May 3-7, 2010

You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it.

Ezekiel 33:32

As we continue our journey with Ezekiel, I have to keep reminding myself that these words are written before the New Testament was penned. The sin of the people, the concepts of the day and the warnings of God parallel those God has given to the people of the end times.

On any given Sunday, you can find millions of people attending church. But why do they come. How often I hear the words, “Oh, I love going to First Upbeat Tabernacle. I just love their music!” Pretty words and moving music stir the soul for the moment, but IF the Word is preached that calls for changed lives and a reevaluation of ideals and priorities, the message is left on the pew with the bulletin and tithe envelope. This was the same warning Paul the apostle gave to his young protégé Timothy.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teacher in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. II Timothy 4:3

God clearly says that the people of Ezekiel’s day primarily focused one thing – money! Once again, we hear Paul’s warning to Timothy:

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. I Timothy 6:10

How did the people stray so far from the truth? We have already heard the answer when we walked with Isaiah and Jeremiah, but once again Ezekiel expounds on Israel’s ungodly influence. The sad part is that the shepherds of Israel, the prophets, priests and kings, propagated this heart and attitude! They didn’t merely fleece the sheep to fulfill their own desires; they killed them, cooked them and ate them. God’s word to Ezekiel was to rescue the sheep from their mouths. We see this same attitude in many of the churches today. Money has become a primary focus and while the average church attendees live in modest homes with middle-income salaries, the shepherds live like kings and beg for more.

Ezekiel 34:4 sums up the negligence of the shepherds. There are six issues God had against them. You may want to take a moment to identify them, especially if you are a shepherd!!!

God promises to remedy the injustice by sending the Good Shepherd! It is no coincidence that Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” His declaration was a direct response to Ezekiel’s words. His words were also a Messianic declaration. Only the Messiah, the Prince of God, the descendant of David could claim to be the Good Shepherd God promised would come. The shepherds of Israel failed to lead and feed God the sheep of God’s flock, but the Good Shepherd had come to give His life for them.

God maked it clear that His promise to restore them was not based on their deserving of it, but for the sake of His own reputation. There are four things God promised to do that would accomplish their restoration. Can you find them? Do you see their fulfillment in the execution of the New Covenant? When these things are active in us, we will detest our old ways and embrace godly change!

This week we take a journey with Ezekiel through the valley of dry bones. It would be easy to camp here for the entire week and stand amazed at what we’d find. The dismembered, scattered body of Israel mirrors the disunity in the church world today. How we need to hear God’s voice ordering us to, “Pull yourselves together!” As we observe the bones with Ezekiel, we find that they are not just bones, nor are they just dry bones; we are told that they were VERY dry. If you have ever looked at a bone before you threw it to a dog, and then examined it after he’s chewed on it for a few days, you’d understand what a very dry bone is. Our dog used to love to devour the marrow on the inside of the bones. These bones in Ezekiel’s vision were not just dry on the outside; they were devoid of marrow on the inside. Bone marrow is the place where blood cells are produced. Life and health depend on this sticky red substance. Our immunity system is dependent on healthy bone marrow. Bones that are dry are brittle and easily broken. When we understand the importance of the skeleton of the body, we can see that it truly is the foundation of the body. The heart is useless if it doesn’t have the blood to pump through it? The Bible clearly tells us “the soul of man is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11)

Israel did not just need healing: She needed a resurrection!!! Once again we hear the words of the Good Shepherd, “I am the resurrection and the life.” The rebirth of those who were dead came in a distinct order and was activated by a method God used before. What were the steps that brought them to new life and caused them to stand as an army? What initiated their new beginning?

On Wednesday we get a bird’s eye view of the great battle that is to come, the Battle of Gog and Magog. Most often we hear about the Battle of Armageddon, but the Battle of Gog and Magog is often obsecure. Ezekiel’s description of what will take place after the Messianic reign is also foretold in Revelation 20. So many nations have been identified with Magog through the years that you wonder if anyone could really know. There are some things we know for sure. We know that Magog was a son of Japheth, Noah’s son. We also know that the territory of Magog during Biblical times spanned the countries known today as Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkey and the Moslem Republics. It is clear that the one goal of the allied army headed by Gog, Satan himself, is to wipe the Jews from the face of the earth. You really don’t need to be a rocket scientist to connect the dots!!! This battle has been brewing since the time of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. In fact, we can follow its roots back to the beginning of time. Personally, I think you will find its seed in the historical event of Cain slaying Abel. Some may question how I come up with that, but for those who really like to dig, I’ll give you time to search it out.

God calls Ezekiel to be Israel’s watchman. He clearly tells him his job description and responsibilities. He is to warn the people of what he sees and hears. If they listen then great! If they don’t, he will not be held responsible. His job is to give them the message whether they hear or not!!!

Once again we hear from Jeremiah as he recaps the slow death of Jerusalem. The fall of the city took place as a result of three invasions. Nebuchadnezzar took captives during the seventh year of his reign, the eighteenth year of his reign, and the twenty-third year of his reign. What a sad song we hear sung as we listen to the words of Psalm 137!

Our week ends with the chronicles of each tribe and important group. Their ancestry is recorded from the founding father to the head of the tribe or clan at the time of captivity. These records would be extremely important when they would be restored to the land – a subject we will examine later on. It is interesting to read through their records and note which tribes are mentioned without giving the number of their fighting warriors. Do you think that may have significance? Hmmm!

May your week be filled with unveiling mysteries and your mind intrigued by God’s ability to conceal a matter for the kings who long to search it out. I pray you enjoy the hunt!!!