have given us so many good things, and have warned us concerning the detestable nature of idolatry. Nonetheless we have been attracted to what is wrong and foolish. Lord, we would rest in Your Son Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. He has accomplished our redemption through His death. We are the ones who have violated Your commandments, but He has paid the great debt that we incurred. He never rebelled against You, but we have profaned Your Name and Your Law throughout all the nations where we live. You are the Lord. Speak to us now in great power and love. Draw us near again by Your Spirit. We hate all our false worship, and we turn away from our defiling spiritual adultery. We repent. We hate our desire to be imitators of the world, rather than imitators of Your Son. If You punished us as our sins deserved we could never have survived, but You have seen Your beloved Son face to face in judgment for our sake. Once we were scattered, but now we have been gathered. Once we were rejected, but now in Him we have been accepted forever. You have not dealt with us according to our evil hearts and our arrogant ways. You have granted us mercy, according to the righteousness of Your Son, our atoning sacrifice.

Ezekiel 19

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The Lord spoke a “lamentation for the princes of Israel.” Who were these leaders mentioned in Ezekiel 19? They were the descendants of David from the tribe of Judah who were in line to be rulers in Judah after the death of Josiah. Three sons and one grandson all had an opportunity to reign in Jerusalem, but none of them followed the Word of the Lord.

Ezekiel referred to the tribe of kings as “a lioness” who had very powerful offspring. In Genesis 49:8-12, Jacob blessed Judah using the imagery of lions and “the ruler's staff.” By the time of Ezekiel, the line of kings had brought forth two very brutal “cubs.” One was taken “with hooks to the land of Egypt.” The other was sent to the east. “They put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon.” Both of these leaders were great disappointments. They “devoured men and seized their widows,” and were eventually overwhelmed by far more impressive imperial powers.

According to Ezekiel's parable, the “mother” of these two lions had once been “like a vine in a vineyard.” She had plenty of water and was therefore “fruitful and full of branches.” In fact the “stems” of this great vine had been so strong that they “became rulers' scepters” just as Jacob had prophesied in Genesis 49. Yet eventually this impressive plant was “plucked up in fury” and “the east wind dried up its fruit,” a reference to the Babylonians who came from that direction to conquer the people of the Lord.

What would become of Judah? “Now it is planted in the wilderness,” another reference to Babylon, “a dry and thirsty land.” What had once been an impressive expression of the Lord's kingdom on earth would now have “no scepter for ruling.” Ezekiel concludes, “This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.”

Judah's exile was very disappointing, yet God's plan for His people would not end with the immediate descendants of Josiah. The Lord had made earlier promises regarding the line of David that were yet to be fulfilled. As Paul would later write in Romans 11:29, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Paul would cite Isaiah to readers who understood that the perfect Son of David had indeed come to establish an eternal kingdom. “The root of Jesse will come, even He who arises to rule the Gentiles; in Him will the Gentiles hope.” With that confidence and with the evidence we have in our day of the worldwide proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we boldly receive this good benediction from the apostle: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:12-13)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, we mourn regarding the leaders of Your church. They should be under-shepherds for the Lord Jesus Christ. Will they devour men and seize their widows? Is this an acceptable pattern of love for people who proclaim the power of the cross of Christ? Draw us back again to Yourself in love. Please grant us faithful pastors who will love You and will feed Your flock according to the directives of that one great Shepherd of the sheep.

Ezekiel 18

Read Ezekiel 18

“The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.” This cynical saying, repeated among the Old Testament community in Ezekiel's day, was not pleasing to the Almighty. Although it was certainly true that sin did have serious consequences for future generations (Exodus 20:5), this “proverb” from Ezekiel 18:2 was shared among the exiles in order to evade responsibility for their bad choices. The point of these clever words was to shift guilt away from themselves and toward their forefathers. With that in mind, the Lord insisted that His people take two matters to heart. First, “all souls are mine,” both the fathers and their children. Second, “the soul who sins shall die.”

Transgression was always defined according to God's Law. The Lord stood against idolatry, adultery, oppression, and robbery. He called His people to be generous to others in need and to seek justice in all their dealings with one another. Those who obeyed Him were to be counted as “righteous.” They would “surely live.” But their observance of God's commandments would not automatically be transferred to their children if those sons and daughters rejected the good example of the men and women who came before them. Concerning the person who did “abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.”

If a wicked person had a son who dedicated himself to the Lord's Law, that child would live. If an obedient father had a descendant who rejected God's statutes, that young man would die. Furthermore, even a good person who changed his ways in the middle of his life and began to pursue evil would face the consequences for his recent rebellion. On the other hand, an evil man who repented should expect that the Lord would forgive him; “he shall surely live; he shall not die.”

This declaration of individual responsibility need not have been surprising to anyone, yet the people of God were offended by Ezekiel's words. They said, “The way of the Lord is not just.” God's response: “Is My way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?” Strange accusations against Jehovah were only another example of absurd moral deflection. A better plan for the children of a holy God would have been an honest assessment of their guilt followed by sincere repentance. The Lord called for them all to find “a new heart and a new spirit.” They needed to change “lest iniquity be your ruin.” The God of Israel was not rooting for their death, “so turn, and live.”

While it is very clear to us today that we do not have the perfect holiness necessary to win eternal life, the Lord Himself has become “sin” for us so that “in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Also, we have come to appreciate that the Holy Spirit alone can shine the light of heaven into our souls so that we might have peace with God forever (2 Corinthians 4:5-6). Nonetheless, each of must recognize that the time for avoiding the truth about our misbehavior is long past. As those who are grateful for Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we should take action every day to turn toward our God. It will not help us to blame our problems on sinners who lived long before us. God has given us the grace to change. He is ready to forgive the repentant right now.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, we have such foolish sayings that pass among us as if they were from Your Word. Please forgive us for our lack of careful attention to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. You demand holiness from Your people. The righteous man will truly follow Your Word. Such a man will live. Father, what will become of us, for we have sinned against You? Where is our perfect obedience? We have heard of the good news that Your Son lived and died for us. Our Savior has suffered for our iniquity. Since we have received so great a salvation, will we now be fools and commit horrible sin? Will we tempt You in this? Take away the foolishness of Your children. The injustice that we do, will it now lead to death? The right course for us is very clear. We will confess our sins to You. We will repent and turn from all of our transgressions. Do not let our iniquity destroy us. Grant to Your people a new heart for You, that we might attend to Your good Word.

Ezekiel 17

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“Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel.” Ezekiel was called by God to teach the Lord's people using a symbolic story about two eagles. The first great bird stood for the King of Babylon. He took some of the young people of Israel and “planted” them in his land. He then set up Zedekiah to rule in Canaan under his authority, an arrangement to which Zedekiah agreed.

A second eagle in this story was the Pharaoh in Egypt. Zedekiah and the leaders of the Jews secretly put their hopes in the Egyptians to deliver them from the hands of the Babylonians. Israel was a vine that should have been fruitful in the service of the emperor of Babylon. Instead the king in Jerusalem rejected the arrangement that God had appointed. The “vine bent its roots toward” Pharaoh assuming that this would be a more advantageous alliance.

The Lord spoke against His own “low spreading vine” because of her covenant unfaithfulness. He asked this important question: “Will it thrive?” Israel's rebellion was not only against the Babylonians, but was also a violation of the Lord's own instruction. God would come against Zedekiah. “I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against Me.” By this mighty act of judgment, the Jews would “know that I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Yet the Almighty also told one more story through Ezekiel regarding His plan of grace for the distant future. God would take “a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar.” He would plant “a tender one” that would become a very mighty tree. “And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.”

Ezekiel did not explain the meaning of this final tale, but a parable in the New Testament helps us to confirm that it is about Jesus and the eternal kingdom of God. In Matthew 13:31-32 Jesus taught His disciples about His worldwide mission. It would start as something so small, but would eventually provide shelter to all of God's chosen people. “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Isaiah 53:2 prepared the Jews for a Messiah who would be “like a young plant.” It was the will of the Lord to bring about His everlasting reign through very humble beginnings. The answer for our salvation has never been in the most powerful empires known to humanity. Our sovereign God has secured His kingdom in such a way that He alone receives the glory for what will surely come to pass. “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O Lord, there is much that we do not understand. Speak to us clearly through Your Word, and fill us with a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Your Son. You have blessed us with so many wonderful gifts. Cause Your church to be a fruitful plant with deep roots. You know the secrets of our hearts. You know of the foolish schemes of wicked leaders among Your church. Thank You for the perfection of our One Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. He surely is a new tree of righteousness for Your people. We find protection under His branches. In Him, You have fully accomplished our rescue from sin and death.

Ezekiel 16

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Passages like Psalm 45:13 and Ephesians 5:27 assure us that the Lord's people will one day be a glorious bride for the Son of God. We need to remember God's great promises of blessing as we hear His honest rebuke against Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16. God had given His beloved city every good gift, but she squandered all His presents on misguided spiritual passions.

How could the chosen people turn against the Lord? According to God, “You trusted in your beauty.” She forgot her humble beginnings and would not remember the Lord who had saved her in her distress.

Every culture has its own pattern of worldliness. The customs of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, and any other nation new or old have no power to defeat sin and death. Only a heavenly Savior can bring life to sinful people. The Spirit of God alone can root out the old habits of rebellion from those who have been claimed by God's covenant mercy.

Without the work of Jesus no people group on earth can ever become citizens of heaven, and in the absence of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, all those who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb will quickly return to their old wickedness. The good news is that God is very determined to grant us eternal life and to bless us with a growing experience of holiness during our few days under the sun.

Why would the Lord save an “adulterous wife” who had such a disappointing record of dedication to Him? The answer is found in the perfect character of our loving God. “I will remember My covenant with you.” If the Lord confronts our disobedience and makes us “ashamed” of our sin, it is only to break us from the ugly patterns of addictive idolatry that we have too often chosen for ourselves. One day we will be entirely cleansed and wonderfully beautiful, for God Himself has promised that we will be the perfectly glorious bride of Jesus Christ.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father in Heaven, we have sinned against You. Your people have wandered into filth and lawlessness. You have spoken life into us, and yet we have been loud and rebellious in our own ugly ways. You have done for us everything necessary for peace and growth, yet we have loved other gods. We have insisted on our own desires for false worship. Please help us, O Lord. Grant to us again the spiritual wisdom that we so desperately need. Have we utterly forgotten Your kindness to us? Are we beyond rescue? We confess to You that we have looked to the world for our strength. We have vigorously searched for what idols might give to us, but we have had little energy for seeking You. We have not honored You according to Your Word. Please do not discipline us forever. Grant to us a new repentance. Why are we so foolish as to follow in the ways of those who are bound for eternal judgment? Grant that we would resist the devil. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, that we might find again true godliness with contentment, which is great gain. We cast our cares before You. Remember Your everlasting covenant with Your children. You have surely atoned for our sin through the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 15

Read Ezekiel 15

“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood?” A vine is of use if it is fruitful, but if it is barren, it may have no greater worth than to be kindling for the fire. It certainly cannot be used as a supporting beam in a house. It will not even make a strong peg for hanging up a piece of pottery.

If a vine is of no use prior to being put in a fire, it will not be of any value at all after it is badly burned. “Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything!”

Why would the Lord be talking to Ezekiel about the comparative virtues of the various “trees of the forest?” Throughout the Bible the Almighty used the illustration of a vine to speak about His people. In Ezekiel 15 God was speaking about “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” who would be brought through the fire of divine discipline. The Lord said, “I will set my face against them.” Though they might “escape from the fire” of Babylonian oppression, God would still bring them through very severe trials.

What good result could come from such tragedy? They would “know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.” Israel and Judah deserved the troubles that they would receive from the God of glory. There was much evidence of their deliberate rebellion against Him. Jehovah said, “I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly.”

The covenant people in any age can easily fall into one of two errors when they consider their own personal usefulness. They may imagine that they have no worth at all, ignoring the consistent testimony of the Bible that all human beings have the dignity of being image-bearers of the Creator. On the other hand, they may also overestimate the righteousness of their own works, guessing that God has chosen them because He saw how great they all were.

The Lord Jesus died on the cross for His people not because we were the best “trees of the forest,” but because God loved us in our weakness and has credited us with the towering strength of a better Man. Jesus was like a perfectly fruitful “tree planted by streams of water” written of in Psalm 1:3. In John 15:5 Christ teaches His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Yet as Paul writes in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Wood that might have been “given to the fire for fuel” has now become a very fruitful vine. This could only have been accomplished by the grace of God.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O God, will Your church be a useless vine? Are we so set on our own pride that we will not be useful for anything? Make us to be a strong tree, planted by the waterside, full of the Holy Spirit. Look upon us again, not in wrath, but in the faithfulness of Your covenant love.

Ezekiel 14

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“Certain of the elders of Israel” came to Ezekiel hoping to receive direction from Jehovah. Instead, God confronted them with their wickedness. “These men have taken their idols into their hearts.” They had put their trust in false objects of worship. Even though they were leaders of the Lord's people, they “set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces.” Every time they bowed down in front of some man-made image, they were giving in to serious sin.

The Lord had no intention of being one voice among many within their false pantheon of divinities. His message to them was uncompromising. “Repent and turn away from your idols.” Even if they received some secrets from another world that a messenger claimed to have heard from the God of Israel, it would not actually be a true Word. “I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him.” Both the false ambassador and the idolatrous leaders would suffer because of their rebellion against the one true God.

Why would the Lord not meet them half-way if they claimed to be seeking direction from Him? They needed to turn away from their sinful worship or they would just continue on a road that would surely lead to their destruction. It was the Lord's love for His people that caused Him to demand that they change their spiritual practices. God disciplined these leaders in the hope that they would not “defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions.” He longed for a far better relationship involving their exclusive devotion, “that they may be My people and I may be their God.”

Perhaps they thought that it was enough for them that Ezekiel would be faithful to the Lord. He could pray for them and give them whatever information they might need from unseen spiritual realms. God insisted that if even “Noah, Daniel, and Job” were interceding for some foreign land filled with idolatry, the Lord would not listen to those great men. How much more would He withhold comforts from His own people in order to gain their attention? He would be willing to bring famine, wild beasts, the sword, and disease upon Jerusalem if such trials were necessary in order to call His children back to a dedicated relationship with Himself.

Yet God would not utterly forget His elect. His discipline would have a good impact upon some. One day “survivors” would come to the community of the faithful, even sons and daughters who had once worshiped forbidden images. These descendants of the godly would come home to the Lord in the fullest way imaginable, not like the elders who wanted to hear from the Almighty and still continue to bow down before idols. The righteous would see some of their children again. They would rejoice to “see their ways and their deeds” as changed men and women, and would be “consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem.”

God brings discipline upon the elect for His larger saving purposes. Even Jesus, although He was the Son of God, “learned obedience through what He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) Of course our Savior was never engaged in even a moment of idolatry. Nonetheless, He learned the fullness of love through His own experience of the cross. Through His great work “He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:9)

The Lord God was able to bring blessing even to Jesus through the suffering that He faced. He surely will grant us much grace with the trials that we and our children may desperately need for our eternal good. May we use every painful experience to wake us out of our slumber, not resisting the Holy Spirit, but eagerly abandoning all false worship as we run home again to the only God who can save us.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, we ask that You would give elders to Your church who would truly follow Christ. What will we do if our leaders are worshiping only idols? This is not the way of Your Son. Rid our hearts of false gods. Raise up faithful men to speak the Word of truth to Your people. Be our God. We are Your people. Forgive our sins. We have wandered so far from the pathway of truth. Is there any hope for us? Restore Your church, that we might grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 13

Read Ezekiel 13

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel.” What was the problem with so many of those among God's people who claimed to be ambassadors for the Almighty? They spoke “from their own hearts” and followed “their own spirit” though they had no true visions from the Lord.

In the days just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem many teachers who claimed to be sent from God gave dangerous directives to those who listened to them. In particular, they spoke words of shalom “when there is no peace.” Jehovah compared them to a wall that could not bear any weight though it had an impressive coat of paint that made it look very strong. It would soon fall, though people “smear it with whitewash.” The Lord Himself would “break down the wall.” In a very short period of time it would be plain that these presumptuous men were not reliable guides for the nation.

A second group of people were inflicting spiritual damage upon the Lord's children. There were those “who sew magic bands upon all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons.” These women claimed that their religious crafts would bring their customers good fortune. The trinkets that they made were not of any good use to those who wore these charms. Such occult practices were actually a “hunt for souls” among the ignorant and vulnerable who were willing to pay for false assurance.

God was plainly against the lying men and women described in Ezekiel 13. They spoke happy words to people who needed to be afraid of the Lord's discipline, and they also “disheartened the righteous falsely.” The Lord would bring His judgment speedily upon those who were pretending to be His allies but were only inflicting damage upon suffering human beings who were desperate for good news.

The Lord has always reigned over His people. He called to account any who presumed to speak for Him or who introduced strange ceremonies promising to bring cheap peace to the wicked.

Our New Testament Savior who died for our sins retains all authority over those who would claim to be His ambassadors. We have no right to invent a new gospel message or to give eternal comfort to those who will not repent and believe. Jesus is the only King of the kingdom. The gospel message that we must proclaim is the one recorded for us in the Scriptures.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father, what shall become of foolish messengers who follow their own spirits? They claim to speak for You, but they do not bring forth the truth of Your Word. We thank You for the Scriptures. Help us to proclaim Your truth according to Your will. Grant that Your ministers would teach the full breadth of Your whole counsel. There is a day of reckoning coming. We know that judgment begins with Your church. Bring down the whitewashed walls that we have built, prophesying messages that we invented ourselves. Take away from us all our idolatrous and foolish magic charms that are of no use to us for any real spiritual growth. Turn us from every evil way, for You are the Lord.

Ezekiel 12

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In the years immediately preceding the destruction of the temple, many leaders among the Jews imagined that a full exile would not happen any time soon. God's prophet was called to live out the truth of God's message in front the people of Jerusalem, but so many refused to hear. Ezekiel 12 presented them with three important messages that they did not want to know.

First, exile was coming for King Zedekiah and his subjects. Even strong leaders would eventually pack their bags in fear and try to escape the city during the final siege of the Babylonians. They would dig under the wall in an effort to save their lives. The prophet described what would happen to Zedekiah very precisely. “I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there.” See Jeremiah 52:11 for the horrible fulfillment of these words.

Second, the troubles of the Lord's people would not only be physical, but also emotional. Ezekiel had to eat bread and drink water with obvious “trembling and with anxiety.” The root cause of this time of the greatest “dismay” would be their own rebellion. Jerusalem would suffer “on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it.”

Finally, the timing of these difficult trials would not be “far off” as some would imagine. “It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the Word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

The end of the Old Testament world was surely coming. Though there would be several centuries of subjugation prior to the advent of the Messiah, the exile itself would be within a very short period of time. But what about the end of the modern gospel era in which we now live? Does the church in our day give serious enough consideration to the return of the Lord? Do we have “ears to hear” what God has said to us in the Scriptures?

The ultimate “Day of the Lord” is not far away for all who will not love the Word of God. Even if the present world continues for centuries, Hebrews 9:27 reminds us that it is “appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” At just the right time, Jesus will return. When that happens, even the strongest warriors will have such anxiety that they will look like women in the worst pains of childbirth. Though many will live in denial of the justice of God right up to the last moment, that willful ignorance will not change the fact that we all have been warned for many centuries of the imminence of a future reckoning. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand.” The apostle was correct even then.

For those who sincerely rest in Christ and who long for His appearing, we shall never face even a moment of the eternal “exile” that is coming upon the world. Our Savior has conquered death for us. Even now, though some of the Lord's people may struggle with issues of anxiety, we have the great benefit available to us of what Paul refers to in Philippians 4:7 as “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” Finally, we need not live in turmoil about the specific date of the Lord's future plans. The blessings that God has reserved for us in the heavens are already ours because of our union with Jesus. We can be content to leave all questions of timing in His very capable hands.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, take away our rebellion. We would claim to have ears and eyes, but we do not hear and see. You have spoken to us in ways that are unmistakably clear, yet Your people have followed their own ways. We repent, O Lord. Speak to us again through Your messengers. Do not cast us away from Your presence. Scatter the enemies who would come against Your church. Gather us together in Your presence. You are the Lord. We thank You for the union that we have with Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and Son of God. Bring to an end the preaching of false doctrines among us. Speak a true Word to us and perform it at just the right time. Glorify Your great Name.

Ezekiel 11

Read Ezekiel 11

“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel.” Those who should have led Jerusalem in godliness were actually preventing true followers of the Lord from even coming into the city. They asserted their authority over the weak in what was once the Promised Land, but they themselves would not listen to the Word of the Almighty.

The Lord's response was to tell the people once again that they would be brought beyond the borders of Israel as exiles. The reason why death and destruction were coming upon them was very obvious. “You have not walked in My statutes, nor obeyed My rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

While Jehovah's true prophet was delivering this indictment, one of the offending leaders of the city suddenly died. Ezekiel did not revel in this tragedy, but cried out to God with lamentation. “Ah, Lord God! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

God's response was two-fold. First, He emphasized that His grace was with His chosen people who had been forced from their homes. “I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.” They would eventually be gathered back to “the land of Israel.” But for those who were committed to unfaithfulness, “I will bring their deeds upon their own heads.”

For all who would experience His sovereign mercy, the blessings would be shockingly bountiful. The former idolatrous “abominations” would be removed from the land. Moreover, the people would all experience a change in their spiritual lives that could only be accomplished by regeneration. “I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

While the New Testament church has tasted of this heavenly life, we still have more sin in our lives than we dare to admit. Yet our hope is for an even greater experience of God's grace. As we read in 2 Peter 3:13, “According to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

It is this fuller existence of holy joy that Ezekiel wrote about so long ago. It would not come to pass immediately. Many faithful Jews would never again see the temple in Jerusalem, but they would be kept by the Lord in gatherings of worship all over the world. At just the right time, men like the Apostle Paul would enter synagogues in places like Ephesus and Corinth with the good news that Jesus had died for sinners and had now risen from the dead. God's scattered elect would be brought home, but not merely to a reconstituted temple in Jerusalem. They would find Jesus Christ, in whom those who had been made alive by the Holy Spirit would live forever as the beloved children of God.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Glorious Lord, You have appointed leaders among Your people, yet many do not obey You. Forgive us, O Lord. Grant to us a heavenly-mindedness that would be true to Your Word. What shall we do when those who are charged with bringing Your Word to Your people give their own message and turn away from You? Do not make a full end of Your church. Assemble us together again as Your covenant people. Fill us with Your Spirit. We will be Your people, and You will be our God. Speak to us words of truth that we may live.

Ezekiel 10

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The prophet Ezekiel was overwhelmed by the vision that he saw of a living angelic chariot. His account of “the glory of the Lord” should be compared to the days of Solomon when the Almighty graced the newly completed temple with His presence (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). But now in the time of Ezekiel, the Lord was not coming into this holy building, but leaving it.

In Ezekiel 11:23 we read about God's departure at the moment when the Babylonians would soon destroy Jerusalem. “And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city.” Near the end of the book in Ezekiel 43:4-5 a future visionary temple is described. “As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” The writer looked forward to a great day of future blessing, yet a physical facility such as the one described in detail at the end of Ezekiel has never been built in all the many years that have passed since the destruction of the temple by the Romans in AD 70.

What the church does have is a special Man who takes the place of a holy building. At the birth of the Messiah a bright display in the heavens is seen by common shepherds (Luke 2:9). Through the church, and especially in the return of our great King Jesus, Habakkuk 2:14 will be finally fulfilled, and “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

God will live in us, changing His people to make us more like Jesus. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Ezekiel 10 was a very sad chapter from the perspective of the Old Covenant community. The Jews had failed their covenant test, and now Jehovah was preparing to leave this amazing edifice and His holy city. Yet from the vantage point of the church, while we may be rightly saddened by the suffering of our brothers and sisters in former centuries, we also rejoice that the old system of approaching the Almighty through temporary ceremonies was swiftly coming to an end. The former methods had to go away so that the new temple of God could be built through the preaching of the gospel to the nations. The Cornerstone of the church is none other than Jesus our Savior. We stand on the solid Rock of Christ, and we shall never be destroyed.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God, please do not take Your Holy Spirit from us. Protect us from all evil. We need You. Speak to us clearly through Your servants. Grant us hope for the future because of Your great promises. At just the right time, send forth Your angels to gather Your elect from throughout the earth. Until that day when the trumpet will sound, keep us in Your love and grace. Our brothers in places of danger cry out to You night and day. Hear and save. Send forth Your ministering angels like flames of fire. Protect us as we proclaim Your glory.

Ezekiel 9

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The Lord's message to His people through the prophet Ezekiel was full of uncompromising wrath against their evil ways. God shouted in the prophet's ears with a loud voice concerning the impending doom of Jerusalem. “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” Ezekiel saw six mighty men with swords and one additional servant “with a writing case at his waist.” This scribal figure was instructed to “put a mark on the foreheads” of those who would be spared from the six destroyers who would soon be sent forth by the Almighty as agents of His justice.

What would be the defining characteristic of those who would be spared? They were the ones who “sigh and groan over all the abominations” that filled Jerusalem. The transgressions referred to by the word “abominations” included the idolatry and violence described in the previous chapter. Those who mourned such degradation among the covenant people of the Lord of Hosts were the only human beings who would be spared. All others, including young and old, men and women, and even little children would be suddenly killed.

What was Ezekiel's immediate reaction to the horrors that he saw? He fell down on his face and cried out, “Ah, Lord God! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

We might expect that the Lord would comfort the prophet at this difficult moment. Not at all. God reinforced the truth of the city's guilt. “The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice.” Therefore God would not alter His course. “My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

As we encounter passages such as this in God's Word, we are reminded of how frightening it would be if we were to present ourselves before the Lord based on our own record of obedience to His commandments. As another prophetic text warns us, “But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:2)

The only way for any of us to live in this very fallen world with a healthy confidence is to remember the flawless record of the Savior who died for us on the cross. We are further consoled by the good words of Jesus when His own disciples wondered how anyone could ever be saved. “With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, the Day of Judgment will surely come. Even before that Day, we see signs of Your judgment against all that is evil. Father, we sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in Your church. We long for the purity of Your Kingdom. Yet we also have sin within us. Please pardon. The guilt of Your church is exceedingly great. We know that You have not forgotten us. You see us and You know Your children. Please have mercy on us, according to Your righteousness and grace.

Ezekiel 8

Read Ezekiel 8

“Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man. Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.” The prophet Ezekiel saw a representative of the Almighty. In the message that followed, Yahweh exposed the spiritual corruption that existed among the children of the Lord. God's heavenly ambassador took Ezekiel “by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem.”

What did the prophet see there? The Lord showed him four idolatrous “abominations,” beginning with an “image of jealousy.” This monument of false worship was placed at one of the gateways to the temple. God was Israel's husband. What was this false deity doing right outside His door?

Secondly, Ezekiel saw “a hole in the wall” that led to a secret room where “seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel” were burning incense to a great host of unclean images. They comforted themselves with the lie that “the Lord does not see us.”

Still more distressing, a third picture came before the prophet. In the same vicinity a group of women were “weeping for Tammuz,” a pagan deity. What had become of the daughters of Jerusalem?

The fourth picture was of a group of men turning “their backs to the temple of the Lord” as they worshiped the sun. With this final chronicle of spiritual degeneration, Ezekiel heard a clear denunciation of the ethical filth that had taken over the entire nation. The chosen people of Jehovah had filled “the land with violence” and had provoked the Lord “still further to anger.”

The Lord indicted Israel for ignoring the obvious. “They put the branch to their nose,” like someone trying to avoid an unpleasant smell. As they considered the quality of their own offering to the Almighty, they could only imagine the freshness of cedar. They pretended that there was no real problem with their behavior.

God was not deceived, and He announced that when they came to Him in desperation, “though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” Like Jacob's brother Esau as described in Genesis 27:38 and Hebrews 12:17, they would not “inherit the blessing.” Remember that when Esau came to Isaac, “he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”

We need the Lord God to grant us remission from our sins at the earliest moments of any foolish wandering. We must not wait to plead to Jesus on the day when He comes again to bring the vengeance of the Almighty upon the wicked. Let us ask for forgiveness for the church today, not only for ourselves, but for all who are with us around the communion table. We can apply for mercy now from the Son of God who died for our sins and who hears and answers prayer.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, there is much spiritual adultery within Your church. Please forgive us. We have idols in our hearts and in our lives that must be destroyed and removed from Your sanctuary. You know the truth of what is in us. Though we may have a white-washed exterior, we cannot fool You. Inside there are dead men’s bones. We have even become brazen in our worship of created things. Our lives are also obvious evidence against us, for we do what is evil. Please change us and forgive us.