QT 7/31/2023 Ezek 22:25-31, Looking for someone to stand up for truth

Ezekiel 22:25–31 (ESV) —

25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. 30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

 

NOTE: This is a fascinating passage. God identifies four groups of people and charges them with their sin.

 

1. Prophets (twice). They used their position to take treasure and precious things. They grew rich in religion. I'm not sure how they "made" many widows, but one possibility is that they made man widows poor, causing them to be in need. In verse 28, they smeared whitewash, meaning that they told people what they wanted to hear, not what God's word said.
2. Priests. They made no distinction between the holy and common, the clean and the unclean. They failed to teach people the word of God. They probably disregarded the Sabbath in the thought that they could make more money.
3. Princes. They took advantage of their power. Instead of bringing justice, they took advantage of their power to steal from people their inheritance through multiple dishonest schemes.
4. People. The people learned from their leaders. They robbed. They extorted. They oppressed the poor and need. They took advantage of the foreigners.

 

In the end, God says he went looking for one man who stand in the gap and rebuild the wall (their spiritual wall of strength) but could not find anyone. What a sad commentary. The leaders and the people sold themselves to the worldly culture and lost their witness. Oh, how I pray that we, the church, are not doing the same.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I fit in any of those groups in terms of their failures?
2. Am I a man who can stand in the gap?

 

PRAYER: Father, I know we are deserving of judgment. It should have already happened. It is hard to imagine it waiting much longer. The depth of our sin seems to have hit the bottom. Help us, believers, to stand and proclaim truth in a respectful manner. May we not shrink back.

QT 7/28/2023 Ezek 22:13-16, The dangers of unresolved sin

Ezekiel 22:13–16 (ESV) —

13 “Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. 14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16 And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

 

NOTE: God begins to reconcile a long list of crimes that Israel is guilty of committed. The list is amazing and sad. Most of it centers around power, greed, and sexual desires -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. While the sins listed are directly attached to the law, most are non-law and applicable to the new covenant as well. And so, as believers, we too are guilty. We all struggle with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-16). The difference is that the leaders and the people of Israel did not care anymore. That is our warning. We must never give in to any sin. We must always repent. We must always ask forgiveness. We must always seek to do right.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I still treat sin as sin?

 

PRAYER: Father, help me to remain sensitive to sin in all its forms. I don't ever want to become numb to sin. Help me to remain vigilant.

QT 7/27/2023 Ezek 21:25-27, We need to get prepared for the coming Messiah

Ezekiel 21:25–27 (ESV) —

25 And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, 26 thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. 27 A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.

 

NOTE: The reference here is to the present king at that time, Zedekiah. The last true king of Israel. Verse 27 says that the crown will not return until it is given to the Messiah. Even during Jesus' day, King Herod was not considered a king in the line of David but rather a political leader appointed by Rome. The crown was reserved for the Messiah. Which is the difficulty that the disciples and others had when Jesus came, they were waiting for the future king, not realizing that the Messiah would come as a suffering servant first. If Israel has accepted him, I believe he would have also been the triumphant king. But Israel's rejection made an opportunity for the church age, the new covenant mystery, that would take the gospel to the whole world. This verse, regarding the crown, still remains to be fulfilled. It has been 1990-1993 years since the Messiah was crucified and the church age began. How many more years will it be until the Lion of the tribe of Judah returns to claim his throne?

 

PONDER:

1. What am I doing to hasten that day or prepare for his coming?

 

PRAYER: Father help me to use my days in such a way that Jesus is glorified. I do not want to shrink back.

QT 7/26/2023 Ezek 21:6-7, Our national struggle with sin

Ezekiel 21:6–7 (ESV) —

6 “As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. 7 And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’ ” declares the Lord God.

 

NOTE: My heart feels Ezekiel's pain. I feel the same pain for my nation who continues to flaunt God's commands, who are prideful in the rebellion. We are so wrong and so blinded and so needy. We are killing each other in our streets, and in our bathrooms (abortion pills). We have more mentally unhealthy, more addicted to drugs, and more suicides than at any time in our history. We don't understand gender or sex or how to build a family. We think masculine roles and nuclear families are toxic -- why? Why are we so bent on our own destruction? Judgment is coming.

 

PONDER:

1. What are we doing to warn others?

 

PRAYER: Father, forgive us for our sin. Open our eyes to truth. Help us to see our need. I pray for believers in Jesus that we would be the light of the gospel to a need nation and world. Have mercy on us I pray.

QT 7/25/2023 Ezek 20:32-49, Living differently from the culture

Ezekiel 20:32 (ESV) —

32 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.’

Ezekiel 20:39–43 (ESV) —

39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed.

 

NOTE: I'm not sure what they are saying in verse 32. It does seem like the unthinkable has happened -- Israel has given up its unique difference that made is separate or holy from the other nations -- they have become like the nations around them. But ultimately, God brought his son into the world, and the new creation has changed us from the inside out. And yet, we as Christians, are making the same mistakes as Israel. We are believing and becoming like the culture around us. We are accepting the false teachings and lies of the culture. We are not holding onto the faith.

 

In the future, God will regather his people. It says they will repent, but so far only a remnant have repented. The great judgment, the tribulation, is still coming. At the end of the tribulation, of those who are left, the nation will repent and turn to the Messiah. And Israel will be saved.

 

PONDER:

1. What are we doing to live differently from the world around us?
2. Are we holy, set part, different?
3. Can another tell that we have faith in Jesus by our life?

 

PRAYER: Father, on this trip, I pray I would not shrink back in the opportunities I get to be a witness. Give me courage, boldness, love, and respect for others.

QT 7/24/2023 Ezek 20:25-26, Listening first is better than learning the hard way later

Ezekiel 20:25–26 (ESV) —

25 Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.

 

NOTE: None of God's rules were not good or required them to sacrifice their first born, but God gives them up to these demonic rules so that they would experience the devastation of these demonic commands. He did not try to stop them. Just as it says in Romans 1, God gave them up …

 

Romans 1:22–29 (ESV) —

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

 

Sometimes the best discipline is to experience the consequences of your actions, rather than to be protected from making a mistake. It is hard to let our children make those mistakes, but it sometimes is necessary. Oh that we might learn the lessons without experiencing things "that were not good" and things that "could not have life." The brick wall method of learning is to "devastate."

 

PONDER:

1. Am I learning and listening now?

 

PRAYER: Father, I have experienced the brick wall repeatedly. Have mercy on me. Help me to live holy and righteous before you. Keep me from evil.

QT 7/21/2023 Ezek 20:3, Realizing that eternal life is far more importan

Ezekiel 20:3 (ESV) —

3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

 

NOTE: Cooper (1994) organizes this chapter into eight divisions. It is a history of Israel's rebellion to God.

 

(1) the prophet speaks to the elders (20:1–4);

(2) lessons from the exodus (20:5–9);

(3) lessons from the wilderness days (20:10–14);

(4) lessons for the forty years of wandering (20:15–22);

(5) past rebellions committed in the land (20:23–29);

(6) present rebellions and the coming exile (20:30–39);

(7) the purification after the exile (20:40–44);

(8) the call for judgment to begin (20:45–49).

 

Why repeat a history of sins, when the current sins are obvious and more than sufficient to justify God's anger and judgment against the people?

 

I think there are two reasons. One, we don't seem to learn from the past. It is not as if God has not warned Israel before. Two, we don't seem to appreciate the mercy of God, that our sins have often been passed over.

 

But this passage starts out with the elders seemingly wanting to question God, and God will have none of it. The assumption is that the elders were going to complain for God's terrible judgment upon the people, the land, and the temple. I'm sure it was hard, but for God, life is eternal, not temporary. And while he desires us to live and serve him in this physical world, it is a small piece of our total existence. God sees the bigger picture both for us individually and for the kingdom.

 

It is natural to question God when life is painful or when our children are experiencing pain. And for the most part God does want us to come to him in our anger and our complaining. But there is a limit that is seen in scripture, and one of those limits is obvious sin on our part that has never been dealt with. Sin has consequences, and pain has purpose.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I go to God honestly in my pain and grief?
2. Do I recognize that there is more to life than this physical life?
3. Or do I believe that this earthly life is somehow our reward?

 

PRAYER: Father, help me to live honestly and truthfully before you. I don't understand all that you do. It is hard to take my eyes off of the physical because it is so concrete and seems so real. But I know, I need to have an eternal perspective to life. Forgive my failures and my boastings and my sin.

QT 7/20/2023 Ezek 19:10-14, Speak up for truth!

Ezekiel 19:10–14 (ESV) —

10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard

planted by the water,

fruitful and full of branches

by reason of abundant water.

11 Its strong stems became

rulers’ scepters;

it towered aloft

among the thick boughs;

it was seen in its height

with the mass of its branches.

12 But the vine was plucked up in fury,

cast down to the ground;

the east wind dried up its fruit;

they were stripped off and withered.

As for its strong stem,

fire consumed it.

13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,

in a dry and thirsty land.

14 And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,

has consumed its fruit,

so that there remains in it no strong stem,

no scepter for ruling.

This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

 

NOTE: There are two funeral dirges in Chapter 19. The first one probably refers to the kings, Jehoahaz (1-4), and Zedekiah (5-9), the last kings of Israel. The last dirge (10-14) is for the princes, not the cubs of the lion, but the branches of the vine. This poem laments the end of Kingship itself, and Israel's new position, a transplanted vine in the desert, languishing, with no fruit and no strong branch left. This is Israel living in Babylon.

 

What is the message? Cooper suggests that Israel was already spiritually dead, so its political life also was allowed to die. I can't help but think of America, which started out as a beacon of light, but now is of no spiritual usefulness. When will America politically die too?

 

When will God judge the world for its sin? Even now, we are still killing the unborn, we are destroying lives with deadly teaching about sex, marriage, and relationships. We have forgotten what sin is. We don't recognize shame. We glory in what should cause us shame. We have rebelled, and it would seem far worse than Israel.

 

When will someone sing our funeral dirge? Oh, Lord, awaken us to our sin. Have mercy on some!

 

PONDER:

1. Do we stand up for truth or have we sold out to the culture?

 

PRAYER: Father, help me to witness to truth. Give me boldness to say what is right and true in a way that is gentle and respectful. I don't want to shrink back.

QT 7/19/2023 Ezek 18:19-20;30-32, The danger of ignoring personal sin

Ezekiel 18:19–20 (ESV) —

19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

 

Ezekiel 18:30–32 (ESV) —

30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

 

NOTE: Again, the passage refers to physical judgment, and not directly to salvation. But the principle is similar, if a person repents and turns in faith to God before they die, that person will receive spiritual salvation. But what of a person who put his faith in God and then departs later in life. The bible seems to suggest that situation can't happen. In other words, someone who truly believes can never deny the savior. But God knows the heart, and I believe that no true faith will ever not remain until the end. Jesus has paid it all. His blood and his promise are our assurance of eternal life. But sin can destroy a life, and a believer is susceptible to disabling sin as someone who does not believe. We must remain vigilant. We have a purpose here on earth -- to testify and glorify our savior. It would be a waste to that purpose if we let sin cut short our physical life.

 

PONDER:

1. Am I remaining vigilant to sin that seeks to trip me up and ruin my witness?

 

PRAYER: Father, open my eyes to the dangers before me. Don't let my weakness and stupidity entangle me in sins than ruin my effectiveness for you. Paul felt he was weak and the chief sinner. The older you are, the more you realize your own weaknesses. Have mercy on me I pray.

QT 7/18/2023 Ezek 18:1-9, What is our responsibility with truth?

Ezekiel 18:1–9 (ESV) —

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

5 “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— 6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

 

NOTE: The theme of this chapter is judgment, not salvation. Where we fall into a trap is when we apply it to eternal salvation. Cooper (1994) says it well:

 

Ezekiel rightly declared that the prospect of divine punishment is a reality for everyone. The Bible clearly teaches that those lost are judged because of sin and a lack of a Savior-Redeemer (e.g., John 3:18; Rev 20:11–15). But the Bible also teaches that the saved will be judged according to their stewardship of life (see Rom 14:10–12; 1 Cor 3:11–15; 2 Cor 5:10).

 

The passage teaches that there is individuality responsibility for how someone lives their life. The corollary is that the Ezekiel's responsibility as a watchman meant that he bore some responsibility for warning the people, but the individual could refuse to listen, and the prophet was free of his burden to warn.

 

We have a responsibility to not shrink back. We don't have to change anyone. They are free to refuse to hear. But we do have a responsibility to share the truth. We must be honest with people with the bible. Our job is not to make them feel good, nor is it to argue, nor is it to condemn. We just have to be clear.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I tell people the truth?
2. Do I hold back from telling the truth in order to not hurt someone's feelings?

 

PRAYER: Father, these days are new days. As I travel and interact with people, give me boldness to share my faith with a dying world. Help me to be a good watchman.

QT 7/17/2023 Ezek 17:16-20, Making sure I seek God in my plans

Ezekiel 17:16–20 (ESV) —

16 “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me.

 

NOTE: This passage directly refers to Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle, who Nebuchadnezzar had appointed king, and who had made an oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. There are two issues. One, we take our word, or oaths, rather lightly. It is a form of lying that is justified by the outcome. Today, in my culture and time, lying is not a moral issue if it achieves some greater objective. But to God, it is a moral issue. And an oath, even given to an evil man, is still an oath and is not to be considered lightly. Secondly, the breaking of the oath to Nebuchadnezzar is equated to breaking the covenant oath to God, but why? Clearly, Jeremiah has prophesied these things and Zedekiah knew them. But he did not like God's plan, and created his own plan. He refused to submit to God's judgment as prophesied to him. Nor did he seek God in his plans. Therefore, he committed treachery to God because he did not seek God's plan or even pray about the things in his mind (seeking God's will).

 

PONDER:

1. What am I doing in my own thinking and plans?
2. Have I gone to the Lord and sought his will on my ideas?

 

PRAYER: Lord, I want to use my days in ways that honor you. Help me as I plan to put all things before you and to seek your will daily. It is even more important now than it has been in the past where I was under an umbrella of leadership.

QT 7/14/2023 Ezek 17:11-15, Honesty is essential to our witness

Ezekiel 17:11–15 (ESV) —

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?

 

NOTE: This is the interpretation of a story of eagles, vines, and allegiances (roots). Israel, after its two defeats to a great eagle, Nebuchadnezzar, agreed to be its vassal, but instead turns to another great eagle, Pharaoh. God is judging Israel for breaking its covenant (its promise) to Nebuchadnezzar, but giving Israel into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. In that sense it is also a capsule story of Israel's covenant with God, whom Israel broke its promise to pursue a covenant with other false gods. One does not break promises without experiencing the consequences of their actions. Today, we are becoming a nation of broken promises, as people renege on contracts, on bills, on work that was promised. This is a spiritual issue -- our witness is affected by how we live according to our word. And it is why it is so important to be honest, and not to lie.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I lie to others in order to look good?
2. Do I twist the truth, white lies, to others?

 

PRAYER: Father, help me to see when I am not being honest. I do not want to mislead people in order to look good. I want to be honest even if embarrassed. Forgive me for when I fail you in this regard.

QT 7/13/2023 Ezek 16:59-63, The New Covenant is the only hope for a sinful world

Ezekiel 16:59–63 (ESV) —

59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”

 

NOTE: I think there are multiple covenants here. The old covenant (the law) was a conditional covenant based on works -- that is the covenant Israel broke. The covenant God 'remembers' is the Abrahamic covenant and is unconditional. The new covenant that God promises to establish (promised throughout Ezekiel and in Jeremiah) would silence Israel because of her shame, and Gentile nations (her sisters) would be her daughters.

 

The new covenant is a covenant of grace. Only a person who has truly been born again can appreciate his/her own unworthiness. When we stop and think of who we truly are, our shame wells up. But Jesus, died in our place. As Paul grew older, his recognition of his own sin grew deeper ("chief sinner," "worst of all sinners").

 

The atonement that God spoke of was a new atonement, the blood of the lamb of God, his firstborn -- the precious blood that washes us all clean.

 

Paul wrote:

 

Romans 7:21–25 (ESV) — 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

 

And in the next chapter, Paul wrote:

 

Romans 8:5 (ESV) — 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

 

Where is my mind set?

 

PONDER:

1. Again, do I appreciate my own salvation?
2. And, do I take sin serious?
3. Finally, where is my mind?

 

PRAYER: Thank you for your word and the reminder of my own sinfulness and shame. Help me, in my mind, to set it on things of the spirit and not on things of the flesh. I am unworthy, and so, I am incredibly grateful for this salvation which I never deserved.

QT 7/12/2023 Ezek 16:53-58, Appreciating my salvation

Ezekiel 16:53–58 (ESV) —

53 “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, 54 that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. 58 You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

 

NOTE: In the midst of judgment, there is still hope in the future for Israel. Since Israel's sins were greater than Samaria and Sodom, God promises to restore them as well. But the problem is that Sodom was destroyed. There is no Sodom to restore. And Samaria was never really a people, just Israel intermarried to other nations. So the restoration of Sodom and Samaria cannot have a literal fulfillment. Edom (part of present day Jordan) and the Philistines (Gaza strip) have been restored. There are people living in old Samaria (the west bank and the east bank (Jordan), and technically cities near where Sodom exist have appeared. In fact, Saudi Arabia is spending $500B to build a city (NEOM) near to the area of Sodom, the most futuristic city on the planet.

 

But in a non-literal sense, God is restoring the Gentiles through faith in Christ. Formerly, those who Israel considered dogs, are coming to faith in the one God and receiving an inheritance as sons and daughters of the king. Israel, except for the remnant, remains blinded and is suffering the result of their rejection of the Messiah. Only at the end times, in the final judgment, will they come to their senses and recognize their Messiah. In the meantime, God is blessing the remnant and Gentiles with the knowledge of his presence. He is restoring the dead in sin, with life in Christ (not riches, but riches in a relationship).

 

PONDER:

1. I have been given a great gift, knowledge of the most high -- do I truly appreciate it?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for these days. I love the time to do the things that I feel I need to do. Thank you for answering prayer. Continue to help me to use my days in a manner that honors you.

QT 7/11/2023 Ezek 16:41-52, Real life is found in God, not substitutes

Ezekiel 16:41–52 (ESV) —

41 And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. 42 So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

44 “Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. 51 Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. 52 Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

 

NOTE: Judah, the last remnant of a country built around the idea of God as King, has been judged. Samaria, her sister, and Sodom, another sister, she has exceeded in their sins. Cooper notes:

 

Judah’s security and prosperity produced pride and self-sufficiency that in turn resulted in disregard for moral righteousness (vv. 49–50).80 Thus because Samaria and Sodom did not escape judgment, neither would Judah (v. 51). So reprehensible were the sins of Judah that Sodom and Samaria appeared more righteous by comparison. This was a cutting indictment filled with irony since the name Sodom was not even spoken by Jews of Judah out of contempt for its evil example.81

80 Fisch, Ezekiel, 96–97, and cf. Jer 3:11.

81 Ibid., 98; cf. Ezek 16:56.

Cooper, L. E. (1994). Ezekiel (Vol. 17, p. 176). Broadman & Holman Publishers.

 

But it is not just the sexual sin, in fact, the sexual sins are the second or third stage of the process. The earlier stage is revealed in 16:49: pride, excess of food, prosperous ease, and forgetting to aid the poor and needy. There are so many steps in this tragic descent into evil. I think forgetting our commitment to God; not being thankful for his gracious gifts, and then pride and the rest of 16:49. Not long after, sexual sin becomes necessary to fill a missing hole in our soul that only God can satisfy. Life is without meaning when it is lived without God.

 

This is the sense of the message of Ezekiel. God is saying, "My judgment against you is not just anger but a desire to bring you back to real true life, and the only tool to make you realize that is pain."

 

PONDER:

1. Are we thankful? Do we take our blessings for granted?
2. Do we still seek God? Is he number one in our life -- what shows or doesn't show it?
3. Are we starting to take pride in OUR accomplishments?

 

PRAYER: Father, I want to be thankful all my life for everything you have given. Thank you. I know I am undeserving. Your grace has been too kind. Thank you. And thank you for the new opportunities that arising in my retired days. I do pray for wisdom to deal with the neck pains. I pray you would give me strength to bear it.

QT 7/10/2023 Ezek 16:23-34, Selling out for comfort

Ezekiel 16:23–34 (ESV) —

23 “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), … 27 Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. … .

30 “How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

 

NOTE: The language God uses is full of hurt and pain. God is hurt by the rejection of the people he had blessed. Israel used his blessings for evil. Part of the reason the land is not the full size is that part of it was given to the Philistines (Gaza strip), and part to the Assyrians (West Bank) in order to bring Israel back to her senses -- God's discipline was mercy. He did immediately destroy them although he could have.

 

The interesting part is that unlike a normal prostitute, Israel did not charge. She paid for her prostitution. She offered her children to false gods and worshipped images and idols that only took away her joy. These evils gave her a false sense of good, like a shopper buying on impulse.

 

She was worse than a common prostitute in that she practiced adultery—not because she needed money from her lovers, but simply because it made her feel good. (Constable, T.(2003))

 

We don't understand what is for our good and we decide what we want to believe (this is the definition of an idol). Consequently, we give up real joy for a happiness that is dependent on right happenings. We exchange the living word for the lies of the enemy (trans sex, homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, creation, lying, not working for our pay, etc). These things are against God's word, but it makes us feel good to be in tune with our (corrupt) culture. The church is infected too.

 

PONDER:

1. What truths of God have I dismissed because they are not something I can believe?

 

PRAYER: Father, give us the strength and courage to stand up to what is right and true, to be gentle and loving, but to be honest and unfaltering with the truth of God's word, no matter what our culture says to us.

QT 7/7/2023 Ezek 16:15-22, It's not me, it's God

Ezekiel 16:15–22 (ESV) —

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. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 Also my bread that I gave you—I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. 20 And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter 21 that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? 22 And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.

 

NOTE: All the good things that God gave to Israel, she misused and abused for her own selfish purpose. She began to believe that it was her talent, her good looks, her hard work, and her good fortune that made her what she was. And so, in her pride, she mistook God's gifts of grace and God's blessings as rightfully hers. And she exploited what God gave for her selfish flesh.

 

Who among us has not done similarly? We think we are something because of some success, but we don't realize that all we have and have achieved is a gift of God. We must change the narrative. We would be nothing without God. We are undeserving of his amazing gifts. And we must use those gifts to give him glory, not ourselves.

 

PONDER:

1. Where have I forgotten to be thankful?
2. Where have I believed that my strength built my little kingdom?

 

PRAYER: Father, forgive me for the stinking pride in my life. I repent again. I am so sorry that I think I have achieved anything. You have given me everything. I am undeserving of anything. But because of Jesus, I have the standing of an heir in the kingdom. I can call you Abba. Thank you.

QT 7/6/2023 Ezek 16:4-14, Transformed by Grace

Ezekiel 16:4–14 (ESV) — 4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

8 “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. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

 

NOTE: The theme is repeated in scripture, that God chose Israel in his mercy and grace. He saved her, not because she was something special, she was not, but because he chose her. And his work caused this orphan girl to transform into a beautiful woman.

 

This is the picture of salvation for everyone saved by grace. We were not anything special. God in his grace and mercy chose us to hear the good news and respond. And from that point on, he has worked to transform us into beautiful and useful persons for the work of the kingdom. None of those saved were special -- Jesus makes us special. And for those who truly know Jesus, he is transforming our lives into more and more beauty.

 

PONDER:

1. Am I changing? If not, do I really know the savior who transforms ugly sinful creatures into beauty?

 

PRAYER: Father, as I finish another stage in my life, I want to continue to grow in grace and knowledge of you. In my retirement years, I want to continue to see you do your work of transformation.

QT 7/5/2023 Ezek 15:1-8, It is important to abide to produce fruit

Ezekiel 15:1–8 (ESV) —

1 And the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? 4 Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? 5 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! 6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”

 

NOTE: Israel is often referred to as a vine in scripture. The sole purpose of a vine is to produce fruit, grapes. The wood is useless except for a fire. Why is the vine here if it produces no fruit? Why does it exist if it has no use? The answer is that the vine exists to produce fruit and when it does not produce fruit, it is pruned until it does produce fruit. And ultimately if it doesn't produce fruit after pruning, it is thrown into the fire.

 

This is the argument against Israel. They have produced no fruit and they are being thrown into the fire. And ultimately they cannot escape the fire.

 

As believers we may not think this applies to us, but it does. At a group-level, nations that transform because of the gospel are vines grafted in, but when they cease to represent Christ, they are cut-off and thrown into the fire.

 

John 15:5–6 (ESV) — 5 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. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

 

PONDER:

1. Am I abiding in the vine?
2. Or am I to be pruned?
3. Or am I to be thrown away? (not losing salvation but losing the opportunity to be a good witness)
4. And are the gathered branches about to be burned?

 

PRAYER: Father, I don't know what this means for our nation, but the gathered branches which represent dead Christianity are enough for a huge fire. As we finish our celebration of our nation's birth, may all remaining believers beseech you for our nation.

QT 7/4/2023 Ezek 14:12-23, Getting serious before it is too late

 

Ezekiel 14:12–23 (ESV) —

12 And the word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.

15 “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even if these three men were in it, . . .

17 “Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast, 18 though these three men were in it, . . .

19 “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, . . .

21 “For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! 22 But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”

 

NOTE: "These three men" -- what a wonderful commendation for Noah, Daniel, and Job. None of these men served the Jewish nation, per se. Although, Daniel, was a Jew, but his ministry seemed to be for the sake of the Babylonians, such as Nebuchadnezzar.  Job is an example of wild beasts, sword, and a pestilence. His righteousness could not stop the effect either (this leads to a much longer discussion on the real reason for Job's suffering, although Heb 12:5-6 addresses it). Noah lived in a time of great unrighteousness. He lost almost everything but his family even though he was righteous. The real point is there are these times in history, where God's judgment cannot be postponed or forgiven. There are irrevocable decisions and, after a time, irrevocable behavior that carries judgment -- which is why we must never give up in our battle against sin. The writer of Hebrews seems to have the same thought:

 

Hebrews 12:3–6 (ESV) — 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

 

Sin is as dangerous to our lives as it is to our soul, even as a believer, because it destroys our effectiveness. And if we cannot be effective as a witness for Jesus in this life, why are we here?

 

PONDER:

1. Am I serious about my walk with God, my witness, and my pursuit of holiness?

 

PRAYER: Father, I need your mercy but I also must be faithful. I know I will fail, but I must never accept failure. Therefore I pray,

 

Lamentations 3:22–23 (ESV) —

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

 

Yes, Lord, every morning is a new morning to serve you in holiness and righteousness.