Ezekiel 28:19
“All who once knew you now throw up their hands: ‘This can’t have happened! This has happened!’”
“All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more.”
Material abundance and the consequential decrease in self-discipline blinds us to how bad things can get. We think our fortress of ‘stuff’ will keep us safe. Only God can keep us safe. He keeps not our self and its accoutrements safe but keeps us safe from self. Then we are free to follow him through despair and contentment, night and day, confusion and comprehension, safe from sin and eternal death.
Lord, there is no one else I can trust for my safety. You alone are big enough to hover over every second of my life, shielding and directing according to your perfect will. You gently wean me from my self, setting me free to really live. It’s another one of your upside down, inside out ways and I praise you for it. Keep working with my heart of clay and restore it as flesh, to your glory.
Ezekiel 28:5-6
“Your sharp intelligence made you world-wealthy. You piled up gold and silver in your banks. You used your head well, worked good deals, made a lot of money. But the money has gone to your head, swelled your head—what a big head! Therefore, GOD, the Master, says: ‘Because you’re acting like a god, pretending to be a god, I’m giving fair warning: I’m bringing strangers down on you, the most vicious of all nations.’”
“Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud. ‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you think you are as wise as a god, I will now bring against you a foreign army, the terror of the nations.’”
This is an accurate description of our times. Our heads can swell too. Success always tempts but the Lord is more compelling. He brings us up short before hubris fully develops. It is a relief to rely on his corrective presence.
Lord, I am a sinner. Grace me to align with your plumb-bob. I count on your help. Have mercy on me.
Ezekiel 26:4-7
“I’ll wash away the soil and leave nothing but bare rock. She’ll be an island of bare rock in the ocean, good for nothing but drying fishnets. Yes, I’ve said so. Decree of GOD, the Master. She’ll be loot, free pickings for the nations! Her surrounding villages will be butchered. Then they’ll realize that I am GOD. GOD, the Master, says: Look! Out of the north I’m bringing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king’s king, down on Tyre.”
“I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock! It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign LORD. Tyre will become the prey of many nations, and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army.”
Tyre was an ancient Phoenician seaport of many centuries in Modern Lebanon. It was considered impregnable, built on a island connected to the mainland by a causeway. Complete destruction was unimaginable. But it happened. When Nebuchadnezzar was finished with them nothing was left but for survivors to cannibalize the dead.
We also think, “It could never happen to us.” But it could, and does. Human capacity for brutality shocks our frame of reference and we find ourselves living in hell. Here the context is physical, but it could be emotional, relational or cultural. Only the Lord can prepare us for our future. Seek him now so he will be there for us then.
Lord, make me ready for my future. Even more, make me able to be your vessel in whatever the future holds. Shape me in that time to serve not my own self-interest, but others who are needy and adrift. Give me unflinching eyes to see and understand. Make me courageous in facing evil and valiant in doing good, all for your glory.
Ezekiel 25
Ezekiel 25
God gave Ezekiel messages of judgment against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia. All hated Judah and maliciously cheered when Judah’s temple was destroyed. God promised to permanently wipe them all from the map and their centuries old kingdoms disappeared at this time. Vengeance belongs to God alone. It is good to rail against oppression but then let it go. He hears our accumulative cries and will deliver according to his timing. Our emotional and physical energies can be put to better use elsewhere.
Lord, taking up the cause of the oppressed and yet stopping short of rage on their behalf is hard. It takes exquisite control of my feelings and I don’t do that well. But you do. Motivate me with your compassion and give me peace in trusting you for vanquishment. Protect me from resignation. Fill me with hope as I trust in your perfect vengenance in which all the oppressed of all the ages will see deliverance.
Ezekiel 16:60-63
“All the same, I’ll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I’ll make a new covenant with you that will last forever. You’ll remember your sorry past and be properly contrite when you receive back your sisters, both the older and the younger. I’ll give them to you as daughters, but not as participants in your covenant. I’ll firmly establish my covenant with you and you’ll know that I am GOD. You’ll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you, make everything right after all you’ve done, it will leave you speechless.’” Decree of GOD, the Master.”
“Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant. And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!’”
God continues his lament over Israel until these last verses. He ends with this message of hope. One day Israel will repent and God himself will atone for her sins. Other gods must be supplicated. This God provides atonement and redemption. It does indeed leave me speechless.
Lord Jesus, thank you for enduring the punishment I deserve, cleaning and healing me. Thank you for bringing the message of God’s great love for us. As the old hymn says, “How can it be?” I bow to the ground in worship before you.
Ezekiel 16:6-8
“‘And then I came by. I saw you all miserable and bloody. Yes, I said to you, lying there helpless and filthy, ‘Live! Grow up like a plant in the field!’ And you did. You grew up. You grew tall and matured as a woman, full-breasted, with flowing hair. But you were naked and vulnerable, fragile and exposed. I came by again and saw you, saw that you were ready for love and a lover. I took care of you, dressed you and protected you. I promised you my love and entered the covenant of marriage with you. I, GOD, the Master, gave my word.’”
“‘But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your on blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’ And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked. And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.’”
God bares his heart here, exposing his deep love for Israel. The early verses of Chapter 16 speak of Israel as an infant girl, thrown out at birth, uncared for and unwanted. When the time was right God bound himself to her in a covenant of marriage. He gave his word and stood by it through her many rebellions and forgave her sins. At last, he could forebear no longer, his righteousness demanding he bring judgement as promised in the law. (Deuteronomy and Leviticus)
God was a spurned lover. He hurt over Israel’s of him rejection just as we with our beloved. We might respond with anger and bitterness. Instead, he forgave and loved. His behavior is our plumb line. Eventually his love for Israel demanded a harsh cure and he administered it. Consequences are a powerful form of love. They help us say no to ourselves and turn to the One who loves us without measure.
Lord, you are a redeeming fire. Thank you for taking me through the flames. The results are worth it. You are worth it.
Ezekiel 14:6-8
“‘Therefore, say to the house of Israel: ‘GOD, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols. Turn your backs on all your outrageous obscenities. To every last person from the house of Israel, including any of the resident aliens who live in Israel—all who turn their backs on me and embrace idols, who install the wickedness that will ruin them at the center of their lives and then have the gall to go to the prophet to ask me questions—I, GOD, will step in and give the answer myself. I’ll oppose those people to their faces, make an example of them—a warning lesson—and get rid of them so you will realize that I am GOD.’”
“‘Therefore, tell the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins. I, the LORD, will answer all those, both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me and set up idols in their hearts and so fall into sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for my advice. I will turn against such people and make a terrible example of them, eliminating them from among my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
Idols are ruinous. They make us numb to our wounds of sin and oblivious to reality. They handicap and destroy God’s creation and that is why he hates them and their father Satan. At some point their worshippers are beyond redemption and God steps in. We are reminded that judgement occurs, “so you will realize that I am God.” There is healing in knowing God, our father and lover of our souls. Idols never satisfy our longing for integration and wholeness. Only the one for whom we were made can make us secure and fully ourselves.
Yes Lord! Make me fully myself. Shape me to fill your purpose and occupy the place for which you gifted me. I know the course of my day has many appointments with eternity. Let me keep each one, giving aid and honoring you in word and deed.
Ezekiel 14:1-4
“Some of the leaders of Israel approached me and sat down with me. GOD’s Message came to me: ‘Son of Man, these people have installed idols in their hearts. They have embraced the wickedness that will ruin them. Why should I even bother with their prayers? Therefore tell them, ‘The Message of GOD, the Master: All in Israel who install idols in their hearts and embrace the wickedness that will ruin them and still have the gall to come to a prophet, be on notice: I, GOD, will step in and personally answer them as they come dragging along their mob of idols.’”
“Then some of the leaders of Israel visited me, and while they were sitting with me, this message came to me from the LORD: ‘Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. Why should I listen to their requests? Tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The people of Israel have set up idols in their hearts and fallen into sin, and then they go to a prophet asking for a message. So I, the LORD, will give them the kind of answer their great idolatry deserves.’”
God sees our hearts, the seat of our longings and desires. Mostly we hide our hearts from others. But God knows who longs for only what he can provide and how thick their defensive walls. And he knows who’s many idols are firmly enthroned. Only the Perfect One can judge perfectly. I am grateful to leave it in his hands.
Also, these verses are a warning against insincerity and striving to be political correct. We should search our hearts for idols before presenting ourselves to God or his earthly representatives. They get in the way, often fatally, of seeing our path to an eternal future.
Lord, you are utterly good. I rest in that. You are big enough to hold every heart in your hand and judge it rightly. Reveal to me the idols of my heart, some of which I am unaware, that I may bring them to you for deliverance and healing.
Ezekiel 13:22-23
“‘Because you’ve confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you’ve made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn’t even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you’re finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I’m going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you’ll realize that I am GOD.’”
“‘You have discouraged the righteous with your lies, but I didn’t want them to be sad. And you have encouraged the wicked by promising them life, even though they continue in their sins. Because of all this, you will no longer talk of seeing visions that you never saw, nor will you make predictions. For I will rescue my people from your grasp. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
In Ezekiel’s time most common people were illiterate and could not grab a Bible to read God’s word. They trusted someone else to do it and were vulnerable to lies and confusion sewn by those who should have known better. It angered God. Jesus likewise angered at those who led children astray. (Matthew 18:6) We in the literate West, littered with Bibles, cannot claim ignorance as excuse for wrong leadership. We do know better.
Lord, forgive my country of her sins. Bibles are so common we have come to disdain their message in favor of that from the exotic East. Forgive me for not waving my Bible enough. I am inclined to hide in the crowd. Help me learn to share your good Word amongst coming and going, giving others a reason to consider that you are indeed their champion too.
Ezekiel 13:17-19
“‘And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say ‘Doom’ to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, ‘Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn’t live. You’ve lied to people who love listening to lies.’’”
“‘Now, son of man, speak out against the women who prophesy from their own imaginations. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: What sorrow awaits you women who are ensnaring the souls of my people, young and old alike. You tie magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves? You bring shame on me among my people for a few handfuls of barley or a piece of bread. By lying to my people who love to listen to lies, you kill those who should not die, and you promise life to those who should not live.’”
These verses, directed to women, address their peculiar weakness for gossip in magic. In Ezekiel’s time magic took the form of charms. Now we call it superstition. It moves life from under God’s umbrella to that of another mysterious, exotic, force. We can never manufacture peace and prosperity through tying ourselves in charm-knots. Believer’s lives are securely foreordained by Almighty God where we are safe from evil and its veiled intent. His plan is always in our best interest though it usually takes hindsight to see it. Instead of gossip and making charms, let us be like the woman of Proverbs 31:10-31, who rules herself with godly wisdom, working for her family and God’s honor.
Lord, I often bear no resemblance to that woman in Proverbs. Forgive my turning away from your security, as if my worry has power to save. Let me turn to you instead, living and sharing your peace when trouble looms, setting a right example for those who follow.
Ezekiel 13:13-14
“‘And that’s exactly what will happen. I, GOD, the Master, say so: ‘I’ll let the hurricane of my wrath loose, a torrent of my hailstone-anger. I’ll make that wall you’ve slapped with whitewash collapse. I’ll level it to the ground so that only the foundation stones will be left. And in the ruin you’ll all die. You’ll realize then that I am GOD.’”
“‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will sweep away your whitewashed wall with a storm of indignation, with a great flood of anger, and with hailstones of fury. I will break down your wall right to its foundation, and when it falls, it will crush you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
The earlier verses of Chapter 13 Ezekiel continues prophesy against false prophets. Here God says what he will do about it. Just now people in the American Southwest have endured massive rainfall, the result of a hurricane slamming into upper Baha. They have a lot of hard work ahead to clean-up but will restore most things to normal. How would be a hurricane of God’s wrath affect all the accoutrements of a complex civilization like ours? One thing is certain, we wouldn’t be able to return to normal.
Lord, such a scenario is terrifying. I don’t know if it is in my future, but I’d like to live as if it was. I need urgency to spread the truth, love in hard places, build bridges of relationship. Forgive my universalist tendency. Show me what to do next so I can move on down the road.
Ezekiel 13:2-6
“‘Preach to them the real thing. Tell them, ‘Listen to GOD’s Message!’ GOD, the Master, pronounces doom on the empty-headed prophets who do their own thing and know nothing of what’s going on! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals scavenging through the ruins. They haven’t lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on GOD’s Day of Judgment. All they do is fantasize comforting illusions and preach lying sermons. They say ‘GOD says . . .’ when GOD hasn’t so much as breathed in their direction. And yet they stand around thinking that something they said is going to happen.”
“‘Son of man, prophesy against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!’ ‘O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging in the ruins. They have done nothing to repair the breaks in the walls around the nation. They have not helped it to stand firm in battle on the day of the LORD. Instead, they have told lies and made false predictions. They say, ‘This message is from the LORD,’ even though the LORD never sent them. And yet they expect him to fulfill their prophecies!”
Who are the false prophets in our time? We could look to cults but there are others:
• Advertising that says, “Buy this and you will be fulfilled and glamorous,”
• Political leaders who sow dissatisfaction to promote themselves,
• Academics who revise history to suit their own agendas,
• Journalists who allow their reporting to slide into commentary promoting their own bias without notifying their reader.
These and other false prophets believe they fill a vital role in our culture but do nothing to actually help people weather life. They are scavenging jackals, preaching illusions, foretelling their preferred version of reality. They are the house upon the sand. (Matthew 7:26) God gives us an intellect so we can curate what goes into our heads. He gives us his written word as a plumb line. We have a conscience the Spirit uses to convict of right and wrong. Only God is the sage of the ages, not contemporary self-styled oracles. His truth strengthens our many cultural bonds and glues us together. Listen to him.
Lord, the voices competing for my attention are many. Give me wisdom to sift and sort in choosing which to attend to. Thank you for the peace of using you as my plumb line. May I share it with others who struggle under a load of worry and fear. You are mighty and have all things in your hands.