Ezekiel (Session 6) Chapters 12-13

well we're exploring the Book of Ezekiel and we've set aside this evening for chapters 12 and 13 and so we need to understand as we go through this book that God was using Ezekiel not just to talk to those of Judah those that are still over there in Jerusalem are those that are in the second deportation with him in in the fields of Babylon the possibility is that he is talking to you and me as well in terms of what the idols we worship I think most of us are kneeling down before some carved image necessarily but if we need when you understand what an idol is and why it's dangerous and we also need understand what false prophets are now most of you know what they are you all have a television set so these things are compete for our attention I'm gonna suggest right up front that anything that distracts you from focusing on God is an idol or a false prophet it's that broad if you will and so we're gonna really focus zequals gonna focus on the and God's gonna focus through Ezekiel on the moral necessity of the captivity we all know about the captivity of Babylon in the 3dep interpretations the 70 years and all of that as a national catastrophe in Israel's history but it was morally necessary and that's what we're gonna deal with in the first a few chapters from chapters four one two and three where is calling chapters 4 to 11 he had his task him to show the necessity of Jerusalem's judgment because of her disobedience he demonstrated the fact of the siege that was coming by a whole bunch of Panta mines and strange conduct you may recall in those chapters and then after entering into these strange attention getters he then explained the reason for the siege that's coming in two messages that we went through now in chapters 12 through 19 not just the ones tonight but the next several of them we're gonna realize that God is focusing on the fact that people were still not ready to except the fact of Jerusalem's fall they all had an expectation this was temporary that God was going to free them from Nebuchadnezzar both Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in Babylon were trying to get across no this is God's judgment and they didn't accept that so now Zika is going to give a whole new series of signs and messages and this whole point is that any optimism here will be futile Jerusalem's fate had been sealed let me skip ahead to a conclusion I think will draw before the evening is over but let me put it right up front so you can measure it and consider it you have all heard me preach from second chronicles 7:14 Regatta piers of solomon and states the principle if my people who are called by my name they'll do for three event before things I'll do three if they'll humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven forgive their sin and heal their land you how many of you heard me okay it startled me to realize that Ezekiel's message is exactly the opposite the message that I preached typically from second Chronicles 7:14 is pretty much congruent with a message of the false prophets in their day the the false prophets in Jerusalem we're telling the people God's going to deliver us it's all going to be alright hang in there no just the opposite one of the things you and I need to think about we see the deterioration of our culture the myth of America the America that we knew in the 50s and 60s ain't there now the corruption in the courts the corruption in the mainline media fill in the bike we see everywhere we look is that temporary can we claim second Chronicles 7:14 and if if if if if if it may all change maybe or are we beyond that point of no return are we in that point where yes there'll be a remnant protected but God's judgment may already have started as we watch Katrina as we watch the floods the tornadoes as you watch the bankruptcy of our Treasury Department as we watch etc is it possible that the message we should be tuning into is Ezekiel's not the one of first Chronicles a second front of seven okay so let's go ahead here these messages were looking at here were in the 11-year interval between the second final deputation the first deputation Daniel in a few hostages were taken a vassal King your hike in was put in charge he tried to rebell they become Nezzer puts him down puts the uncle in charge Zedekiah and it's in that group the second siege that Ezekiel is taken at the age of 25 as one of the captives - - into the Babylonian Empire not to the city of Babylon but to a couple hundred miles away to the fields as slaves and so on there is a third siege coming that's going to result the destruction of Jerusalem and these messages by Ezekiel are between the time he was departed the second siege and this final deportation okay and we all the way through here we're dealing with deliberate symbols allegories and parables we're gonna find chapter 12 he's going to give two symbolic representations of flight from the besieged city he's going to mimic the fact that the remainders that are in Jerusalem we're gonna have to flee the city of besieged City and he's also going to deal with the false prophets of that are active in Jerusalem in chapter 15 which they're going to get to later next time it pictures Israel as a useless vine is a whole different idiom that he's going to use and we're going to also allegorically recall Israel's long history of unfaithfulness to her bridegroom in chapter 16 so we're in chapters 12 and 13 14 15 16 17 are together a packaged allegory we'll get into later and when you get to 17 we're gonna return the metaphor of the vine to emphasize Zedekiah's disloyalty Zedekiah is bad news it's interesting to discover that Nebuchadnezzar kept his word he's a pretty good guy doing what he does Zedekiah was shifty didn't keep his promises bad scene then chapter 18 is going to answer objections to the idea of divine punishment and the analysis of individual responsibility that's going to pinch us when we get down there let's and then chapter 19 will burst forth in a dirge over the princes of Judah the leadership itself and then of course of Judah itself this is all a preamble because after he really hammers Jerusalem and Judah in the next several chapters when you get to chapter 25 to 32 the scene shifts to all the nations around Jerusalem and we're going to go through an inventory of all the Muslim nations in Ezekiel but we'll commence again he resisted chapter 12 verse 1 the word of the Lord also came unto me saying there's that phrase that we constantly see five times in this chapter alone the word of the Lord came unto me that's not a casual use of phrase if that was used inappropriately it was subject to the death penalty in Israel this the word of the Lord came to me it introduces 10 of the eleven signs and in chapters 12 to 19 there's one exception that I won't bother getting into here so demand out dwellest in the midst of a brie Bella's house which had eyes to see and see not they have ears to hear and hear not for they are a rebellious house it's interesting this idea of stopped ears and closed eyes is an idiom all through the scripture it sounds so familiar because shows up in Deuteronomy in Isaiah and Jeremiah and in the book of Acts common phrase the people don't hear because they don't want to hear and that's the most dangerous kind you know there's only one barrier to truth that it's the ultimate barrier of truth and that's the presumption you already have it that closes out any appeal and the result of their deafness the result of perversity not incapacity they are willfully blind and deaf is that true today judge for yourself you know once the Pharisees accused use of working as miracles by the power of Satan remember that in Matthew chapter 12 and from that day on he began to withhold from them his truth in Chapter 12 of Matthew he changes his style up to that point he's been Chet well I should say in Chapter 12 they accuse him of doing his things by his Satan from that point on he never speaks in public except in parables and they weren't to teach they were there to hide that sounds shocking but reach at Matthew 13 Sakhi in key insight and from and from that point on in public he only spoke of parables he only explained the parables in private he began withholding the message from them and that all led to the seven kingdoms as they're often called of Matthew 13 and he explained why he's speaking in parables and he quotes from Ezekiel the hearing they won't hear and seeing they won't see it's a form of judgment in effect you and I do not want to fall into that same trap you don't want to fall into the trap of spiritual deafness or blindness continue verse 3 therefore Son of Man prepare the stuff for removing that word stuff nothing nothing quaint about the King James I don't you can't improve on that you know I love that thing in dan Frye Daniel 5 or speaks of Belshazzar his knees smoked one against the other you can improve on that anyway therefore thou son of man prepare these stuff for removing removed by day in their sight and also remove from my place to another place in their sight it may be they will consider though they be a rebellious house the word removing and remove is for and to our ears but you need to understand that in Old English removing is the term they use for relocating changing your address and so Ben Franklin is famous for quoting in Poor Richard's Almanack he says three removes are like a good fire you know if you've moved three times that's as good as that he had your stuff further away it's it's a remove isn't is a term that being Old English term even colonial English of what we would consider relocation they're moving from plate from headdress to address so he wanted he wanted Ezekiel to act out like he is moving do it during the day doing at night he's trying to get across by this mimicking that that's what the people in Jerusalem were facing thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day on the site as stuff for removing and thou shall go forth even at their sight as they go forth unto captivity the people would recognize that because six years ago they did the same thing when they were deported you know in the second deportation the first action be the daytime was followed by a second action in the evening all ideas they that is to get across that this is acting out a threat that hangs over them in other words there's these are symbolic to indicate they're going to be fleeing from city to city to try to avoid capture and what he's trying to do God trying to through Ezekiel is to separate them from their complacency and they lukewarmness if I can use that term they knew their city was under vassal rule not a not their own rule it was under a vassal king and that vassal king was not knuckling under to nebuchadnezzar they had an attitude throughout the thing that it was just temporary things we're going to get better so you're not listening to the prophets to either Jeremiah and Jerusalem or Ezekiel in Babylon they're both giving the same message to the respective constituents he tells you go dig now through the wall in their sight and carry out thereby don't use a door dig through the wall again you're trying to you know create a sense of desperation here in their sight thou shalt bear it upon my shoulders carry it forth in the twilight thou shalt cover thy face that thou see not the ground remember that phrase it's going to be very interesting here in a minute that thou seed not the ground for I have sent thee for a sign unto the house of Israel he's doing this theatrically to get their attention this isn't something he's doing he's doing it in a pantomime sense if you will okay and he was to pretend that he was being taken captive dig through the wall carry his belongings you know like a like a in a knapsack or something because I did so as I was commanded I brought forth my stuff I like that phrase by day as stuff for captivity and in the even I dig through the wall in my hand and I brought it forth from the Twilight I bared upon my shoulder in their sight and in the morning came the word of the Lord done to me saying son of man hath not the house of Israel the rebellious house said unto thee what doest thou in other words he's acknowledging by this opening that the curiosity the people have been aroused they're watching what's going on he got their attention now we can having got their attention he can deliver the message say thou unto them thus saith the Lord God key phrase don't take that for granted that's an authenticated phrase thus saith the Lord God this burden considered the Prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel that are among them the burden concern with the Prince there's a play on in the Hebrew that's been transfer here there's a play on words equipment of the leader is the load and there's a play on words they're a little bit the words are very similar by the way I want you to know something else nowhere in Ezekiel does he refer to Zedekiah as the king he sees him as in fact in charge but not legally he's there because he's been appointed he also has violated his oath of office so so he always refers to him as a prince not the king little subtlety but it's a form of put down by Ezekiel in Chronicles other places you leave Zedekiah as the king because he's important to be Knesset to be the king but he he ain't really as far as Ezekiel is concerned okay let's do that raises the whole issue of Zedekiah he was Judas last king for about 599 to 588 BC he was the youngest son of Josiah that fabulous King that preceded him and his wife he was a brother johor has he was 10 years old when his father died 21 when he mounted the throne so he's a young man but it's pretty weak in crafty and in in devious his original name was met Ania Nebuchadnezzar changed his name to Zedekiah when he deposed his nephew jaya chin okay now Zedekiah proves that nebuchadnezzar treated him tight because he allowed him to choose a new name and and confirming it as a mark of his supremacy Zedekiah in hebrew means the righteousness of your father or Yahweh or however you want to say it so is that a Chaya heyyo if you will he's the righteousness of yot zedek remember Adonai zedek the Lord of righteousness righteousness okay and this is the Chaya is the righteousness of Yahweh if you will are you over this name was also allowed by Nebuchadnezzar to be a pledge of his righteously keeping the Covenant with Nebuchadnezzar he who made him swear by God in ezekiel 17 this will come up again in second chronicles 36 have it recorded Zedekiah swore an oath of allegiance to me because ER and he violates that and that's what he's going to get punished for my god end by nebuchadnezzar so he if he kept his oath of off of a fealty if you will he would have been safe but dependent upon nebuchadnezzar but he was weak vacillating treacherous he's conniving he's trying to make an alliance with Egypt behind the scenes that will go through oiling it man he brought ruin upon his country and upon himself if he hadn't done that Jerusalem would have been destroyed because of its fooling around and not keeping his word the city of Jerusalem was leveled it was through the anger of Yahweh or yo-yo D Vava is that rabbis might process against the anger got against Judah that Zedekiah was given up to his own rebellious devices stiffening the neck and hardening his heart from turning to the Lord God of Israel to quote it from the scripture and so he would not humble himself there's lots of Scripture you can dig that on your own we'll keep moving here God says say I am your sign like as I have done so shall be done unto them they shall remove and go into captivity this was his way of trying to get their attention that the people in Jerusalem Freed's they also there's going to be a third deputation the final winner I am you're signed Ezekiel saying and what he does in the presence of these exhales expressing what before long what's going to happen there in Jerusalem couple hundred miles away to the west and and the prince that is among them there he is that phrase again shall bear upon his shoulder the Twilight and shall go forth and they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby and he shall cover his face that he see not the ground with his eyes there that phrases again and this refers to Zedekiah the sky even the King Zedekiah is going to disguise himself and try to slip through a some kind of new exit and then in Jeremiah talks about he went forth out of the city by night by way of the King's garden by the gate betwixt two walls that's the way it's described in Jeremiah we're gonna look at it in another way here in a minute then he's seen off the ground with his eyes that turns out to be quite prophetic you'll see in a minute here and then verse thirteen I want to remember to zekiel twelve thirteen it's a very interesting historical phrase for a number of reasons I'll show you God says my net will I spread upon him and he shall be taken in my snare I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the chaldeans yet he shall not see it though he shall die there that seems straightforward enough not so much not so quick he shall not see it Josephus relates something very interesting that Ezekiel sends this prophecy to Jerusalem and Zedekiah finding an apparent discrepancy or contradiction if you will because one says he's going to die in Babylon the other guy says he'll never see Babylon and he makes fun of them you prophets can't even get your story straight well let's see what happens there because of Jeremiah I'm switching into it but not from his EEP - Jeremiah 32 verse four and five it reads Zedekiah the king of Judah shall not escape out of the land of the Chaldeans but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon and shall speak with him mouth to mouth and his eyes shall behold his eyes and shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon and there shall he she be till I visit him say at the Lord though you fight with the Chaldeans ya ye shall not prosper that's a phrase from Jeremiah 32 in Jeremiah a couple chapters later and cherubi 34 thou shalt not escape out of his hand but but shall surely be taken be delivered into his hand then I shall behold the kings of the king of Babel and they shall speak with the mouth to mouth and thou shalt go to pretty much the same kind of phrase there's a guy by the name of Josephus many of you probably have his complete works his two major works the antiquities the Jews the wars is the Jews they are of actually very fascinating reading many of us as Christians should take a little time to go through those I'm going to take the liberty somebody don't normally do but we're gonna read just two little excerpts from Josephus just directly to get a flavor of it this is from Flavius Josephus in his the work called antiquities of the Jews in book number ten and in Chapter seven starting the second most section now Zedekiah was 21 years old when he took the government need the same mother and with his brother Jahi chin but was they despised er of justice and of his duty for the truth for truly those of the same age with him were wicked about him and the whole multitude did what unjust an insolent things they pleased for which reason the Prophet Jeremiah came often to him Joseph is writing by the way in the first century he was an eyewitness to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD so he's he's a contemporary to the book of Acts if you will that's why is Thomas understand he's not inspired Word of God but it's a very interesting historian and his histories are very and by the way he does speak of Jesus by the way but I'm gonna get into that here which reason that Prophet Jeremiah came often to him protested to him and insisted that he must leave office and piety and transgressions and take care of what was right and neither give ear to the rulers among whom were wicked men nor give credit to those their false prophets who diluted them as if the king of Babylon would make no more war against him as if the Egyptians would make war against him and conquer him since what they said was not true and the events would not prove such as they expected and he said I was concentrating trying to get the Pharaoh of Egypt to back him and to get free from Nebuchadnezzar and in the gutter now Zedekiah himself when he heard the Prophet speak he believed him and agreed everything is true and suppose it was for his advantage but when his friends perverted him and dissuaded him from what the Prophet advised and obliged him to do as they pleased Mzee coal also foretold in Babylon what calamities work you see first you talk about Jeremiah Ezekiel Ezekiel also foretold in Babel and what calamities were coming from the people which when they heard he sent accounts four of them unto Jerusalem but Zedekiah did not believe their prophecies for the reason following it happened that the two prophets agreed with one another in what they said as in all other things that the city should be taken as Enoch I himself should be taken captive but Ezekiel disagreed with him and said Zedekiah should not see Babylon well Jeremiah said to him the king of Babylon should carry him away hither in bonds and because they did not both say the same thing as to the circumstance he disbelieved what they both appeared to agree in and condemned them as not speaking the truth therein although all the things for told him did come to pass according to their prophecies as we shall show upon fiter opportunity now the city was taken on the ninth day of the fourth month in the level year of the reign of Zedekiah they were indeed only generals of the king of Babylon to whom Nebuchadnezzar committed the care of the siege for he abode himself in the city of reblog see we've skipped we're headed in chapter 8 now absorbs the names of these generals who ravage and subdue Jerusalem for anyone desired know them are these new lists the names that are mispronounced if I try and on me well let me dig all Terrorizer senator animo Rob Cyrus sorry him and here's the entering of Rob Mack and Rob MOG is the leader of the Magi the term the Babylonians picked up that the Persians of course use but let's go ahead here and when the city was taken about midnight and the enemy's generals weren't entered into the temple and when Zedekiah was sensible of it he took his wives and children and his captains and his friends and with them fled out of the city through the fortified ditch and through the desert and when certain of the deserters had informed the Babylonians of this at the break of day they made haste to pursue after Zedekiah overtook him not far from Jericho and encompassed him about but for those friends and captains of Zedekiah who had fled out of the city with him when they saw their enemies near them they left him and dispersed themselves some one way and some another and everyone resolved to save himself so the enemy took Zedekiah alive when he was deserted by all but a few with his children and his wives and brought him to the king and when he was come Nebuchadnezzar began to call him a wicked wretch and a covenant breaker and one that had forgotten his former words when he promised to keep the country for him this for Nebuchadnezzar he also reproached him for his ingratitude that when he had received the kingdom from him who had taken it from Jahi gen and given it to him he had made use of the power he gave him against him that gave it but said he got his Great who hated the conduct of nine and hath brought thee under us and when he'd used these words a Zedekiah he'd get this he commanded his sons and his friends to be slain that's before his very eyes and while Zedekiah and the rest of his captains looked on after which he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him and carried him to babylon and these things happened to him as jeremiah ezekiel it foretold that he should be caught he would brought before the king of babylon that he should speak to him face to face that he should see his eyes with his own eyes and thus far did Jeremiah prophesy but he also was made blind and brought to Babylon and did not see it according to the prediction Ezekiel so he didn't see Babylon yet he died there now why am i making a big finger this well first of all Josephus did as a matter of the you know the awareness in the in the early centuries but it's also interesting because we also learn from this what we would call a hermeneutical lesson when you deal with God watch this fine print God means what he says and says what he means I never used the word approximate or about in the Bible study if it's right it's right on nothing approximate God knows what he's doing and knows what it means and you can go through all of this and you notice if you want to anyway this late we're dealing here with the siege of course the third importation and that's that terrible siege followed so that mother's boiled and ate the flesh of their own infants you and I cannot imagine that kind of desperation you and I can't imagine living in a culture where you wake up one man you look over the wall and you realize you're surrounded by a manatee it's prepared to stand there the Roman if they were Romans they'd stay 25 years if necessary to starve you out they'd seal off the city no one can go in or out no matter of time before you just starve to death mother's boiled and ate the flesh of their own infants and the visit of their nobles was blacker than coal and their skin clave to their bones and became withered the Bible is not a soft-pedaling book it's rated par or worse it's graphic it deals with ugliness as well as beauty it deals with the depravity of man and it's remedy on the ninth day of the fourth month in the middle of July after a year and a half siege from the 10th month to the 9th year to the fourth month of the 11th year of Zedekiah about midnight a breach was made in the wall babel and princes took their seats in the state and the middle gate between the upper and lower city Zedekiah fled in the opposite directions to the namely southwards with muffled face to scape recognition like one digging through a wall to escape exactly what ezekiel was pana mining earlier between the two walls on the east and west sides the terapia valley by a street issuing at the gate above the royal gardens at the fountain of Salome you can trace all this on the map of Jerusalem feel like the other cars overtaking the plains of Jericho for judgment to Riblet the upper end of Lebanon and their Nebuchadnezzar first killed his sons before his eyes and caused the eyes of Zedekiah to be dug out that's the phrase used there in Jeremiah both 39 and 52 this comes up thus were fulfilled apparently while say ostensibly inconsistent prophecies it's interesting how often when you see an apparent discrepancy in scripture if you dig behind that you make a discovery something that seems contradictory is actually revealing a more subtle truth God always rewards the diligent God is literal by the way Psalm 138 verse 2 is one of the several places where God places his word above his name it does you have to read my scriptures God holds his name sacred there's only one thing I know of that's more sacred than his name that's his word this is word when Daniel read Jeremiah who spoke of seven years captivity Daniel took Jeremiah literally not allegorically not figuratively whenever someone in the Bible reads the Bible you'll notice he always in those situations takes it literally Jesus quoted from the Old Testament he always applied it literally never figuratively and that's you know you'll always find that in your own Bible study so I challenge you to check that out continuing the same account let's look take a look at a house recorded in second Kings came to pass the ninth year of his reign in the tenth month on the tenth day of the month the Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came he and all his hosts against Jerusalem pitched against it and they built forts against it roundabout in the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of Zedekiah Mary there know this Sea Kings uses the term king Ezekiel does not know the ninth day of the fourth month was the famine prevailed the city and there was no bread for the people to land the city has broken up on all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls which is by the King's garden Novik alvie's were against the city roundabout the king went away toward the plain and the army of the calories pursued after the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army were scattered from him so they took the king and brought him up to king of Babylon to rubella and they gave judgment upon him they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with fetters of brass and Caren Penland I want to include the biblical record I thought it'd be interesting for us to read through the asifa's thing just for the experience but it's always the biblical record that we lean on here but there's a contrast here's a nakiya was a bad dude he was deceptive wicked guy he broke his treaty with Nebuchadnezzar he broke his treaty you may not like Nebuchadnezzar but he he's worn off Nebuchadnezzar the pagan King was more honorable than the man on Israel stone that's the reality here Zedekiah for breaking his oath of allegiance was blinded and died in captivity Babel and he's getting he got his just deserts continue Ezekiel 12 and I would scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him and all his bands and I will draw out the sword after them and they shall know that I am the Lord there's that phrase again when I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them in countries you notice something strange there is there something strange about verse 15 is that talking about the babylonian period i don't think so i will scatter them among the nations i personally suspect that we need to treat some of these passages the way we do the psalms you'll notice all through the book of psalms there's these little nuggets tucked away and this is one of those i think this is the diaspora in view I think Ezekiel maybe unknowingly saw far beyond the Babylonians here all his Bam's that's the men of number easily counted the capture of the king would naturally be followed by the dispersion of his adherence some of whom would call fall by the sword while a few the Hebrew word there is men of number that is easily counted would escape to some nearby country where they might hope to find a refuge you'd have to tell their tale of shame of course that's part of what God has in mind you'll discover here is to let some escape so that that word will get out they'll know that yo Dave Ave was punishing their abominations continue verse 16 in chapter 12 but I will leave a few men of them from the sword from there I will leave a few men of them from the sword from the famine from the pestilence that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whether they come and they shall know that I am the Lord so the planning some of the survivors I'm reminded in in warfare very common trick of the turkey Turkish command was to slip through a place and slit every other man's throat and then slip away does so that we build the reputation not all of them but if you wake up and discover then out of 100 there were a few that were spared why do you get the word out thing the interesting God is concerned for the honor of his name moreover the word of the Lord came to me chapter 12 verse 17 saying son of man eat thy bread with quaking and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness he's talking about a pan of mine he's talking about getting among his people ceremonially and doing a pan of mine eat thy bread with quaking and drink their water with trembling carefulness he's creating it what I would call a pan of mine of famine and this is contrary back in chapter 4 he did something like this there the emphasis the message was this food would be scarce here it's the terror not just a scarcity of famine there's big difference between having a scarcity and having famine the sin of the people the land thus saith the Lord God of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the Land of Israel they shall eat their bread with carefulness or anxiety if you will and drink their water with astonishment that her land may be desolate from all that is therein because of the violence of them that dwell therein and the the pen of mine that Ezekiel was intended to frighten them there's two different groups here the people of the land those are the Jews and in throughout khaldiya that have already been deported by Babylon they're the Exile as if you will they thought they were miserable because they were exiled from their home city they envied those that were back in Jerusalem they didn't know the half of it they were well off compared to Jerusalem now the Land of Israel that's in contrast with the people of the land of Chaldea so far from being fortunate as the exiled from Chaldea regarding the Jews in Jerusalem were truly miserable for the worst is yet a head for them the exhales have escaped the miseries of the siege yes their captives and the slave Labor's in Babylon but the ones in Jerusalem are going to be under siege we can the horrors of a siege of something else the cities that are habitants shall be laid waste the land shall be desolate and he shall know that i am the lord those left under these are those are left in Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem the word Lord came to me saying settlement what is that proverb that she have in the Land of Israel saying the days are prolonged and every vision faileth that was a proverb that is going to be attacked here if you will that the days are prolonged in every vision faileth that's exactly what you hear today by people who disparage Bible prophecy well it keeps going people thought it was good the Lord was coming back in 1800 and the people thought of 18 in 1988 and they did speculate because it didn't happen so therefore prophecies off that's it that's the proverbial approach here so that's not new here this is throughout history that's been the cry of those who have little or no faith that well the day's keep going and what you said doesn't come happen doesn't come true now that's you can find that all through the scripture well as the surprise coming see it's going to again be the characteristic of the end times when faith will be regarded as an antiquated thing seeing that it remains stationary same thing in Luke 18 will the Lord when the Lord comes back with the Lord find faith on the earth see worldly Arts and Sciences progress and when the contains of all things from creation that's going to be the fact that things go like they've always been is an argument against the possibility of their being suddenly brought to a standstill by the creator and that leads to another paradox I want to get out here by the way see the very long-suffering of God should be a blessing that should lead us to repentance that he's that patient he's given us an opportunity it shouldn't be twisted to be an argument against his truth the fact that he hasn't judged us praise God we've got some time yet the fact that he does it hasn't judges it does meaning ain't go no that's the point I'm guess I'm trying to get it and we're gonna pick up some more this here in a minute tell them therefore thus saith the Lord God I will make this proverb decease and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel but say to them the days are at hand and the effect of every vision for there shall be no more any vain vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel the days are at hand there Israel's time is up and the question we need to think about ourselves is ours is the time for America over four years I've preached second Chronicles 7:14 but I have the uncomfortable feeling a tentative feeling it's not a final conclusion but I'm beginning to strongly suspect that we've crossed over that we had a chance that doesn't mean it's over for us what we each need to do is find out what God has called us to and get about doing it you said you were running out of energy we're running out of food no we're running out of time we're running out of time chapter 13 is going to elaborate on verse 24 we'll get there in a minute for I am the Lord I will speak in the word that I shall speak she'll come to pass and shall no more be no more prolonged for in your days over rebellious house I will say the word and will performance saith the Lord I somehow your yul brenner saying so let it be written so let it be done you and I are also I believe running out of time one of the frequent thoughts that runs through my mind and it comes up in limber places I've been lately is why are there tears in heaven in heaven there's no death no sin no sickness no lack of knowledge of God go through a whole list of things there right God will wipe away the tears that our eyes great why are there any tears at all why are there going to be tears in heaven I think there's only one conjecture that I have I think what will be weeping over is lost opportunities when we're before the judgment seat of Christ in her life is portrayed before us and the rewards are given out for those that are faithful and all of that I think many of us most of us probably are going to be overwhelmed as we realize the opportunities we've wasted or lost as we look back at our lives we think about the times that we just wasted spent precious days doing nothing of consequence when we could have been doing something for our King we could have been showing showing some kind of diligence some kind of faithfulness in this little bootcamp we call life which is nothing but a boot camp for heaven our eternal destiny is going to be determined by how we use the opportunities before us now oh I think if we somehow can get now what I call a kingdom perspective I think it so we've got some time left you can't do anything about yesterday and tomorrow is just to hope your critical day is today what are you doing for him today no more prolonged he says I want you to notice how he dwells on that word prolonged as though he had specially stirred his indignation the word of the Lord came unto me saying son of man behold they of the house of Israel say the vision that he seeth is for many days to come and he prophesied the times that are far off see the next best thing if you deny prophecy is that well it's so far off who knows you know it's way off well they thought Jesus was coming back yeah in it pick an age you know they always did that dust they assume he's not gonna come back next week they may be in for a surprise to the first proverb there's two Proverbs being addressed first proverb protect by zekiel expressed the peoples about the fact of God's judgment is God really going to judge the second proverb expresses the doubts about the imminency of the gut judgment there's no end so we'll get to that therefore saying to them thus saith the Lord God there shall none of my words be prolonged anymore but the word which I have spoken will shall be done saith the Lord God prolonged anymore false prophets have been contradicting God's true messengers in Jerusalem in jeremiah 28 and in babylon jeremiah 29 false prophets have been contradicting God's true messengers throughout history and they are today on your radio and TV they're optimistic predictions would soon cease as God hastened to fulfill his word the word eminence that word spelled differently means different things of course and what we're talking about here see there is is it's the night it could happen at any moment that's what it means by its eminent there's no intervening conditions required and these are mechanisms by which one cries to intellectual you somehow get out from under the scope of some prophecy well it's later though the church is going to go through the tribulation it's not going to be a rapture over there all these kinds of ideas it's clear from your study of the scriptures especially the Testament that Jesus Christ wanted us to be in a position of moment-by-moment expectation he instructed us to expect him at any moment the next 10 seconds next 10 minutes before you get home tonight that's the idea that's what he wanted us to to have that attitude that's what we call the doctrine of imminence many good scholars don't accept that but I think it's so clearly taught it's not readable we tend to stay closer to him if he might drop in on us at any moment I want to just depart here for a moment and take a look at second Peter 3 this is a very interesting insights in Peters letter he says knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming are there people you know that are doubters of Bible prophecy sure they're not that's nothing new where's the promise if I come here's the surprising aspect of this here's their rebuttal to prophecy for since the father's fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation did you realize that the concept of evolution is ungodly for a number of reasons not just because it doesn't explain origins doesn't there's a deeper issue here someone that believes in evolution is denying the idea that a Supreme Being is intruding in history creation in prophecy are linked by the understanding that God intervenes in history he intervened to create at the first place he's going to intervene to end it in effect those that want to deny his judgment that's coming need to find some way of explaining things without his intervention well it all just happened well first there was nothing and then it exploded the Big Bang whatever see there is a essential requirement to understand that you and I are not here by some cosmic accident we're here by someone's deliberate design and the designer has an accountability it's going to come home to roost that's the issue people that deny prophecy people that deny creation are people that are trying to escape accountability by denial they're scoffing a prophecy there's many different ways to deny a truth one way say yay hath God said did he really say that that's one approach another is that was that's not what God meant that he really didn't mean it literally he meant it spiritually or some other fuzzy concept that's called liberalism don't up being facetious that's what liberalism is it's not tolerance it's being intolerant of anybody else's view first of all there's an expression of skepticism about the second coming of Jesus Christ notice for this they are willingly ignorant of that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished see one thing that's not obvious until you study this passage carefully is that there's a link between prophecy and creation the concept that God intervenes in man's history man's history did not just happen by random events of the cosmos we teach our kids that their random-access and then wonder why we have Columbo in high school why they have no sense of destiny how could they have if there's just some kind of cosmic accident who cares God created man the concept of God creating man is consistent and part of the concept that God will also intervene in history God cares he's involved you are not an accident that brings us to chapter 13 chapter 12 denounce the false expectations of people this chapters denounced the false leaders who fed those expectations the false prophets there's two classes of them those that were represented in some object of worship other than the true God male and Moloch knew naman Elijah's contest with veil is a good romantic example in first Kings 18 the second kind of those who falsely purported to speak in the name of your anyboby two kinds those that are called it directly those that are cults are cult and cults you see the difference cults are those that claim to be Christian and/or not a cults are unabashedly non-christian the UH cult that's spooky stuff that's we call that the alcohol cults are Jeremy's technically here for those that claim to be Christians and or not Java's witnesses the mormons you could go through a list all I'm saying is that their beliefs are not biblical and there's examples of that some of the strongest enunciation of false prophets come from Jeremiah he opposed them not just on the intellectual grounds on moral personal and political grounds and during the dying gasp of Jerusalem Hananiah false prophet opposed to Maya at home a hab Zedekiah different header Zedekiah not the king of three different Celtic ayahs don't get them confused Zedekiah assumed AI opposed him in Babylon Zedekiah the Prince of the King was in Jerusalem there's also a Zedekiah running around babbling some of the Messier I over the son of a he was a false prophet and babbling among the captives if you will there's also another Zedekiah son of Jimmy aha a false prophet and days of ahab in a different time but so what the word is that a kaien throw you it wasn't unusual in Ezekiel in this chapter also exposed the false prophets and the false prophet is this the only place I know of where it really deals with the women at the word of the Lord came unto me saying son of man prophesy against the prophets of Israel the prophesy and say to them that prophecy prophesy out of their own hearts prophesy out of their own hearts not of the Spirit neither nartz hear ye the word of the Lord that's critical the sin of men denounced was that they prophesied out of their own hearts and followed their own spirit instead of yo Dave Ave that's the that's the error that's being emphasized here thus saith the Lord God one of the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and they have seen nothing there's a stronger phrase in the Hebrew here it's tragedy foolish prophets it's a little strong in the Hebrew it's that the prophets the fools and there's also a play on words here now beam is the spokesman prophets and now believe is foolish senseless fool so there's sort of a a play on words going on here another way you could have translated as the profitless prophets you say that comes close to doing the same kind of play on words in English but anyway that's I mentioned it's nothing it's that important but we're missing by translation all these subtleties through the thing and that's why you never want to deal with a paraphrase you want to deal with the best translation you can and even then get in behind it if you can so o Israel by prophets are like the foxes in the deserts foxes what's all that about well a fox is coming Luke 13 it's applied to Herot and tippet us it spoils the mine and it's fruits Song of Solomon Israel being the vineyard in Proverbs but some 80 and also Isaiah 55 the Fox burrows among the ruins in several places so the false prophets here are liked likened to foxes which are looked at idiomatically as spoilers we think they're cute and have other feelings maybe but they're used biblically as cutting intruders that are ruinous if you will and so these props prophets made their profit out of the ruin of Israel and made that ruin even worse and so you have not going up into the gaps neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the Battle of the day of Lord and this day of the Lord term here appears to be the coming judgment by the Babylonians but it may have a broader application in some other ways here and into the gaps this verse really mixes two images the breaches in the wall on the one hand and the fact that the false prophets hadn't repaired those breaches if you will both of our crew here yeah I'm not going up into the gaps neither and so forth you know and made up the hedge the hedge is a term reading from Isaiah 5 the hedge around the vineyard that's intend to protect the vineyard it had been broken through and they've done nothing to repair it that's the thought that lies behind this the day of battle the day of the Lord had come and they were betraying the people instead of helping them they have seen vanity in lying divination saying the Lord sayeth the Lord hath not sent them see they were saying the Lord is Lord sayeth the Lord hath not sent them and they have made others to hope that they could they would confirm the word lying divination to gain knowledge of secret things by some superstitious means that was forbidden in Israel it was a capital crime to cast a horoscope and Israel was a capital crime think about that it's not just a play against silly ignorance no these things are dangerous and that's why they were forbidden dividing in general disparaged have you not seen a vain vision and have you not spoken allowing divination whereas you say the lord hath said it albeit i have not spoken therefore thus saith the lord god there's that phrase again because you have spoken vanity and seen lies therefore behold i am against you say at the lord god and mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity and divine lies they shall not be in the Assembly of my people neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel neither shall they enter into the land of Israel and he shall know that I am the Lord now there's a lot in here he's talking about my people seven times in this chapter it's my people he is so hostile to the false prophets because he regards those people as dear to him and the false prophet are cheating them and betraying them confusing them that's why it's so angry about it and they shall neither shall he be written in the writing he's contemplating here a new register in which their names will never appear interesting free fall punishment in the New Kingdom they shall not be in the Assembly of my people they shall not be enrolled in the register of the list and apparently conflicts a whole new register here it's fing ly enough and neither shall they enter the land of Israel so they're going to be dispossessed of their inheritance because even because they every seduced my people saying peace there was no peace and one build up a wall and the others dubbed it was untempered mortar the middle of a wall and they didn't put mortar they put plaster so it looks like it's been solid it's not it's it's a form of something it's it's just it's just plastering a wall the word in the Hebrew means a false or thin wall like a party wall a temporary partition kind of thing the prophets were the false prophets were compounding Israel's difficulties by hiding problems that needed to be exposed that's the part of the concept here saying to them which dabbled with untempered mortar it shall fall there shall be an over flowing shower and ye and oh great hailstones shall fall in the stormy wind shall rend it that wall is not going to hold in other words untempered mortar the word untempered unseasoned and it's plaster nut mortar it's in the technical terms the Hebrew imply that Ezekiel was acquainted with the technical vocabulary of his time interestingly enough and lo in the fall that when the wall has fallen shall it not be said unto you where's the dobbing wherewith he dubbed it the wall is the same word again and therefore thus saith the Lord God I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury and there shall be an overflowing shower in my Niger and great hailstones in my fury to consume it so will I break down the wall that ye have dug with untempered mortar and bring it down to the ground so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered and it shall fall and he shall can it show and he shall be consumed in midst thereof ye shall know that I am the Lord he's being both physically but also spiritually here there's that wall again he shall be consumed in the midst of it the prophets were buried the false prophets were buried in beneath under the collapsing walls and it's described in the scripture thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall and upon them that have dubbed it with untempered mortar and I will Sandy you the wall is no more neither they that dubbed it to it the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem and which see visions of peace for her where and there is no peace saith the Lord God remember 1st Thessalonians 5 actually several are you already pointing you recognizing that when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them and as a travel upon a woman with child and they shall not escape for in these fight that first thessalonians 5:3 it's an echo of the same concept here that's yet future 2nd Peter also deals with these false prophecies there will be false prophets also among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you who privately will bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them that's the ultimate heresy imminent and bring upon themselves Swift destruction you know it's a shock to realize how many puppets on television elsewhere deny the Lord that bought them though Christ was a great teacher he was this that the other thing but his no mention of his substitutionary death that he died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried he rose again the third day according to scriptures the core Gospel according to Paul and first Corinthians 15 first four verses continuing here and many shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of you know what really gets to me is people who are not Christians who speak of being a Christian is somehow being contributing to our problems I can remember you know times in our country's history where people may not have believed Christians but they didn't disparage them they may have thought they were naive or following something they didn't but but didn't make you know they're even gangsters that had a hesitation that injuring a nun or a priest not because they're religious they just had a kind of respect even though he didn't buy what they were selling you follow I'm saying we live in an age where being a Christian is looked upon as being the source of all our problems interesting through covetousness they shall with feigned words make merchandise of you whose judgment now a long time linger if not and their damnation slumbereth not who just continuous equal 13 likewise now son of man set thy face against the daughters of thy people oh we're speaking to the girls now touch that people which prophesy out of their own heart and prophesy thou against them dodge that people this is de my awareness the only Old Testament passage where God speaks out specifically against false women prophets yes there were individuals like Jezebel Stella but I mean just as a class there's no other place we're speaking of there are obviously many gifted women referred to in the scripture as prophetess let's make that record here Miriam and that Exodus 15 Deborah and judges for fabulous people Isaiah's wife and Isaiah 8 hold of the prophetess is where Josiah got most of his leading why because they because the Levites had taken the Ark of the Covenant down under the protection of Aaron echo and Anna the prophetess in Luke we see and the four daughters of Philip next 21 in the next section the prophetess is or I should really call them Sorceress's were counterparts of the false prophets but women for run of the modern psalmist's fortune tellers mediums you name it and I guess most of you eat you can do your own history lesson how many of the false cults not just the alcohol the Alice Bailey stuff but the cults were founded by women interesting it's just a thing we need be aware but there's ego continues and say thus saith the Lord God woe to the women that so pillows to all armholes and may kircheis upon the head of every stature and a statue stature to hunt souls will you hunt the souls of my people will you save the souls alive that come to you now the so pillows to arm holes is a clumsy translation and at the same time experts aren't sure exactly what's alluding to the word cassettes it really refers to covered amulets false phylacteries if you want to put it in the Judaica sense that were used by the false prophets to support their demonic fortune-telling schemes whether it was palm reading or carrot cards it's that kind of illusion that's involved here and kircheis on that really refers to veils that they would endow you if myth para a long veil in effect and the source was imputed a magic influence upon their inquires by tying knots of different kinds and shrouding the persons in veils varying lengths according to their stature all these gimmickry that somehow was supposed to have magical implications zico contains will he pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread I mean that's what they're getting paid by to slay the souls of those that should not die to save the souls alive that should not live by you're lying to my people that hear your lies wherefore the set Lord God behold I am against your pillows wherewith he hunt souls to make them fly and I will tear them from your arms and will you and we'll let the souls go even the souls that she hunt to make them fly even though we're a little unclear on the specific implementation of things you get the idea against your pillows and so forth against you're lying ceremonial tricks by what you cheat people it's another way of phrasing that your curtsies also will itare and will deliver my people out of your hand they shall no more be in your hand to be hunted and ye shall know that i am the lord because you're the lot with lies you have made the heart of the rights of said whom I have not made sad and strengthened the hands of the wicked that should not return from his wicked way by promising him life that words are done doing all that should be done therefore you shall see no more vanity nor divined emanations for I will deliver my people out of your hand then you shall know that i am the lord boy god will indeed bring false prophets to the end you can find similar passage in amos micah zechariah in which god takes after each of them very eloquently we don't have time to go and all those the good news in all of this though is that his people are delivered in spite of the false prophets the things be so dark and if it were possible they would deceive the very elect who i love that if it were possible i take comfort behind that exclusion the prophet now turns to the wickedness of those who inquired of god but whose hearts were with their idols all now are shifting to idol worship specifically and this raised the problem of general responsibility that we're just looking this is a glimpse ahead and what comes in next session in chapter 14 and following the problem responsibility gently the presence of a righteous man among sinful people will not save a land when God brings his judgments upon it that seems to be the message of chapter 14 verse 12 to the end of that chapter so we've whipped through some pretty tough material here in the next session I want you to read the next three chapters chapter 14 15 is a little one of just eight verses so it over they scare you but let me not deceive you verse six to chapter sixteen is 63 verses so we might not make it all the way through 16 next time but we want actually verses through verse 17 is a composite allegory of the history of Israel but we'll just take it we eat the elephant one bite at a time we'll go through it verse by verse 14 and 15 and we'll get as far as we can through 16 what we don't we'll get we'll pick up the following session so that's let's stand for closing word of Prayer

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Length: 64min 48sec (3888 seconds)

Published: Fri May 01 2020