SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/29/2014
9:46 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The People
are Doomed PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezekiel
9:5-10:7
Message of the
verses: We will be looking at the
second part of this second main point that follows Warren Wiersbe’s outline
through the book of Ezekiel in today’s SD.
The Rebels Judged (Ezekiel 9:5-10:7): 5 But to the others He said in my hearing,
"Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity
and do not spare. 6 "Utterly slay
old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any
man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary." So they
started with the elders who were before the temple. 7 And He said to them,
"Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!" Thus
they went out and struck down the people in the city. 8 As they were striking
the people and I alone was left, I fell on my face and cried out saying,
"Alas, Lord GOD! Are You destroying the whole remnant of Israel by pouring
out Your wrath on Jerusalem?" 9 Then He said to me, "The iniquity of
the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood and the city is full of
perversion; for they say, ’The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does
not see!’ 10 “But as for Me, My
eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but I will bring their conduct upon
their heads." 11 Then behold, the man clothed in linen at whose
loins was the writing case reported, saying, "I have done just as You have
commanded me."
“1 Then I looked, and behold, in the
expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a sapphire stone, in appearance
resembling a throne, appeared above them. 2 And He spoke to the man clothed in
linen and said, "Enter between the whirling wheels under the cherubim and
fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them
over the city." And he entered in my sight. 3 Now the cherubim were
standing on the right side of the temple when the man entered, and the cloud
filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to
the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the
court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. 5 Moreover, the
sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like
the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. 6
It came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying,
"Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the
cherubim," he entered and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then the cherub
stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between
the cherubim, took some and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen,
who took it and went out.”
Let’s begin with a quote from Steward Briscoe: “The Severity of God.” “Having completed the work which impressed on
Ezekiel’s consciousness the inevitability and severity of the impending
judgment, the six men faded from the vision and once again, the chariot-throne
of the Lord of glory took center stage.
Ezekiel again described it in considerable detail, perhaps to emphasize
that he had added little new to the descriptions already given. Nevertheless, he once more overwhelmed with
the presence of God.
“The
record reminds us that we should be as overwhelmed with a revelation of the
severity of God as we are with a vision of His majesty or His mercy. However, believers often don’t want to know
about this aspect of His nature. When
they are confronted with the idea of God’s judgment, they usually react with
questions rather than responding with reverent worship.” I do like the input that Steward Briscoe
gives in his commentary on Ezekiel, and one of the things that I like the best
is the practical writings of how this can, and should affect our walk with the
Lord. I agree whole heartily with his
statement concerning why many people do not want to look at the severity or
judgment of the Lord in a way in which it brings glory to the Lord. I remember in a Sunday school class a very
gifted man was teaching us from the book of Psalms. He had a great deal of problems with the
imprecatory Psalms, the Psalms which speak of the sever judgment of the
Lord. This bothered me very much for it
is a part of the Word of the Lord and therefore we have to believe it is a part
of the Lord of the Word. I have written
this before, but it bears repeating, all of God’s attributes bring glory to
Him, including His wrath, and His justice.
I want to say that the quote from Steward Briscoe is more
about what happens later in the book of Ezekiel and not exactly where we begin
this commentary, for the six angels are the ones who are to do the sever
judgment of the Lord, by killing all those who do not have the mark on their
foreheads. They begin this task at the
sanctuary, which may seem like a strange place to begin, however this is where
we have seen the idolatry in our previous SD’s on Ezekiel. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Often in Scripture you find
God sending judgment, not because unbelievers have sinned, but because His own
people have disobeyed His law! Twice
Abraham brought judgment on innocent Gentiles because he lied about his wife
(Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Aaron the high
priest led Israel into idolatry and 3,000 people were slain (Ex. 32:1-6,
26-29). David committed adultery with
Bathsheba and then murdered her husband, Uriah, and his sins brought years of
trouble to his family and the nation. A
crew of Gentile sailors almost drowned because of the disobedience of God’s
prophet Jonah. God’s people are to be
the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16). If there were more salt in this world, there
would be less decay, and more light would mean less darkness. Our good works glorify the Lord, but our sins
invite His discipline. Peter warned
believers in the first century that ‘judgment must begin at the house [household]
of God’ (1 Peter 4:17), a warring we need to heed today as our Lord’s coming
draws near.”
These idolatress people who were worshiping the idols in
the temple were breaking the law by doing this and were defiling the temple of
the Lord with their idolatry, and now their dead bodies would also defile the
temple, and they would become just as dead as the idols that they were
worshiping. “Those who make them will
become like them, Everyone who trusts in them (Psalm 115:8).”
We see in this section of Scripture something similar to
what is found in 1 Kings, as in that book we see the prophet Elijah cry out to
the Lord as Ezekiel did for the remnant of the Lord, as both though that there
would not be a remnant left when the Lord finished His judgment, but there was
still a remnant left in both cases. In
Elijah’s case the Lord said that there were 7,000 people who had not bowed to Baal,
and in Ezekiel’s case there were many whom the Lord had moved to Babylon. Dr. Wiersbe points out that this prophecy
took place in 593 BC, and the city of Jerusalem did not fall until 586 BC.
In conclusion to this part of this SD I want to focus in
on verse one of chapter ten and the words “something like.” As we read through the prophetic portions of
Scripture we see the words “like” and “as” many times because they are not sure
what exactly they are looking at. I
took the time to search the words “something like” in the book of Revelations
as far as what is in the NASB. The
following verses are what I found:
“Re 4:6 and before the throne there was something
like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne,
four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
Re 6:6 And I heard something like a voice in the
center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a
denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil
and the wine."
Re 8:8 The second angel sounded, and something like
a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the
sea became blood,
Re 15:2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed
with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and
the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.
Re 19:1 After these things I heard something like a
loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation
and glory and power belong to our God;
Re 19:6 Then I heard something like the voice of a
great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty
peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty,
reigns.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I realize that it
was hard on Ezekiel to see all of those die because of their sinfulness of
worshiping idols, and I suppose that it was hard on God to do this, but because
of His attributes of justice and wrath He had to do it. Also the verse in 1 Peter about the judgment
of God first of all coming on His people is something that causes my heart to
fear the Lord as far as what is going on in our country today. I feel a great need in praying much for the
Pastor’s or our church to make sure that they continue to be safe, and continue
to preach the Word of the Lord no matter what the Lord is going to do with our
country.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord to keep me from
sinful activity as when the temptations come that I will meditate on the Word
of God.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 2:1-2.
1 Simon Peter, a
bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of
the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus
Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied
to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Uzziah” (2 Chronicles
26:16-21).
Today’s Bible
question: “What was Luke’s profession?”
Answer in our next SD.
11/29/2014 10:59 AM
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