2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there, directs me to spend some time with you in the book of Ezekiel. After reading through the citations that I will share, it is clear to me that He wants us to not only appreciate His power, but to see how the nature of His presence is impacted by mankind’s actions. Although God didn’t refer to Ezekiel as “a man of esteem” as he did with Daniel [DN 9: 23], I truly believe God held Ezekiel close to His heart too. That is because Jehovah Shammah rewards those who love Him with additional knowledge about His plan. Remember that Ezekiel was the spiritual leader of a group of Jewish captives in the Chabar River settlement off the Euphrates River in Babylonia. He had been taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar’s forces in 597 BC. EZK 8: 2-6, “I looked up and saw a vision of a fiery human form. From the waist down His body looked like fire, and from the waist up He was shining like polished bronze. He reached out what seemed to be a hand and grabbed me by the hair. Then in this vision God’s Spirit lifted me high in the air and took me to Jerusalem. He took me to the inner entrance of the north gate of the Temple, where there was an idol that was an outrage to God. There I saw the dazzling light that shows the presence of Israel’s God, just as I had seen it when I was by the Chebar River. God said to me, ‘Mortal man, look toward the north.’ I looked, and there near the altar by the entrance of the gateway I saw the idol that was an outage to God. God said to me, ’Mortal man, do you see what is happening? Look at the disgusting things the people of Israel are doing here, driving Me farther and farther away from My holy place. You will see even more disgraceful things than this.’”
I know from having taught a course on this book that the priests on duty at the Temple had set up an idol worshipping altar in one of the rooms in the walls of the Temple. God showed this to Ezekiel as well. If one stops to think about it, disobedience to God is all around us even today. These experiments by people like Rael, a so-called religious leader, which are trying to lead to human cloning would certainly fit this category. God has made it clear in 1COR 3: 16-17 that the “body is the temple of the Spirit.” I’m certain that cloned bodies can’t be. The kind of disobedience that was going on in the Temple in Ezekiel’s day was an abomination that was basically “fouling” God’s very own home! Is it any wonder that God made the decision to physically leave the Temple? The priests, who were supposed to be God’s servants had given this up to serve the devil instead. They might have thought that the activity in this secret room was secret, but that was denying God’s omniscience. Not only did God know about it, but He wanted his trusted servant, Ezekiel, whom He called Mortal man, to see it too [EZK 8: 7-10].
The disobedience was not only going on within the Temple. EZK 8: 17-18, “The Lord said to me [Ezekiel], ‘Mortal man, do you see that? These people of Judah are not satisfied with merely doing all the disgusting things you have seen here and with spreading violence throughout the country. No, they must come and do them right here in the Temple and make Me even more angry. Look how they insult Me in the most offensive way possible! They will feel all the force of my wrath. I will not spare them any mercy. They will shout prayers to Me as loud as they can, but I will not listen to them.’” Think about the Temple Mount area and Jerusalem today. Two mosques sit where the Temple once was. Efforts to build a third one there are being made at great cost to the archeological antiquities and their record, as they are torn asunder. The Islamic jihad (holy war) is in progress with terrorism, bombings, and destruction. The American press blames Israel for bombing PLO armories in response to the killing of innocent civilians. Now, this is disobedience to God! We must ask: where will this end?
In Ezekiel’s time, the consequences of disobedience to God are aptly described in EZK 10: 2b-4, “I watched Him go. The creatures were standing to the south of the Temple when he [the man wearing linen clothes] went in, and a cloud filled the inner courtyard. The dazzling light of the Lord’s presence rose up from the creatures and moved to the to the entrance of the Temple. Then the cloud filled the Temple, and the courtyard was blazing with light.” EZK 10: 18-19, “Then the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence left the entrance of the Temple and moved to a place above the creatures. They spread their wings and flew up from the earth while I was watching, and the wheels went with them. The paused at the east gate of the Temple, and the dazzling light was over them.” EZK 11: 23-25, “Then the dazzling light left the city and moved to the mountain east of it. In the vision the Spirit of God lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Babylonia. Then the vision faded, and I told the exiles everything that the Lord had shown me.” While God is not physically present with us right now, we have been told in the book of Hebrews [HE 8: 1-2] that He is in heaven. He never abandons those who endure in faithful obedience [RO 8: 38-39]. I would not want to suffer the fate that awaits those who persist in disobeying Him. Jehovah Shammah is counting on us to remain faithful, to know that He is indeed present in our lives, and that He is eager to bless those who love Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, You reward those who love You by allowing them to know more about Your plan. We, who give in to the hunger for Your word that You gave us through the Holy Spirit, know about Your love for us. We humbly praise and thank You for this undeserved grace that You extend. You commanded us to look back at the book of Ezekiel today, to remind us of the consequences of continuing disobedience against You. But, there is more than that. You wanted us to compare Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s time to that of today, so that we could know the consistency of Your messages to us throughout mankind’s history. One more lesson that comes out of Your love and compassion for us is that while You are not physically presence on earth today, You are far from abandoning us. That is why You inspired Paul to write what he did in his epistles to the Romans and the Hebrews. We hear You, Dearest Jehovah Shammah, and we stand ready to obey You. That You have allowed us to know this much about You is a privilege and a blessing. In humility we offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and utmost thanksgiving. In Christ’s holy name, amen.
Today, we spend time thinking about the consequences of disobedience and raised some questions about what is going on in our lives today. The Lord leads me tomorrow to look at citations which reveal His relationship with those who endure in faith and make the commitment to stand up to any suffering, temptation, or other allure that the adversary sends their way. The Lord’s presence in our lives is a real and great force. When we obey Him, we are blessed, can feel His great love for us, and know the warmth of His protection. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn