We choose … (Ezekiel 33:11)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 33-34; John 16

Tell them, “As I live,” says the Eternal Lord, “I don’t enjoy watching the wicked die; I want the wicked to stop doing what they’re doing and live! Repent! Turn from your wicked ways. Why would you choose to die instead of live, people of Israel?”

“God is a God of love. He would never condemn anyone to an eternity without Him.”

That’s the rhetoric we hear many times from those who only preach the grace side of God and fail to recognize the God of the Old Testament as well as the God of the New Testament. God doesn’t change. He is the same now as He was then. And God will never change. In the Old Testament, we see His grace worked out through the intervening centuries as He withheld His punishment from the children of Israel.

Finally, God unleashed His wrath when His efforts at extending His grace failed. He fulfilled His promises of the consequences of the Israelites idolatrous actions. Time and again He sent His word through prophets to His people to try to persuade them to return to Him in their worship and obedience, but they failed to listen and refused to bow to Him alone. Their actions resulted in their punishment.

The punishment for the nation came two millennium after they began their trek away from Him. That’s grace! How many of us would put up with blatant disobedience Israel demonstrated if the nation were a person, without leveling punishment for 2,000 years. Yet that’s the grace God demonstrated for His people. From Abraham to the Exile, He continually tried to bring the Israelites back into line with His teachings. He tried to help them understand the importance of obedience to His direction. He helped them understand the consequences of their actions. He withheld His punishment because of His incredible grace.

Finally, He let loose His wrath and when He did, those who for centuries received His grace, called Him unfair. Those who failed to heed His warnings cried He was unjust. Those who flaunted their disobedience shouted He was too harsh. But God’s wrath fell on them just as He foretold centuries before. His promises came true.

God didn’t want to punish His people any more than any loving father wants to punish his children. But there comes a point that punishment is necessary when every other means of discipline fails. When you’ve tried to do everything you can to get your children to obey, sometimes, saying, “No,” just isn’t enough. God’s warnings fell on deaf ears. The Israelites persecuted and terrorized the prophets. Nothing God tried worked and finally, the consequences of their sin fell on them.

We, too, know the consequences of our sins. God tells us, the wages of sin is death. He doesn’t choose it for us, we choose it for ourselves. God provides the wages, but we choose the behavior. God’s will is that all would be saved. But He will not act against our will in the matter of our salvation. If we choose to disobey, He will not stop us. Reluctantly and with great sorrow, He will let us go. It is never that He wants us to die, but if we choose, He will let us die.

Choose to live through obedience to His will in your life.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

 

What happened to Egypt? (Ezekiel 32:19)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 30-32; John 15

Ask Egypt, “Who compares to your beauty now?
Go down into the pit and rest among the uncircumcised pagans.”

Something struck me as I read Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning Egypt today. The only thing we’ve seen of Egypt throughout our lives are the desert wastelands. Some fertile fields around the Nile River spring up, but for the most part, everything you see about Egypt is brown. It’s like that in every picture you see. There’s just not much color in the landscape of the country.

Neither is there color in the landscape of Libya, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, or any of the other middle east countries we read about in Ezekiel’s prophecies. The land is scorched by the sun, brown, and nothing grows unless irrigated by mechanical means. I admit, my experiences in that part of the world were not for vacations and my mood may not have been the best. I might not have looked for all the beauty spots across the land during my eight months traveling through several of those countries. But all of them looked the same. Bleak! Brown! Almost uninhabitable compared to my experiences in the United States.

Now compare what we see today on television with the descriptions of that part of the world in the Old Testament. Israel’s spies called it a land flowing with milk and honey. It took two men to carry a single bunch of grapes. Harvests boggled the imagination of those who saw them. Scripture talks about the cedars of Lebanon. Their height and beauty must have marveled those who ventured there. I can only imagine they compared to the redwood forests of our northwest.

The descriptions we read of Egypt, Israel, Edom, Aram, Babylon, Assyria, and all the other countries which Ezekiel names in his list that will feel the wrath of God all bear the scars of unimagined devastation. The lush forests, fertile fields, thriving economies, world powers, never returned from the time of the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy until today. The world powers these nations represented enticing Israel into their idolatrous worship felt the wrath of God as surely as Israel and never regained their stations in the world.

Of all the nations named, only Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and Israel still exist. None can call themselves world powers, except perhaps Israel with their nuclear capability and every nation’s inability to conquer them since their rebirth in 1947.

Sometimes, these Old Testament prophecies against nations that no longer exist may seem boring or pointless. But the point is, God does what He says He’s going to do. At the end of His book, He says a lot about what will happen. It is cloaked in symbolism and descriptions John did not have the vocabulary to describe, but the end result is clear. Those who follow God and His Son who died on the cross for us, will spend eternity with Him. Those who go their own way will also face judgment, and John describes an eternal hell where there is wailing and weeping and gnashing of teeth. We make our own choice.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

Who is the prince of Tyre? (Ezekiel 28:12)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 27-29; John 14

…You [prince of Tyre] were a paradigm of perfection, human life at its best.
You had everything a leader needs: immense wisdom and perfect beauty.

How many arguments have you had with those who argue that all of mankind could not possibly come from the descendants of just Adam and Eve? Some nay-sayers will look at the list of names in the Bible and declare there’s just no possible way one couple with three sons could multiply through the genealogies listed in scripture to give us the nearly 7 billion people on earth today.

What we forget is the Bible isn’t a science book, although science has never disproven anything in scripture. It isn’t even a history book, although archeology continues to verify the facts written by the ancient writers of God’s word that “scholars” often challenge. The Bible is simply the story of God’s redemptive grace demonstrated through His covenants first with individuals, then with the nation of Israel, and finally with all who believe in Him. The Bible gives us the directions for living in harmony with Him.

So what we don’t know is who else is in the genealogy, but not listed in the scriptures? For instance, the Bible only mentions Adam’s sons, but we can assume Adam and Eve also had daughters. We can also assume that since Adam and Eve were told to propagate and fill the earth, they probably had a lot more children than Cain, Abel, and Seth, the three we know about. Across the 900 plus years of Adam’s life, I expect he fathered a great many children.

We also don’t know if God only created Adam and Eve. We know they were the first man and woman He created, but does this verse imply He created others and placed them in the garden as well? Did they also fall prey to the wiles of Satan and fall from grace as did Adam and Eve? Beginning with this 12th verse in Ezekiel 28 and continuing through the next several verses, God’s message to the “prince of Tyre” could imply such an event.

Whether the prince of Tyre was a descendant of Adam or another man created by God does not shake my faith whatever the answer. Remember, God’s word is not a science book or a history book, but a book of His story for our redemption. When we keep it in that perspective, the arguments we hear about this can’t be true or that can’t be so just don’t mean much. Every time someone tries to disprove God’s word, they fail. What seems to come across as contradictions end up not being contradictions after all when all the facts are laid out in front of us. We just don’t know all the answers — yet.

We don’t need to argue about the few points in scripture that might sound contradictory. What we need to do is live the 99% that aligns itself perfectly to pointing to God’s grace and mercy. We need to remember who God is, what He has done for us, and dedicate our lives to Him because of it.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

 

A date to remember (Ezekiel 24:2)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 24-26

Son of man, remember this date. Write it down. The Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem today.

A few savants among us remember every date and what happened on those dates. My wife’s aunt can almost do that. I’m not even close. I keep journals and notes on calendars and still can’t remember what happened even when prompted by those detailed notes. I can remember events, but to try to put them on specific dates, not a chance. I can’t even tell you what day of the week it is without thinking about it most of the time.

There are, however, a few exceptions for me. I remember a few things associated with specific dates. Like June 22, 1960 when I got a birthday cake with my sister’s name on it instead of mine. That was fun for a six-year old! I remember May 12, 1976 when my mother and then fiancée pinned butter-bars on my shoulders as part of the commissioning ceremony just before my graduation from Vanderbilt.

Three very memorable dates happened regarding my family, December 4, 1976 started my personal family tree when Carole said, “I do” at the altar of our church. I don’t remember a lot about the ceremony except holding her, but I vividly remember her coming down the aisle on her father’s arm and then taking mine and we never let go of each other. June 20, 1981 hallmarks the birth of our first child, now grown with a family of her own. A fine Christian woman, she and her husband have given us three red-headed grandchildren to spoil when we want them. July 26, 1985, our second child came on the scene. Matt lives too far away, but is also living a solid Christian life and he and his wife are about to bring their first child into the world.

I vividly remember February 24, 1991, the day the XVIII Airborne Corps crossed the border into Iraq to start the land war phase of Desert Storm. After almost a month of continuous bombing by the Air Force against their defensive positions, the forces we came up against as the 24th Infantry Division blitzed toward the Euphrates River gave us little fight. The medical teams treated lots of injuries, but they were mostly enemy troops we cared for, not allied troops.

I remember June 22, 2006, my retirement from the Army. I tried to get out of having any ceremony to mark the day, but my boss insisted. Looking back, I’m glad he insisted. A retreat ceremony at the post flagpole marked the last day of my duties. I don’t know how many were there, but it was a lot. I shook hands for a long time. People from all over the post came. The day was more emotional than I thought it would be. But after 30 years, I suppose it should be that way.

All of us have dates that stick in our mind that we will never forget. Most of my remembered dates associate with happy events, good times, usually life changing, but usually pleasant. A few of the dates in my mine are not so pleasant. Some make up the contents of my nightmares and I don’t look forward to the anniversaries of those dates. But then I remember that I’m past the bad events and made it through them. I’m on this side of the history of those things and God saw me through to the end of them.

God told Ezekiel to remember a date long ago. It was the day the king of Babylon began the siege of Jerusalem, a horrible time for God’s people. It marked an event brought on by their own failure to follow God’s commands. But even through that horrible time, God left a remnant and made provision to restore His people. On the others side of His wrath, they discovered His grace.

I remember a lot of dates. I forget most of them. I remember a little wrath. What I remember most is God’s incredible grace through all of my fumbling.

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard

Can’t we learn from their mistakes? (Ezekiel 22:7-8)

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 22-23; John 13

Infamous city of turmoil, your people mistreat their elders, disrespect their parents, take advantage of foreigners passing through, and treat orphan and widows with contempt. In you My holy things are desecrated and My Sabbaths are profaned.

I would not want to stand in Ezekiel’s sandals as he shared the messages God gave him for the people of Jerusalem. As we read through the descriptions of Judah’s sins against God, and the wrath He will pour out on them, we wonder why they would continue to go down that path generation after generation. Each successive leader seemed to lead them further from God and the priests, those charged with providing righteous guidance to their leaders did little or nothing to stop the headlong slide toward destruction.

The prophets tried to restore God’s people through the pointed messages God gave them as the description we read in today’s readings, but still they traveled their own way bowing to breathless idols instead of the God of creation. The description God gives Ezekiel in 22:2-16 looks too much like our society, though. It scares me to think we listen no better than the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Just the two verses quoted above indicate how similar we’ve become to ancient Israel. Those of you who grew up in the forties and fifties will understand better how far we have fallen as a nation. Before Social Security, elders lived with their children when it became difficult for them to work. Now we relegate them to “assisted living” facilities and nursing homes. I can’t tell you the number of elderly in those facilities who get less than one visit a month from family members.

Even in the fifties, if I said some of the things I hear children saying to their parents today, I would find myself picking myself up off the floor because my parents would have slapped me across the room — rightfully so! Too many parents want to befriend their children instead of parent their children. We forget our responsibility as parents is to teach them respect for authority, respect for elders, work ethic, helping others, etc.

God’s message about taking advantage of foreigners certainly applies here. Regardless what you think of our immigration laws, many in our country take advantage of those who come here to escape the conditions in their native land and pay them less than they deserve, under conditions Americans would not work under, and threaten unrealistic exposures which would actually hurt the business person significantly more than the worker.

We continually treat children and the down and out as throw-aways in our society. No one looks out for them. They are treated as nothing and tossed around as if they had no worth. We see them everywhere and forget that the children around us are our hope for the future. What we teach them today will make a difference in their lives tomorrow. We segregate them from us so they don’t “bother” us while we’re working, shopping, watching TV, or some other activity and let someone else raise them for us. We forget what a precious gift each child really is.

Finally, in just these two verses, God mentions the desecration of His Sabbaths. Remember the Blue Laws? If you were born before 1965 you might. Nothing was open on Sunday. You didn’t buy gas, groceries, clothes. Stores were closed! A handful of restaurants served lunch after church and many people frowned on those. You might find a drug store open next to a hospital to fill emergency prescriptions. That was it! Sunday was the day we went to church, the social center of the community.

We’ve come a long way in 40 years. I’m not sure I would call it progress. The rest of that section in chapter 22 spells out a lot more of Jerusalem that sounds like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Antonio, and a host of other cities in our country. Can’t we learn from someone else’s mistakes instead of making them ourselves?

Join me next time, won’t you?

Richard