Ezekiel
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Ezekiel Chapter 22
Israel at that time was hardheaded and stubborn. They refused to see that they had sinned. They listened to the prophets that tickled the ears and told of God's love. Perhaps they gloried in the fact that they were children of Abraham and children of the promise. This sounds just like people do today. They close their ears to the truth. To all who reject God's word now, they open themselves up to being in the great delusion that is coming where they can't hear the truth. They will be those that follow the coming man of sin or who we call the antichrist. It is okay to be critical thinkers and examine what we hear to make sure it is truth but to know the truth and purposely perfer to live the opposite of what God's word says does open us up to be deceived big time. We must accept the truth whether it is something good or a warning against something bad. The nation as a whole were children of Abraham and children of the promise. That didn't mean that they could get by with sin and still inherit the promised land. The promise is still in effect. It was not made null and void because of their sin but it delayed the fulfillment until the sin of Israel was put away and they returned wholeheartedly to God their maker. When they were cast away because of their rejection of Christ in later times, this opened the door for the gospel to go to the Gentiles. The people who rejected Christ in that day are broken off permanently and are lost but all Israel has not been permanently broken off. They will be grafted into the vine of Christ when they receive Him. Whether it is now or in the days of the tribulation. Israel as individuals can accept or reject Christ and be lost while the nation as a whole as God's elect will be grafted back in when they come to Christ as a nation. Individuals who accept Christ are saved, those that reject Christ even though the nation comes back to God, will not be saved. Christians are not automatically saved for eternity as individuals unless they keep what they have until they die or the Lord returns. We are not puppets. We have an obligation to stay faithful until the end. Like Israel boasted of being children of the promise, they were cut off when they sinned. Even though that didn't mean all Israel was out of God's plans, the individual involved was lost. Jesus said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. When He comes, He will have a believing church ready for His return but as individuals, when we have been born again by God's spirit and made righteous by His blood, our sins are cleansed. If we go willingly back into unbelief in Jesus and the words He speaks to us, it will eventually lead us back into sin. A strong believer is less likely to sin without any repentance. So faith and faithfulness go together. True faith produces a faithful follower of Christ. Are we any different than Israel whom God cut off temporarily until they finally come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and turn from sin? It is true what Jesus said that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life but if we sin willfully and stop obeying His word, we are really not believing in Him. To believe in something one acts like a believer. This does not mean a one time sin that we immediately repent of but a continual rejection of God and purposely continuing in sin. If we sin, we are cut off, if we repent, we are restored. It is the same for Israel or believers today. Repent means to stop what we are doing and change, turning back to God in the process trusting in Him for cleansing and restoration. Repentance is taught throughout the bible and is the answer to any restoration back into the fellowship with God.
Like I said in previous chapters, idolatry brings with it other sins. Blood shed, sexual immorality and some kind of evil will accompany idol worship. It must be avoided like the plague. There are demonic spirits that accompany idolatry that lead people into error. It can still happen today. Some churches use images to worship God. We must turn from that. It is an abomination. We may not be getting into murder or sexual sins but then again it may lead to that. There is a religious spirit of deception that surrounds image worship. Avoid it like the plague. How do I know? Because of the written word which says, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image to bow down to and worship or any likeness of anything in heaven or in earth to bow and worship. God forbids it, that is why I know that image worship should not be in any church.
God never did like a mixture. Either be all one or all the other. I choose God..
The nations that hate Israel will mock and rejoice when bad happens to them and the above verse 5 is speaking of that. I will add though that true prophet of God in the days of Ezekiel and in today's world will be mocked if they speak words of warning to people who refuse to see sin as sin. Take abortion for instance. People refuse to see it as murder. We cry, write, preach, teach, warn, cry, march, cry and they do not hear. We are mocked in that case and accused of denying a woman's right to choose. So there are different kinds of mockery but verse 5 is speaking of the nation as a whole.
Children when they are grown have a duty and responsibility if at all possible to care for their elderly parents. They were not only ignoring this responsibility but vexing orphans and widow as well.
The Sabbaths were a sign of the covenant between Israel and God until the day when Jesus Christ would come to fulfill all things. They despised them by not observing them or if they observed them, it would be surface worship with their hearts far from God. They made light of the holy things of God just like people do today. We today need to be careful not to take lightly the presence of God in our times of worship. At the same time we must be careful not to get into ritual acts of worship that is just on the surface and not from our innermost being.
Idolatry was practiced on the high places built for that purpose. Fornication and sexual immorality was common.
These were forbidden by the law of God and still is forbidden for the Christian today. Whoever does these things whether Jew or Christian shall not inherit the kingdom of God unless they repent and turn to Christ for salvation.
People were paid to commit murder. Murder is murder whether it was someone who hated someone else and wanted them killed, or in the case of a child being sacrificed to idols. Today we have the sacrifice of unborn children being killed to the god of convenience. It is murder.
They may have murdered for greed because they desired the property of the one being killed. This was common in also. We will probably see this increase as we get closer to the rise of the antichrist. That man of sin will have no power or authority unless all godly people are not around to hinder his coming by their prayers and faithfulness to God. Sodom was not destroyed until Lot and his family were safely out of that city because of the prayers of Abraham.
Even those that appear to be strong will fail to have strength against the judgment of God.
Because of these things they were scattered among the heathen.
They had become impure as silver that is dross and no longer pure and shiny.
This shows the depth of God's displeasure with Israel at that time. I marvel that we like to see people happy and tell them good things to raise their self-esteem but fail to study the scriptures that warn of God's judgment upon the disobedient and those that mock, take lightly or ignore His words. It has not changed much since the days of Ezekiel in this respect.
This is also happening today. Instead of faithfully administering the word of God, it becomes a job and many are concerned with getting paid. Some rob widows houses and store up treasures thinking it is from being blessed by God while the poor around them have nothing.
There was a mixture of good and evil, true and false worship. No one was pointing out the danger of sin and how it separated them from God. They tried to honor God and worship idols, have evil and good side by side. Let's pray this doesn't happen in today's church. In many places there is no difference between the Christian and the sinner, only one claims to believe in Christ. This should not be. They both use the same language, they both go to the same places, they both curse when they are mad, they both tell dirty jokes, they both drink and party, they both commit sexual immorality, they both read the same books and both are divorcing, only one claims to be saved by grace while the other claims no religion or faith. They do not know the scripture that says, "without holiness no man shall see the Lord."
The sin of compromise will lead to actual murder and theft after a few generations if it is not repented of.
The prophets have not warned but rather patched up the holes with vain words and lies claiming to represent God and say only what the people wanted to hear. It was like trying to patch a hole in the wall with stuff that wouldn't last.
This results when a nation forgets God and departs from the fear of the word. The poor, needy and weak are the ones who are hurt. This incurs the wrath of God. We must take care of our poor, the orphans, widows and the stranger especially as a nation.
Can the Lord find this in us. Will we stand in the gap, stand for His word and not be ashamed to proclaim His name among the heathen.
There is no time in history where people who should know better will get away with the sins listed in this chapter. We can claim Christ all we want or claim to be the children of Abraham but if we are doing these things, we are not saved and will bear the judgment for these things. Remember Jesus Christ didn't come to save us in our sins but to save us from our sins. There is hope through faith in Him to reconcile us back to a holy God. Dorna
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