128 - The Scum of the Earth

Homemade Noodle Soup

When my wife boils chicken meat to make her delicious homemade chicken noodle soup scum develops on the water.  She takes a spoon and very assiduously removes the scum before she uses the liquid to make the soup.

In this chapter, Ezekiel boils a pot of meat and likens the scum that develops, on the water, to the Israelites.  Jehovah says, I have purged you and you were not purged, I tried to remove the scum but you would not let me, so you shall not be purged from your defilement any more till I have satisfied my fury upon thee. Ezekiel 24:13.

Jehovah says I am giving up trying to clean you.  The destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews from Israel was the only recourse left to abate the Lord's anger.  They had broken the laws; worshipped other gods; sacrificed their children on religious alters.  The problem was that they knew that all these things were wrong and deserved punishment. 

Americans are also following paths which Jehovah hates and dare we hope that punishment will not come?  Jehovah is not unfair so that He would punish some and not others.  Usually, it is not just the murderers, the drug dealers and others in that category that are destroyed - it is the whole nation.

Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke.  Ezekiel, your beautiful, loving wife is going to die with a stroke.  You shall not mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. Groan but be silent; make no mourning for the dead; the things which a bereaved person needs to do to release the emotions he is not allowed to do. 

As normal tie your turban on you, and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your lips, (do not wear a veil). 

So I spoke to the people in the morning.  Since he was a priest this was his job.  And in the evening my wife died, and I did in the morning (the next morning) as I was commanded. 24:16-18.

So that morning when I spoke to the congregation they said to me, Will you not tell us what these things, your callous attitude about your wife's death and your lack of mourning, mean to us, that you do so?   Why are you acting as you are; why aren't you mourning?  

I answered them, ... So says the Lord Jehovah: behold, I will defile My sanctuary, the glory of your strength, the desire of your eyes, Just as I lost my wife who was the desire of my eyes so you will lose the Lord's sanctuary, the glory of your strength.  And your sons and your daughters whom you have left shall fall by the sword.  

Then you shall do as I have done. You shall not cover your lips nor eat the bread of men (the food that is shared at a funeral).   And your turbans shall be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You must be dressed and ready to march to your captive home.  You shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away for your iniquities and mourn to one another.   While you are being forced to move along by your captors you will have time to mourn for your murdered children and the husbands you lost in battle.

Note that it is no longer Ezekiel, but suddenly it is the Lord that is speaking to the Israelites.  So Ezekiel is a sign to you (your example to follow). According to all that he has done, you shall do. And when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.  24:19-24 

When this comes, as it is foretold, when Jerusalem, which is this day besieged, is quite destroyed and laid waste, which now you cannot believe will ever be, then you shall know that I am the Lord God, who have given you this fair warning of it. Then you will remember that Ezekiel was to you a sign.” Note, Those who regard not the threatenings of the word when they are preached will be made to remember them when they are executed. Matthew Henry

After this Ezekiel turns most of his attention from Israel to the surrounding nations.  All of Israel's neighbours will be punished and most of them will be virtually destroyed. 

After this, most of the content of the Book of Ezekiel is not about punishment of the people but rather about restoration.  Here when Jehovah speaks he says to the land, not to the people: But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall put out your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel (it will again be the land of milk and honey); for they have drawn near to come. After all these centuries the Jews will be coming home by the thousands.

For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, all of it (including the so-called ten lost tribes). And the cities shall have people, and the wastes shall be built. Perhaps the reference is to the waste that will happen at the Battle of Armagganon in Northern Israel.  

And I will multiply men and beast on you, and they shall increase and be fruitful. And I will make you dwell as before, and I will do better to you than at your beginnings. And you shall know that I am Jehovah. 36:8-11.

A great restoration in Israel's future is promised and we will continue with this thought in the next post.  

127 - Two idolatrous Sisters

No Modesty Here

A note of introduction to this post: as I said earlier, Ezekiel is very graphic in his language. If graphic is what you want, read this chapter in the Bible; I try to keep my posts fit for family reading.

There were two women, the daughters of one mother. The two women were Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, the Southern Kingdom; figuratively speaking they were both daughters (off-spring) of one mother, namely Sarah (Abraham's wife).   Their names were Oholah,(which means, "her tabernacle") the oldest, and Oholibah, (which means, "my tabernacle is in her") her sister. ... Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. Ezekiel 23:2-4. 

From the time Israel separated from Judah, right after the death of Solomon, she set up her own places of worship; her own Oholah - tabernacle.  their worship, and places of worship, were of their own appointing, namely, their calves at Dan and Bethel; God had nothing to do with them, there he did not dwell. Gill.  Now the Lord calls it "her tabernacle" not His own.  But the tabernacle in Jerusalem; the one built by Solomon, is called "my tabernacle" by the Lord. For more on this subject, I suggest:                                                           http://spaceshiptheology.blogspot.com/2015/05/66-kingdom-splits-in-two.html

Oholah ... lusted after her lovers, ... her Assyrian neighbours, ...  she defiled herself with all their idols.  Throughout the Bible, the picture of adultery and fornication is used to show people's careless attitude towards Jehovah.  North America, born on Christian principles and beliefs, has turned her back on her first love; in biblical terms, this is called adultery and fornication.

Israel desired to worship as the Assyrians worshipped Therefore I (Jehovah) have given her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians on whom she lusted. ... They (the Assyrians) took her sons and her daughters and killed her (Israel) with the sword. 23:5-10.  The fall of the northern tribes happened in 722 BCE.

And her sister Oholibah (the two southern tribes, known as Judah,) saw, she was more corrupt ... than she, Oholah, and her fornications were greater than her sister's whoredom.   One way was to both of them.  As one went so went the other, except that she (Judah) added to her fornications. 

What North America Lusts For

She saw men carved on the wall; images of the Chaldeans engraved with vermilion, girded with girdles on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like rulers, like the sons of Babylon in Chaldea, the land of their birth (Abraham and Sarah were originally from Ur of the Chaldees, neighbours of Babylon); and she lusted after them.  

Judah saw the pictures and so lusted for the actual persons.  What people see will certainly influence how they act and that is why Christians may not, must not watch everything that "Hollywood" tells us is so spectacular.  Keep in mind that we are here not speaking so much of physical corruption as of the spiritual coldness that has invaded modern churches.  Watching almost any of the modern movies will certainly drive away our awareness of Christ living in us.

The Contemporary English Bible politely continues this thought; Jehovah says, My soul was alienated from her just as My soul was alienated from her sister.  And she lusted on her lovers, who were famous for their sexual powers.  

So, O Oholibah, the Lord Jehovah says this: Behold, I will raise up against you your lovers.  and I will bring them against you from all around;  You, the Christian Church, wanted to worship the way non-Christians worship, in theatres and sports stadiums, so don't be surprised at what your reward will be at the judgement seat of Christ. 23:11-20  

They (the sins we crave) came (follow us) into my temple that same day, and that made it unfit as a place to worship me.  Many modern churches have adopted the glamour of "Holywood".  The hope is that more people will come to church because of that.  Maybe more do come but the place is unfit for the worship of Jehovah!  They have even stopped respecting the Sabbath.  Can't we see the Christian Church in these statements? 

I, the LORD God, gave your sister (Israel) a large, deep cup filled with my anger (they were captured by Assyria). And when you (Judah)drink from that cup, you will be mocked and insulted. ... because that cup is filled with horror and ruin. But you must drink every drop! The temple and Jerusalem will be destroyed. You will either be killed or become slaves to those whom you lusted for.

They have committed murder by sacrificing my own children as offerings to idols.  We think, how horrible!  But how many North American children have been sacrificed, psychologically damaged beyond repair, by their parents to the gods of pleasure and financial well-being?

The rest of this chapter carries on in the same graphic tone; the meaning is too plain to need any comment.

126 - Jehovah Does Not Make Empty Threats

A Catalogue of Sins

Ezekiel's manner was bold and brazen.  He did not soften his speeches with gilt edging or mitigate the meaning of his words by inserting "perhaps", "maybe" or "supposedly".  His words are point blank; at places, they are even crass.  

Behold, the rulers of Israel, each man by his might, have been in you (Jerusalem) in order to shed blood. 22:6.  The only reason you have kings is so that by their authority they may commit murder. 

In you (Jerusalem) they (the rulers of verse 6) have despised father and mother.  reckoned among the very Heathens as next to contempt of God, and disobedience to him; is directly contrary to a law of God, and threatened with a curse, and a severe punishment. Exodus 20:12. Gill.

In your midst, they have dealt with the stranger by oppression.  On this subject isn't it interesting that the Syrian refugees, and others from that area, are now seeking asylum with the white skinned people rather than looking for help from their own religion's people.  There is no arguing the fact that there is still a lot of good left in the people of Europe and North America.

In you (Jerusalem) they oppressed the orphan and the widow. 22:7.  Would you "kick a man when he is down"?   Some humans have a tendency to do that.

You have despised My holy things, (desecrated churches, temples and mosques and other sacred places and ridiculed their holy books).

and have profaned My sabbaths. 22:8.  immorality and dishonesty are commonly attended with a contempt of religion and the worship of God. Matthew Henry.  It was only about a generation ago that preachers talked about the sinfulness of watching professional sports on Sunday.  Now, Sundays are set aside for that purpose, and some Christians, without giving it a second thought, miss attending Church just to go to "the game".  

In you (Jerusalem) are men of slander (lawyers who concoct situations which make the innocent appear to be guilty) to shed blood. 22:9.  In you (Jerusalem) they (the lawyers and judges) have taken bribes to shed blood. 22:12.

In you they have uncovered their fathers' nakedness; 22:10.  In Ezekiel's time, the men in Jerusalem, practised that kind of immorality which later caused Paul to write, it is reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even named among the nations, (the heathen and the Gentiles don't even do this) so as one to have his father's wife. 1 Cor. 5:1.  

And a man has done abomination with his neighbor's wife; and a man has defiled his daughter-in-law in unchaste acts; and a man has humbled within you his sister, his father's daughter. 22:11.  North America, which was built on Christian principles, finds that these sins are now prevalent in her own society; the Lord will not let nations, which are guilty of this kind of wickedness, go unpunished.

You have taken usury (charged interest) and increase, (insist on taking more than the original agreement) and you gained by extortion of your neighbors, and you have forgotten Me, says the Lord Jehovah. 22:12.  How little Jehovah and His Son are in our minds!  There are so many material things we would rather pursue.

Her priests have broken My Law and have defiled My holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and the common. 22:26.  A while ago there was a story in the news about a lady pastor in the United Church of Canada who, by her own admission, is an atheist, but she wanted to keep on preaching in the church anyway.  Speak of defiling My holy things and not putting a difference between the holy and the common, she sounds like a real prize winner!

her prophets have daubed themselves with lime. 22:28.  To make themselves appear to be clean and white.  Christ, speaking to the Pharisees said, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Mat. 23:27. 

I Jehovah have spoken, and I will act. And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you in the lands, and will destroy your uncleanness out of you.  And you will be profaned in ... the eyes of the nations, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. 22:14-16.  The terrorist groups are eyeing North America and, no doubt, the sins of our people will somehow or other be punished.  

125 - You Are Useless Wood

So You Think You Are Better

The people of the Jews are often compared to a vine, who, while they brought forth good fruit, were in esteem; but, when they became like an empty and fruitless vine, were rejected as good for nothing. Gil  You have led a vine (Israel) out of Egypt; You have cast out (of Canaan) the nations, and have planted it (Israel). Psalm 80:8  

Egotism; super high opinion of one's religion; an unfounded positive bias because of background, culture or race are things which Jehovah hates.  Ezekiel 15 is a short chapter but in it, Ezekiel tells his listeners exactly what is wrong with them.

how is the vine tree more than any other tree, or than a branch that is among the trees of the forest? 15:2.  Many translations, including the Hebrew text, leave off the word "tree" in "vine tree" and it is certainly easier to read without it.   Ezekiel asks, in what way is the vine better wood than any other tree branch in the forest?  According to the Jewish scholar, Jarchi, Ezekiel is not comparing the Israelites to the vine in the vineyards, which bears fruit, ... but of the branch of the vine which grows in the forests (totally useless). Gill 

Shall wood be taken from it to do work? Or will men take from it for a peg to hang every vessel on it? 15:3.  Can you saw boards from a grapevine with which to build a house, or, for that matter, would you use a grapevine to make pegs on which to hang your pots and pans?

  

Behold, it is put in the fire for fuel.   A fruitless vine is good for nothing except to be burned.  Christ, speaking of loving one another, said,  Unless one remains in Me, he is cast out as the branch and is dried up; and they gather and throw them into a fire, and they are burned. John 15:6.

The fire devours both its ends, and its middle is charred. Will it prosper for work?  Behold, when it was whole it was not made for work. How much less when the fire has devoured it, and it is charred! Shall it yet be made to work?  Ezekiel continues, If you were useless before you were thrown into the fire how much less value have you now that only the charred centre of the vine remains? 

Therefore, so says the Lord Jehovah: As the vine tree (Israel) among the trees of the forest (the surrounding nations), which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give those living in Jerusalem (to the fire).  And I will set my face against them (in judgment). They shall go out from the fire (some may escape the calamity inside the city), and the fire (a different ordeal) shall devour them. 

And you, Ezekiel, The CEV is the only translation I found that inserted the word, Ezekiel.  Other translations do not specify, thereby indicating that this refers to all Israel.  However, in the next phrase, Israel is referred to in the third person indicating that the name, Ezekiel, should be in the text.

you shall know that I am Jehovah when I set My face against them. And I will give the land to be desolate because they have done treachery, (because they have wrought unfaithfulness, Darby translation) (broken the covenant which I made with them, the covenant they agreed to, at Mt. Sinai) declares the Lord Jehovah. 15:2-8.

Hastening Your Own Destruction

And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? 22:2.   We call it "the Holy City", Jehovah called it "the bloody city".   

Christ was well aware of the city's reputation, He said, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Therefore you are witnesses to yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets. Mat. 23:29-31 

So says the Lord Jehovah: The city sheds blood in her midst that her time may come. Ezekiel 22:3.  Is it spoken in irony?  Why do you kill your prophets and the righteous?  Surely it must be because you want to hasten the coming destruction of Jerusalem!  But we, callous North Americans, better not point any fingers at ancient "bloody Jerusalem".  Our own cities are full of violence and bloodshed and it even spills over into the countryside.

The rest of Ezekiel chapter 22 could have been copied from any modern tabloid and it will be the body of our next post.  Are we also hoping, by our lifestyles, to hasten the destruction of our beloved countries?