Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

God was calling out for repentance. God was calling out in warning. God was calling, but no one was heeding the call. God appointed Ezekiel to be a watchman on the wall. Calling out the warning. If the people didn’t heed the warning, then it wasn’t the watchman’s fault. But if he didn’t warn the people, then it WAS his fault. Ezekiel was calling from the wall telling the people what God said about things, not his own opinions. The people were telling him it was hopeless. Their sin was too great. They were too far into their habits. It would never work. Ezekiel told them that God said it was never too late. That if they would truly repent, it would go well for them and they would be totally forgiven. But if they did not, they would die. They and all those in Jerusalem and Judah should repent. Well, in the tenth month of the twelfth year, a messenger came to town. He said Jerusalem had fallen. The Lord had told Ezekiel that he would be unable to speak (Ezekiel 3:26-27) until a man would escape Jerusalem and come with news of the fall (Ezekiel 24:26-27).

The Lord spoke to Ezekiel and told him to tell the people the WHY. There was a remnant in the land saying that Abraham took the land and he was one person. They were many, so they could rise up and resettle the land, possessing it. The Lord said they would not do this and wondered how they thought they could. They relied on their own strength, not his. They committed abominations and adultery, They dabbled with idols. They were in no condition to possess the land and God would not let them. They would have nowhere to hide from him. He would make the land desolate, a desert, and uninhabited wasteland. He would do it because of the conscious sins they had committed. The Lord made His position VERY clear. If you turned to wickedness, even if you were righteous, you would die because of it. If you were wicked, but turned to righteousness, you would be saved. Still people claimed it was unfair. The Lord said He would judge the House of Israel as it deserved (NOT a good thing – Hebrews 10:31). Now it had come to pass.

People were starting to talk about Ezekiel, said the Lord. They would come to him and sit and ask him to speak to them. But they had no intention of obeying. They were looking to Ezekiel as entertainment. The Lord Ezekiel that when thy came to pass THEN the people would know a true prophet had walked among them. They would realise Ezekiel had spoken the true words of the Lord because what Ezekiel spoke, the things he spoke came to pass.

The Lord spoke to Ezekiel and told him to prophesy against the leaders of Israel. Should they not have fed their sheep? They made themselves fat, but starved their flock – you should always go where you are fed and give your tithe there (Galatians 6:6-7). They had not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the broken, sought the lost, or brought back what was taken. They had been harsh and cruel. The people were scattered because no leader had stood up to properly lead them. They were wandering the hills and had been easy pickings. The Lord was against these leaderless leaders. He is against the shepherds and would require them to be responsible for what had happened. The Lord Himself would seek out the lost. He would seek out His sheep. He would find them. He would feed them. He would collect them from where they were scattered. He would send a Shepherd to lead them (Jesus). He would feed them and make them lie down (John 6:10). He would take care of His flock and establish His sheep, and make a covenant of peace with them. They would no longer be a prey for the nations and would be set up in a garden of renown. They would know that He was their God and He was with them and that they were HIS people. His flock. The flock of His pasture.

“Son of man, set your face against the mountain of Seir and prophesy against it, and you must say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against you, mountain of Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a wasteland.” (Ezekiel 35:2-3)

Petra, the famous city, was one of the cities of Mount Seir. Edom is desolate today. God uses whatever means He deems right. Supernatural or totally natural. What God says WILL come to pass. The Edomites had shed the blood of His people. They had come against Israel in times of trouble, and they were held to account for it. They would be empty and their cities uninhabited. They would reap what they sowed. They thought they could swoop in and claim Israel for their own once Nebuchadnezzar emptied it, but God had not given permission. They boasted against God and God heard them. They rejoiced at the fall of Israel, but they would be destroyed and they would know God did it. And that God WAS THE God.

Summary

Key Players: God, Ezekiel

Key Verse(s): Ezekiel 33:1-6, 10-16, 30-33; 34:1-6, 25-31; 35:1-4, 10-15