Lesson #10
Ezekiel 3:1-4
EATING THE SCROLL
Ezek 3:1-4
3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
KJV
Exposition of Verse 1
Ezek 3:1
3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
KJV
"Moreover"
This is a continuation of the events that started in Ezekiel 1:4 when the whirlwind approached the captive prophet as he sat on the banks of the river Chebar in Babylon. God singled out this one seemingly insignificant man to reveal what was about to happen not only to the rebellious children of Israel, but to the entire world because of rebellion. God is in control of all human history. He does not hid His holy and pure expectations for mankind, and He presses that control when man lets sin get out of control. Man is bent to sin, but he can resist. Saved and unsaved have the free will not to let sin run rampant, and to restrain it from going beyond the boundaries God will allow. The extreme filthiness of sin does not have to dominate history, but if man is truly to have a free will apart from God's absolute control then sin will at times become greater then God will allow. Such is the era which Ezekiel finds himself. God is about to change the course of history. Not just for His children, but the whole world. I'm convinced mankind has reached the same threshold this very day. I believe our generation is about to experience another dispensational change in history. Events in Israel which is center to all God has been doing with mankind since Genesis 12 are now at the breaking point. The Temple Mount of which Ezekiel gives much and great attention is in today's news almost daily. "Moreover" continues for us today as it did for Ezekiel almost 2560 years ago. The same God continues His control, and the boundaries remain just as fixed.
"he said unto me, son of man"
God speaks to man. Normally it's not in such a magnificent way as this. Sometimes it's just a small voice in the garden, other times it's the events of life that wake us up as it were, but always it's through His word. It comes to us in meditation, and it comes to us in crises situations. It is always God speaking to man. It even happens while reading the book of Ezekiel, and can have the same impact on us as it did on Ezekiel himself. My friend, God will speak to you. In the midst of all the turmoil going on daily in this world of computers and high tech, God still speaks to individuals as insignificant as you and me. What a privilege it is to spend time with Him, and listen to what He says. His words are as a two edged sword in conviction of sin, and yet comfort beyond the ability of a mother's soothing love for her own little child.
Isa 51:3-5
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
KJV
It was not a dinner roll, nor a jelly filled bun. Physically Ezekiel was told to eat the scroll filled with lamentations, and mourning, and woe that the hand of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, sitting on the throne had presented to him in the last chapter. Eat, eat that which he had just "acquired" (better then the word findeth) was the command Normally it would be read, and read, and read again until it has been committed to memory. Until it can never be forgotten. Study every word, contemplate every phrase, understand every sentence, and know the application of every paragraph. See the whole of it knowing how every piece fits into the big picture of it's totality.
1 Tim 4:15-16
15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
KJV
Time was by necessity shortcuted, and Ezekiel was told to eat, eat while God by His miraculous power condensed all that hard, tedious study into the time it took to physically consume this roll. I'm sure many a Bible School student wishes God might do the same for him, but God has much more time to work with each of us in the more traditional way then He had at that moment with Ezekiel. There is no shortcut for us. It is hard work if you chose to be a servant of God. There is no room for mistakes. There is no room for personal manipulations. It has been given clearly, and must be presented in like manner. Tradition must go when it is contrary to the clear teaching of God's word. It matters not what Grandpa said; it matters not what the wise sages wrote. The servant must follow only one master, only one manual. He must always be true to the Bible alone. No addition to the Bible can clarify or extend what God has already written. It is as clear today as it was to Ezekiel the day he ate it, and then wrote word for word that which he ate.
Rev 22:18-20
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
KJV
Ezekiel was not the only prophet who ate God's word. John had a similar experience.
Rev 10:9-11
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
KJV
The seriousness of God's word is terribly abused today. Many think they can flippantly discuss various passages on those disgraceful Tonight Show type TV Christian programs without accountability. What they say a passage means one day changes the next. Prophecy is abused beyond belief as the meanings and applications change with every wisp of wind. Whatever meets the moment to fire up the crowd is what they say without thought or feeling of correctness. They speak as if they ate the book. There is no indication that they are just speculating. It is as if God taught them as directly as He taught John and Ezekiel when they consumed it. The things Jack Van Impe and others high profile Christian leaders said about the Bible and about the Y2K invisible terror that griped the world recently have never been retracted with no apology ever given. They just went into Y2K as if they never said a word about prophecy and Y2K. It is a disgraceful Christian world we live in today. Men who would have hid in shame being exposed as having abused God's word are emboldened instead, and their boldness is rewarded by their foolish followers with increased respectability, exposure, and wealth. They should receive lamentations, and mourning, and woe!
Ezekiel is given the missionary command. He is to go! Here we see the equivalent of a home missionary for he is not commanded to go to the nations, but to the house of Israel. I often felt treated second class as a home missionary. I remember the change in expression at missionary conferences when asked where are you going? When I said the USA, they would usually walk on looking for someone with a more challenging and exciting country of call. I got used to being the guy they would pray for while the foreign missionaries got the financial support. Poor Ezekiel would not get much encouragement or support in modern day Christianity because of his calling.
I have a fellow home missionary friend from Montana. The pastor of his home Church back in Nebraska died. A new pastor was called, and in a short time my friend received a letter informing him that the Church had re-evaluated it's missions program. They told him that they didn't see many people getting saved in his ministry, but were aware of great things happening in Russia with the fall of the iron curtain. The short of it was they pulled his financial support so the money could be better used for God. Folks, it broke his heart! They just as well have stripped him naked in the city square. He had worked for years literally at the end of the highway in Montana. It was the last town with only gravel roads going on from there. The town was known for it's drunken Rodeo Days where if your head was above the bar you were served the booze no questions asked. My missionary friend over many years, and many fatalities due to the drunken behavior changed Rodeo Days into a family oriented event. It was one of the greatest testimonies throughout Montana of what one faithful missionary family could accomplish. He never bragged on it, but everyone in Montana was aware of the change in Rodeo Days. It was only a matter of months after he shared that letter with me that they left Montana for an established Church. A very special home missionary lost his main support, and his heart for being a home missionary. God gave him a nice situation, and he and his family are doing fine (much better then what they endured while in Montana). But, home missions took a great blow when they left. Please be aware that home missionaries are called with the same necessity for service as foreign missionaries. They are all first class, and should be treated as such.
Exposition of Verse 2
Ezek 3:2
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
KJV
It may be a little thing, but Ezekiel says "So I opened my mouth." I see freewill in operation with this act. It means to me that Ezekiel could have refused. God would not have been thwarted in His efforts. He could have worked with Ezekiel longer until he was ready to open his mouth, or He could have gone to someone else who was willing to open his mouth. God could have gone to a woman if no men were bold enough to respond. God could have gone to a child if there were no adults willing to obey. God has many options. He knows them all before He ever began the flow of human history. He knows who will, and who won't at any moment in time. He knows if one won't what another will, and how all history will flow as a result. God weighed all His options, and made all His choices before He ever started the clock of human history. Here, at the right time He chose Ezekiel to be His servant. He knew Ezekiel would be ready to open his mouth in obedience to God's command. It was a wise choice as we shall see.
Isa 41:4
4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
KJV
Isa 42:9
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
KJVx
Isa 44:7-8
7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
KJV
"and He caused me to eat that roll" Here I see the omnipotent God forcing His will to be done. This hiph'il imperfect verb puts great emphases on the fact that God is the cause of what is taking place. That it is God who causes Ezekiel to open his mouth, and the roll to be eaten. In one breath scripture tells us Ezekiel's freewill is in operation, and in the next breath we are told God's irresistible sovereignty over everything is being emphasized. It will be hard for me to take any credit for what good I did while on the mission field when realizing God's sovereignty was in action. Yet, God can reward my decisions when glory was accomplished for Him. It's all so confusing, but yet so wonderful. I can freely open my mouth or not, and at the same time God is the cause of my opening my mouth so glorious things happen. I'm glad God chose me as His option for the USA. He had better options available, but He chose me. Others would not have failed as often as I, but He chose me. How glad I am. How glad Ezekiel was that God chose him to eat that roll. Ezekiel was not perfect. He might even not have been the best around, but he was God's choice among all the options available. God was going to cause the flow of human history to fit His plans. The nations were all going to change. The head of gold as revealed to Daniel was about to shake the nations. Ezekiel would also be central in revealing God's sovereignty over the world. But, first Ezekiel was to go to the little house (nation) of Israel. Defeated already by Nebuchadnezzar. Next, to see what few are left completely evicted from the land. They are about to see their Temple destroyed ending their ability to Biblically worship God. In all the failure of Israel, it is still more important then all the pagan nations put together in God's eyes. God had the option of choosing another nation, but He chose Israel. Maybe not the best, but that really does not matter. God made His choice.
Deut 7:6-8
6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
KJV
God chose me to be saved. His options certainly presented many a better candidate. I have no explanation as to why His irresistible sovereignty caused me to open my mouth and say yes to Jesus Christ when I was convicted of my sin because of the gospel when I heard it? I know I heard it many times before, but this time I responded. Yet, I know God did not force His will on my freewill. In a sense, He did not bend my arm, and force me to be saved against my will. In another sense, I needed my arm bent. I'm not some robot doing only what my program allows. I'm more then that I also know that I was dead in sin before salvation. There is not much a dead man can do. You can spit in his face, and he will just lay there. I don't understand it all. It's just too wonderful. I'm just glad I'm saved. Israel is glad God chose them among all His options. God says in the roll of of this book that He will continue to hold onto Israel at their lowest, and most rebellious condition to date. Ezekiel now eats the words of God. He eats the roll. He eats it so he can faithfully represent what God has to say about His control over the events of human history.
Eph 1:3-6
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
KJV
Eph 2:4-6
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
KJV
Exposition verse 3
Ezek 3:3
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
KJV
Now it is Ezekiel's turn to be the cause of something. Here it is to fill the hollow in his stomach with the Word of God. There is a desire on the part of many to fill the hollow of our minds with truth. To know what life is all about, and what our purpose here on earth is. This is knowledge we are not born with. We must learn it. Some men search long and hard for this truth. Many satisfy their longings far short of the real answer. They stop at philosophy and religion. The Bible says that truth is not found there, but in a man. The God/man called the Word!
John 1:1-5
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
KJV
John 1:14
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
KJV
John 17:5-8
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
KJV
This truth must be consumed, it must be received. It must feed the spiritual need of a lost, sin filled soul with the only answer. A supernatural miracle must cause change and fullness The Triune God of the Bible. has a plan which He formulated from the very beginning of time, and even before. That plan was not a philosophy, nor a religion, but a man. God Himself would become that man, and sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world. He would not force this salvation rooted in righteousness on anyone. The cost on God's part was the precious blood of His only Son. The price on our part is to love. To love God and all that is God including His plan with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might. Nothing less can be appropriate, or acceptable when compared to the blood of Christ.
Deut 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
KJV
It is not the Jewish religion that can or could save. It is not the Christian religion that saves. It is the Jewish Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who has the power needed to provide salvation. Only blood can wash away the filthiness of sin. The Jewish religion taught blood sacrifice in both the First and Second Temples. The Christian religion teaches blood sacrifice with every mention of Calvary's cross. However, The words of religion are powerless. Only the single, unique Word can save. He must be consumed. He must be received, or the blood will never be applied. The change will never happen. The fullness will never be accomplished.
John 1:12
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
KJV
It is very plain, so plain I was able to receive Christ when only seven years old, yet most of the smartest men who ever lived were lost because they never loved God. It is not that they could not understand. It was because they would not love God on His terms. On what He wrote in this roll Ezekiel is about to consume. It is rejection that causes the lost to remain in that condition, not ignorance.
For a guy who suffers from chronic diarrhea, this phrase has some undo connotations. It is not meant for the sickly, but rather it has to do with that healthy full feeling an hour or two after Thanksgiving dinner. Not the overfilled feeling of the glutton, but that pleasant feeling of having consumed a meal bathed in mother's and wife's and daughter's love where there is no shortage of good belly filling food.
The most pleasant feelings I've ever had in life were after sitting down within the fullness of God's word, and contemplating what I just read. To see it all fit together. To see the wisdom behind it all. To see the great love aimed right at me. To just sit in the perfect pleasure of all that the word means to me. It is not the time for work. It is the time to rest in the fullness that only God's word can satisfy. That only the Lord Jesus Christ can fill with such fullness and completeness.
God gives it to us freely. It is there to consume. It is there to fill. How sad if you are emancipated because of sickly behavior. Instead of having your bowels filled, it just runs right on through as a discomfort with no time to nourish or produce the feeling of wellness. Wrong doctrine is the sickly behavior which produces the dreaded chronic diarrhea of God's word. It is a malady gone amuck in today's Christianity. The bowels are in phony order of God's intent. What comes out at one end is what I hear coming out the mouth of many a Christian leader today. They have no doctrine, but the sweet, icing on the cake, feel good philosophy which only disrupts the proper order of how the bowels are to function. They consume pleasure for pleasure's sake, and are forgetful of the bitter which gives the bowels the fullness that I know and experience.
There is great pleasure in the word of God. It truly is the sweetest of the sweet. It is a natural sweetness with body that not only tastes good, but is good for you. It does not disrupt the system, but makes it operate in correct balance to nourish from head to sole.
One of the reasons why the cults, the Catholics, the Charismatics, the liberal main stream Christians are so successful is because of the natural sweetness of God's word. It promises life eternal. It reveals heavenly bliss. It speaks of hope, of faith, of love. It speaks to the greatest love of all that God has given for His children. It speaks of victory. It speaks comfort. It speaks of all the things that are sweet to the soul. These religionists utilize the sweetness, and spin it into their philosophy of religion so that it all appears like the same thing. The philosophy and traditions of the Catholic Church, the philosophy of main stream liberalized Christianity, the philosophy of the Charismatics with all their mysticisms are all worthless. Only the sweetness of the Biblical Christ has value. The rest is no more then a sneaked laxative by an enemy to what would be a healthy athlete. Many only want the superficial sweetness, and in desiring it never receive Christ. They live off the laxative that never nourishes, and ends up with only death when the fruit of the consumption is completed.
Today something has happened that I never would have thought possible. "Born Again" Christianity has been hijacked! It's been hijacked by the Apostate Christian Church because of it's sweetness. It will go into the 7 year tribulation with all it's sweetness, but without the Biblical Christ. The power to save will be missing, even if the sweetness of the gospel message is there. That same sweetness of the Gospel will be offered to the world as it is today, but the power of real salvation will not be present with the message. A twisted spin will make Apostate Christianity and salvation appear as one to the deceived. A unity that is present today among the Apostates will be the doctrine of sweetness utilized by these false Christians against the Jewish Two Witnesses of Revelation 11, and their 144,000 faithful Jewish followers during the seven year tribulation. The Biblical Christ clearly shifts the power of His blood from the raptured true Church which will step aside, and to the Nation of Israel as represented by the Two Witnesses and the 144,000 faithful during the tribulation and millennial reign of Christ. Apostate Christianity, Secular Judaism, and the Gentile Nations will all oppose this shift in the power of the blood. I'm convinced the Two Witnesses will build the Third (Ezekiel's) Jewish Temple where blood will again be the center of Temple Worship. It will be in remembrance of the blood already shed at Calvary in Jerusalem by the coming Messiah/King of the Jews. The power in the blood of Christ will take it's true Jewish messianic meaning as always intended.
Gal 1:6-9
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
KJV
2 Cor 11:2-4
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
KJV
Take heed Charismatic that the spirit you find so sweet is apostate! Another spirit promoting another gospel related to another Jesus. Let all the falsehoods of the charismatic leadership show you they are no different from the other false leaders of the cults, or the liberals. The Biblical Jesus is the only Jesus with the power to save. Do not be deceived. Do not remain in the Apostasy that is going into the Tribulation.
Exposition of Verse 4
Ezek 3:4
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
KJV
The purpose of all this son of Adam has gone through to this point is stated by God. "Come, go to the house of Israel." The house of Israel was in one big mess. Some, were with Ezekiel as part of the captivity carried off to Babylon. Others, were still back in the land. Most, were unrepentant, and defiant of their circumstances. Some would call Ezekiel to come, others he would of necessity have to go. They were all part of one whole. They had inherited the privilege of being called the Children of God. Father Abraham and God had made a covenant which had to be honored. I think they were shocked. They thought they had God wrapped around their finger. He had made promises which only Jews could make possible their coming to pass. The messiah was Jewish from beginning to end. He was going to be born in Israel as the root of Jesse. He was going to minister to Jews. He was going to be jealous for His Father's House (the Temple). God needed the Jew! If the Jew should feel God's statutes and precepts were too much for a modern society, and if the Jew should decide that compromise with the world was more practical then the rigid, exclusive, old fashion rules God had laid down to Moses. What could God do if they all agreed their way was a better way, and was the way they were going to go? They were shocked that God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to defeat them, and carry off their pride. Ezekiel was about to shock them even more. He was about to tell them that the unrepentant Jews still living in Israel would all be swept into captivity as he already was. They would witness the destruction of God's house so critical to their eternal destiny. Everything God promised to Father Abraham, everything God wrote through Moses about the Biblical Jewish society, everything that the Jewish Kings accomplished leading to the fruition of Judaism was at an end. It was a shock. What Ezekiel was about to reveal was that God is bigger then Judaism. Here is a real shock - God is also bigger then Christianity. God pulled the plug on those pompous Jews of Ezekiel's day, and I believe that same God is about to pull the plug on the pompous Christians of today. The better way of today's Christianity is the wrong way. It is not Biblical. It has compromised the standards and precepts of the Bible for success in the modern world. I almost throw-up when I hear some Christian leader (be it missions director, pastor, Para-Church organization, Christian college president) say "we must broaden our base." It is repugnant to me, and I know it is repugnant to God. It was repugnant to Ezekiel who now must go to those who lived by broadening the base of Judaism.
2 Kings 25:8-11
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away.
KJV
Jer 25:8-9
8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
KJV
Jer 27:5-9
5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
6 And now have I given all these lands unto the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
KJV
Christian, how long have you been broadening your base? How far have you drifted from the ridged standards so clearly defined in the Bible? What kind of Christian music do you listen to? What kind of feely good Christian books do you read? What kind of Christian Church do you attend? How deeply are you committed to living for an absolutely pure, puritanical, Christ? Have you broadened your base to include a little wine for the belly, and of course a little for the road? A new Nebuchadnezzar is on the way. He is called in the Bible the Anti-Christ. He is looking to broaden the base of not only the Apostate Christians of his day, but the whole world. He will have all the logical, and practical ways mankind can find peace and success. His ideas are already being used by main stream Apostate Christianity with great success. Are you finding yourself on the wrong side? Have you been following the wrong Christians? The crowd can be wrong! They were wrong in Ezekiel's day, and they are just as wrong today.
God calls these "my words." Ezekiel may have had what he thought were better ways, but he was forbidden to discuss them. He was forbidden to throw out his own ideas to see how they would float. Ezekiel was a faithful fellow. He was not interested in self promotion of his own accolades, and I'm sure he could have made a lot out of the fact that God visited him. What he was interested in was God's words, and faithfulness to those words. I'm sure the temptation was there to embellish. To make the sweet sweeter, and to quietly whisper the bitter so as not to offend. The rigidity of being faithful to what he had consumed was his guide. Fellows like Ezekiel with this kind of faithfulness to God's word are hard to find today. Rigid discipline is missing in most of our Bible Schools. My daughter laughs at Prairie Bible Institute where the boys walk on one side of the street, and the girls on the other (at least I think they still do). It is laughable to most in this MTV world. I can't help but feel if they are that disciplined in boy/girl social behavior, how much more when it comes to teaching the Bible faithfully. At least I would hope this is true? "My Words" are very important to me. They should be to you also? To be a spokesman of "my words" to them is a calling of greatest seriousness. It takes great discipline to accomplish such a task.
Soon we will be studying the commission of the Watchman. Faithfulness to God's words will take a prime place in such a commission. It is all about preparation in these early chapters. There are no shortcuts for us. If we are to be prepared, we must be prepared to work hard. God's word must be as familiar to us as an M-16 rifle is to a Marine. We must know every part, and where it fits. If someone were to slip in a spring that's too long or too short, we must recognize it as wrong by sight right away, not try to make it fit where it does not belong. It was serious for Ezekiel to speak the words of God. It should be as serious for you! Study. know what you are going to say fits rightly into the whole Bible.
2 Tim 2:15-16
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
KJV
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Edited April 28. 2001
