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timewithgod.blog-city.com — May 2008
Ezekiel 8-11 God's Call For Spiritual Worship
God shows Ezekiel a vision of what's really going on in Jerusalem, including inside the Temple. The very leaders of Israel were worshiping idols in secret. They were also telling the people that those who'd been taken captive to B
God shows Ezekiel a vision of what's really going on in Jerusalem, including inside the Temple. The very leaders of Israel were worshiping idols in secret. They were also telling the people that those who'd been taken captive to Babylon were the ones far from God.
The movement of the glory cloud from the Holy of Holies, to the threshold of the Temple, then to the East Gate, then to the Mount of Olives shows that "it retired unwillingly", my commentary says. "Thus did the God of Israel in lingering love forsake His city and temple, not to return until a future date."
Ezekiel 11:19 starts one of my favorite passages. Although its total fulfillment is still to happen, I now that God has in part done this very thing in my life:
"I will give them a desire to respect Me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. Then they will live by My rules and obey My laws and keep them. They will be My people, and I will be their God."
My commentary noted what effect this will have on worship: "Ezekiel follows Jeremiah in urging spiritual religion. It is definitely a heart religion that God wants. The heart is beyond repair. A new one will be provided. Formalism MUST be left behind. The spiritual emphasis will give them touch with Yahweh that will transform their thinking, their worship, their conduct, and their loyalty. A new spirit will be their special gift from God.
Father, I thank You for moving in my own heart some 16 years ago to quicken it to You and to draw me to spiritual worship. I pray for our church, and especially for those who remain so locked in formalism that they will not release their hearts to You for repair. Repeat what You did in me all those years ago, Father! Replace hearts of stone with obedient hearts of flesh! Unify us in love and worship of You, worshiping in spirit and in truth.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 12-14 Our Stubborn Refusal To Obey
God kept saying, "These are a people who refuse to obey. They have eyes to see, but they do not see, and they have ears to hear, but they do not hear, because they are a people who refuse to obey."God was the One who had created them
God kept saying, "These are a people who refuse to obey. They have eyes to see, but they do not see, and they have ears to hear, but they do not hear, because they are a people who refuse to obey."
God was the One who had created them with eyes to see, with ears to hear, and with a mind to process everything they saw and heard. Yet it was their lack of desire to obey that was trapping them. They could not claim that it wasn't their fault. He had equipped them with what they needed so that they could obey. They just wouldn't.
God was even going to the trouble of sending living lessons through Ezekiel, showing them what they would soon face as a result of their refusal to obey, but even that was not enough.
Yet before I condemn them for their attitudes, I've got to look at myself. After all, I too have areas of my life where I stubbornly hold onto sin, full well knowing that I disobey God whenever I refuse to obey Him regarding it.
I don't want to be someone who refuses to obey You, Father. I hate pet sins, as You do, and I know they separate me from You. Please help me to develop more fully MY desire to obey. Show me how my sin makes You feel. Then give me the desire not to ever hurt You again.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 15-16 "Your Will Is Weak"
God speaks of the people of Jerusalem, and indeed the entire nation of Israel, as a prostitute who actually pays her customers instead of being paid. He means that they were committing spiritual adultery. My commentary elaborates:"Ma
God speaks of the people of Jerusalem, and indeed the entire nation of Israel, as a prostitute who actually pays her customers instead of being paid. He means that they were committing spiritual adultery. My commentary elaborates:
"Many who say they follow the Lord give up their precious rewards and inheritance above, spending their money and time on worldly pleasures instead of laying up treasure in heaven. They compromise with the world and lose eternal reward and blessing. This is called spiritual adultery, and whoever is engaged in it pays a high price."
God also rails against them for taking all the things that He has given them and sacrificing them on the world's altar instead.
He gets right down to the root of the problem in 16:30 -- "Truly your will is weak."
Yet God's love begins to shine through again -- "I will set up my agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. You will remember what you did and feel ashamed. You will not open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you for all the things you have done."
Father, I sure see a lot of myself here. I admit that at times my will is weak, and that weakness causes me still to sin. You even challenged me in the sidebar of my Bible today -- "If you were melted down to your essence, what impurities would you find? Think of one area of weakness and work this week to become faithful where once you were faithless. Trust God to supply your needs."
Father, I trust that You can supply my needs. Help me this week to work on one area of weakness. Help my will to be strong for You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 17-18 -- The Other Side Chose To Move
I'd previously marked 18:30-32 as something to be remembered. God is saying, "So I will judge you .... I will judge each of you by what you do, says the Lord God. Change your hearts and stop all your sinning so sin will not bring
I'd previously marked 18:30-32 as something to be remembered. God is saying, "So I will judge you .... I will judge each of you by what you do, says the Lord God. Change your hearts and stop all your sinning so sin will not bring your ruin. Get rid of all the sins you have done, and get for yourselves a new heart and a new way of thinking. Why do you want to die? .... I do not want anyone to die, says the Lord God, so change your hearts and lives so you may live."
But something I read felt like God was tugging at my ear to reread it. It was the first part of verse 31: "Get rid of all the sins you have done." That had a distinctly different feel to it than the previous verse, which said, "Change your hearts and stop sinning." The first was past tense, while the second was present tense.
I've read before that, in the Old Testament under the Law, there was no forgiveness for and no way to remove INTENTIONAL sins. The sin offerings God set up through Moses were to remove accidental sins.
In that context, we can readily see the importance of God's warning to stop sinning now from verse 30, because intentional sins would keep piling up. But for these people, understanding as they did that intentional sins could not be forgiven or removed, how could they have any expectation of fulfilling verse 30? They had no WAY of getting rid of those sins!
God gave them and us a clue back in verse 22: "Their sins will be FORGOTTEN." "But HOW???" they must have asked. "Did God have a bad memory? But He's all-knowing!"
The key would be linked hundreds of years later when God sent His only Son to earth to die for our sins. Thee was nothing they, nor we, could do to remove our sins. The action had to come from the offended party's side -- "the perfect satisfaction of His justice through the atoning work of Christ," my commentary said. "When God forgives, He forgets." He can forget our sins, because when Jesus takes them upon Himself when we believe in Him and His sacrifice for us, they become HIS sins, not ours. "For the believer, the case is closed."
Father, thank You for providing a way for me to have my past sins not only removed, but also forgotten. That You would have chosen to do this for me through the death of Your only Son is incredible! Thank You for such love!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 19-20 Oh, No, You Never Let Go!
Israel's leaders came to Ezekiel to "inquire of the Lord" -- to ask Him questions. At first glance, this sounds good, but their hearts were far from Him. "Instead, He recounted their repeated rebellions against Him,&quo
Israel's leaders came to Ezekiel to "inquire of the Lord" -- to ask Him questions. At first glance, this sounds good, but their hearts were far from Him. "Instead, He recounted their repeated rebellions against Him," my commentary says. "Idols keep us from getting God's answers to our questions. When God recounts our sins and shows us His grace by leading us to repentance, many of us get bored ... Instead of reacting properly to God's Word, we are in danger of staying lukewarm."
The pattern repeated many times: "I made Myself known to them... But they turned against Me and refused to listen to me (20:5-8)..... I made Myself known to the Israelites.... But in the desert Israel turned against Me. (9-13).....I said to their children, "Live by My rules, obey My laws, and follow them... then you will know that I am the Lord your God... But the children turned against Me. (18-21)."
Yet another theme was repeated in these verses: God acting: "I acted for the sake of My name so it would not be dishonored (9); But I acted for the sake of My name so it would not be dishonored (14); "I acted for the sake of My name so it would not be dishonored.(22)"
What did He do?? The first time He made Himself known to them again. The second time, He promised the parents that they would never enter the Promised Land. The third time, He promised the children that one day He would scatter them among the nations. A downward spiral.
When we begin to pull away from God, His desire is to bring us back, and He works to make Himself known to us. If we, too, stubbornly refuse to let go of our idols, He may withhold blessings from us -- blessing which, if we are in His will, will do us good, but also blessings which, if we are far from Him, would increase the harm we are doing to ourselves if He allowed them.
If we continue to stubbornly resist Him, He may eventually withdraw His presence from us, letting us have the free rein we've so desired, in order to prove to us that He is right and that He has His best planned for us. Without Him, though, our lives will slide towards the abyss. It's at that point where, hopefully, we will realize just what we've done to ourselves and draw near to Him again.
Father, I've done that myself. I so very well remember how I began to distance myself from You, not trusting You with my life. You had to get me to the bottom so that I could see that I was living life upside down, thinking I was headed for the top. That drew me back to You. Thank You for never giving up on Your children, despite our rebellion!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 21 -- Get Ready, This One Is A Killer
God sure seems to be saying, "I didn't write this as a history lesson for people to look back on years later to see that I predicted it all before it happened. Instead, it's also about the lives all of you are living today."Hi
God sure seems to be saying, "I didn't write this as a history lesson for people to look back on years later to see that I predicted it all before it happened. Instead, it's also about the lives all of you are living today."
His references to His sword reminded me of Jesus speaking about the vinedresser -- pruning off the unfruitful parts of our lives to make us more fit for Him. God said that He's taken His sword out and it will not go back in again.
In verses 8-13, God laments having to go to such lengths: "A sword, a sword.... You are not happy about this horrible punishment by the sword. But my son... you did not CHANGE when you were only beaten with a rod .... the sword is meant for My people.... The test will come."
The sword is meant to take away anything that causes us to depart from God's will: "Sword, cut on the right side; then cut on the left side."
The people hearing this thought surely that it was incorrect, because they were God's people! "So they think this prediction is wrong, but it is really PROOF of their sin ... You have shown how sinful you are by turning against the Lord. Your SINS are seen in ALL the things you do. Because of this proof against you, you will be taken captive by the enemy."
Taking this and applying it again to lives today, God seems to be saying, "Christians -- this is for you to hear: Yes, YOU! Don't think that I don't have proof of your sin! There are areas of your lives where you have turned against Me. I can see you sin in everything that you do. Either stop it or find yourself being taken captive by the Enemy."
I'm as guilty as the next person of thinking that I'm working with God to make a difference in the lives of others, while I continue to let sin creep in to my own life, to fail to address it and get it out of my life. It's almost like I feel "entitled" to a little sin.
But right here is God saying, sadly, "A sword... a sword... My SON, you did not CHANGE when you were only beaten with a ROD."
Father, a rod should be enough. You shouldn't have to use a sword. But Your desire is for the absolute best for my life, and in certain areas, I'm failing to respond, I know. I don't want to miss a chance You've given me to correct those things that need to be corrected in my life, before You decide to take more drastic measures. Thank You for the warning, and let Your Holy Spirit motivate me to action today.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 22-24 The Call To Make A Difference Goes Unanswered
God reveals His utter disappointment that there is no one willing to stand up for Him -- "no reformer or intercessor," my commentary said. Not a single person! God was not being hateful in bringing about the destruction of Jerus
God reveals His utter disappointment that there is no one willing to stand up for Him -- "no reformer or intercessor," my commentary said. Not a single person! God was not being hateful in bringing about the destruction of Jerusalem. Verse 22:4 says, "You have brought your time of punishment near." Verse 12 says they'd gone so far away in sin that they'd forgotten God.
Once again, God moans because He is unable to find a man to stand up and be counted: "I looked for someone to build up the walls and stand before Me where the walls are broken to defend these people so I would not have to destroy them. BUT I COULD NOT FIND ANYONE!"
This idolatry and sexual sin wasn't new. It had gone on for close to 1,000 years: "I will put a stop to the sinful life you began when you were in Egypt so that you will not desire it or remember Egypt anymore."
Amazingly, what God says here is probably what most repentant sinners pray that He will do! Repentant people want their sinful desires removed to keep them from beginning to want to sin again. They also want God to erase the memories of their sins, for often these cause both guilt and a source of future temptation.
The unrepentant unbeliever is throwing away grace, and when grace is not accepted, then "fair" judging results, for grace is defined as "getting what you don't deserve." These people will be getting exactly what they deserved because they didn't accept the grace they could have received by heeding Ezekiel's message. Here's how God said it: "The time has come for Me to act. I will not hold back punishment or feel pity or change My mind. I will judge you by your ways and actions," says the Lord God.
My commentary said, "God is not looking for new methods or programs. God is always looking for someone to stand in the gap. One person can make a difference."
Father, I want to heed Your call. I want to be a man who will stand in the gap. I want to make a difference. Cleanse me. Help me not to desire or even remember those sins You called me out of. Ready me to be used by You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 25-28 Pride Goes Before MY Fall
Every verse, the commentary, and the sidebar screamed out the danger of pride today. But my sidebar did point out that there are two kids of pride: "One is the opposite of humility; it is very bad. The other is the opposite of
Every verse, the commentary, and the sidebar screamed out the danger of pride today. But my sidebar did point out that there are two kids of pride: "One is the opposite of humility; it is very bad. The other is the opposite of shame; it is very good. The kind of pride that is the opposite of humility leaves God and other circumstances out of our successes. It claims that whatever we have achieved, we have achieved by our own virtue. The essence of this kind of pride is self-centeredness and selfishness."
It is certainly condemned in these chapters. Even gloating over the misfortunes of others amounts to pride, it shows. It's idolatry, were the idol worshiped is self. And God won't put up with it.
The countries surrounding Israel at that time "had contact with God's people, knew about Him, but were unwilling to turn to Him. They'd learn that if you touch God's people, you touch him, so those who engage in Christian-bashing today will one day learn that believers are the apple of God's eye. This is even true when God's people fall into sin and are judged for it. We should beware of all malicious joy, gloating, or revengeful thoughts. Rather, like Ezekiel, we should mourn, intercede, and confess the sins of other believers as our own," my commentary says.
Father, I know most everyone struggles with pride, and pride tends to be the root of all sin. Pride can even keep me from the BEST You have planned for me, especially when I wrongly believe that I might be in that "best" already. Please continue to stamp out that bad pride. Don't let me "settle" by thinking that I'm "living a decent enough life". Instead, point out that kind of pride You find in me, as You did today, and lead me in humility to the foot of the cross.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 29-32 Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop
God's absolute sovereignty shines out in these chapters. He led Ezekiel to prophecy against Egypt, who received the most severe judgment because it was unreliable and untrustworthy towards Israel.God had used Joseph centuries before to bles
God's absolute sovereignty shines out in these chapters. He led Ezekiel to prophecy against Egypt, who received the most severe judgment because it was unreliable and untrustworthy towards Israel.
God had used Joseph centuries before to bless Egypt and in turn to bless Israel, when God had brought them there during a time of famine. But the Egyptian pharaohs had forgotten that and enslaved the Israelites.
Later, once Israel had become a nation, she leaned on Egypt for help rather than God. Although God wanted Israel to depend on Him, Egypt was still to suffer for continuing to be arrogant and for failing to properly assist Israel. It seems that throughout history, those who have failed to aid Israel have received punishment from God, and that surely says a lot about why the U.S. needs to remain a staunch supporter of Israel today.
The judgment God carried out against Egypt matched what Ezekiel had prophesied: In verse 13, "the prophecy, 'there shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt' has been literally fulfilled. No full-blooded Egyptian of the royal family has reigned in Egypt since that time. King Farouk belonged to a dynasty that was founded by an Albanian in the early 1800's. Farouk was the first member of the dynasty to have even a complete MASTERY of the Arabic language!", my commentary says.
WOW! What a fulfillment of prophecy. God's word stands through the centuries.
Father, help me to remember that You operate outside of time, and that You expect obedience to Your commands. For those who fail to do that, Your judgment does not fail. Because You are a timeless being, it doesn't matter how long You wait to bring about judgment, for it will eventually come.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ezekiel 33-34 What Have I Been DOING??
This feels like a double-whammy for me today. God directs Ezekiel to chastise the teachers who have not done their job properly and the students who fail to obey what they've heard. There's probably a little bit of each for all of
This feels like a double-whammy for me today. God directs Ezekiel to chastise the teachers who have not done their job properly and the students who fail to obey what they've heard. There's probably a little bit of each for all of us.
First, God held Ezekiel responsible if he failed to get God's Word across to those who needed to hear it. My commentary said: "The question arises for every believer: For whom will God hold us responsible? To whom shall we witness? Whom shall we warn?"
When tied in with God's "I wills" in 34:11-16, which are His ideals for a spiritual shepherd or teacher, I begin to feel doubly busted. God plans to search for them, seek them out, deliver them, bring them out, gather them together, bring them in, feed them, cause them to lie down, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick. Who has He put in MY path that I've been too busy to minister to?
But then I'm also stung by the personal side of what He said. Again, for 33:30-33, my commentary says: "The people liked to listen to Ezekiel, but they had no intention of OBEYING his words.... We should come to the Word of God with the intention of obeying and constantly checking our hearts, lest we fail to apply what we hear. The best response to a sermon is not, 'That was fine message,' but 'God has spoken to me; I must do something.' "
God plainly says it in verse 11: "I want them to stop doing evil and live. STOP! Stop your wicked ways! You don't want to die, do you?"
How telling it is that I can go around the house, making a list of things needing to be done, and that I can get a large part of it done, but I can hear in a sermon or quiet time something God is telling me to do, and I agree that I need to do that, but it never gets on my list, and therefore never gets done.
Father, I don't want to suffer from spiritual stagnation. I need to list what You've shown me and review that list often to see whether I'm obeying You or not. Help me to do that today. I don't want to be like Ezekiel's audience. Help me to obey what I hear You telling me.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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