2010-04-16
Good Morning Cherished Ones,
I’m led to continue writing about the Scriptures in which God weighs in on the teaching of false prophets [teachers]. This matters, because we are now in a position to see how they stack up against Christ’s teaching on judgments in the Sermon on the Mount [MT 7: 1-29]. Let’s begin this week looking at EZK 22: 28, “The prophets have hidden theses sins like men covering a wall with whitewash. They see false visions and make false predictions. They claim to speak the word of the Sovereign Lord , but I, the Lord, have not spoken to them.” To examine this Scripture, it helps to put it in the context in which it was written. Ezekiel was a prophet in leadership of a small group of Jews from Judah in the Chabar River area of Babylon during the time of their exile. He was speaking of apostate leaders, gone wrong by having allowed the adversary to establish a stronghold in them. EZK 22: 25-27 describes them as “like lions roaring over the animals they have killed. They kill the people, take all the money and property they can get, and by their murders leave many widows.” These priests “break God’s law and have no respect for what is holy…they ignore the Sabbath; as a result they have no respect for Me.” Government officials “commit murder in order to get rich.” When we go back to other times beforehand, as in the book of Ruth, we must remember that the Jewish culture took it on as an important responsibility to care for widows and orphans. In the waning years before the Babylonians captured the Jews of Judah [~586 BC], these false prophets went against this part of the Jewish cultural heritage for their own selfish reasons. Having farmers leave the corners and gleanings of their fields for widows and orphans was totally abandoned by them [LV 23: 22].
How can the language of EZK 22: 28 be missed, as it connects with cross-references? For example, see that Satan and his followers are described as liars and murderers in JN 8: 44, which characterizes the evil one as “the father of all lies and a murderer.” The mental picture of “a lion that roams about roaring, looking for someone to devour” is brought up in 1 PET 5: 8, as a part of a warning to be alert and on watch for your enemy, the devil. It is characteristic of liars to put of a “wall covered with whitewash” to prevent others from uncovering their real and evil motives. Take the secrecy of the Gnostics during Paul’s time, for example. With the exclusivist practices that were part of their approach to their religion, few, if any, new converts realized their hidden motives, which certainly included their resistance to the spread of true Christianity. Even in today’s world, cults often hide their motives, normally the acquisition of huge amounts of money and control over the lives of their membership, by all kinds of deceit. Few people ever get to find out the inner workings of these apostate belief systems-only the elite few who are their leaders, until their evil goes so far as to alert outsiders of it. Often secret language or physical gestures are used by the elite to identify themselves. No doubt, modern technology such as secrets being posted on the Internet have interfered to some extent, but not enough to stop this apostate religions from gaining membership. We must remember that the evil one is cunning.
One of the pictures in a vision Ezekiel had seems to keep returning to my consciousness. It is of the priests of the temple in Jerusalem just before God departs from it who are in a room inside the temple wall, practicing the offensive-to-God habit of mixing Judaism with paganism. EZK 8: 12, “God asked me, ‘Mortal man, do you see what the Israelite leaders are dong in secret? They are all worshipping in a room full of images. They excuse is: ‘The Lord doesn’t see us! He has abandoned the country.’” Had it been the innocent silliness of little children engaging in meaningless pranks, this might have seemed unimportant to the apathetic. However, these were Israel’s spiritual leaders going against the very first few of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord am a jealous God…” [EX 20: 3-5a]. There was nothing silly or innocent about this; it was deliberate and premeditated. Is it any wonder that God departed the Jerusalem temple shortly after that? [EZK 10: 4]. Ezekiel’s vision was no lie, but the so-called visions of false teachers are often discussed in an effort to put forth their evil, selfish motives. And those who are apathetic and listen become the “lambs who have gone astray, each one in his own way,” from IS 53: 6.
The question arises, how can we assure ourselves that we are not one of those apathetic followers of cleverly disseminated false doctrine? To begin: pray, asking for God’s help, His wisdom and His discernment. PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125, “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom…I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your teachings.” Then, spend time every day studying and meditating over God’s word from the OT and NT. Don’t get tangled up with human-crafted resources as your definitive explanation on God’s teaching. If you have a problem understanding, then let God explain Himself by the use of cross-references. Only as a last resort, consult a widely-respected commentary, e.g. The Believer’s Commentary edited by Wm. McDonald. And, never forget the importance of having an active, dynamic prayer life in which there is two-way communication between oneself and God with God speaking first. Yes, this means that in prayer, we must first calm the spirit, then approach God’s throne with confidence, humility, and reverence. Be willing to listen to Him [2 TIM 3: 16-17; EPH 3: 12]. At last, be patient and refuse to be discouraged [JS 1: 9].
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your throne, knowing that we are sinners in need of Your presence and intervention in our lives. We thank and praise You for always being here for us. We pledge to listen for Your direction, knowing that Your love for us is such that You will always direct us with wisdom and compassion. PS 37: 23-24, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every details of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Dearest Abba, when we have a good understanding of Your word, we know that what You teach is always-righteous and always-consistent. When we know Your word and another person tries to teach us lies, we see them for what they are. We pledge to remember Your direction in PS 1: 1, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” We ask You for Your guidance, because it will give us the means not to be sucked in to lies being told around us. PS 25: 4-5, “Teach me Your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to Your truth, for You are my God Who saves me. I always trust in You.” You have given us the power to overcome the fiery arrows the evil one shoots at us, the same power that You used to raise Your Son, Jesus Christ, from death to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20]. We thank and praise You for loving us enough to sacrifice Your Son on the cross for the sake of our salvation and chance for eternal life [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. We pray these prayers in His holy and mighty name. Amen.
Next week: We will look at AC 20: 29-30 and, if space permits, 2 TIM 4: 3-4, against the backdrop of Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount on judgments. We live in times which are getting harder and harder, but we have no reason to be afraid-if we have true faith in Jesus Christ. Approaching our God with humility, reverence, and willingness to obey Him is what He desires. When we do this, He blesses us with peace of mind, even in adversity, and gives us the guidance and deliverance we need. He never refuses anything we ask of Him if we are in Christ [JN 15: 7]. No matter how cunning and sly the evil one is, we have been given the power to fend him off, the same power that Christ had when He used the word of God from Deuteronomy three times against the devil- while he was being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days [MT 4: 1-11, LK 4: 1-13; MK 1: 12-13; DT 8: 3; DT 6: 16; DT 6: 13]. If you look up these verses, this story will come alive. That’s part of the supernatural power of God’s word. We must never forget what is learned from JS 24 :14, “’Now then,’ Joshua continued, ‘honor the Lord and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve on the Lord.” Know that whenever the adversary is trying to bring us doubt and lies, we have the power to send him packing in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn