reassigned

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220728

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

reassigned

Ezekiel 10:1-2 (JDV)

Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and noticed above the expanse over the heads of the cherubs was something like a throne with the appearance of lapis lazuli.
Ezekiel 10:2 Yahveh spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubs. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubs and scatter them over the city.” So he went in as I watched.

reassigned

For the past few days, we have been looking at a vision about a man with a clipboard. He continues to be featured in this vision as it continues from Ezekiel 9. But his purpose has changed. Whereas he was last seen writing peoples’ names down who will be spared from the immanent destruction of Jerusalem, now that time is finished. He has put down his clipboard and is now instructed to pick up some hot coals and scatter them over the city.

Ellicot writes “Hitherto, in Ezekiel 9, he has been employed only in a work of mercy and protection. It is not without significance that now the same person is made the agent of judgment. As God’s love is turned to wrath by man’s impenitence, and as His blessings given to man become curses by their abuse, so those employed by Him as the instruments of His loving-kindness become the very executioners of his “fury.”” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers).

Today, God makes his angels available to us as “ministering spirits, sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14 NET). But that ministry to human beings is a temporary assignment. One day, the list will be complete, and the protecting angels will be reassigned. Don’t count on a guardian angel to protect you when hell’s flames are ready to destroy. Those flames cannot be extinguished, even by an angel.

LORD, give us the wisdom to seek your grace while it is available in Christ.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

the last box checked

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220727

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

the last box checked

Ezekiel 9:9-11 (JDV)

Ezekiel 9:9 He said to me, “The violation of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of bloodshed, and the city entirely warped, because they say, ‘Yahveh has abandoned the land; he does not see.’
Ezekiel 9:10 But as for me, my eye will not look compassionately on them or spare them. I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.”
Ezekiel 9:11 Then I noticed the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment responded back. This is what he said, “I have done all that you commanded me.”

the last box checked

As Ezekiel nine concludes, this dark vision becomes even more terrifying. It is a simple vision of seven “men” — six of them sent to destroy Jerusalem for its sins, and the seventh with something like a clipboard, marking the heads of those who will be spared. Now — get the significance of what the clipboard man says in today’s text. He says “I have done all that you commanded me.” In other words, the remnant has been marked, so now the destruction can begin.

As our generation goes deeper and deeper into the darkness of rebellion against God and his righteousness, one wonders whether we will see (on a planetary level) what Ezekiel saw in this vision. Will this generation see a day when the secretary has no more names to write down — no more boxes to check? When the last box is checked, the destruction will begin.

Hell has been a slow train coming, but when it comes, only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will avoid it. For everyone else, that fire will be unquenchable, and it will destroy the soul and body.

LORD, we seek your will, and plead for you to put us on your list, and help us to get others to do the same.

Posted in destruction in hell | Tagged | Leave a comment

your conscience may save your life

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220726

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

your conscience may save your life

Ezekiel 9:3-8 (JDV)

Ezekiel 9:3 Then the impressive appearance of the God of Israel rose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the house. He called to the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment.
Ezekiel 9:4 “Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” Yahveh said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the repulsive practices committed in it.”
Ezekiel 9:5 He spoke to the others in my hearing: “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not look compassionately on them or spare them!
Ezekiel 9:6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the house.
Ezekiel 9:7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house and fill the courts with the murdered ones. Go!” So they went out killing people in the city.
Ezekiel 9:8 While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell face-down and cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem?”

your conscience may save your life

In the vision that Ezekiel saw, the man with the clipboard (see yesterday’s post) marked the people who sighed and groaned over the idolatry and hypocrisy that had infested their city. Those acts of conscience were what the clipboard man was looking for. When he saw someone who felt sick over the moral state of Jerusalem, he would mark that person’s forehead. The mark was a sign that this person would be excluded from the judgment. Because they did not ignore the evil present among them, they would be spared when God came to punish it.

My friend, don’t try to close your mind to hypocrisy and injustice and violence and prejudice and other forms of evil. If you can do nothing else, let your voice be heard. That simple act of conscience may save your life. Our God will not stay hidden. When he shows up, he will deal with evil. If you do not say something now, you just might be included in the slaughter.

LORD, give us the wisdom to speak up.

Posted in hypocrisy, justice, wrath of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

the clipboard

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220725

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

the clipboard

Ezekiel 9:1-2 (JDV)

Ezekiel 9:1 Then he called loudly in my hearing, “Come near, executioners of the city, each of you with a destructive weapon in his hand.”
Ezekiel 9:2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a wrecking tool in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, carrying scribe’s writing equipment. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

the clipboard

One of the “men” in the vision looks like a scribe. I imagine him with modern equivalent — a clipboard. He is recording the destruction, and making sure that those who will be spared are spared.

Is your name on that clipboard? I pray that it is. You will not be spared by living a “decent” life. None of us are decent enough. There is only one thing that will protect us from the wrecking ball of God’s wrath. Jesus Christ took the punishment we deserve for our personal sins. Come to him if you want your name on the clipboard.

LORD, draw people to yourself through these words.

Posted in Jesus Christ, sin, wrath of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

I don’t want to talk about it

Posted on July 24, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220724

Photo by Kat Smith on Pexels.com

I don’t want to talk about it

Ezekiel 8:16-18 (JDV)

Ezekiel 8:16 So he brought me to the inner court of Yahveh’s house, and I noticed about twenty-five men at the entrance of Yahveh’s house, between the portico and the altar, with their backs to Yahveh’s house and their faces turned to the east. They were bowing to the east in the worship of the sun.
Ezekiel 8:17 And he said to me, “Do you see this, son of Adam? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts they are doing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and repeatedly anger me, even – notice this – putting the branch to their nose?
Ezekiel 8:18 That is why I am responding with wrath. My eye will not look compassionately or spare them. Though they call loudly in my hearing, I will not listen to them.”

I don’t want to talk about it

I consulted numerous commentaries to get an idea of what Ezekiel meant by these idolaters putting the branch to their nose. Most of them claimed to know what it meant but were reluctant to share it because the practice was particularly vile. It represented an act so repulsive that even describing it would be a sin.

I understand that feeling. When we stop to think about the sins that people are committing all around us — and daring us to expose them — we feel reluctant to do so, because we don’t even want to talk about these things. Yet, sadly, that is what the world has come to.

I am not claiming to be sinless. All of us are sinners — all of us fall short of God’s glory. One thing these prophetic visions teach us is that God is not indifferent to our sin. It hurts him when we turn our back on him, and worship something unworthy of worship — even our glorious sun. It hurts him when we flaunt our sin.

No one will be protected from God’s wrath — even those who claim to be his. That is another lesson from the prophets. The prophets mostly spoke against the sin of God’s own people. Our only protection from God’s coming wrath is faith in his Son — who has taken the punishment for our sin on the cross.

LORD, use these words to draw sinners to the Savior before it is too late.

Posted in prophecy, sin, wrath of God | Tagged | Leave a comment

when a tear is not a tear

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220723

Photo by Kat Smith on Pexels.com

when a tear is not a tear

Ezekiel 8:14-15 (JDV)

Ezekiel 8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of Yahveh’s house, and I noticed women sitting there crying over Tammuz.
Ezekiel 8:15 And he said to me, “Do you see this, son of Adam? You will see even more repulsive acts than these.”

when a tear is not a tear

Why would weeping by these women be seen as a repulsive act? They were mourning the change of the seasons — the death of Adonis. It was nature worship to the extreme. It would be followed by equally passionate wild living and sexual promiscuity as these same women would celebrate the rebirth of Adonis. It was all an act — a pagan ritual designed to get the gods to increase fertility, and to disguise sexual immorality by giving it a religious mask.

A tear is not a tear when it is aimed at getting people to reject God and his standard of truth and morality. When the world comes to us with tears in their eyes — claiming that we are being unfair to homosexuals and those who practice abortion — those tears are not tears. They are sermons. They are sermons preached against God and against his word. They are repulsive acts.

LORD, give us wisdom to realize when a tear is not a tear.

Posted in idolatry, sin | Tagged | Leave a comment

dig through the wall

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220722

Photo by ShonEjai on Pexels.com

dig through the wall

Ezekiel 8:7-13 (JDV)

Ezekiel 8:7 Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, I noticed a hole in the wall.
Ezekiel 8:8 He said to me, “Son of Adam, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and noticed a doorway.
Ezekiel 8:9 He said to me, “Go in and see the repulsive, guilty acts they are committing here.”
Ezekiel 8:10 I went in and looked, and there engraved all around the wall was every kind of repulsive thing – crawling creatures and beasts – as well as all the idols of the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 8:11 Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing in front of them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a fire-pan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up.
Ezekiel 8:12 He said to me, “Son of Adam, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? You see, they are saying, ‘Yahveh does not see us. Yahveh has abandoned the land.'”
Ezekiel 8:13 Again he said to me, “You will see even more repulsive acts that they are committing.”

dig through the wall

The prophet was told to dig through the wall. If he just went beyond the surface, he would find all kinds of vile practices done not by the fringe of society, but by its religious leaders. They do these things away from the public, but they are not afraid of doing them before God. Why? They “are saying, ‘Yahveh does not see us.”

The secret sins are the result of a kind of atheism. They have abandoned a sincere faith in God and are doing everything for show.

What would happen today if we dug through a few walls, and exposed what our leaders are doing in secret? What would be the result if we exposed our leaders — religious, political, social — for what they truly believe?

LORD, give us the courage to expose the darkness — to dig through the wall.

Posted in hypocrisy, leadership | Tagged | Leave a comment

even more

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220721

Photo by Malte Luk on Pexels.com

even more

Ezekiel 8:5-6 (JDV)

Ezekiel 8:5 He said to me, “Son of Adam, point your eyes north.” I pointed my eyes north, and noticed this offensive statue north of the Altar Gate, at the entrance.
Ezekiel 8:6 He said to me, “Son of Adam, do you see what they are doing here – more repulsive acts that the house of Israel is committing – so that I must distance myself from my sanctuary? You will see even more repulsive acts.”

even more

In this chapter, Ezekiel sees several visions of what is going on among the people of Israel, and they disgust him. But the LORD keeps telling him that he will see still greater abominations than these. It is not comforting to know that things are bad and they are going to get worse. But sometimes it is the truth. These were God’s people, and yet they had turned their back on him, and were engaging in the lewd and violent worship of pagan deities. The LORD promises to act in wrath, his eye not sparing, his ears not listening to their cries.

LORD, forgive us, and heal our land. Help us to reject the unfaithfulness of our generation, and turn back to you, before you strike in wrath.

Posted in judgment | Tagged | Leave a comment

offensive and impressive

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220720

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

offensive and impressive

Ezekiel 8:1-4 (JDV)

Ezekiel 8:1 It happened in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord Yahveh fell on me.
Ezekiel 8:2 Then I looked, and noticed someone who looked like a man. From what seemed to be his waist down was fire, and from his waist up was something that looked bright, like the gleam of amber.
Ezekiel 8:3 He stretched out what appeared to be a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head. Then the Breath lifted me up between the land and the sky and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner gate that faces north, where the offensive statue that provokes jealousy was located.
Ezekiel 8:4 I noticed the impressive appearance of the God of Israel there, like the vision I had seen in the plain.

offensive and impressive

Ezekiel saw the offensive statue that was provoking God to jealousy and the impressive appearance of God in the same place. He knew that things could not stay that way. One or the other must go. As long as his people continued to flirt with rebellion and evil, God would have to judge them.

Our society today wants to welcome all and defend all. It cannot happen. God’s glory will not stay where evil is welcomed. We will have to make a choice.

LORD, give us the wisdom to reject evilin all its forms.

Posted in commitment | Tagged | Leave a comment

the most evil of nations

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20220719

Photo by Mike on Pexels.com

the most evil of nations

Ezekiel 7:23-27 (JDV)

Ezekiel 7:23 Forge the chain, because the land is filled with crimes of bloodshed, and the city is filled with violence.
Ezekiel 7:24 So I will bring the most evil of nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their sacred places will be polluted.
Ezekiel 7:25 Anguish is coming! They will look for peace, but there will be none.
Ezekiel 7:26 Disaster after disaster will come, and there will be rumor after rumor. Then they will look for a vision from a prophet, but instruction will perish from the priests and counsel from the elders.
Ezekiel 7:27 The king will mourn; the prince will be clothed in grief; and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their own conduct, and I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am Yahveh.

the most evil of nations

Judah was not the most evil of nations. But God was going to send the most evil of nations to punish them. Does that seem unfair? It is. Fairness would seem to be that God would a less evil nation — like Judah to conquer Babylon. But behind God’s words through Ezekiel here is a heart of a father, breaking because he must do something to punish the rebellion of the children he loves. This love is tough love. If it takes an exile and the domination of the most evil of nations to get his people to turn back to him — that is what he is going to do.

LORD, thank you for your love — even your tough love.

Posted in judgment, rebellion | Tagged | Leave a comment