2
Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness
So, as we read the Lord’s Words about the Fire and
Sword of the Lord, be listening for how this applies to us as a people and a
nation.
20:45-49 Consuming Fire
21:1-7 Unsheathed Sword
21:8-13 Scepter Removed
21:14-17 Jerusalem
Destroyed
21:18-27 Forked Tongue
21:28-32 Supreme Judge
In the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) Ezekiel 20:45-49 is actually
21:1-5 but in most English translations it’s the end of chapter 20.
The Hebrew text makes more sense because it is a
preview of Ezekiel 21. It depicts an all consuming fire that devours both green
and dry trees from south to north, then chapter 21 seamlessly transitions to an
all consuming sword doing the same.
Before we read verses 20:45-48 here's some
definitions:
The “south” mentioned five times in NKJV, is a few different words in the original text, but all refer to Judah. In the Bible Israel is the center of everything. The “south” refers to southern Israel. Southern Israel is Judah.
The Lord, through Ezekiel, makes it abundantly clear
that He is talking about Judah.
Because of their ongoing wickedry (wickedness and
idolatry) the fire of God’s judgement will soon scorch all of Judah, the green
tree and the dry, the Godly and ungodly, the just and the unjust.
45 Furthermore
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 46 “Son
of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south
and prophesy against the forest land, the South, 47 and
say to the forest of the South, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! Thus
says the Lord God: “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it
shall devour every green tree and every dry tree in you; the
blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all
faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. 48 All flesh shall see that I, the Lord,
have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”
Our God is a consuming fire. Dt. 4:24, Heb.12:29
The natural consequences of judgement effects
the good and evil.
That’s why it’s vitally
important that we pray for those in authority that we may lead quiet
peaceable lives. 1 Timothy 2:1.
49 Then I
said, “Ah, Lord God! They say of me, ‘Does he not speak parables?’ ””
No matter how clear the
Word of God is spoken, some people will only hear what they want to hear.
They mockingly said
Ezekiel wasn’t prophesying, but just telling stories, talking in riddles.
They thought, God
won’t judge us, we’re one nation under God, we’re the chosen children of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We have an eternal covenant with God.
For some reason they
thought it okay to slaughter their children, perform every kind of sexual
perversion, compromise with corruption, refuse to teach their children God’s
Word, but instead open their borders and welcome an invasion of every godless religion,
thereby committing the obamanation of fundamentally changing the God ordained
constitution of their nation.
They should’ve known
better, a century earlier, God’s fiery judgement swept through the northern
tribes of Israel when the Assyrians took them captive around 722 BC.
But some
people only hear what they want to hear.
So, God continues to
repeat Himself, throughout HIStory, and into the next chapter.
Ezekiel 21:1-7, The Unsheathed Sword
Now, we hear the same
story, only this time instead of the all consuming fire of the Lord, we see the
all consuming Sword of the Lord.
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son
of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the
holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and
say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against
you,
Preach against, prophesy against,
say to your own people and nation, “The Lord is against you.”
No ear tickling. Just unpolitically correct, unpopular,
Life giving, hard to hear, Rock Solid Truth.
How many pastors today could preach that sermon?
and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous
and wicked from you. 4 Because I will cut off both
righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath
against all flesh from south to north,
Notice the parallels with the end of chapter 20. Both
the green and dry tree, and here, the righteous and the wicked,
both cut off (killed), from south to north.
5 that all flesh may know that I,
the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return
anymore.” ’
God governs in the affairs of men.
6 Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh
with bitterness before their eyes. 7 And it shall be
when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of
the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands
will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees
will be weak as water.
Sigh, breaking heart, bitterness... God
takes no pleasure in death. Ezekiel 33:11.
Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the
Lord God.”
It will happen. It is coming. Imagine your hometown, your
family, your friends, your house where you lived... being invaded, ravaged,
looted, raped.
This is not just history, it’s HIStory, which is timeless,
therefore ever timely, and relevant all the time, everywhere, even here, even
where you’re sitting reading this, right now.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the righteous
will be gone and what’s left will be hell on earth for those left behind. Pray
it’s not you, your hometown, your family, your friends, your house where you lived...
being invaded, ravage, looted, raped.
Ezekiel 21:8-13, Scepter Removed
8 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Son
of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:
‘A sword, a sword is sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!
Should we then make mirth?
Ez. 20:49, you think this is a riddle? You think it’s
funny?
It (the
sword) despises the scepter of
My son, (Zedekiah, king of Judah)
As it does all wood.
(idols)
11 And He has
given it to be polished,
That it may be handled;
This sword is sharpened, and it is polished
To be given into the hand of the slayer.’ (Nebuchadnezzar)
Remember earlier they mocked Ezekiel for talking in
riddles? Now he looks them in the eye and says, “Should we make mirth—you
think this is funny?” Go ahead, laugh it off, don’t pay attention. You won’t
be laughing long, soon judgement will fall, eternity will come, and you’ll find
yourself in a place where there is no laughing, only wailing and gnashing of
teeth.
Nebuchadnezzar despised Zedekiah, the king of Judah,
for revolting against him.
Thus, Babylon’s third and final siege that destroyed
Jerusalem and the temple and all the pagan altars (all
wood).
Nebuchadnezzar was the fire, now the sword, in the
hand of the Lord to carry out His just judgement.
However, make no mistake, this was not God’s will, He
was not pleased. That’s why He had Ezekiel sigh with a breaking heart and
bitterness.
Judgement is not pleasant for the Judge or
the judged.
But God is just and Divine justice must be served. So,
He allowed Zedekiah to be tempted to sin against the oath he made with
Nebuchadnezzar.
God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to yield to his anger and
attack.
God didn’t tempt either of them. God tempts no one
ever of evil.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that they turn, turn from their wicked ways and live. Ez. 33:11.
12 “Cry and
wail, son of man;
For it will be against My people,
Against all the princes of Israel.
Terrors including the sword will be against My people;
Therefore strike your thigh.
See, the Lord through His prophet, shows His sorrow.
Remember the story of the inkhorn and the battle-ax in
Ezekiel 9. Those who sighed and cried over the wickedry in the city were
spared, the rest, green and dry, were all killed, beginning at the
Sanctuary, for judgement
must begin at the House of God. Ezekiel 9:4-6.
13 “Because it
is a testing,
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
The scepter shall be no more,”
says the Lord God.
Zedekiah is dethroned.
How can this be?
The Lord promised the scepter shall not depart from
Judah...Genesis 49:10.
It looked like God’s Word had failed.
But HIStory proves God’s Word never fails.
If it ever looks like God’s Word has failed... your
looker is broken, look again.
Genesis 49:10. The scepter shall not
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the
people.
Zedekiah was the last king, because there were no more
kings... until Shiloh, about 600 years later, in Bethlehem, in a
stable, in a manger, in a Baby, one holy, silent night, and you shall call Him Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, King of kings, Lord of lords...
Jesus our Savior.
Ezekiel 21:14-17, Jerusalem Destroyed
14 “You
therefore, son of man, prophesy,
And strike your hands together.
The third time let the sword do double damage.
It is the sword that slays,
The sword that slays the great men,
That enters their private chambers.
Three times, for Nebuchadnezzar’s the third and final
siege of Jerusalem, doing double damage, utter destruction. 586BC.
The intensity of the battle, the clashing of swords
can almost be heard in the following words...
15 I have set
the point of the sword against all their gates, (surrounded)
That the heart may melt and many may stumble (terrified).
Ah! It is made bright;
It is grasped for slaughter:
16 “Swords at
the ready!
Thrust right!
Set your blade!
Thrust left—
Wherever your edge is ordered!
17 “I also
will beat My fists together,
And I will cause My fury to rest;
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Judah rests in ruins.
Ezekiel 21:18-27, Fork in the Road
18 The word of
the Lord came to me again, saying: 19 “And son
of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to
go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at
the head of the road to the city. 20 Appoint a road for
the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified
Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the
parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes
the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver.
Shakes the arrows: Belomancy.
The word comes from the Greek words belos (arrow) and manteia
(divination). Like flipping a coin, heads we head to Judah, tails we go
to Rabbah. Mark an arrow, shake them in the quiver, pull out the marked arrow
we march to Judah, unmarked we go to Rabbah.
Consults the images: Pray
to dumb, idols.
Looks at the liver: Hepatoscopy.
They thought the liver was the seat of emotion and where the intentions of the
gods were written in the animal sacrifices.
22 In his
right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call
for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering
rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a
wall.
In Ezekiel 4 the Lord instructed Ezekiel to make a
model depicting this very siege as a warning of things to come.
We tried to do the same.
23 And it will
be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn
oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance,
that they may be taken.
24 “Therefore
thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be
remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your
doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be
taken in hand.
Zedekiah swore an oath to Nebuchadnezzar, then broke
the oath by asking for help from Egypt (not help from God).
Even though, it was a bad deal with a bad dude, God
takes oaths seriously, and therefore said Zedekiah would not escape, but would
die in Babylon. Ezekiel 17:15-16.
Which is exactly what happened. Zedekiah was captured
by Nebuchadnezzar, he watched his own sons be killed before his very eyes, then
his eyes were taken out and he was hauled to Babylon where he died.
25 ‘Now to
you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, (Zedekiah)
whose day has come, whose
iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the
Lord God:
“Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
Nothing shall remain the same.
Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
27 Overthrown, overthrown,
I will make it overthrown!
It shall be no longer,
Until He comes whose right it is,
And I will give it to Him.” ’
He is Jesus, whose right
it is.
He is Shiloh who is to
come.
Ezekiel 21:28-32,
Supreme Judge
28 “And you,
son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the
Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say:
When the Ammonites, (descendants of Lot) heard that
Nebuchadnezzar was heading to Judah instead of compassion for Judah, they reproached
them, (laughed and mocked and insulted). Zephaniah 2:8, Psalm 83:4-7.
Bad move. God noticed. Now, it’s their turn.
‘A sword, a sword is drawn,
Polished for slaughter,
For consuming, for flashing—
29 While they see false visions for you, (deception)
While they divine a lie to you, (fake
news)
Whenever you turn from Truth, you fall into deception.
To bring you (the sword) on the necks of the wicked, the slain
Whose day has come, (day of reckoning)
Whose iniquity shall end.
30 ‘Return it to
its sheath.
I will judge you
In the place where you were created,
In the land of your nativity.
31 I will pour out My indignation on you;
I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath,
And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful
to destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire; (foreshadow
pretribulation, Ezekiel 38-39 war, when it’ll take seven years to burn the
weaponry, when God gets through with them).
Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. (foreshadow of
post tribulation war, Armageddon, where blood will flow up to the horses bridle
Rev. 14:20).
You shall not be remembered,
For I the Lord have spoken.’ ”
The Ammonites were so utterly destroyed by Babylon,
they were never seen or heard from again.
Conclusion:
If God did not allow His chosen nation to escape
judgement for sin, is there hope for America?
Israel was created by God.
America, by man, with the aid of God, to worship God.
Benjamin Franklin:
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the
longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God governs
in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his
notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been
assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that “except the Lord build the House
they labour in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this; and I also believe
that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no
better than the Builders of Babel
Freedom to worship God is built into the foundation of
America.
Colombus journaled that He was led by the Holy Spirit.
The Mayflower Compact, the seedbed of our
Constitution, was for the glory
of God, the advancement of the Christian faith, and
signed solemnly in the presence of God.
Our Founding Fathers declared a National Prayer
Proclamation just weeks before finding the wisdom and courage to create our
Declaration of Independence.
Our US Constitution likewise followed a National Day
of Prayer.
By the 1800s America’s various government entities had
issued over 1,400 Prayer Proclamations.
America is foundationally, fundamentally, a Christian
Nation.
Time and again, the Hand of Providence has saved US.
Time and time again, it has been in answer to prayer.
Ezekiel
22:29-30
The people of the land have used oppressions, committed
robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress
the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them
who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the
land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
That was Israel... that is not US... not today,
because today, there’s us.
Is there hope
of US? It’s up to us. We His people.
2 Chronicles 7:14. If My people who are
called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sin and heal their land.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we Your people, called by Your
name, call upon Your name, we humble ourselves, seek Your face, turn from our
wicked ways...thank You, for hearing forgiving and healing our land. Help us do
our part, we know You’ll do Yours.
Thank You.
We trust You and love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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