Ezekiel 4
COMMENTARY:
: 3 Moreover take you unto you an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. (226 “sign” [’owth] means token, miracle, omens, mark, proof, ensign, signal or warning.)
DEVOTION: The LORD uses object lessons to teach HIS people the truth of what is going on around them. Here we find that he had Ezekiel paint on a tile a scene of the siege of Jerusalem. HE wanted the people to understand that there was no rescue for the city. It was going into captivity for their sins.
HE stated that they were a rebellious house. They were given warning after warning to turn from the sin and start worshiping the LORD alone. They didn’t want to listen. They didn’t want captivity but they thought there had to be another way that the LORD would deal with them. They were wrong.
This second object lesson was a wall of iron to show that the LORD was not going to let anyone escape from the city. They were all going into captivity. There were some who tried to sneak out of the city but the Babylonian army caught them. God had judged them because of their disobedience.
In HIS judgment HE wanted them to understand that HIS hedge of protection was taken away and a wall to keep them in was erected to allow them to be captured.
The LORD continues to use object lessons today to teach us truths in HIS word. We are likened to sheep that have a tendency to wander from their shepherd. Our shepherd is Jesus Christ. HE wants us to walk close to HIM at all times but we are also very stubborn and rebellious.
Our chastening comes in many forms. Some countries are taken over by armies of other countries. It seems that our country is going to self-destruct.
Slowly but surely laws are being passed to take God out of every aspect of our lives. God’s standards which are found in HIS Word are being not only questioned but declared illegal in some of the states of our nations. It is sad that some are not even allowed to state their personal Biblical opinion without a reaction from the news media.
No matter what we need to learn that if we neglect the teachings of the Word of God there will be consequences. These consequences not only affect us as individuals but also our nation. Rebellion brings judgment of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Learn the standard the LORD wants for a nation and fight to keep that standard legal.
: 7 Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. (5012 “prophesy” [naba’] means to behave like a prophet, under influence of divine spirit, to deliver a prophetic message, by a divine power, or to speak.)
DEVOTION: When I was young and into my first years of ministry we would be taught or teach with pictures on a board. It was a good way to teach children the truth of the Word of God. Today we would use a computer.
Here we have an example of the LORD giving us word pictures through the prophet of what HE was going to do to Israel and Judah. HE wanted the people to know that the Babylonians were not going to give up on their siege on Jerusalem. HE wanted them to realize that captivity was going to happen not just to the 10 tribes but to the other 2 as well.
All of the children of Israel were going to be judged for their sins. HE was longsuffering but judgment had to come in time because of their disobedience to HIM. There were no good kings in Israel and a few good kings in Judah before they were given the prophets of judgment.
HE had warned but few were listening to the warnings. HE uses signs to help them understand that HE was serious. They needed to repent and turn in a direction that was pleasing to HIM but this didn’t happen.
Today we find nations that think that they are under the protection of God because they have laws on the books that honor the LORD. The problem is that the laws are changing and a nation that doesn’t honor the LORD will be judged by the LORD. HE is longsuffering but HE is also HOLY.
Judgment is coming on our world because the Bible says it was going to happen. Those who claim to be followers of the LORD but who are not genuine believers are living their life as if God was not still in control of the universe. HE is!!! If we are depending on the longsuffering of God to last through our lifetime we might be wrong.
Our country of America is moving further and further from the LORD. Our political leaders don’t want us witnessing in public. They don’t want the Bible to be in the schools of our country. They would prefer that we not speak in public about Jesus Christ even as we celebrate Christmas and Easter.
We need more true prophets of God speaking the truth in our streets and in our churches. Ezekiel had a hard job to do but he was willing to do it no matter what others thought.
Are we willing to serve the LORD no matter what others think of us? It was not easy on the Old Testament prophets. It was not easy on Jesus Christ. It was not easy on the disciples in the first century.
CHALLENGE: Are we looking for easy or for genuine service to the LORD? Speak the truth in love to those who are willing to listen.
: 14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! Behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. (5271 “youth” [na’uwr] means, childhood, early life, or adolescence.)
DEVOTION: This chapter has many object lessons for the people of Jerusalem. He was to portray Jerusalem on a tile. He was to use an iron pan to illustrate a wall around Jerusalem. Next he was to lie on his left side for three hundred and ninety days. Then he was to lie on his right side for forty days.
Finally the LORD ordered his diet. HE ordered his amount of bread. HE ordered his amount of meat. Also, HE ordered his amount of water. They were famine amounts.
Lastly, HE told Ezekiel to cook his food on a fire that used human dung for burning fuel. To this Ezekiel objected because it would cause defilement.
Peter had a similar objection when the LORD was trying to teach him a lesson regarding the Gentiles. The LORD replied to this request with an answer that Ezekiel could use cow manure.
Ezekiel was concerned with staying pure as a priest. He didn’t want to do anything that would cause his position in be compromised. The LORD was trying to get a point across to Israel regarding their personal habits. HE was using Ezekiel to get HIS point across.
When the LORD wants to get our attention or the attention of the people around us, HE can use some unusual means. We should look around us for some object lessons the LORD is trying to use to get our attention.
Are we listening to HIS instructions? Secondly, are we able to say with Ezekiel that since we have followed Christ, we have done no abominable things or allowed abominable people to influence us away from the LORD?
It is great for those who have followed Christ from the early years of their lives and have grown in the LORD each year. Most of us have not followed that pattern in our lives. One of the problems in today’s church is that follow-up after becoming a follower of the LORD has been almost nonexistent. That should change.
The Israelite children were taught how they should live. Our children need to have good examples to follow. Can we start again NOW? YES! Let it be our goal to train children in the ways of the LORD from before they are born [reading to them while they are still in the womb] until they leave our houses.
Even after they leave our houses, we can give them instruction when they ask for it.
Also, we have an opportunity to train our grandchildren in the ways of the LORD. Each grandparent who is a believer needs to influence their grandchildren for good in the ways of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Parents and grandparents are training the next generation. Train them well in the ways of the LORD!! Give them good examples to follow.
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