How Long?

Read: Psalm 13

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Record: The psalmist is caught in the difficulties of life and wants to free of his enemy.  His heart is heavy all day long, because he feel the Lord has abandoned him.  He believes the Lord’s face has been hidden from him.

Reflect:  The distress that the psalmist is feeling is purposefully vague, which allows for numerous connections.  Whatever his lot may be, the psalmist is pleading for the Lord’s help.  He wants an answer from the Lord and help from his enemy.

Respond:  My response is one of prayer hoping that verses 5-6 will always be my response.  No matter what the situation may bring forth, I would hope to trust in the Lord’s steadfast love because of the joyous salvation I have in the Lord and the infinite blessings that come with that pricey and priceless salvation.

This psalm tells that any difficult situation can finds its comfort in the gospel, that the Lord truly does hear me and ultimately answers me with the cross.  Notice that actual deliverance from the difficult situation in which the psalmist found him may not have even occurred.  In the end, God is still good.  My enemy may seem to be winning but the final victory (the one that matters) has been secured in the victorious work of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

The Blessed Man

Read: Psalm 1 (focus on vv. 1-2)

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Record:  As Book 1 of the Psalms begins, the psalmist describes the blessed in light of three negatives:

1. who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
2. nor stands in the way of sinners,
3. nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

The psalmist then shifts to the positive giving definition to the true blessed man of God.  Verse 2 describes him as one:

• who delights in the law of the LORD
• who meditates on his law day and night.

Next the psalmist gives two illustrations to further describe the righteous man as opposed to the wicked man.  The righteous person is like a tree, while the wicked person is like chaff.  The righteous person is like a tree planted by streams of water with fruit coming in its season, never whithering away.  All that the righteous man does prospers, because the Lord knows his way.

The wicked man is not like this.  He is easily blown away by the wind.  He will not be able to stand in judgment, nor before the righteous, but his way will ultimately perish.

Reflect and Respond: The psalms were poetry meant to be sung.  The very first psalm that we find in book 1 tells us to avoid the wicked, sinners, and scoffers, and instead to delight and meditate upon the law of the Lord day and night.  The song the Scriptures want me to sing is to delight and mediate upon God’s very Word.  There is nothing more righteous than the true words of God; furthermore God wants me to sing His righteous Word into my heart and to respond in righteousness.

Ultimately though, this psalm brings me to the most righteous, most blessed man, namely Jesus.  His delight was fully in the law of the Lord, because He perfectly upheld every aspect of the law.  Jesus’ drive was to obey the Father’s will, and His will was set forth in the law of God.  To keep the law is to love and delight in it, which Christ did so clearly.  He had the deepest delight in the law because He sought to obey it in every way.  Failure to obey the law is fundamentally a hatred for the law and the giver of the law… God.  Jesus loved the Father and kept his commandments.  He who kept the law, was the very Word of God, and is now the righteous man who blesses his people because of his perfect obedience to the Father’s will.

The Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace

Read: Ephesians 4:1-16 (vv. 12-16)

Record: Paul a prisoner to Christ and his gospel urges his readers to walk in a manner worthy of the calling.  He gives several fruit of those who walk in the Spirit: humility, gentleness, patience, loving one another, peace and unity.  The combination of the last two characteristics drive the remainder of the section: “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (v. 3)”

That unity manifests itself because there is:

• one body
• one Spirit
• one hope
• one call (inferred)
• one Lord
• one faith
• one baptism
• one God and Father

All Christians receive grace to keep the bond of peace.  The passage then turns to the work of Christ in vv. 8-10 describing his ascending and descending.  Christ both descended and ascended to fill all things: he suffered and then was glorified.  [He left glory to bear the curse of sin in order to conquer sin’s death by his resurrection and return to the glory of heaven above.]  Christ’s gifts are very specific.  Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are gifts given by Christ for a very specific purpose: to equip the saints to build up the body.

I’ll describe vv. 12-16 a bit more below.

Respond:  With Ephesians 1-3 as the foundation explaining who we are in Christ (the indicative), Paul now moves the second part of the letter to encourage the walk we live out in Christ (his pastoral encouragement coming in the imperative).  The high call to unity that Paul wants to see comes as a result of the work of Christ’s gifts to the church… namely Christ’s shepherding His church through His pastors/teachers and evangelists now (and His apostles and prophets from their respective redemptive historical periods).

The goal (“to equip…to build up” v. 12):

• attain unity of the faith (v. 13)
• knowledge of the Son of God (v. 13)
• mature manhood (v. 13)
• measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (v. 13)

The negative reason (“so that” v. 14):

• may no longer be children tossed to and fro (v. 14):
  • by every wind of doctrine (v. 14)
  • by human cunning (v. 14)
  • by craftiness in deceitful schemes (v. 14)

The positive reason (“Rather” v. 15):

• speak the truth in love (v. 15)
• grow up into our Head (into Christ) (v. 16)
• so that the whole body grows together, built in love (v. 16)

Reflect:  When I think about the goals and the reasons Paul gives for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, it all hinges on what the Spirit was sent to do in the first place: to testify to the comfort found in Christ.  The Spirit’s work is to lead us to Christ, to glorify and exalt Him, and to mold us into His perfect image.  Everything is centered upon growing in the knowledge of our faith in Christ.  Christ is to be magnified/exalted/glorified, known/studied/heard/spoken, loved/adored, followed, believed, worshipped, gifted, and shared.  Why? So that we won’t be swayed by false teaching like gullible kids, but bolstered in our Head who is Christ so that the body of Christ will love just as its Head has loved us.

This is where Paul is taking us.  Ephesians 5:2 says:

…and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Paul’s pastoral thrust of the passage is this: know and believe the love of Christ, grow in the love of Christ, and walk in the love of Christ.  This is my prayer.

In Christ

Read: Ephesians 1:3-14

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Record: Paul pronounces blessing upon God for all the spiritual blessings in heaven He has bestowed upon us already now.  They are awesome and they are numerous to which nothing compares.  Absolutely nothing:

• For he chose us in him before the creation of the world (v. 4)
• …to be holy and blameless in his sight in love (v. 4)
• he predestined us (v. 5)
• for adoption (v. 5)
• to sonship through Jesus Christ, (v. 5)
• in accordance with his pleasure and will (v. 5)
• to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (v. 6)
• In him we have redemption through his blood, (v. 7)
• the forgiveness of sins, (v. 7)
• in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. (v. 7-8)
• With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, (v. 9)
• to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—(v. 10)
• to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (v. 10)
• In him we were also chosen, (v. 11)
• having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, (v. 11)
• in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, (v. 12)
• might be for the praise of his glory. (v. 12)
• And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, (v. 13)
• the gospel of your salvation. (v. 13)
• When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, (v. 13)
• who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (v. 14)
• until the redemption of those who are God’s possession— (v. 14)
• to the praise of his glory. (v. 14)

Reflect: This pericope is larger than is humanly possible to offer adequate reflection in one sitting.  Yet in Paul’s original writing, vv. 3-14 constituted one single sentence, so for that reason, I’ll address this whole section.  It’s perhaps the greatest run-on sentence man has ever had the privilege to read.

The foundation behind the realization of all these blessing is that we are united to Christ.  His work has been made our blessing and reality through the sealing work of the Holy Spirit.

I want to focus my reflection upon the Trinitarian nature of this passage.  Each person of the Trinity is highlighted with specific purposes and accomplishments.  In vv. 4-6 praise of the Father is in order because he is presented as the One who elects.  In vv. 7-12 the Son is declared our Redeemer by His work, and in vv. 13-14, the Spirit seals the work which the Son accomplished.  When Paul is talking about the heavenly blessings, these are essentially blessings which stem from the very being and economy of our Triune God.  That God allows us to participate so deeply in His being is awesome.

Furthermore, because these blessings are rooted in the very nature of our God, they are not bound by time in the way we would normally comprehend a blessing.  Our heavenly blessings are bound to God Himself who was and is and is to come.  in other words, our blessings are both infinite and eternal:

• Our election is from eternity past.
• Our forgiveness is in the present.
• Our ultimate inheritance is in the future.

These heavenly blessings are sealed in God Himself.  They are so intense and weighty, they require all of eternity to be savored.

Respond: Given what I just read and wrote, there probably isn’t a completely satisfying response worthy of a passage like this.  All I can say is, “Thanks.”  All I can ask God is: to help me believe these truths more and more.  To have God help me understand that He, the Triune God, is completely behind my election, redemption and eternal inheritance in the most personal way… that the sum total of my Christian life is that live and move and have my being in him… that I am in Christ is the most edifying and encouraging phrase I can draw from Scripture.

Dear Father, help grow my belief/faith in your fullness and fully live out my union in Christ.

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife (and Jerusalem)

Read:  Ezekiel 24:15-27

Record:  The outline of Ezekiel lets you know that chapter 24 is the latter bookend to Ezekiel’s section concerned with the Oracles of Doom (4-24).  The next major section is the Oracles Against the Nations (25-32).  Before Ezekiel can speak out the words of the Lord to the nations, he must suffer (personal doom?).  Ezekiel 24 ends the Oracles of Doom in very personals way to Ezekiel.  Essentially, it hits as close to home as possible.  Vv. 1-14 describe the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel’s true home and motherland.  Vv. 15-27 describe the destruction of Ezekiel’s wife, the home of his heart, or as v. 16 says, “the delight of your eyes.”  God gives Ezekiel the very strange command to not mourn his wife’s death.  Ezekiel is to go about carrying on business as usual with his mouth quiet.

Reflect:  The final verse in chapter 24 is seemingly the only bit of hope in this chapter of utter judgment.  Since his call, Ezekiel has been unable to properly speak (see Ezekiel 3).  And now, of all the moments in his life, he is not allowed to properly mourn his wife’s death.  But what is going on here is a foreshadow of what will happen to the Israelites:

Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.’ (Eze 24:24)

Just as Ezekiel was unable to publicly mourn the loss of his wife, so too will the exiles be unable to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple.  They’ll sit there speechless, unable to express what they feel inside for their home, because their providential exilic setting won’t allow it.

Respond:  But that final verse of the chapter states:

At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.” (Eze 24:27)

This is the last verse in the Oracles of Doom.  The Oracles Against the Nations immediately follows, but Ezekiel’s lips are properly restored to usher in the words of hope that will eventually come in chapters 34-38.  With the final series of judgments that must come, Ezekiel is then able to offer hope found in the Lord.  Judgment must come with sin (and the sin described in Ezekiel is rampant and heinous).  A major theme of the book has been the pending judgment of sin.

Yes, the death of Ezekiel’s wife will be a sign to those in exile that Jerusalem will be in siege that death and the silent mourning will follow, but Ezekiel’s lips will be opened.  The question is: What will he be able to proclaim on behalf of the Lord?

The Oracles of Good News. (Eze 33-48)

But all this judgment leads somewhere for His people.  Redemptive history’s story is such that in the midst of judgment comes redemption for God’s remnant.  Sin was rampant and heinous in Christ’s time as well.  The sins Jesus bore on the cross weren’t limited to his contemporaries’ sins.  Rather Christ bore the full weight of sin of His entire remnant, past, present, and future.  Jesus’ lips were sealed as he bore the eternal weight of God’s wrathful judgment: hell on the cross.  Thankfully, his lips spoke of redemption in the middle of bearing His Father’s curse.  One day those lips will speak by the power of His word and bring judgment to those not in His fold and heavenly redemption to those who know His voice.

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28)

Ezekiel’s voice may have been restored, but Christ’s voice is the very life-source that Ezekiel will soon prophesy about concerning the dry bones.  I’m thankful that when I deserved judgment, I received His mercy instead.  I’m thankful that God has given me the grace to hear His voice in Christ.  Thankful for my Shepherd.

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

Read: Ezekiel 19 (slight emphasis on vv. 10-14)

Record: At first glance this chapter seems difficult to comprehend, but with a bit of help from the commentators, the chapter comes together nicely.  As the subtitle suggests, this is a lament.  Laments are a type of Hebrew poetry used during funerals.  Those hearing this specific lament would’ve immediately thought a death had taken place or in the case of Ezekiel 19, about to take place.
There are two main images that make up this chapter:

• a lioness with her cubs
• a vine and its branches

Both of these images were associated with the royal tribe of Judah which makes this chapter that much clearer.  Combine the metric verse of a lament with the royal imagery associated with Judah and the message being proclaimed is a death song concerning the princes of Israel (19:1).

Image #1: a lioness with her cubs (vv. 1-9)
She gives birth to cubs and one strong cub arises to become a leader.  He devoured his prey–men.  The nations got wind of him, trapped him, and led him with hooks to Egypt.  The lioness then takes another cub and makes him and even stronger lion.  He is more dreadful than the first cub, but suffers the same fate.  The nations spread their net, trapped him in a pit, and with hooks pulled him into a cage.  He was put in prison in Babylon with his roar silenced.

Image #2: a vine and its branches (vv. 10-14)
A vine is planted by abundant water.  The branches are tall, strong, and numerous, and stand out for that reason.  The east wind uproots the vine and shrivels up its fruit; the branches are then consumed by fire leaving nothing.  Originally, the vine’s strong branch was fit for a ruler’s scepter, but ultimately nothing is left nor useful for a royal scepter.

Reflect:  I want to spend my time reflecting on the vine image.  The text is clear that the vine was not only by a cheap source of water, but by abundant water.  It had plenty of what it needed most.  The branches grew strong worthy of a king’s ruling instrument.  The vine itself become a thing of beauty and strength surpassing all the foliage around it.  But in the end, the vine gets burned, uprooted, and replanted in the desert.  The vine is none other than Judah.

Respond:  The Lord gave Judah everything.  The only way the text allows you to describe her situation was that it was the absolute best.  Yet, Judah’s pride wasn’t in the Lord who provided perfection, Judah’s pride was entirely in her own strength and beauty.  For this, she was punished and exiled to the desert.

This is nothing new in redemptive history.  A quick glance back to the Garden of Eden makes the point.  Adam was created with everything perfect around him.  He had everything he needed in abundance.  But ultimately when the task of obedience was set before him, his response was one in self-trust (aka pride).

Both settings have strong similarities… one man in the covenant of works: Adam and a nation in the reconstitution of the works covenant: Judah.  In both biblical history settings, God’s great goodness is returned with sin.  Notably that sin is pride in creation rather than the Creator.

But there is good news in this sealed fate of Judah, because both images offer a powerful hint to the biblical reader.  There is a lion stronger than all the other cubs.  There is also a vine stronger than the one uprooted in our passage.  And Scripture tells us that Jesus is both:

• the Lion of the Tribe of Judah
• the Root of David

Revelation 5:5 ties our two images together:

5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

The two images in Ezekiel 19 are telling the same story of sin and punishment.  This is the point, because it is also my Savior’s story too.  He bore my sins and took my punishment; only He didn’t sin (I did) and he should not have been punished (I should have been).   The absolute blessing in all of this is that I can already now look to heaven and see Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the Root of David, receiving the praise and honor that is due to Him alone.  So if I’m going to be prideful about anything, it’s to boast in the cross of my Savior and nothing else.

My prayer is that God would allow me to savor the reality of Christ’s work on my behalf as we are lifted up to the heaven during our corporate worship.  May my pride be the kind that exalts in the person and work of Christ and nothing else.  May I not take the perfect blessings that God has given me and then turn them into reasons for finding pride in myself.  Help me to look to Christ.

Jerusalem the Prostitute

Read: Ezekiel 16:1-63

Record:  I really appreciate outlines, because they usually help me make better sense of the text.  I’m going to break up the chapter by agreeing with the translation’s subtitles and paragraph breaks.  Unfortunately, that’s as deep as it gets.  If you know of something better out there, let me know, because I’m not too satisfied with this one:

• The Lord’s Faithless Bride
• VV. 1-5 = Jerusalem’s Origin
• VV. 6-14 = The Lord Flourishes Jerusalem
• VV. 15-58 = Jerusalem Prostitute’s Herself

• The Lord’s Everlasting Covenant
• VV. 59-63

The Lord begins by explaining how Jerusalem came to significance using consistent imagery throughout the entire chapter.  Her start was a humble one when the Lord called her as His own.  In her birth, Jerusalem’s heartless parents (the nations around her) left her as an abandoned infant to die.  Her cord wasn’t cut, she wasn’t washed at birth, no salt and oil were lotioned on her, and she was not swaddled (v. 4).  But then comes the Lord calling her to life.

In verses 8-9, the Lord provides what wasn’t there at her birth.  He bathes, anoints, and clothes Jerusalem; and not only with swaddling clothes, but he dresses her up as a beautiful queen.

This chapter hinges at verses 8 and 15.  Verse 8 states:

“When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.

God graciously calls Jerusalem out of the abandonment and death of her infancy.  He enters into a covenant with her and pronounces his supreme love upon her.  She receives the finest clothes, jewelry, and food; all that she didn’t have at her birth is now lavishly hers.

But the passage turns quickly in verse 15:

“But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.

The following verses describe Jerusalem’s return to idols and the high places.  This is the prostitution of Jerusalem, and Lord’s indictment against Jerusalem continues to build until verse 35.  It is at this point that Jerusalem’s judgment is described.  Since Jerusalem has prostituted herself to the surrounding nations, the Lord God will gather these nations to usher in her judgment.  The very nations to which Jerusalem sought refuge become the means of her destruction.

Reflect:  At this point, the chapter isn’t finished, but I wanted to continue my summary here in the reflection because that’s the very point of the chapter.  The chapter should have finished at verse 58.  After all the Lord God had done for Jerusalem and after all Jerusalem did to the Lord, Ezekiel 16 should have finished with verse 58.  It would have been a justified end to an ugly story of adulterous betrayal.

In verses 59-63, the Lord God remembers the covenant He made with Jerusalem in verse 8.  Jerusalem has long forgotten the humiliation of her infancy, and she has no recollection of what God covenanted in verse 8.

But the Lord remembers.

And the Lord establishes a new covenant.  This was spelled out already in Ezekiel 11.  What makes this new covenant so much better is its everlasting nature.  It would make clear the sins committed and the need for forgiveness.  It would also atone for these forgiven sins.  This new covenant would include the prostitute city (as well as the prostituting nations).

Respond:  So why choose this bleak, graphic passage?  Because the imagery is powerful and it hits you hard as you read it.  With 63 verses in the chapter, it’s like an onslaught of tidal waves crashing on you.  Ezekiel’s content forces you to grapple with the text.  When I finished reading verse 63, I wasn’t thinking, “Yes!  I’m done.  I’ll just move along in my reading.”  Just the opposite.  I felt floored and sat there for a moment thinking, “How in the world do I get a handle on all this?  This is my weak attempt to do so…

In many ways, I am Jerusalem (I know textual narcissism; I’ll try to be careful).  I look at her in this passage and I think,  “What the heck are you doing, Israel?”  But just like Samuel speaking to David in parable form, God is describing Jerusalem’s heinousness.  And just as David is the guilty party whom Samuel describes, my association with Jerusalem is one of guilt as well.  The similarities continue.  Jerusalem’s idolatry is my sin as well.

God’s dealing with Jerusalem at the outset is beyond comprehension.  He transforms her from neglected infancy into queenly royalty.  Yet His goodness is returned with the dirtiest type of adultery.

Given that I’m living in the post-resurrection days, my position in redemptive history is much clearer because I live with the benefits of the New Covenant already established.  As good as Jerusalem had it, I have it better.  She had the promise, I have the promise fulfilled in Christ.

The question is:

Do I turn away from my covenant-keeping God to other idols and prostitute my life away?

This is the gist of it all.  Am I wasting my life away pursuing cheap, secondary imitations?  Ezekiel is an awesome book, in that, it forces you to confront the ugliness of idolatry.  The responsive prayer is simple:

Dear God,

Thank you for your covenant faithfulness in Christ.  Thank you that Christ has dealt with my adulterous idolatry by never ceasing to obey your entire will.  Thank you that He bore my judgment and now, give me the grace to so closely follow you, that the idols of my heart would cease to exist.  May Christ be my all in all and may the building of His kingdom be the all-encompassing purpose of my life.

Hope for the Exiles

Read: Ezekiel 11:16-21

Record:  This is the end of Ezekiel’s Vision of the Temple, which started out in chapter 8 (8:1-11:25).  It’s a vision directed to the exiles.  Here’s a brief outline to better situate the immediate context within the temple vision:

1. Four Scenes of Abomination (8:1-18)
2. The Visionary Destruction in Jerusalem (9:1-11)
3. The Departure of the Divine Throne-Chariot from the Temple (10:1-22)
4. Judgment on Israel’s Leaders (11:1-15)
5. Hope for the Exiles (11:16-25)

In verse 16, the Lord God makes clear that though the exiles were scattered among the nations, He Himself was still a sanctuary to His true people.  This makeup of people will come from the nations.  To them, God will give a new heart of flesh in contrast to their old heart of stone.  They will walk in His statutes, and keep and obey His decrees and laws.  The promise of hope continues in v 20b, “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”  To those in opposition to the Lord who remain in the land, judgment awaits, as their deeds will be brought upon their own heads.

Respond: What stands out to me is hope in overwhelming despair and promised salvation in the midst of present and pervasive judgment.  Furthermore, God defines his true people as those in whom He has placed a new heart of flesh who desire more than anything unadulterated obedience to Him.  Rather than worshipping idols and detestable things, they desire Him who is eternally worthy of their worship, the Lord God not the idols.

Reflect:  You can’t help but be thankful when you read this.  When there is no reason for grace from God, it stands out all the more.  Thankfully this scene is the definition of grace–entirely undeserved.  As a sojourner waiting to come home to my heavenly rest, I can relate to the exiles here in Ezekiel.  I want to go home (to the not yet), but there is already so much to be thankful for.  As Ezekiel proclaimed this short message of hope, I was reminded that there is so much to be thankful for:

• God never forsaking me (v. 16)
• God being my sanctuary in Christ (v. 16)
• God calling me out from the nations (v. 17)
• God changing my heart (v. 19)
• God giving me one heart that looks to Him alone (v. 19)
• God giving me the grace to worship and obey Him (v. 20)
• God being my God (v. 20)
• God embracing me as a part of His people (v. 20)
• God giving me a new land…heaven (v. 17)
• God exacting His judgment at the right time and place (v. 21)
• God’s covenantal faithfulness and the cost of that faithfulness to Him (v. 20)

Thank you.

Abominations in the Temple

Read: Ezekiel 8 (especially vv. 5-18)

Record: Ezekiel is in his house before the elders of Judah when he sees the form of a man.  This man had a waist of fire and above the waist was brightness, like gleaming metal.  Ezekiel is lifted up, between earth and heaven to see a vision of Jerusalem at the north-facing inner court.

This is when Ezekiel begins to see the abominations:

1. At the entrance of the gateway of the inner court was the image of jealousy.  Ezekiel is called to watch what the elders are doing to it.  (vv. 3-6)
2. At the entrance of the court was a hole where Ezekiel is said to dig through it.  He saw engraved on the wall creeping things and loathsome beasts.  The elders were lifting up incense thinking that they were in complete privacy from God in their separate rooms.  (vv. 7-13)
3. At the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord a woman is weeping for Tamuz (a fertility God).  (vv. 14-15)
4. At the entrance of the inner court twenty-five men had their backs to the temple facing east worshipping the sun.  (vv. 16-17)

Respond: Verse 12 stands out to me.  Ezekiel 8:12 says:

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

I find two major sins in this chapter: 1) they forgot their Lord and 2) they substituted Him with idols.  Exodus 20 states the ten commandments as they were revealed to Moses at Mt. Sinai.  The commandments begin with God’s self revelation:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

When I think about what Ezekiel saw and what the elders said in 8:12, I immediately think they forgot who God was and what He had done for His people.  They are convinced God isn’t there and He couldn’t possibly be watching them.  For this reason, they find it justifiable to do things their own way.  That leads to what Paul described as worshipping the created things rather than the Creator.  Doing their own thing turns them to themselves.  Not living coram deo leads to idol worship.  They forgot their God and immediately broke the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Reflect:  I have to constantly remind myself that I live before the face of God every second of every day.  The elders thought God was gone and hidden from their sight when they were in their rooms during the exile.  This quickly led to idol worship.  If I fail to recognize God and keep Him as my highest priority, then it goes without saying that something in my life will replace Him.  That’s textbook idolatry.  At this point of my life my ultimate idol is comfort.  Although I may not verbally express it, my heart’s desire is to be comfortable.  Horrible, because my heart’s desire should be God and that may not necessarily bring me comfort in the way I would like it.  My definition of comfort is at odds with what God promises in Christ.  It’s horrible thinking because Jesus promises this type of comfort and rest:

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

My prayer is simply that I would know that God is my God and that in Him I would rest in Christ and not in my false understanding of the comfortable American (Southern California) life.

Ezekiel’s Call

Read: Ezekiel 2-3:15

Record: Ezekiel is called by God to become a prophet to Israel.  He is to come with the words, “Thus says the Lord God.”  Ezekiel is warned; because the Israelites did not listen to God, they won’t listen to him either.  They are a rebellious people but God wants them to know that He sent them a prophet.  Again, regardless of outcome, God wants Israel to know that a prophet was sent and God wants Ezekiel to say, “Thus says the Lord God,” whether they listen or refuse to hear.

What is fascinating is that God says it would have been almost easier for Ezekiel to go to a foreign people and proclaim to them God’s message save for learning their language.  This language hurdle is not there with Ezekiel’s fellow people.  Ezekiel too is an Israelite and speaks their language but the task given to him is much, much more difficult because of their stubbornness.

Ezekiel is told to eat God’s scroll, which he does.  On the scroll are words of lamentation and woe and warning.  At first glance this doesn’t seem palatable, but Ezekiel listens and it tastes as sweet as honey.  Why?  Because it is the Word of God.

Reflect: The fact that God calls a prophet to Israel is interesting.  God is being faithful to His people.  He is calling them back to repentance, away from their rebellion.  They have no excuse.  The solution is in the message, which Ezekiel will proclaim.

In typical prophetical calling, Ezekiel comes before the presence of the glory of God and it rips the man apart.  In verse 3:15 Ezekiel sat there overwhelmed for days.  The Spirit of the Lord lifted him up and transforms him into a prophet of God.  Repeatedly he is called a son of man.  Ezekiel is being reminded of his creatureliness and so the Spirit of God makes him ready for what he cannot do himself… proclaim faithfully the message of the Lord.

God’s call to Ezekiel is interesting for another reason as well.  Whether Israel listens to Ezekiel or not does not change the nature of Ezekiel’s call.  Ezekiel is to be faithful to what God has called him to do no matter the outcome.  He is to speak God’s words of lamentation and warning and woe.  This is not the content people want to hear.  I’m sure Ezekiel (whose name means “God makes strong, hardens”) knows this won’t be popular.  Yet God desires Ezekiel to be faithful to his calling. The calling of Ezekiel is saturated with the notion of faithfulness both on God’s end and the demands placed upon Ezekiel.

Respond: Though significant differences exist because they are entirely different offices, the prophetical office of the Old Covenant and the preaching ministry of the New Covenant have an important similarity and that is to convey God’s Word.  When my pastor preaches God’s Word faithfully to me, I better hear what is being proclaimed and pray that I not be hard-hearted or rebellious.

Every time a prophet comes before God, he is in absolute awe.  He is also torn apart by his own sinfulness.  I need help here.  Countless times I been made aware of God’s awesome glory and the proper deep response of utter sinfulness has not accompanied that consuming glory.  I pray that God will make clear to me by dissecting every sinful thought, word, and deed in my life.

Finally, knowing that Ezekiel was lifted up by the Spirit encourages me that one day, I too will be fit for the heavenly kingdom to which I now already belong.  I so look forward to that eschatological consummation that will occur when Jesus returns.  I’ve been made righteous in Christ and I eagerly await the day when I will be consummated in righteousness fit for heaven alone.

Man, I really need to go read Images of the Spirit again!