another covenant

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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another covenant

Ezekiel 16:59-63 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:59 ” ‘You see, this is what the Lord Yahveh says: I will deal with you according to what you have done since you have thought lightly of the oath by breaking the covenant.
Ezekiel 16:60 But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a permanent covenant with you.
Ezekiel 16:61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.
Ezekiel 16:62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahveh,
Ezekiel 16:63 so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.'”

another covenant

Through the long allegory of this chapter, the LORD explains his relationship with his people. It was an act of grace by which the LORD rescued Israel as an abandoned infant, and brought her up, removing her shame. He brought her up, and married her, and gave her more glory than all the others around her. She responded to this love by being unfaithful, committing adultery – idolatry with all of the nations around her. So, the LORD removes his protection from her, and she will once again become an object of reproach, bearing the penalty of her lewdness and her abominations.

But there is hope. The LORD will remember the covenant he had made with his wife. He will establish another covenant, an everlasting one. He will take his unfaithful wife back – but on new terms. Even Hittites and Amorites will be part of this new covenant.

LORD, thank you for including us in your new covenant, bought with the blood of Christ.

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just and merciful to all

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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just and merciful to all

Ezekiel 16:53-58 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:53 ” ‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore your fortunes among them,
Ezekiel 16:54 so you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did when you comforted them.
Ezekiel 16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.
Ezekiel 16:56 Didn’t you treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn when you were proud,
Ezekiel 16:57 before your guilt was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines – those who treated you triflingly from every side.
Ezekiel 16:58 You yourself must bear the consequences of your infamy and repulsive practices – this is Yahveh’s declaration.

just and merciful to all

The fact that God cares enough to restore the fortunes of Samaria and Sodom reminds the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they are not as special as they thought they were. Our God is just and merciful to all. That does not mean he ignores sin. No, he cannot ignore sin and rebellion even when it is in his own city. It is even more repulsive when those reputed to be God’s people sin.

LORD, make us visibly yours, and faithfully obedient.

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an assumed excuse

Posted on August 30, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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an assumed excuse

Ezekiel 16:44-52 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:44 ” ‘Notice, everyone who uses proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
Ezekiel 16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who thinks lightly of her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who think lightly of their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hethite and your father an Amorite.
Ezekiel 16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you.
Ezekiel 16:47 Didn’t you walk in their ways and do their repulsive practices? It was only a short time before all your ways were more corrupt than theirs.
Ezekiel 16:48 ” ‘As I live – the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – your sister Sodom and her daughters have not behaved as you and your daughters have.
Ezekiel 16:49 Notice this was the violation of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had pride, plenty of food, and comfortable security, but didn’t support the poor and needy.
Ezekiel 16:50 They were haughty and did repulsive acts before me, so I removed them when I saw this.
Ezekiel 16:51 But Samaria did not commit even half your failures. You have multiplied your repulsive practices beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the repulsive acts you have committed.
Ezekiel 16:52 You must also bear your disgrace since you have helped your sisters out. For they appear more righteous than you because of your failures, which you committed more detestably than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

an assumed excuse

When I was a young boy, I was incredibly lazy. Instead of participating in sports in school, I wrote a fake note from “my doctor” excusing me from strenuous activity. Either my physical education instructor fell for it, or he (probably) just didn’t care. My assumed excuse was bogus. I had no excuse.

Ezekiel is now responding to an assumed excuse that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would give for their sinful behavior. They looked around at all the nations surrounding them — some of whom they were related to. They claimed to have been only following their lead.

The argument fell apart once Ezekiel began pointing out that none of those relatives ever rebelled against God the way Judah had. Jerusalem had privileges that came with a covenantal relationship, and that made their violations all that more heinous.

Consider — my friends — how responsible we are to our God, who gave us the privilege of knowing him through his only Son. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

LORD, we have no excuses. We can blame no one for our sins. We beg your forgiveness and ask you to empower us to become faithful and stay faithful to your word and to your Christ.

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naked again

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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naked again

Ezekiel 16:35-43 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:35 ” ‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of Yahveh!
Ezekiel 16:36 This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your repulsive idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,
Ezekiel 16:37 Notice I am going to gather all the lovers you pleased – all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness to them so they see you completely naked.
Ezekiel 16:38 I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged. Then I will bring about the shedding of your blood in jealous wrath.
Ezekiel 16:39 I will hand you over to them, and they will demolish your mounds and tear down your elevated places. They will strip off your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked.
Ezekiel 16:40 They will bring a mob against you to stone you and to cut you to pieces with their swords.
Ezekiel 16:41 They will burn your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute, and you will never again pay fees for lovers.
Ezekiel 16:42 So I will satisfy my wrath against you, and my jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.
Ezekiel 16:43 Because you did not remember the days of your infancy but enraged me with all these things, I will also bring your conduct down on your own head. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh. Haven’t you committed infamy in addition to all your repulsive practices?

naked again

In this allegory describing Jerusalem’s rebellion against her God, Ezekiel began the story of the city as an abandoned infant, naked and wallowing in blood. The LORD came along and rescued that child, exalting her into a yound beautiful woman. Then the LORD exalted her even more by taking her as his bride.

But the bride rebelled against her husband by going after other men, prostituting herself instead of being faithful to the one who exalted her. She even sought after other lovers by paying them a fee, so she was worse than a prostitute.

The jilted husband has had enough. He is going to strip this unfaithful wife of all her fine clothing. He will reduce her to the state she was in when he first rescued her.

LORD, may we have the wisdom to know that if we take away all the externals, all we have is a dependence upon you.

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you paid a fee instead

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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you paid a fee instead

Ezekiel 16:30-34 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:30 ” ‘How your heart was inflamed with lust – the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – when you did all these things, the acts of a domineering prostitute,
Ezekiel 16:31 building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.
Ezekiel 16:32 You adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!
Ezekiel 16:33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors.
Ezekiel 16:34 So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.

you paid a fee instead

When the LORD tells Ezekiel what kind of people the inhabitants of Jerusalem have been, he describes them as having the most wonderful advantage of being welcomed into the home of a loving husband — the LORD himself. But instead of being faithful to the husband who lavished his love and provision on her, Jerusalem sought other lovers. She was actually worse than a prostitute, since she paid a fee instead of one being paid to her.

Such is the result of a sinful life. In the end, you discover that you have actually given your life away instead of finding it. The wages of sin are always paid by the sinner.

LORD, strengthen our respect for you and ourselves. Show us how to stop giving away our lives for sin.

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hiding the brutal truth

Posted on August 27, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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hiding the brutal truth

Ezekiel 16:23-29 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:23 ” ‘Then after all your evil – Tragedy, woe to you! – the declaration of the Lord Yahveh –
Ezekiel 16:24 you built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every square.
Ezekiel 16:25 You built your elevated place at the head of every street and turned your beauty into a repulsive thing. You spread your legs to everyone who passed by and increased your prostitution.
Ezekiel 16:26 You engaged in promiscuous acts with Egyptian men, your well-endowed neighbors, and increased your prostitution to anger me.
Ezekiel 16:27 ” ‘Notice, I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the throat of those who hate you, the Philistine women, who were embarrassed by your indecent conduct.
Ezekiel 16:28 Then you engaged in prostitution with the Assyrian men because you were not satisfied. Even though you did this with them, you were still not satisfied.
Ezekiel 16:29 So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea, the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!

hiding the brutal truth

The Mishna records that this chapter was not allowed to be read or translated in public. The prophet goes into the sordid detail of Jerusalem’s promiscuous rebellion against her husband.

Sometimes the message needs to be in shocking language to get the recipient’s attention. I wonder, have we dared to let God tell us what he really knows about us. Or, have we been quietly excluded this message from our actual canon?

The truth is, the whole truth is brutal. We are all guilty of so much more that we admit to in public.

FATHER, forgive us for hiding the brutal truth. Restore us to the purity you deserve.

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you slaughtered my children

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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you slaughtered my children

Ezekiel 16:15-22 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:15 ” ‘But you trusted in your beauty and committed fornication because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.
Ezekiel 16:16 You took some of your clothing and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened!
Ezekiel 16:17 You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.
Ezekiel 16:18 Then you took your embroidered clothing to cover them and set my oil and incense before them.
Ezekiel 16:19 The food that I gave you – the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you – you set it before them as a pleasing aroma. That is what happened. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.
Ezekiel 16:20 ” ‘You even took your sons and daughters you bore to me and sacrificed them to these images as food. Wasn’t your prostitution enough?
Ezekiel 16:21 You slaughtered my children and gave them up when you passed them through the fire to the images.
Ezekiel 16:22 In all your repulsive practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your infancy when you were stark naked and thrashing around in your blood.

you slaughtered my children

Jerusalem’s betrayal of her husband is described in bleak detail here, using the analogy of a bride who is exalted by her husband’s love, and then turns around and gives her pride, beauty, wealth and children to other men.

The worst act of betrayal is that the city sacrificed her children by her legitamate husband — the LORD himself. They were infants sacrificed to Molech, burned to death in a hideous sacrilege of a ritual. The LORD, the rejected husband tells the city “You slaughtered my children and gave them up when you passed them through the fire to the images.”

The question I am pondering today — as I reflect on my being part of the bride of Christ — is my own responsibility to raise my own children as God’s children. Have I sacrificed them to an unholy image?

LORD, give me the wisdom to stay true to the one who gave me my children. You have blessed me with three beautiful daughters. My I continue to commit them to you because they are gifts from you.

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his exalting love

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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his exalting love

Ezekiel 16:8-14 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:8 ” ‘Then I passed by you and saw you, and noticed you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged myself to you, entered into a covenant with you – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – and you became mine.
Ezekiel 16:9 I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.
Ezekiel 16:10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and provided you with fine leather sandals. I also wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
Ezekiel 16:11 I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck.
Ezekiel 16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
Ezekiel 16:13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty.
Ezekiel 16:14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect through my splendor, which I had bestowed on you. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.

his exalting love

The Lord is telling the love story of how he brought Jerusalem from nothing into a glorious something. The betrayal part of the story is yet to come. Today, we get to contemplate what a wonderful lover our God is. Each of us, like Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s story, began as nothings. Each of us has been exalted by our Savior’s love.

The question for each of us is how we have responded to his exaltation. Have we, like Jerusalem, betrayed his love by idolatry. Have we chosen our own lovers, and abandoned the one who brought us up from nothing?

LORD, thank you for your redeeming, exalting love. Show us how to be faithful to you, and reject the temptation to seek other gods.

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he said ‘live’

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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he said ‘live’

Ezekiel 16:1-7 (JDV)

Ezekiel 16:1 The word of Yahveh happened to me. This is what it said:
Ezekiel 16:2 “Son of Adam, confront Jerusalem with her repulsive practices.
Ezekiel 16:3 You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hethite.
Ezekiel 16:4 As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born, and you weren’t washed clean with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
Ezekiel 16:5 No eye looked compassionately on you to do even one of these things out of pity for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were thought lightly of on the day you were born.
Ezekiel 16:6 ” ‘I passed by you and saw you thrashing around in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!” Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live!”
Ezekiel 16:7 I made you numerous like plants of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were stark naked.

he said ‘live’

Ezekiel needed to remind his people of their humble beginnings as a nation, and the fact that they owe their existence to the compassion of their God. He saw them when they were unpresentable, and he choose to give them life.

Such is the case with all of us. None of us gave birth to ourselves. We owe our lives to a Savior who cared — and he still cares.

Thank you, compassionate LORD.

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given to the fire

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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given to the fire

Ezekiel 15:1-8 (JDV)

Ezekiel 15:1 Then the word of Yahveh happened to me:
Ezekiel 15:2 “Son of Adam, how does the wood of the vine, that branch among the trees of the forest, compare to any other wood?
Ezekiel 15:3 Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on?
Ezekiel 15:4 Notice that it is put into the fire as fuel. The fire devours both of its ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?
Ezekiel 15:5 Notice that when it was whole it could not be made into a useful object. How much less can it ever be made into anything useful when the fire has devoured it and it is charred!”
Ezekiel 15:6 Therefore, this is what the Lord Yahveh says, “Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 15:7 I will turn against them. They may have escaped from the fire, but it will still consume them. And you will know that I am Yahveh when I turn against them.
Ezekiel 15:8 I will make the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully.” This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.

given to the fire

The inhabitants of Jerusalem had thought of themselves as the best of the best. Now that they were under God’s judgment, he views them as wood that is given to the fire — because that is the only thing it is useful for.

I have known the joy of serving the LORD in a number of different functions. It would break my heart if I were ever told the bad news that Ezekiel had to tell the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

LORD, make us into wood for your use — whether glorious or ordinary. May we never get to the point where we are only useful for the fire.

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