What could have been (Ezekiel 48:14)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 47-48; John 20

Neither the priests nor the Levites may sell or trade any of this land. No one is to put it to any other use, for this land is holy to the Eternal One.

The exiled Israelites return to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra after the land enjoys the Sabbath years the people failed to observe as God directed. All of those who returned joyously follow His direction and set aside more than 27 square miles of land around the old city as sacred land in the center of which a new temple resides.

The people learned their lesson from the mistakes of their ancestors and determine to follow God and become the blessing to the world God promised Abraham so many centuries before. As one, they pledge their obedience to the law and His guidance. Days of feasting, sacrifices, prayer, worship, and celebration follow as the people gather to remember both the punishment from which they God liberated them and the grace He grants them in their new home.

The priests pull out the scrolls outlining the distribution of territory within the boundaries of their new nation. Tribe leaders gather to represent the descendants of the ancient tribes to learn where they will settle in their new beginning as followers of the Eternal One. No one complains. No one argues. As each family receives their specified parcel of land, great rejoicing fills the air and celebrations across the nation echo through the hills and valleys for days on end.

All who enter those twenty-seven square miles of the sacred city set aside for God recognize the importance of this place. A special feeling comes upon all who pass through the walls of the city and an excitement fills the air just knowing you near the temple housing His name. Only respect and awe accompany this place. You cannot help but be moved by knowing His spirit dwells here. People from around the world, not just Israelites, but from all nations come to give their offerings to the God of all creation because of the blessing Israel’s God continues to provide to those who honor Him.

This was God’s plan. A single problem got in the way. Sin. Those who returned from the exile failed to pull out the plans God gave Ezekiel. Ezra led the first exiles back to Jerusalem, but those early members of the returning party included some who thought themselves more important that others. They thought they deserved more than others and their greed caused them to take portions of the city and country that didn’t belong to them. As is often the case, greed and the lust for self-gratification became more important than following God. Those early returning to Jerusalem grabbed what they wanted instead of what was allotted to them. They didn’t care for the poor, the orphans, widows, or foreigners.

What could have been awaits another time because of the sin of man. God still makes a way and an eternity with Him awaits where those whose selfish desires get in the way of following God will not enter His domain. He will judge us according to our willingness to and desire to follow Him alone. When that day comes, we will enjoy the plan He laid out in the beginning.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

 

There’s something about the way they worshiped! (Ezekiel 46:9-10)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 45-46; John 19

When the people of the land come together to worship the Eternal at the regularly scheduled feasts, all those who come in through the north gate are to go out through the south gate, and all those who come in through the south gate are to go out through the north gate. They will exit the temple through the opposite gate so they continue to move straight ahead. During these feasts, the prince will walk with everyone else, entering and exiting at the same time and in the same way as the commoners.

I ran across these two verses I just never remembered reading before. I know I have, but I just don’t remember them. Ezekiel is one of those books I don’t spend enormous amounts of time in, but you’d think after reading it more than 35 times, I’d remember it. But I don’t. When I them for the first time today, they really struck me for a couple of reasons.

I’ll start with the last part of verse ten first. The prince will walk with everyone else, entering and exiting at the same time and in the same way as the commoners. A remarkable verse to remind us that He made us all. No one is more important than another in His eyes. Our station in life, more often than not, comes as a result of our birth. We had no choice into which home we were born. God put us with the parent He chose, not us. We came to life in the country He decided, not us. So God directed the prince remember he serves the people he governs. He walks in the temple with everyone else.

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Second, I noticed in the ninth verse people who enter by the north gate leave by the south gate and those who enter by the south gate leave by the north gate. The verse says “so they continue to move straight ahead.” Jesus talks about walking a straight path rather than a crooked one. He talked about the difference between the straight and narrow path that few walk and the broad, crooked path that so many take to their destruction. The pattern of entering and exiting the temple served as a constant reminder to God’s people they were to walk a straight path.

The third thing I saw in the verse is that people enter from both the north and south gates. As they moved to the opposite gate, they necessarily met people coming in from the other direction. You see, God expects us to mingle with each other. He expects us to care about each other. He expects us to spend time with each other. His plan meant you met about half the people in the temple while you there. Coming in and going out of different gates you passed by a large crowd of worshipers. God gave every opportunity for His people to interact and share each others joys and burdens.

Do you do the same when you enter and exit your place of worship? It’s a good habit to start!

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

 

Choices lead to consequences, good and bad (Ezekiel 44:18)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 42-44

As for the Levitical priests who are the descendants of Zadok—the ones who took care of My holy place even as the rest of Israel strayed—they will draw near to Me and serve Me.

Only Zadok’s descendants get to come into the inner sanctuaries of God’s temple to serve Him. Some might stand on the sideline and wonder what makes them so special. I expect some looked at their tasks and were glad they weren’t included in the group that entered those special places. But imagine the opportunity to serve in the temple which God calls home. The place where His shekinah resides. The place that fills with the light and fog of His physical presence that filled the Holy of Holies.

Would you wash the walls of those rooms? Scrub those floors? Dust those altars? Carry out the ashes from the altar? Polish the bronze, silver, and gold utensils until you could see yourself in their shine? What would you do to keep yourself pure enough to remain a part of that select group of priests who served in the inner sanctuary of God?

The rest of the Levitical tribe bowed to the whims of the kings and their greed of gold and abandoned God. They broke His rules and brought idols into the temple. Only Zadok’s descendants kept them out of the most sacred parts of the temple. The rest of the Levites prostituted themselves to the pagan gods of the neighboring countries and failed to follow the laws God gave Moses in the order of worship. They consequently lost their opportunity to serve in the presence of God’s glory.

This verse says a lot about why we should discourage our kids from “sowing wild oats.” One day you must reap the results! God forgives our past, but the consequences of our past still follow us. God forgives the drug addict who loses his wife and children, his reputation and health. But the consequences of those habits haunt him the rest of his shortened life. A ruined liver and kidneys from the toxins voluntarily put into his body, the emotional damage caused to his family, those never go away.

We choose our actions, but not the consequences. Unfortunately, generations of priests followed after the habits and traditions of their parents instead of choosing to follow the path God laid out for them. God selected the Levites as His priests, yet even the majority of them failed to follow Him. Only Zadok and his descendants continued to follow God in their worship. When the Israelites returned to their homeland from exile, only Zadok’s descendants could enter the sacred spaces within God’s temple.

We can learn from Zadok and we can learn from the rest of the priestly tribe. God lets us choose our path, but we reap the consequences of our choice. Choose wisely.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

 

God got a hold of me (Ezekiel 37:1)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 37-39

The Eternal had a hold on me, and I couldn’t escape it…

My wife, Carole worked the 3 to 11 shift that Sunday in August 1980. I came home from church that night miserable. I got ready for bed and climbed under the covers…miserable. When Carole came home, the first thing I said when she walked into the bedroom, “Carole, we have to talk.” She took it with the surprise anyone would take those words, I think.

The conversation wasn’t about our marriage or relationship, though. I didn’t need to discuss finances. There was nothing to discuss about moving or different assignments, well maybe assignments come into play, but not military assignments. I came home miserable from church because God got hold of me with a message He never gave me before.

At about 14, I thought God wanted me to preach His word. I dismissed it as wanting to follow in my earthly father’s footsteps. I respected my father. He taught me what it meant to live a Christian life. I saw Him minister to others every day and I listened to his sermons every week. He lived in the parsonage what he preached from the pulpit. I was really running away.

I tried chasing everything I could to avoid preaching. Finally, I accepted a ROTC scholarship and entered the Army as a Medical Service Corps officer. Perhaps working for the good of others, saving lives and working through the many humanitarian efforts the Army does would suffice and I could escape the call. It didn’t work.

That Sunday night, the message came in a form I could not refuse. It was as if God said, “I’ve given you long enough to decide. You can accept my terms or you can disobey me, but you will reap the consequences of your disobedience.” I knew what that meant! I could not refuse any more. Alone at home, between the covers of my bed, I committed to answer His call to preach. I wasn’t sure what that would mean. I didn’t know if we would stay in the Army or not. I didn’t know if we would leave Atlanta and go somewhere else. I didn’t know if I would go to our denomination’s seminary or complete the necessary coursework in some other way. I only knew I would do what God wanted.

So, when Carole came home, we had to talk! My life…and hers…would change. Like Ezekiel, God got hold of me. Things changed. It wasn’t long until our pastor suffered a heart attack and was told he could not preach for three months to rest. Guess who filled the pulpit! Our district started classes for ministerial students in the poorer sections of Atlanta who could not afford normal education requirements to progress toward ordination. Guess who taught some of the classes!

Interestingly, I never felt compelled to leave the Army, nor compelled to change my branch of service and remained in the Medical Service Corps throughout my military career of thirty years, almost twenty-six years from the night “God got hold of me.” But during those years, I served as an Associate Pastor in every church we attended and as an interim pastor nine times. I’ve filled the pulpit as pastors took vacations or fell ill and have been able to use the “secular” skills the military taught me to provide leadership and technical expertise to churches at just the right time and in just the right place with every change in assignment. I’ve seen God’s hand at work again and again.

Let God get hold of you, do what He asks, and watch in amazement!

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

Edom’s greed led to their destruction (Ezekiel 36:5)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 35-36; John 17

With fiery passion I have spoken against the rest of the nations, but most especially to Edom, who with malicious joy took My precious land for themselves and divided it up as their spoil.

The prophecies often require a little historical background to understand the context in which God foretells the future of nations. So, why does God pick out Edom particularly to lash out against in His messages to Ezekiel? To answer the question, we must go all the way back to the story of Isaac.

God promised Isaac, as He had Abraham, would become the father of a nation whose descendants were as numerous as the stars in the sky. His wife, Rebekah gave birth to twin boys. The oldest, who would become heir two-thirds of all Isaac’s property and patriarch of the family, according to custom, was Esau. The second twin was Jacob. Rebekah loved Jacob more. Isaac loved Esau more. As in most families, the boys’ personalities couldn’t be more different.

Jacob deceived Esau twice, once for his birthright so that Jacob would inherit the larger portion of Isaac’s estate and again as Isaac pronounced his final blessings and gave Esau’s blessing to Jacob making him ruler over his brother. Soon after, Jacob left the tribe to find a wife, but more to escape his brother’s wrath.

Both sons, Jacob and Esau became wealthy in their own right. Both became great nations. But the stories of how Jacob deceived his father lived on through the generations. Edom, the descendants of Esau, always viewed the descendants of Jacob as thieves. They felt all the land Israel owned really belonged to them. Despite the fact Moses and Joshua never attacked or allowed any of the tribes to take anything from the Edomites as they settled into the land God gave them. Edom was Esau’s inheritance, given to them by God. Israel was Jacob’s inheritance, given to them by God. All of the land was and is His. He decides who will reside where, whether we think it true or not.

When Edom decided they would take the land of Judah and Israel after Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites into exile, the few who remained in the land would easily fall into defeat by the armies of Edom. God decided otherwise, though. The land belonged to Him and His design was to give the land back to Israel after their period of exile ended. The consequences of Edom’s greed would fall on their heads.

Ezekiel’s prophecy tells us what God planned for them because of their greed. Edom’s people also went into exile, but the prophecy contains no mention of restoration of their land. In fact, Edom’s defeat by the Babylonians is complete. They take the people into exile, burn their towns and villages, stone and salt their farms, and make the land uninhabitable for years. Edom ceases to exist as a nation.

What I like about the Old Testament is the correlation between the actions of nations we see in the stories in God’s word and the behavior of individuals today. When we individually behave as the nations depicted in history behaved, we can expect similar reaction from God. If we decide to let greed overtake us, we can expect God to take back ownership of what is His in the first place. We forget that everything is His. We are but stewards and as long as we manage His property appropriately, He allows us to use it. We we don’t, He can and will take it back at any time He chooses.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard