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843. Bible Study: Ezekiel 20 (God's patience and discipline) · Faith by annm2705

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Ezekiel chapter 20 Dear Lord, please be with us and help us to
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gain insight as we read through this chapter.
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We ask this in Jesus name. This is called rebellious Israel
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purged in the seventh year in the 5th month.
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On the 10th day some of the elders of Israel came to inquire
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of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.
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Then the word of the Lord came to me.
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Son of Man, speak with the elders of Israel and say to
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them, This is what the Southern Sovereign Lord says.
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Have you come to inquire of me as surely as I live?
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I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.
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Will you judge them? Will you judge them, Son of man?
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Then confront them with the detestable practices of their
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ancestors, and say to them, This is what the sovereign Lord says.
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On the day I chose Israel, I swore with an uplifted hand as
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the descendants of Jacob, and revealed myself to them in
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Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to
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them, I am the Lord your God. On that day I swore to them that
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I would bring them out of Egypt, into the land I had searched out
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for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most
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beautiful of all lands. And I said to them, Each of you,
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get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do
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not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.
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I am the Lord your God. So in this first part of the
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chapter, he's definitely saying they needed to repent, and I'll
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read the questions and answers that cover this section.
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So why would God turn away from those seeking Him?
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These leaders and people they represented were not genuinely
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seeking the Lord with remorseful hearts.
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In their eyes, the Lord was just one of several gods to placate
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and worship. The Lord demanded uncompromising
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allegiance and refusal to tolerate such pluralism.
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So they were obviously doing. They were in the middle of
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spiritual adultery, and He had warned them of that.
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The 7th year of what It says, the 7th year of King
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Jehoiachin's exile. Ezekiel had been taken to
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Babylon that same year, 597 BC. The precise dating gives the
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message a formal quality and suggests it had special
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significance. What did an uplifted hand mean?
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This was a solemn gesture that often accompanied oaths, similar
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to what is done in modern day courtrooms.
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Now. There were a couple things in
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here because I know this gets questioned by some today, but in
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verse, let's see this is verse four.
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I think it is or five actually says on the day I chose Israel.
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So Israel was chosen by God way back when and he actually, I
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thought he was, he said when he swore with the yeah, uplifted
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hand to the descendants of Jacob.
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Because when we get into some of the this gets into a couple
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different religions because one group, the Jewish people
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obviously believe that they were chosen.
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And everyone who reads the Bible understands that the Jewish
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people, that Israel was chosen by God and they are the
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descendants of Jacob. And that's where the a lot of
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things differentiate. But between the Muslims and our
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Islam beliefs and Judaism, I mean, Islam is talking about
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Ishmael where it was Isaac and then his son Jacob.
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So it it transferred down and obviously in Ezekiel back in 593
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to 571 BC. This is a good thousand years
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before Muhammad ever came about ever had his revelations from
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quote an Angel and developed this religion that does not
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align with the Bible. And the Bible also said that if
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anybody, even an Angel gives you a different story, let him be
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accursed. So that was written way before
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Muhammad got his his messages. So just a word of warning about
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that. Just a false religion that goes
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way back to the BC time frame to see that this is not, you know,
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a a true religion. So continuing on, that was just
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something that I saw in here. And it was when God revealed
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himself to them in Egypt. Now he made a promise to them
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and this is where he made a promise while they were, He said
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he would take him out of Egypt. This is the first promise.
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And he had searched at the land and he was going to give them
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the most beautiful of all lands. And he's just said that when
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they came out of Egypt, they had to get rid of their idolatry.
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They picked up the idolatry there in Egypt.
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He wanted them to repent and recognize Him as the one who
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was, you know, the Creator, the one who was giving them this
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land, who was bringing them out of slavery out of Egypt.
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So then we go to verse 8IN Ezekiel chapter 20.
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But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me.
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They would not get a rid of their vile images they had set
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their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
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So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger
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against them in Egypt. But for the sake of my name I
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brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from
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being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they
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lived and whose sight I had revealed myself to the
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Israelites. Therefore I LED them out of
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Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
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I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which
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the person who obeys them will live.
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Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would
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know that I, the Lord, made them holy.
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So he gave, He gave the laws, He gave them the Sabbath.
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And then continuing on in verse 13, yet the people of Israel
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rebelled against me in the wilderness.
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They did not follow my decrees, but rejected my laws by which
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the person who obeys them will live.
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And they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths.
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So God gave laws and he he told everybody, this is how you can
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live. I like to think of the laws now
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as guardrails on the side of a road.
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If you abide by them, you're not going to die, fall off the the
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road. Just think of a road on a steep
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mountain and then God's laws or those guardrails that keep us
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safe. But if we breakthrough, then
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we're we're we're not protected anymore.
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And that's pretty much the way IA visual that I have for God's
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laws. And then the Sabbath, I mean the
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Sabbath was his day of rest. I mean that goes back to the day
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of creation when God rested on the 7th day and then he gave
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that same for mankind to rest on that on the 7th day.
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So let's see. So I said I would.
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Then when we continue in I guess part of verse 13 that I didn't
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read, so I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy
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them in the wilderness. But for the sake of my name I
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did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of
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the nations whose sight I had brought them out.
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Also, with uplifted hand, I swore to them in the wilderness
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that I would not bring them into the land I had given them.
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So now we see that because of their rebellion and refusal to
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abide by the things that God puts in front of them, he said,
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OK, fine, you're not going to go into the land.
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And a lot of the people, I mean, it was, I think it was only like
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the children of the original people.
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They wandered for like 40 years out in the desert before they
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went to the promised land. And then it was not the older
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ones who got to go into the land.
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In fact, Moses didn't even get to go into the land because he
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actually rebelled against God too, when God told him to speak
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to the rock. And he struck the rock when they
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were wanting water. And, and so there were multiple
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people who did not listen to God.
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And then he said, I swore to them in the wilderness that I
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would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land
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flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
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And it says here because it gives the reason why they
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rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated
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my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to
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their idols. Now this is obviously spoken of
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by Ezekiel from the Lord to Israel, but we also know that
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God doesn't change and that if God expects this, those who know
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about God's law, don't you think he will react the same way to
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us? There's a lot of people who are
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there some people I don't know about a lot, but there's some
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people who say, Oh well, the law isn't relevant anymore, except
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that Jesus said that heaven and earth may pass away, but my
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words will remain. So all of these words that God
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has spoken, they did, they didn't go away.
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They still are today. And and it's not that our
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righteousness makes us acceptable to be in God's
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Kingdom. No, it can't because we we
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aren't. That's Jesus, Jesus's death on
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the cross. So it has nothing to do with us
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justifying ourselves or making ourselves appropriate, I guess.
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Or we, we can't. I mean, we would still, we still
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have sin. We would have to be completely
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purified of everything to be in the presence of God.
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Because it seems like from even when God gave the 10
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commandments on the mountain and he told everybody in preparation
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what they needed to do and told everyone, don't come near the
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mountain, don't even touch it because if you do, you will die.
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Just the same thing with the Ark of the covenant people, only the
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people that God said could handle the ark were to handle
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it. And there was one man who even
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who reached out his hand. He wasn't supposed to be
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carrying it to begin with, but he reached out his hand to
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stable it, stabilize it when they were traveling and he died.
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God struck him down because God said, no, he's not.
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He wasn't one of the, I think it was the Levites who were
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supposed to be the only ones who could carry it and he wasn't one
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of them. And and the Levites also did go
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through a certain procedure for purification.
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So that could be why too, because God has certain rules
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and laws and he, he's, those are serious.
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I mean, they I don't the way God is that as revealed through the
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Bible, he doesn't do these things to put burden.
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It always says that my yoke, my yoke is light or it's, you know,
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it's not burdensome, but the laws that he gives are for
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protection. And we don't usually see it as
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that. We see it as is something that
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we resist, but that's because that's when we don't have the
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Holy Spirit, when we're still an enemy of God and then we don't
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like His laws because we're opposed to them.
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We're still in rebellion. But once we have the Holy
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Spirit, then we're no longer in rebellion to His laws and we
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want to abide by them because we want to do it out of love for
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God. So there's a that's the change
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in a person that happens. Let's see.
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So then it says verse 17. Yet I looked on them with pity
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and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the
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wilderness. I said to their children in the
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wilderness, Do not follow the statutes of your parents, or
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keep their laws, or defy, defile yourselves with their idols.
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I am the Lord your God. Follow my decrees and be careful
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to keep my laws. Keep the Sabbaths holy, that
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they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the
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Lord your God. But the children rebelled
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against me. They did not follow my decrees.
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They were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said The person
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who obeys them will live by them, and they desecrated my
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Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my
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wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.
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But I withheld my hand for the sake of my name.
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I I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of
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the nation in whose sight I had brought them out.
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Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I
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would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through
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the countries. And he gives a reason why,
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because they had not obeyed my laws, but had rejected my
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decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths.
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And their eyes lusted after their parents idols.
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So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws
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through which they could not live.
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I defiled them through their gifts, the sacrifice of every
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first born, that I might fill them with horror so they would
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know that I am the Lord. Now that one is that's from the
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NIV version, and it's really not the most clear, but the there
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are other versions that are a little bit better.
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So a few other translations, they say, let's I let's see,
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let's start here. I guess the NLT says I gave them
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over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead
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to life. And it says, therefore in the
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new King James says, therefore, I also gave them up to statutes
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that were not good and judgments by which they could not live.
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The verse is saying that this is from gotquestions.org.
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The verse is saying that since the Israelites violated God's
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laws and committed abominations such as sacrificing their sons,
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God essentially said I'll let you experience the full misery
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of what it's like to live under the laws of Pagan gods.
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This giving over of the Israelites to a worthless or to
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worthless decrees would be similar to what we see in Romans
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chapter 1 verses 2426 and 28. God gave them over in the lust
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of their hearts, and God gave them over to degrading passions.
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God gave them over to a depraved mind.
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So when we continue to stubbornly rebel against God,
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violating His commands, committing idolatry, etcetera,
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He sometimes allows us to experience the consequences of
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our sin. He allows us to see how sin
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destroys our lives. He allows us to become like the
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idols we are worshipping. In summary, when God says I gave
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them statues that were statutes that were not good and rules by
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which they could not have life, He is declaring that because the
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Israelites perverted God's statutes, the giving of the
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first fruits for example, even to the point of offering their
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first born children, God gave them over to the rules and
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statutes of their ancestors and the surrounding idolatrous
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nations. Those rules which led to death
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were the opposite of God's life giving rules and were a
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judgement in themselves. Why did God do this?
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So they would know that I am the Lord, Ezekiel 2026 says.
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And so that afterward you will surely listen to me, and no
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longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.
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In verse 39. God wants our hearts 100%, He
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wants us to know that He is the one to be worshipped, for He
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alone is God and He alone can give us life.
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So then I'll go back to Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 27.
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Therefore, son of Man, speak to the people of Israel and say to
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them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says.
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In this also your ancestors blasphemy me by being unfaithful
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to me. When I brought them into the
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land I had sworn to give them, and they saw any high hill or
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any leafy tree there, they offered their sacrifices, made
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offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant,
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fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.
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Then I said to them, What is this high place you go to?
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It is called Bama to this day. Therefore, say to the
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Israelites, this is what the sovereign Lord says.
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Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust
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after their vile images? When you offer your gifts, the
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sacrifice of your children in the fire, you continue to defile
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yourselves with all your idols to this day.
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Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites?
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As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not
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let you inquire of me. You say we want to be like the
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nations, like the people of the world who serve wooden stone.
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But what you have in mind will never happen.
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As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign
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over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with
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outpoured wrath I will bring you from the nations and gather you
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from the countries where you have been scattered.
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With a mighty hand, in an outstretched arm, and without
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poured wrath, I will bring you into the wilderness of the
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nations. And there, face to face, I will
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execute judgment upon you. As I judged your ancestors in
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the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you,
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declares the Sovereign Lord. I will take note of you as you
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pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the
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covenant. I will purge you of those who
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revolt and rebel against me. So that's something that I think
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we need to all consider too. We don't want to be rebellious
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to God and because if we are rebellious to God, then we
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should just expect God's wrath. Essentially, I will purge you of
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those who revolt and rebel against me.
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In the, I mean, in the New Testament, it talks about the
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separation of the sheep and goats, and it's the same thing
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here. And I think people are just
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missing that point that how we do live our lives does matter.
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It matters to God. Although, OK, so back to
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Ezekiel. Although I will bring them out
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of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter
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the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the
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Lord. As for you people of Israel,
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this is what the sovereign Lord says.
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Go and serve your idols, everyone of you.
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But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer
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profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.
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For for on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel declares
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the sovereign Lord. There in the land all the people
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of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them.
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There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts,
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along with all your holy sacrifices.
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Now when I read that today, it made me think about the
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Millennium because later on in Ezekiel we will read about the
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third temple. It's described very different
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from the first or second. The sizes are not the same.
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There is 1/3 temple that will be built someday and there's a lot
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of preparation that's already done for it actually.
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But anyway, when I read this in verse 40, it says there I will
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require your offerings and your choice gifts along with your
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holy sacrifices. It just, it made me think
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because it talks about which we haven't read it yet, but I know
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later on when it talks about the third temple, it talks about
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sacrifices that are done in the third temple.
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And a lot of people say, well, Christ was the final sacrifice.
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Jesus was the final sacrifice. So that that's not needed.
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Why would that be required? And I wondered that too.
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I didn't know why it would be, but does this verse 40 explain
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why is this a a prophecy that will be fulfilled that he says
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that God says for on my holy mountain, the high mountain of
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Israel declares the sovereign Lord there in the land, all the
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people of Israel will serve me and there I will accept them.
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There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts
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along with all your holy sacrifices.
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So maybe it is a fulfillment of what was written about in
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Ezekiel. I don't know.
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That's just something that came to mind.
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OK, verse 41 I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring
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you out from the nations and gather you from the countries
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where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy
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through you in the sight of the nations.
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Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you into the
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land of Israel, the land I had sworn with an uplifted hand to
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give to your ancestors. There you will remember your
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conduct and all your actions by which you have defiled
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yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you
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have done. You will know that I am the Lord
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when I deal with you for my name's sake and not according to
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your evil ways and your corrupt practices.
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You people of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.
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Then there's another section that's a prophecy against the
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South. The word of the Lord came to me,
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Son of Man, set your face toward the South.
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Preach against the South, and prophecy against the forest of
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the Southland. Say to the southern forest, hear
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the word of the Lord. This is what the sovereign Lord
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says. I'm about to set fire to you,
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and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry.
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The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from
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South to north will be scorched by it.
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Everyone will see that I, the Lord have kindled it.
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It will not be quenched. Then I said, Sovereign Lord,
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they are saying of me, isn't he just telling parables?
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So this is one of those verses that is stated by the study
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Bible and everywhere I've looked that it's a prophecy.
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Even though Ezekiel is in modern day Iraq and he's told to face
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the South, the study Bible and everywhere online indicates that
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this is actually just AI guess I'm, I don't know, rhetoric I
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guess about but it's more like he's talking about the southern
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Kingdom of Judah. And it does.
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I can see why people would say that because it does line up
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with what happened. According on Tishbiyav, they
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burned the city and the Babylonians dead and destroyed
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the first temple. It was around in July of 587 or
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586 was one that occurred. So that would make sense that it
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was kind of an immediate one. But perhaps this is also one of
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those like double fulfillment prophecies.
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And because like in the Book of Revelation, it talks about the
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about fire and, and so and about being people being burned by the
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fire in the wrath of God. And I should have looked up what
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part of Revelation it was, but it's during the trumpets.
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It happens during the trumpets. I know that I can't remember
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which trumpet it was, but I just wonder if if people didn't
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notice this or it it lines up with the Book of Revelation.
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So it could be like one of those double fulfilling prophecies.
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So anyway, I will go through the questions and answers for the
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this chapter and I guess maybe point out a couple things.
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Because as I was reading through this and I wrote in my study
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Bible that God made multiple promises and he postponed
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judgment on them. Because a lot of times I'll hear
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people, well, the God of the Old Testament is, is just a mean God
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or he's a God of wrath and he's the same God.
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There is no different God. And so he doesn't change.
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He's the same. But I think it's just a
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misunderstanding of God because if you just take select sections
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of a book and you just read those paragraphs and they said
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like, well, this is horrible. He's mean, but if you realize
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what how how patient and how merciful he's been and how
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rebellious and hateful the people that he loves have been
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to him, then maybe things are. You would see a different side
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of it if, if Moore was considered.
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Anyway, he, he gave them, I just wrote down all these promises
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that first of all, he promised to bring them out of Egypt, out
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of slavery, and to give them the land.
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And then the next promise he said that let's see, for for the
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sake, I swear to them that I would not.
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Oh, then he said, promise #2 He said.
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Then he said he wasn't going to let them because of what they
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did in the wilderness. He wasn't going to bring them
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into the land because they didn't follow.
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But then he looked on them with pity.
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So he postponed it and and I wrote down.
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Then the third promise that I wrote down was that he would
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disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the
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countries because they had not obeyed his laws.
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So that would kind of make sense.
30:12
You know, this is he is a, a Kingdom.
30:14
He will be ruling. And if people don't want to
30:17
abide by his rules, they don't need to be in the Kingdom.
30:21
And God will give us what we want.
30:23
If we don't want to abide by God's laws, then we can be
30:27
outside the Kingdom. He's not going to force us, but
30:30
he warns us. You don't want to be outside the
30:33
Kingdom. But we get that choice.
30:35
And that's what I think they, they were experiencing.
30:38
And God's showing this. And if he's doing this to the
30:41
people that he chose of all people to make a nation and they
30:47
rebelled against him. And this is what he's, he's
30:51
said, he, he warns them over and over again.
30:55
It's kind of like having a child that you say, hey, if you do
30:58
this, you're going to be in trouble for it, but they do it
31:01
anyway. It's like they don't care.
31:03
And that's the same thing that it seems like is happening here.
31:07
And he postpones it so many times, like in it's, it's the
31:12
same thing. So he said, but for the sake of
31:16
my name and to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of
31:21
the nations, he postponed it. So there was 123 four times
31:32
where it's almost the exact same words that he postponed doing
31:38
anything and was giving them time, but they didn't use that
31:45
time. So it's here's questions and
31:48
answers. Why is God concerned about what
31:50
others think of Him? God is concerned that human
31:54
beings correctly understand Him for their own good.
31:59
He takes into consideration how his decisions will affect their
32:03
perception of his character. Such was the case at the time of
32:07
the Exodus. Though Israel worshipped idols
32:11
in Egypt and angered the Lord, He still delivered them from
32:16
bondage so that observers would not question his faithfulness or
32:23
conclude that he was too weak to rescue his people.
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How were Sabbaths assigned to Israel?
32:31
The Sabbath observance served as an ongoing reminder that Israel
32:38
was the Lord's chosen covenant people set aside to serve Him in
32:43
a special way. How were the Sabbaths
32:45
desecrated? God established the Sabbath as a
32:48
day of rest and worship. The people desecrated the
32:53
Sabbath when they worked, traded our transacted business, and
32:57
ignored God's call to worship Him.
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Material prosperity became more important than worshipping God.
33:09
Where did these statues come from that were not that were not
33:13
good come from? Many of these statues were
33:15
probably borrowed from or influenced by the civil and
33:18
religious practices of the surrounding Pagan nations.
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In verse 26, which denounces child sacrifice, suggests this.
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Micah 616 refers to the oppressive social policies and
33:34
statutes of Israel's king Omri and Ahab.
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Such practices may have been influenced by Pagan patterns,
33:42
but they also derived from the desire for power and self
33:48
aggrandizement that characterizes fallen humankind.
33:53
Why would parents sacrifice their children?
33:56
They probably thought by appeasing the Pagan gods they
33:59
could improve their quality of life.
34:01
Life's harsh realities. Example high infant mortality
34:05
may have prompted some to place a lower value on children than
34:09
adults. Some neighboring cultures
34:11
abandoned unwanted infants to die.
34:14
Others didn't name their children until they were older
34:17
and more likely to survive. The thought of murdering
34:20
children shocks us, but the Israelites who were were
34:23
calloused by the Pagan views around them appear not to have
34:27
been alarmed by it. I would say pretty much similar
34:31
to the way our culture in the United States is not alarmed
34:36
about abortions. This is the same thing.
34:39
We are killing, taking a life, and it's the mother's choice.
34:46
And just like back here where they were sacrificing their
34:50
children to improve their quality of life, so we have the
34:55
same thing going on here in the US.
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So what attracted people to worship at any high hill or
35:04
leafy tree? High places were used to worship
35:06
Pagan gods. Leafy trees were symbols of
35:09
fertility, and immoral Pagan rites were often performed under
35:14
such trees. Bale, the most powerful of the
35:17
Canaanite gods, was a God of fertility who is believed to
35:21
provide good crops and an abundance of children to his
35:25
devotees. Because both of these things
35:28
were highly valued in ancient Israel's egregarian society, the
35:34
Israelites were tempted to engage in these local Pagan
35:38
rites. One of the ways people worship
35:41
Baal was to engage in ritual sects with priests or
35:46
priestesses of the Baal cult. In this way, they hope to gain
35:51
the God's favor and ensure his blessing.
35:55
There's some people who theorize, and it seems like it's
35:58
a pretty good theory, that Baal is either operating in the it's
36:03
either Satan or it's the spirit of Satan or some spirit that's
36:07
aligned with Satan because it just takes whatever God gives
36:11
and then distorts it and turns it into something wicked.
36:16
And that's exactly what and it's, and it again, it, it just
36:21
does seem like, it does seem like a fallen Angel when you
36:25
look at the way Ezekiel describes the, some of the, oh,
36:33
the cherubim, they have like a face of an ox and then an eagle,
36:39
a human and a lion. So there's the four different
36:45
faces that are on this cherubim that he saw.
36:50
And I just wonder if there were like, I would think that the
36:54
ones that he saw were good. But then we know that there are
36:59
fallen ones also. And so could one of them be what
37:05
appeared to these ancient people since like, Bale has like a
37:09
bullhead and you just see all that in the ancient.
37:15
It's called mythology. But maybe it was real.
37:18
Maybe it was a creature from the heavenly realm that was evil,
37:22
that wanted to be worshipped. You know, I think that's a
37:26
possibility. So what were drink offerings?
37:30
They were usually wine or oil, giving us sacrifice of
37:34
dedication to God to honor him and express thankfulness.
37:37
Oil was a valuable commodity, as was often used in the religious
37:42
observance observances of the Hebrews.
37:45
Drink offerings generally were given with burnt offerings or
37:49
fellowship offerings. Why would Israel want to worship
37:53
wood and stone? There were two reasons.
37:55
They worshipped idols #1 if the Israelites conformed to the
38:00
culture cultural norms of surrounding nations, those
38:04
nations would then afford them protection from invading armies.
38:08
And two, it was easier to believe in and pray to a visible
38:13
God, God lower G God, than to believe in and pray to the
38:20
unseen God, because that takes faith.
38:25
What is the wilderness of the nations?
38:27
For Jews, the March into exile would be like returning to the
38:32
desert of Sinai, the wilderness where their ancestors wandered
38:36
before God brought their ancestors into the Promised
38:40
Land. Physically, the Jews would face
38:42
similar harsh conditions, but they would also return to the
38:46
quote wilderness of despair and sin that their forebears
38:51
experienced. Why would they pass under God's
38:55
rod? Shepherds use their Staffs to
38:59
count their sheep, often for the purpose of separating A
39:03
specified number from the flock. Through the judgment of exile,
39:09
the Lord would remove the rebels from His flock.
39:13
They would not return to the land to be part of the New
39:17
Covenant community. Did God command idol worship?
39:22
No, this was a rhetorical, sarcastic remark from the Lord.
39:26
It was similar to a parent saying to a child, go ahead and
39:29
play in the ant's nest. We'll see what happens after
39:32
that. So how do we become like
39:36
fragrant incense to God? This is a metaphor.
39:39
After God restored the people of Israel to their land, they would
39:43
sacrifice. They would offer sacrifices and
39:46
gifts, but more than that, they would offer him pure and godly
39:52
lives in Christ. We are invited to make that same
39:57
offering to God, and that's found in Romans chapter 12,
40:01
verse one. Then it says, why prophecy
40:05
against the South? This is a prophecy against
40:08
Jerusalem and Judah. Though he was in exile in
40:12
Babylon, Ezekiel was speaking rhetorically here as if he were
40:15
standing on the northern border of Judah.
40:18
God's fire of judgment in the form of the Babylonian army
40:22
would sweep through Judah from north to South.
40:25
So that's the one thought on it. But I also think there's might
40:28
be something in Revelation, in the trumpets when there's the
40:32
fires that are going, could also be a future prophecy.
40:37
So why would God destroy the forest?
40:39
Ezekiel may have been invoking imagery whereby the people of
40:43
God are described as a forest. So when he said the forest would
40:48
be destroyed, it is a metaphorical way of speaking
40:51
about the total destruction of the southern Kingdom, Judah.
40:56
And that's the end of the questions and answers from the
41:00
study Bible. There was I don't know if you
41:03
have a few more minutes, I will read from Amir Sarfati's book
41:12
called Exploring Ezekiel because he he has a really good section
41:17
on this chapter 20. And so if you want to get his
41:21
book, you can go to Behold Israel, his website, or you can
41:25
find it on Amazon. Amir Sarfati TSA RFATI is the
41:32
last name. So this is what he writes in his
41:36
book for Ezekiel, chapter 20, chapter 6.
41:43
Just how nasty you are. Sin has consequences.
41:47
Sadly, it is not always just the guilty ones who pay.
41:51
In Ezekiel we are confronted with a litany of wit, of wicked
41:55
activities and their resulting punishments.
41:58
People sin and they get the just return for their actions.
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But what we can't miss are are the others, the innocent, the
42:06
righteous who get caught up in the ensuing carnage.
42:11
It's true, there are times when God protects those who remain
42:14
faithful to Him. We already met three of them.
42:18
Noah was saved from the worldwide flood.
42:21
Daniel was removed from Jerusalem well before the worst
42:25
of the violence and the starvation of the siege ravaged
42:28
city. Then there was Job, who suffered
42:31
incredible loss and pain because of an arrogant challenge from
42:36
Satan himself. Although Job endured the worst,
42:40
he was saved from death and recompensed greatly.
42:44
But there are many others who sustained great loss because of
42:48
others wickedness. Elijah sometimes lived on the
42:52
run, pursued by the ancient agents of a narcissistic king
42:57
and a vengeful queen. That was they have in Jezebel.
43:02
At one point he was physically sustained by food the Lord sent
43:07
through helpful birds. And we can't forget Jeremiah,
43:11
especially as we read of all the horrors that befell Jerusalem.
43:15
He was a highly favored prophet, doomed to live through a sinful
43:20
cities judgment. Despite his faithfulness, he was
43:23
beaten, mocked, thrown into a muddy pit, held in prison and
43:29
eventually dragged down to Egypt, the very place of which
43:33
he had warned the people. If you go down to Egypt, there
43:37
you will meet your miserable ends.
43:41
The last few we are given of this punching bag.
43:45
Prophet is in Pharaoh's land prophesying.
43:50
Don't think we're safe here on this very spot where I'm
43:53
standing. Nebuchadnezzar is going to place
43:56
his victorious army and all except for a very small remnant
44:01
of you are going to die here in this land.
44:05
Judging by the silence following that prophecy, Jeremiah was one
44:10
of those buried under Egyptian sand.
44:14
Then we have Ezekiel. While he may have escaped the
44:17
destruction of Jerusalem, his call as a prophet was not an
44:20
easy one. In fact, in this chapter of the
44:23
book, we will come to what to me is the most tragic and personal
44:28
loss that any of God's spokesman suffered in the line of duty.
44:33
Throughout this section, and particularly when we come to
44:37
that part in Ezekiel's story, we need to remember why it
44:41
happened. It wasn't because of anything
44:43
the prophet did wrong. In fact, he was faithfully
44:47
serving God, and this was part of his service.
44:51
If we're looking for a direction in which to point our finger of
44:55
blame, there was a whole conclave of Jews transported to
45:00
Babylon who were culpable for Ezekiel's tragedy because of the
45:04
sins they had committed. And even even more so, there was
45:09
still a population back in the holy city whose wickedness had
45:13
finally pushed the Lord over the edge.
45:16
When we sin, it is typically not only us who pay the price.
45:20
Iniquity is not so cut and dried.
45:23
Our righteous choices are unrighteous.
45:27
Sorry. Our unrighteous choices can
45:29
affect our spouse, our children, our church, our coworkers, our
45:34
friends, and the list goes on. It would be so helpful if a 10
45:38
minute cooling off period was required before we engaged in
45:43
any sinful activity. Then we could think about the
45:47
widespread fallout we could inflict on others or on our own
45:53
relationship with God. Chances are a lot of stupidity
45:58
could be averted that way, but that's not how it works.
46:02
Temptation comes, we drop our guard, then we're faced with
46:06
trying to mitigate the damage. If only a simple consideration
46:10
for the glory of God and the wonderful gift of salvation that
46:14
He's given to us were enough to keep us from sin.
46:17
Sometimes it is. But if reflecting on our
46:20
salvation were 100% affected, then we would live sinlessly.
46:25
And we know that doesn't happen. It is through prayer time in the
46:31
Word and life experience that we learn to use the ramifications
46:36
of our sin as an encouragement to holiness.
46:40
A clanging gong for chapter 20. Finally, you have a day off
46:45
work, but it hasn't turned out as you planned.
46:48
Your wife has been at a day retreat with her friends, so
46:51
you're home with your kid. You've been looking forward to
46:54
this Father Son time, but from the moment he got up he's been a
46:58
bear to deal with. In a foul mood, demanding,
47:01
unappreciative, rude. Ask him to do something and he
47:05
ignores you. Tell him to put his lunch dishes
47:07
away and he loudly drops them in the sink, stalks back to his
47:11
bath bedroom and slams the door. That's fine, you think.
47:16
I had hoped for more, but I'm done with him for the day.
47:19
Then, after a full morning and afternoon of passive aggressive
47:23
rebelliousness, your son surprises you by showing up with
47:27
two mitts and a baseball. Hey Dad, want to go toss the
47:30
ball around? Suddenly you're faced with a
47:33
choice. This is what you've been hoping
47:36
for the time from the time you first woke up.
47:40
But by acquiescing to what he wants, wouldn't you be giving
47:45
tactic approval of his behavior? As difficult as it is to say,
47:49
you tell him there is nothing I want more than to play with you.
47:53
But your behavior has been terrible.
47:55
I'm not going to reward it. So no, we will not be tossing
48:00
the ball today. As your son storms away and once
48:04
again slams his bedroom door, you sigh and tell yourself, as
48:08
disappointing as that was, it had to be done.
48:12
The day was August 14th, 591 BCA.
48:17
Little more than two years before Nebuchadnezzar's siege of
48:21
Jerusalem would begin. Ezekiel received some important
48:26
visitors. The exiled elders of Israel were
48:29
back once again. They came to inquire of the Lord
48:32
God. They must have been thinking
48:34
this was a spiritually good thing to do.
48:37
Maybe they thought they were doing God a favor including Him
48:39
in their discussions. It's been a while since we asked
48:43
his opinion about anything. Maybe he's feeling a little left
48:46
out of the important decisions. Whether they voiced their
48:50
question or not, we don't know because it's never mentioned.
48:53
Instead what we see is God essentially saying, no boys, we
48:58
will not be tossing the ball today.
49:02
Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, Thus
49:05
says the Lord God, have you come to inquire of me as I live, says
49:10
the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
49:15
Verse 3 God then goes on to recite a full catalog of sins of
49:20
the people and of their fathers. Before He brought them out of
49:24
Egypt, He had told them to castaway their idols, but they
49:27
didn't. When they were out of Egypt, He
49:30
gave them the Sabbath, telling them to keep that day holy, but
49:33
they didn't. While they were out in the
49:36
wilderness, He gave them the law and told them to follow it, but
49:39
they didn't. Over and over he told them to
49:43
change their ways or face the consequences, but they ignored
49:47
him. They even had the audacity to
49:50
sacrifice their children by fire to appease their false gods.
49:56
Their whole history has been 1. Of rebellion and idol worship
50:00
and offering sacrifices to other gods in the places other than
50:05
the temple. One sin after another, even
50:08
while in exile they hadn't changed.
50:12
And here's a quote. So shall I inquire, Shall I be
50:16
inquired of you, O House of Israel, as I live, says the Lord
50:20
God. I will not be inquired of you.
50:23
Of by you. What you have in your mind shall
50:27
never be. When you say we will be like the
50:30
Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood
50:34
and stone, I can't help but think of what Paul wrote to the
50:39
Corinthians. Though I speak with the tongues
50:44
of men and of angels, but have not love.
50:48
I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
50:53
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and I understand all
50:56
mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that
51:00
I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
51:07
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
51:12
give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me
51:17
nothing. Love is a necessary ingredient
51:20
if one is to effectively serve the Lord.
51:24
Without it. You can preach all you want,
51:26
prophecy all you want, give all you want, and sacrifice all you
51:29
want, but it will be worthless in God's ears.
51:33
Your words, our actions are like a badly tuned trumpet or a brash
51:38
sounding symbol. These elders came with arrogant
51:42
hearts, believing that because they were asking God for
51:45
insights, the Lord was obligated to answer them.
51:49
Instead, God told them, your hearts are full of sin, as as
51:53
have been the hearts of your Father's for generations.
51:57
Because of that, your humble inquiries are like fingernails
52:02
on a chalkboard. First, clean up your ACT.
52:05
Then maybe we'll talk a glimpse of the Millennium.
52:12
What did I say earlier about the harshness of God's judgment when
52:16
it feels like he's done with Israel?
52:18
Keep reading, it'll get better. Like a ray of sunshine breaking
52:22
through the storm clouds, the last part of Ezekiel 20 shines
52:27
hope in the midst of condemnation.
52:30
It reminds me of when God sent a beam of mercy into the midst of
52:35
the sorrowful dirge of the Book of Lamentations.
52:39
As Jeremiah wept over the destructions of Jerusalem, he
52:44
wrote these surprising words. This I recall to my mind.
52:50
Therefore I have hope. Though through the Lord's
52:54
mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail
52:59
not. They are new every morning.
53:02
Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my
53:07
soul. Therefore I hope in Him.
53:10
And that's from Lamentations chapter 3, verses 21 through 24.
53:16
The end of Ezekiel 20 is the Lamentations 3 of this litany of
53:20
judgment. After promising a diaspora of
53:24
Israel, the Lord reversed course and promised to bring the people
53:29
back home. He would make the returning
53:32
exiles quote pass under the rod, a shepherding term that refers
53:37
to a shepherd allowing into the pen those sheep that belonged to
53:42
him and rejecting those that don't.
53:46
For on my holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says
53:49
the Lord God, they are all the House of Israel, all of them in
53:54
the land shall serve me. There I will accept them, and
53:58
there I will require your offerings and the first fruits
54:01
of your sacrifice, together with all the holy things.
54:04
I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from
54:09
the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have
54:12
been scattered, and I will be hallowed in you before the
54:16
Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am
54:19
the Lord when I bring you out of the land of Israel into the
54:23
country for which I raise my hand in an oath to give your
54:27
Father's. And there you shall remember
54:30
your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled, and
54:34
you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all
54:38
the evils you have committed. Then you will know that I am the
54:41
Lord, when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not
54:45
according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt
54:50
doings, O House of Israel, says the Lord God.
54:54
Ezekiel chapter 20, verses 40 through 44.
54:57
I included this entire quote because I want to make sure you
55:00
get the full context. This did not happen when the
55:03
Babylonian exiles returned home. As we saw earlier, Ezra and
55:08
Nehemiah made it quite apparent that not every returnee would
55:13
have quote passed under the rod. The same is true for modern
55:17
Israel. Something is going to have to
55:20
happen that will change people's mindsets and return their
55:25
loyalty to their Maker. What we see in the above passage
55:29
is a people who are a sweet aroma to the Lord who through
55:34
their commitment to God, hallow Him before the onlooking
55:38
Gentiles on the mountain of Jerusalem.
55:41
They will recognize their sins and loathe themselves for the
55:45
evil they have committed. Put another way, quote, I will
55:49
pour out on the House of David and on the inhabitants of
55:52
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication.
55:57
Then they will look on me whom they pierced.
56:01
Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and
56:07
grieve for him as one grieves for a first born.
56:11
And that's from Zechariah chapter 10 or chapter 12, verse
56:16
10. When you rebuff your son's
56:19
manipulative attempt to play catch, you do not do so with the
56:24
mindset of permanently rejecting him.
56:27
You are disciplining him. And you know very well that a
56:31
day will come, hopefully as soon as tomorrow, when you will be
56:35
back to tossing a ball around. But you'll be doing so with a
56:39
young man who has learned an important lesson about respect
56:43
and proper behavior. The elders came to inquire of
56:47
God, and he sent them away with harsh words and a demand for
56:51
change. But he did so knowing that
56:54
eventually a time would come when a more mature, more
56:58
righteous people would return to him.
57:01
They would be repentant of their old ways and ready to follow Him
57:07
in that day. Not only will he listen to their
57:11
inquiries, but he will fellowship with them as a father
57:16
does his children. And that's the that will wrap up
57:21
chapter 20 from the Book of Ezekiel.