A Prophet Among Them
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted.
I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. (Ezekiel 2:3-5)
WE HAVE BEEN READING EZEKIEL IN OUR DAILY BIBLE READING and the message of Ezekiel is compelling.
GOD DID NOT SEND EZEKIEL TO HE JEWISH EXILES OF ISRAEL TO CONVERT THEM. They were prisoners in Babylon. Ezekiel’s mission was to deliver God’s message to the rebellious nation. Both Ezekiel and the people, were captives inside the land of Babylon. They didn’t get it. They would not admit that their sins against God had put them in chains as slaves to the Babylonians. God would eventually restore them to their homeland if they would repent and turn to God.
BUT, THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE BACK HOME IN A SHORT TIME. There were false prophets among them, urging them to cheer up and just continue as they had been before God sent judgment upon them. God sent Ezekiel among them and against their false prophets…. far away from home and far away from God.
EZEKIEL WAS SIMPLY TO BE A PROPHET AMONG THEM. There is a strong message here for the rest of us who are on the Lord’s side. We can learn about ourselves from Ezekiel. We need to know that we are doing God’s will in our day of apostasy and corruption. Our nation is not yet destroyed, but it remains to be seen what is going to become of the United States that is racing toward the bottom of civilization. Much of America has covered its ears against hearing anything from God.
WHEN I WAS SIXEEN, I THOUGHT THAT A GENERATION young people might be able to “convert” America. Billy Graham was going like a house afire and everywhere we turned, we saw churches exploding in growth and missionaries going to foreign countries. I didn’t know about the roots of depravity that can sink a nation in two generations. I was used to the Great Generation that could overcome the Great Depression, fight, and win the greatest World War in history. I was used to that kind of “get it done!” mentality. It’s easy to think that way when you’re sitting on top of the pile and your brain is mostly enthusiasm.
MY PROBLEM WAS MY EXTREME SHALLOWNESS IN MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE, American History and World History. Deep down, I was thinking that human will, and human ingenuity can do just about anything. If I had spent some nights with Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, I would have known to be more cautious about “winning the world to Christ in one generation.”
PART OF MY SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS was forgetting that each generation gives birth to a great number of children who are born with their own little minds and wills. They’re so cute in the hospital nursery and in thirteen years their friends will tell them what to think.
ADD TO THAT THE MILLIONS OF HAND-HELD ELECTRONIC GADGETS indoctrinate and motivate the children they have taken captive and you have a recipe for moral isolation from family, history, and the Word of God. Yes, they can get Bible apps on their gadgets but we all know that’s not a favorite.
ADD TO THAT, THE HUMANISTIC INDOCRINATION OF THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEM and you have a recipe for disaster. There are many fine Christian teachers working in the public-school system, but they teach from the textbooks handed them. If they don’t, they are fired.
WHEN YOU GET A NEW BABY AT YOUR HOUSE, you had better make God the priority before that child every day of its life. Your work is cut out for you. Money is important, but it’s not the priority. The soul and mind of your children are the priority. You have one very short shot at it. Teach and model God before your children.
GOD COMMANDED AND EMPHASIZED THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; (Deuteronomy 4:9)
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. (Proverbs 19:27)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
And that from a child thou (Timothy) hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2Timothy 3:15)
EZEKIEL WAS SENT ON AN ALMOST HOPELESS MISSION to a rebellious nation that had ignored God’s instructions and they were now on the edge of total destruction. They were slaves in Babylon and it could get worse. God could kill them all and blot out their memory. God did not give Ezekiel much hope of success. What kind of a mission is this where even the God of Heaven does not encourage you to think about success? …whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
Ezekiel, you’re going down this mountain road and the brakes are out, and the bridge is out at the bottom of the mountain. But Ezekiel, see what you can do with them. The most I can promise you is that the rebellious people you are going to will know that they have had a prophet among them. So, how are we doing in America?
In America, a thousand mothers a day are signing a piece of paper that authorizes a doctor to murder the baby in their wombs. Tomorrow, another thousand mothers will do the same thing. By the end of the month, thirty thousand different mothers will have signed a paper to pay a doctor to murder their baby. At the end of the year, over 360,000 different mothers will sign a paper giving a doctor permission to murder their babies. That’s a low figure. Since 1973, in 46 years, sixty million mothers have signed papers that authorized a doctor to murder their baby. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, is a landmark decision issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions. (Wikipedia)
And killing 60 million of the most helpless people among us is not the only rotten thing we are doing. We have a list of things we are doing because we have turned away from God and denied His authority over us. Our lips are our own. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? (Psalm 12:3-4)
What would Ezekiel say to America if God should send him to preach to us? How close are we to being destroyed by the hand of God? Ezekiel was carted off to Babylon as a captive teenager. His mission was to preach to those whom God had not yet killed for their wickedness. Such dumb sinners! They had seen blood and death of their own countrymen for their sins against God and they still would not repent and turn to their God. What would Ezekiel say to America? He would obey the Lord: “…thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.”
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 29, 2018 – FRIDAY
A.M. Job 16-18 P.M. Acts 9:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.
●Good Memory Verse: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. (Psalm 91:1-2)
(Write verses on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
●Song for Today: Standing on the Promises (1:50) (1st & 2nd Grades: Calvary Christian School)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOhhrDxc0HI&t=18s
●Health Hint: An apple a day will keep the doctor away. This old saying from Wales first appeared in America about 1860. There are three reasons raw apples are outstandingly good for our health. 1. They are high in potassium and we have a great need for a constant daily supply of potassium. 2. They are high in enzymes that digest themselves and cooked things in the stomach that have no enzymes. 3. Most apples are slightly sour, because of their malic acid. Thus, raw apples significantly shorten the time of our digestion All of this together (and more) make raw apples a winner in helping us stay healthy. Ω
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