Sun, 18 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 21:1-5

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel ³ and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. ⁵ And all flesh shall know that I am the LORD. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.

God tells Ezekiel that He will bring judgment against Israel because of their continued disobedience. The were to be the people of God, but they were living in rebellion against Him. And so He will bring the sword of judgment, and it will show all that God is the LORD.

What do we learn from this?

God displays that He is the LORD when He comes in judgment. And when the visible church is in blatant disobedience to Him, God will bring judgement against it. God will not let those who claim to be His people to continue in rebellion against Him unjudged.

Notice that God says that his judgement will fall on both righteous and wicked. The righteous do not necessarily get a free pass when judgement falls upon the disobedient church. They will suffer too.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Here we see that judgment will sometimes fall on both the righteous and the wicked. We understand that the righteous are those who are trusting in God for salvation, and are attempting (however imperfectly) to live lives that are pleasing to God. They are not righteous in that they are perfect. But as they are in Jesus Christ, they are righteous in God’s eyes. They have the perfect righteousness of Christ applied to them, and so God declares them to be righteous. This doesn’t exempt them from suffering, and they will suffer in the general judgment of God. But when they stand before God on judgment day, He will declare them to be righteous and acceptable to Him because of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Wed, 14 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 17:22-24

²² Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

In this chapter, Ezekiel has this elaborate prophecy of trees, vines and eagles. Knowing the history of what happened in the Babylonian exile, the message is pretty clear. The great eagle is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. When the eagle takes the top of the cedar tree from Lebanon, it refers to Nebuchadnezzar taking King Jehoiachin into captivity.

The seed that the eagle plants that then grows into a small vine is Zedekiah, who was appointed king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. When the vine turns to a different eagle, this alludes to Zedekiah’s turning to Egypt to rebell against Babylon, which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and Zedekiah’s blinding and imprisonment.

What do we learn from this?

God is in control of all history. Whether it is the big things of life, like the falling and rising of nations in our chapter today, or the small things of life, like the dying of a bird, God is in control.

There is much comfort for us in knowing that our Heavenly Father is in control of all things. So even if things do not go well for us, we know that God has allowed it to happen for a reason, and that He will work in the terrible circumstances to bring about His glory and our ultimate good.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The chapter ends with God promising to set up his own apointed twig that will grow into a mighty tree. The birds will come to this tree for shelter and rest.

This tree is the promised Messiah. It is God again renewing the promise He made to David to bring a king to sit on the throne forever. The kings of Judah had failed, and were being carried into captivity for their disobedience, but God promises He will establish His King.

Jesus Christ is this King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the one to whom we flee for refuge and rest. He is sprig that has been made into the high tree.

Sat, 10 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 13:9-16

⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. ¹⁰ Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, ¹¹ say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. ¹² And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. ¹⁴ And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. ¹⁵ Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel lived in a very difficult time. Israel had been unfaithful to God, and God was in the process of disciplining the nation by sending them into captivity in Babylon. During this time, God sent prophets, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to proclaim God’s coming judgment and to call people to repentance. They did not meet with much success, but they were faithful to the difficult task God appointed for them. They preached the message that people didn’t want to hear.

The faithful, true prophets were rare. But there were with them many other religious leaders who compromised with the world. There desire was to be popular with the people, and so instead of preaching what God had said, these false prophets would tell the people what they wanted to hear. They prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace (v 16). They gave the people what they wanted: encouraging words of peace, but they denied the people what they really needed: God’s word of judgment and condemnation.

What do we learn from this?

This attitude is nothing new. There were people like this in Paul’s day (having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions…. There are people like this today. People don’t want to confront sin, and they don’t want someone to confront their own sin. They don’t want to preach the law or hear the law preached. They don’t want to say anything difficult or contrary because of the known reaction they will get. Instead, they water down the message and soften its impact, usually in the name of making the gospel more attractive to non-believers.

We must make sure that we don’t water down our preaching and teaching. We need to faithfully present the words of God without compromise and never tailor our message based upon addressing what the congregation wants to hear rather than what the need to hear.

God pronounces severe judgment upon the pastor or teacher who does not bring God’s given word to His people, but rather preaches whatever the congregation wants to hear.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The false prophets are bringing a false word from God. They are preaching peace to the people of Israel. The problem is that they are preaching the peace of disobedience. They are preaching forgiveness without repentance. They are preaching that God doesn’t judge sin, and that they are under God’s favor and protection, when in fact, just the opposite is true.

People are not fundamentally fine. They need a Saviour to rescue them from their sins and from the wrath of God. But if we don’t tell them the bad news, they will never realize their need for a saviour. They will never comprehend the good news unless they first understand the bad news.

Ezekiel says these false prophets are like those who put whitewash on a wall when in fact there are serious structural issues with the wall. They should have been dealing with the hard work of building and repairing the wall, not just slapping a useless coat of whitewash on it.

When we fail to point out sin and its consequences to those people around us, and when we fail to explain what Jesus Christ did to save everyone who comes to Him in faith, and when we instead preach about whatever feel good thing that is going through our minds, we are slapping whitewash on a structurally unsound wall. When we fail to give them the full Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are giving them what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear.

Tue, 6 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 9:1-6

¹ Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. ⁴ And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” ⁵ And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. ⁶ Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.

Some people are fascinated by the book of Revelation, and they enjoy speculating on the meaning of the symbolism of the book. One of the things that gets a lot of attention in the book of Revelation is the mark of the beast. Some people argue that it is some kind of identification computer chip, and they see the threat of this mark in national identification cards and RFID chips.

But here Ezekiel sees a vision of God having his people marked by an angel in preparation for the executioners to go through Jerusalem. This mark is not a tattoo, or embedded computer chip. It is a symbolic mark, and it means that these people are under God’s protection and they are not to be harmed by the executioners.

What do we learn from this?

God protects His people. He knows who they are, and He knows His plans for them. Nothing will happen to one of His children that is outside of His providence and control. Even when bad things happen to them, these things have come to them from a loving Father’s hand, and they are not meant to destroy them but are meant for God’s glory and their ultimate good.

If you are one of God’s children, He has marked you, and you are under His protection. You don’t see the mark, but you belong to Him.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Here is an interesting note from the New Geneva Study Bible:>/p>

The mark placed on the foreheads was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, tau. At the time of Ezekiel, tau was written like the English “X”. Early Christian interpreters saw in this slanted cross an anticipation of the cross of Christ.

Take it or leave it as you will.

Something a little more obvious is the link between this episode of the angel marking those who were to be spared execution because they were under God’s protection, and those who were spared execution of the firstborn in the Exodus because they were under the protection of the blood of the Passover lamb.

Christ is our Passover lamb who was sacrificed in our place. And only as we are under the protection of His atoning death are we saved from the wrath of God against our sins. It is because of Jesus Christ that we are adopted as children of God, and are marked as being under His protection.

Fri, 2 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 5:1-12

¹ “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. ² A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ³ And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. ⁴ And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. ⁶ And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, ⁸ therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. ⁹ And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰ Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. ¹¹ Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. ¹² A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.”

God has Ezekiel act out a visual illustration to display to the people what God is about to do. What does it all mean? We aren’t left to guess, as God explains it to us.

Ezekiel cuts off his hair and beard. This is a sign of mourning and degradation, and it symbolizes God’s coming judgment upon the people. Ezekiel is to divide his shaved hair into three portions. One third is burned and represents the people who will die of famine and disease in the coming siege. One third of the hair he is to hack up with a sword as one third of the people will be killed in battle. And one third of the hair he is to scatter to the wind, as one third of the people will be disbursed in exile.

But Ezekiel is also to tuck a small amount of the hair in the hem of his robe, and oddly, the meaning of this part of the illustration is not explained. Some argue that this represents the few people who will be left in the land of Israel. But I think this represents the true people of God, those who are protected by God even in the midst of the judgment.

What do we learn from this?

I see this as a promise that God will preserve His people even in the midst of the worst of situations going on. God will judge the visible church for its sin, but He will preserve the true church in the midst of that judgment.

God is willing to judge His people to the extent that the watching world thinks His people are completely destroyed. As far as we can see, there are none left at all. But despite what we see and think, God will preserve His elect and His church will not be completely destroyed. They might be just a small number, but they will be preserved.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ said:

Matthew 16:18

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The true church, the true believers, the elect belong to Jesus Christ. They are His and He promises to preserve them. Those who belong to Him are like Ezekiel’s hairs safely tucked away in the garment. They are kept and protected by Him and will be presented faultless to the Father in the final day of judgment.

[Update: After further reflection, I've changed my mind. This passage doesn't seem to be referring to the elect after all. Somehow I overlooked verse 4: And of these again (the hairs in the hem of his garment) you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel. The picture of Ezekiel tucking the hairs in the hem of his garment doesn't make sense to me as representing God's protection of the elect if God then has Ezekiel remove some of the hairs and burn them in the fire.

Since the Scriptures speak of the confidence we can have that God will never drive away those who come to Him in faith (and all those who are His will come to Him in faith), we know that God will not take from those who are the elect and consign them to the fire outside of His ultimate protection.

So I now think I was reading too much into this passage when I discussed it as referring to God's protection of the elect. My apologies.]

Mon, 29 August, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 1:26-28

²⁶ And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. ²⁷ And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. ²⁸ Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

The book of Ezekiel begins with a vision in which he describes these four strange and mighty creatures, and then Ezekiel describes his vision of heaven that he sees above the four creatures.

The chapter ends rather abruptly, like a cliff hanger. Everything builds to the point where we are about to hear what Ezekiel is about to be told. But we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out with the voice says.

It is all so strange and wonderful and highly symbolic. It is hard to know exactly what to make of it all, and some people have spent an enormous amount of time and effort to decipher the meaning behind every little detail of the vision. There might be some value to doing that, but I’m not so sure that kind of speculation is wise. At least for our purposes here, I’ll stick to what is clear: the point of the vision is to bring home the awesome majesty of God.

What do we learn from this?

Ezekiel at his commissioning, like Isaiah before him, has a vision of the glory of God. And like Isaiah, Ezekiel is thrown prostrate before the awesome majesty of God. He realizes that he is a creature before the Creator. He realizes he is finite before the Infinite. And although we don’t see him explicitly stating this as Isaiah does at his commissioning, he realizes that he is sinful before the Holy.

When we get but a glimpse of who God really is, it strikes us to the ground. There is no posturing before God. There is no sense of our own worth. God doesn’t owe us anything except His wrath at our sin.

Where is Christ in this passage?

As we enter the next chapter, we will see God speak to Ezekiel and command him to stand. The Spirit of God then enters him to enable Ezekiel to stand before God.

Make no mistake about this. Ezekiel is just like you and me. Ezekiel has sinned. He has violated God’s law many times and in many ways. How is wicked and sinful Ezekiel enabled to stand before a holy God who has promised that “the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous“?

The only way Ezekiel can stand before God and not be under God’s wrath is if his sin has been punished and he has been given the perfect righteousness that he lacks in and of himself. The only way Ezekiel can stand before God is because he is trusting in the substitute that God will provide for his salvation. The only way Ezekiel can stand before God is because of Jesus Christ.

For Ezekiel, he looked forward to the day when this substitute would come to save him from his sin. And so he offered the sacrifices (at least until he was carried into captivity and the temple was destroyed) that were commanded as foreshadows of the real Sacrifice that was to come. We look back on what God has done in sending the Second Person of the Trinity to live the perfect life and to die on a cross to save us from our sins.

It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we are enabled to stand before God and to enter into His presence, as Ezekiel did in his vision in chapter 1.