Mark 2:23–28, Lord of the Sabbath

 

Mark 2:23–28, Lord of the Sabbath

We are stepping directly into a battlefield. If you have your Bibles, open them to Mark 2:23–28.

Since we opened the Gospel of Mark, we have watched a Powerful, yet pitiful pattern unfold. Every time Jesus does something magnificent, the religious elite throw a furious fit.

• He touches and cleanses a leper—they get offended.
• He tells a paralyzed man his sins are forgiven—they scream, "Blasphemy!"
• He invites Levi the tax collector to follow—they mock Him as a friend of sinners.

Every time Jesus reveals the Truth of His identity—Son of Man, Great Physician, Divine Bridegroom and today, as Lord of the Sabbath—the religious deep state responds with willful blindness. Like kids on a playground closing their eyes, covering their ears and shouting “La la la la...”

We live in a world of armchair pharisees.

·      Self-appointed hall monitors from hell

·      Obsessed with policing politically correct behavior

·      Eager to cancel and condemn anywho step outside their self-designed lines.

·      While ignoring moral rot and their own hearts of arrogance and lawless.

That is exactly what Jesus is dealing with here. The Pharisees didn't want Truth; they wanted control. They didn't want mercy; they wanted a monopoly.

And when they face off against the Son of God over a handful of grain, Jesus looks at their religious red tape and basically says: “Bull hockey” and pulls the rug out from under their armchair.

Mark 2:23
Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.

When we read the same story in Matthew 12:1-8 and Luke 6:1-5, we’re given a few more details. The disciples were hungry so they plucked the grain (wheat or barley), rubbed it between their hands, and ate.

Picture the scene. 

Jesus and His disciples are walking through standing fields of grain on a Saturday (Sabbath).

The disciples are perhaps weary from ministry. They’re hungry. So, as they walk, they pluck some heads of grain, rub them together in their hands to knock off the husks, and pop the grain into their mouths.

Can you see them? Smiling, as they are literally walking with the Creator of Life.

In the Presence of the Lord is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11.

Can you see them? Freely gleaning, laughing, throwing grain husks at each other.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17.

Look at them walking with their Creator, enjoying unalienable rights He gave them; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Now, just to be clear, let's establish the facts straight out of the gate.

Were they stealing?

No.

According to God’s law in Deuteronomy 23:25, you were perfectly permitted to pluck (glean) grain with your hands from your neighbor's field to satisfy your hunger.

You just couldn't bring a sickle, or a John Deere Combine, to harvest the whole field.

God in His infinite wisdom makes provision for the hungry, while simultaneously addressing greed and need.

But the Pharisees turned a free, open field of amber waves of grain, into a religious minefield.

²⁴ “And the Pharisees said to Him, ‘Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?’”

Here come the religious hall monitors from hell, lurking in the bushes on a Saturday morning. Media-nites, without a life, following Jesus wherever He goes, just looking for something, anything, to accuse Him.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. They were the lawless ones, straining a gnat and swallowing a camel. Their hearts were full of pride, hypocrisy and hatred. (Matthew 23:24).

“Why do they do what is not lawful?”

What a joke! Do you know how ridiculous and legalistic the Pharisaic system had become?

God gave Israel the Sabbath as an emergency brake for human exhaustion. It was meant to be a beautiful gift of physical rest and spiritual restoration. But tradition took God's gift and turned it into a prison of pressure.

By your tradition you make of none effect the Word of God.
Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:13.

The oral traditions of the elders, later written down in the Mishnah, took the command to “rest” and exploded it into 39 categories of forbidden work (melakhot). And within those categories, they created sub-rules that were utterly insane.

A controlling spirit is never satisfied

Look at how their Sabbath laws actually operated:

Pharisaic Restrictive Rule	The Legalistic "Logic"
The Dried Fig Weight Limit	You were strictly forbidden from carrying any object or burden on the Sabbath that weighed equal to or more than a single dried fig. If you carried a pocket handkerchief that weighed more than a fig, you were guilty of a Sabbath violation.
The Mirror Prohibition	You were forbidden from looking into a mirror on the Sabbath. Why? Because if you saw a gray hair, you might be tempted to pluck it out—and plucking a hair was classified as reaping, which is manual labor!
The Radish Rubdown Ban	You could not rub a radish into salt on the Sabbath because dissolving the salt through friction was considered cooking.
The Healing Limitation	Medical care was completely illegal on the Sabbath unless the person was actively dying. If a bone was broken, you could bandage it to keep it from getting worse, but you could not treat it to make it better until Sunday morning.

Church, think about the absolute, hypocritical absurdity of this religious system. If a Pharisee caught you carrying a cell phone on the Sabbath, you’d be guilty of breaking the Sabbath, because:  

·      The phone weighs more than a dried fig.

·      Activating an electrical screen is considered ‘kindling a fire,’

·      Typing a text message is classified as ‘manual labor.’

Under the strict letter of Biblical law, intentional Sabbath breaking carried a death penalty.  They turned a beautiful gift of life-giving rest into a weapon of legalistic execution.

If their ridiculous regulations reflected the heart of God, there wouldn't be a believer left alive today—we’d all be stoned to death before breakfast just for checking our text messages.

So, apply that ridiculous logic to our story in Mark 2.

·      When the disciples plucked the grain, the Pharisees called it reaping.

·      When they rubbed it in their hands, they called it threshing.

·      When they blew away the chaff, they called it winnowing.

·      And when they swallowed it, they called it preparing a meal.

According to the elite, the disciples had committed four federal crimes against religion before breakfast, all by just eating a handful of shredded wheat!

What a pitiful, legalistic circus.

We can laugh at these ridiculous laws from two thousand years ago, but don’t miss the spiritual disease behind them. The Pharisees were trapped in a tunnel vision of absolute hatred. They were so blinded by political and religious preservation that they would rather see a man stay paralyzed, rather see a neighbor starve, and rather watch their own nation decay under Roman occupation than to give a single 'win' to Jesus Christ.

Doesn't that sound exactly like the political climate of our nation right now in this midterm election season? We have people in our culture so blinded by hatred that they would rather see the erasure of our borders, perversion in women's sports, the corruption and mutilation of our children, complete lawlessness in our streets, rather than see the other side get a victory. Even if it means the utter desecration and desolation of our nation. Which for many, is actually, the goal.

Hate blinds minds. Hatred makes people condone absolute madness just to protect their positions and politics.

But worse than the hatred out there is the atrophy in here. In the Church. The tragic reality is that while the culture burns, a lukewarm, lazy complacency has muzzled the American church. Apathy has turned to atrophy. Far too many Christians have decided that sitting on the sidelines is a virtue. Of the 90 million Christians eligible to vote, 15 million won’t even register, 40 million won’t bother to vote. They muzzle God’s voice by refusing to allow His voice to be heard through their vote at the ballot box, or by abandoning the positions of leadership, education, and civic duty that God called them to occupy.

When the righteous retreat, darkness advances.

All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

We cannot claim to serve the Lord of the Sabbath while being too lazy to stand up for His Truth in the culture.

Jesus is our example and He did not stay silent. He showed up and spoke up.

²⁵“But He said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: ²⁶ how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave to some who were with him?’”

Jesus does not cower, back down, or apologize. He punches them right in the middle of their theological pride.

“Have you never read?”  That hurt.

They prided themselves on being the most well read in the room. They were the supreme Bible experts of Israel—just ask them.

So, Jesus asks if they missed the most basic Sunday school lesson ever. It’d be like asking Billy Graham, “Haven’t you ever read John 3:16?”

Jesus takes them straight to 1 Samuel 21. King David, God's anointed, the man after God’s own heart. He was on the run for his life from Saul. He and his men were starving. David entered the tabernacle and asked the priest for food. The only bread available was the Holy Showbread—the Bread of the Presence. According to Leviticus 24, that bread belonged exclusively to the priests. It was ceremonially restricted.

But what did the high priest do? He gave the holy bread to the hungry. Why?

Mercy triumphs over judgement. James 2:13.

Relationship Trumps Religion

Never be too busy with ministry to minister.

Jesus uses a perfect argument: If King David had the authority to bypass a written Old Testament law to sustain life, how much more does the ultimate Son of David have the authority to bypass your fabricated, man-made traditions about dried figs and grain fields?

Then, once again, Jesus drives home the Truth of who He is.

²⁷“And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’”

Here is the grand climax. Jesus flips their twisted worldview right side up.

Man was not created to be a slave to a day on the calendar. The day was created by God to be of service to man.

Legalism forces bondage to a cold, lifeless, unforgiving system.

JESUS BRINGS LIFE-GIVING FREEDOM.

The letter kills but the Spirit gives Life. 2 Cor. 3:6.

Then, even though Jesus knows they’ll reject it, He drops the Truth hammer once again:

“Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus invokes His Messianic title, Son of Man, from Daniel 7, and then doubles down on the Truth saying He is Lord of the Sabbath.

He looks those self-appointed, armchair, hall monitors from hell in the eyes and declares, "I AM the Boss, the Lord, of this day, and every day.

I AM Lord of the Sabbath.

Matthew 11:28.
Come to ME, all who are weary and heaven laden, and I WILL give you rest.

So, hearing that, and remembering He healed the leper, Peter’s mother-in-law, the paralytic, and many others; knowing exactly what He meant when He called Himself, Son of Man, Bridegroom, Lord of the Sabbath...

They fell on their knees and cried Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, and even of pharisees...

No?

They could’ve, they should’ve, today they wish they would’ve, but, alas, they didn’t.   

Dear Church, the heart wrenching tragedy of this story is that the Pharisees loved the rules, but they didn’t love The Ruler. 

So, they clung to their pride and political position and allowed their hearts to grow smaller and harder.

Lord willing, next week, in chapter 3, we’ll see just how hard; when their pitiful pattern hits a new demonic low.

Jesus walks into their gauntlet—the synagogue—on the Sabbath day. Sitting in the front row is a man with a withered hand, planted there by the small, cold, hard-hearted religious elite, as bait to trap the Son of God.

Just wait ‘til you see how our Jesus walks right into their den and springs the trap back on them!

The Good News is, that even though they continued their pitiful pattern, Jesus continued His Powerful pattern.

JESUS DIDN'T GIVE UP.

They keep rejecting, but Jesus keeps reaching, for them, for us, and for the one we think is too far gone.

So, we don't stop praying, we don't stop believing.

We do stop bowing to religious rules and bow only to the Ruler.

Let’s pray.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for setting us free from the law of sin and death. Thank You fore rescuing us to walk in Your freeness of Life. We look forward to the day we’ll see You face to face. Until then, please continue Your Powerful pattern in us and through us to all those You’ve given us, so none, are lost.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

Should Christians vote?

 

Should Christians vote? That is the question of the day in many Christian households across our nation. Fortunately, the Bible answers every vital question we could ever face. So, what exactly does God's Word have to say about our civic responsibility?

Let’s start at the very beginning. Genesis 1:27–28 declares: “God created man in His own image... Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion...’” From the dawn of creation, God’s Divine Design was for mankind to rule and reign as His direct representatives and ambassadors on this planet. Fast forward to the New Testament, where Jesus explicitly states that He will build His Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail or stand against the multiplying, subduing, dominating force of that Church (Matthew 16:18).

The original Greek word translated as "Church" is Ekklésia. In the ancient world, an Ekklésia referred to a body of people called out to interpret, enforce, and implement the law and will of the governing authority. By definition, the Church is built to have dominion over evil and implement righteousness on the earth.

In 1 Timothy 2:1–2, the Apostle Paul exhorts: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” We are commanded to pray for those in authority because the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective (James 5:16). We pray to effect real change, ensuring an environment where we can live peaceably in true godliness.

But prayer is not a license for passivity. The Word of God demands that we put feet to our faith. James 2:17–26 repeatedly warns us that faith without works is dead.

So, how do we apply this in a constitutional republic like America? We effect change by prayerfully electing authorities who promote Biblical values and protect godliness. We, the people of God, let His voice be heard through our voice at the ballot box. It is our civic duty, our Christian responsibility, and it pleases our Creator. 1 Timothy 2:3–4 tells us that creating an environment where godliness is protected is "good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior."

You might say, "Fine, we ought to vote. But I don’t like politics, and I don't care for anyone on the ballot."

That is perfectly fine. You don’t need to like anybody on the ballot. God makes it simple: We vote for a platform, not a person. Personality is irrelevant. We vote exclusively for the policy platform that aligns closest with Biblical principles. Platform. Policy. Period.

As Christians, we have the Bible. As a nation, we have the Constitution—a document firmly built upon Biblical principles. We must vote for the platform closest to the foundation of our nation. Even for non-believers, this remains the absolute best way to vote because the U.S. Constitution has stood the test of time. As our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, it remains the longest-living written constitution in human history, giving rise to the freest, most prosperous, and most generous nation the world has ever known.

To make that choice crystal clear, let’s look at what the Bible says about five hotly debated cultural topics:

 

1. The Stewardship of Life

Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...” Psalm 139:13 adds, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” Jesus explicitly defines the enemy's intent versus His own in John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The Verdict: God is unequivocally Pro-Life. Therefore, a Christian vote must protect the unborn.

 

2. The Covenant of Marriage

In Genesis 2:22–24, God designs family: “Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man... Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Jesus later confirms this foundation in Matthew 19:4–6, stating: “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’... Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The Verdict: Marriage is a covenant defined as one man and one woman, for life. A Christian cannot vote for a platform that actively deconstructs the Biblical definition of marriage and family.

 

3. The Reality of Gender

Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Jesus repeats this in Matthew 19:4, and John 4:24 reminds us that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The Verdict: God created exactly two biological genders: male and female. You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live inside a body. Your physical body is simply the vehicle you drive through this earth. If you were born into a Mac Truck, there is no use wishing you were in a pink mustang. Don’t be deceived—enjoy the ride God gave you. The real evil behind the transgender agenda is not the confused individuals who need our help; it is the predatory political forces pushing the perversion and mutilation of children for power. Voting for a platform that promotes this ideology means partnering with systemic lawlessness.

 

4. The Standard of Israel

God establishes an unshakeable covenant with the seed of Abraham in Genesis 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Zechariah 2:8 adds that “he who touches you touches the apple of His eye,” and Jeremiah 31:35–36 guarantees that as long as the sun, moon, stars, and roaring oceans endure, Israel shall never cease from being a nation before Him.

The Verdict: 

Israel is the only nation God sets apart with a promise of blessing on those who bless her, and cursing on those who curse her.

Israel is the only nation God promises to protect as “the apple of His eye.”

Israel is the only nation with an everlasting covenant from God guaranteed to continue as long as the sun and moon and stars shine and oceans roar.

How do I vote as a Christian regarding Israel? According to Scripture, the nation that blesses Israel will be blessed. So, we vote for the platform that offers unwavering support for Israel.

 

5. The Wisdom of Borders

Acts 17:26 states that God “has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” Deuteronomy 32:8 notes that the Most High set the boundaries of the peoples, and even the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:15–16 is described by its literal borders and defensive walls, measured meticulously as a perfect square.

The Verdict: Sovereign national borders are wise, healthy, and designed by God. At the end of the day, you lock the doors to your home; not because you hate your neighbors, but because you love your family.

America is our home. 

It's as simple as that.

Conclusion

When you step into the voting booth, look past the media noise, the polished campaigns, and the individual personalities. Hold the policy platforms up against the eternal Word of God. A Christian vote is a righteous stewardship that promotes the sanctity of Life, the Biblical definition of Marriage, the reality of Gender, the wisdom of national Borders, and unwavering support for Israel.

More information:

https://www.votehighlands.gov/

https://christianvoterguide.com/

https://ivoterguide.com/

 

Pastor Doug Spurling

Prayer Requests: 

Call or text: 612-554-2522

Email: pray4measap@aol.com

Facebook: Church at WPV

Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling

The Father of Creation vs The Mother of All Bombs, Ezekiel 30

 

The Father of Creation vs The Mother of All Bombs, Ezekiel 30

Last week, in Ezekiel 29 the Lord pulled back the curtain to reveal the great Oz of Egypt wasn’t so great after all. We stood on the banks of the Nile and watched God drag the great monster, arrogant Pharaoh Hophra, out of the river with hooks in his jaw. 

The Lord exposed the illusion that Egypt was a safety net of nations. Showing us that any worldly system we lean on, outside of Him, will snap like a hollow reed and splinter and stab the hand that holds it.

Now as we turn the page to Ezekiel 30, we see the prophetic storm over the Nile is not passing, but growing.

Today’s prophecy will show how the Lord brings to nothing all the things Egypt trusted. Their religion couldn’t save them, their wealth was of no value, their military was broken, their intelligence futile, their beauty was in vain.

As we read God’s actions toward nations in the past, we’ll recognize His fingerprints as He still governs in the affairs of men today.

Let’s walk through the text line by line, verse by verse, knowing God’s Divine timing and Living Word are always speaking, ever timely, always relevant, every single Word of Scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16.

1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

Notice, we open without a date, because this is a seamless continuation of the prophetic warning of chapter 29.

Look at the warning the Lord gives His watchman in verse 2:

2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Wail, ‘Woe worth the day!’”

The ancient phrase "Woe worth the day" literally means “Alas for the day!” or “Curse the day!” It is a cry of terror.

Why should they wail? Verse 3 tells us:

3 “For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.”

For Ezekiel's listeners, the Day of the Lord wasn't a distant end times prophecy, it was an imminent, boots-on-the-ground reality. God describes it as a “day of clouds,” a dark day of judgement was near, very near, He repeats it twice.

Take note, this is the first time: “time of the Gentiles” is used in the Bible. When Babylon conquered Jerusalem, was the beginning of the “time of the Gentiles.” From that day to this it has been trampled by Gentiles and will be until Jesus once again sets foot in Jerusalem. Luke 21:24.  

Now, look at how God’s fiery judgement spreads like wildfire.

4 “A sword shall come upon Egypt, and great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the wounded fall in Egypt, and they take away her wealth, and her foundations are broken down.”

God’s judgement hits Egypt like an earthquake, and the aftershocks, and tremors, send surrounding nations trembling to their knees.

5 “Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”

Egypt didn’t stand alone. They, hired elite mercenaries from Ethiopia, bought military protection from Libya (Put) and Lydia (Lud), and signed defense pacts with all the mingled people and Chub.

Like Iran today, with its economy collapsing, the terrorists Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and others are crumbling from lack of funding.

6 ‘Thus says the Lord: “Those who uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down. From Migdol to Syene they shall fall by the sword in it,” Says the Lord God.’

Strike the serpent’s head and the body that upholds it will die.

From top to bottom, Migdol to Syene, Divine judgement falls.

7 “They shall be desolate in the midst of desolate countries, and her cities shall be in the midst of wasted cities.
8 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, When I have set a fire in Egypt and all her helpers are destroyed.”

God’s Divine Justice is not like our dysfunctional judicial system, where folks are indited, questioned, they plead the fifth, 111 times, then, nothing ever happens.

God’s Divine Justice has consequences. They were made desolate, wasted, set ablaze, and destroyed.

From that day to this God’s Divine judgement on Egypt still stands. Never have they, nor ever will they, return to the superpower they once were.  

In God’s Court, Divine Justice is served and stands.

Now check out God’s messengers in verse 9:

9 “On that day messengers shall go forth from Me in ships to make the careless (complacent) Ethiopians afraid, and great anguish shall come upon them, as on the day of Egypt; for indeed it is coming!”

Literally saying: On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten Ethiopians (Cush) out of complacency.

Messengers: mal·’ā·ḵîm: angels, messengers of God. (Should we make T-shirts that simply say: “Mal·’ā·ḵîm”? Then, when folks ask what it means, we can be messengers for Him.)

On that day messengers of God went out from God. They still do today. Are you one of them? You should be. Not an angel, but a messenger, a mal·’ā·ḵîm.

Many need to be shaken from their lukewarm, lazy, careless complacency. Are you one of them? You shouldn’t be. You don’t have to be. Let today be your Turning Point, your wake-up call.

Now, to be abundantly clear, God reveals who will be His messenger, His mal·’ā·ḵîm, to carry out this mission of Divine Judgement.

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

When Nebuchadnezzar marched his army south against Egypt, he might’ve thought he was marching to the beat of his own drum.

But he wasn't.

He was sprouting Sovereign Spiritual Seeds, planted by God through dreams and Daniel and, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Look at verse 11:

11 “He (Nebuchadnezzar) and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land; they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.”

Notice the Babylonians are called “the most terrible of the nations.” Yet, they are the very instruments God uses.

So, never say, God can’t use you... or, that person, or politician, you don’t like.

God weaves His wonderful ways, through the wicked ways, of man.

Which brings us to a behind the scenes sneak peak at God’s Divinely timed choreography.

Sixteen years prior, God planted a mind-blowing Sovereign Spiritual Seed in Nebuchadnezzar by giving him a dream about a giant gold headed statue. With God’s help, Daniel revealed the dream and its interpretation.

That caused mighty king Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man on the planet, to fall on his face before a teenager named Daniel, a Jewish captive.

Then these powerful words flowed from Nebuchadnezzar’s lips: “Truly your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings!” (Daniel 2:47). The Lord of kings. Wow.

Now, back in the time of our text. God burned another mind-blowing Sovereign Seed into Nebuchadnezzar.

While Ezekiel was giving this prophecy, about Nebuchadnezzar burning Egypt; about 50 miles north, Nebuchadnezzar was burning three men or, trying to. He was wiping ashes off his royal robe and looking into the fiery furnace as the fireproof Son of God and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were walking around, unafraid, unharmed, unburned, unsinged, without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.  

Nebuchadnezzar, mighty king of Babylon, called them out and said: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego... there is no other God who can deliver like this.” Daniel 3:28–29.

And meanwhile, back fifty miles south God said, through Ezekiel what we’re reading today: “I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand.” Ezekiel 30:24.

You might not see God working, but He is. Trust Him with all you’ve got.

Dear Church, it would be so easy for us to look at Nebuchadnezzar and his military campaigns as just dusty old history lessons that have nothing to do with us today.

But the Word of God is alive and powerful, timeless, and ever timely!

While reading and praying through this message, I was thinking about the journey we've been walking; how God is bringing Divine Justice to nations by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Then, I received a text that reads: "Mother of all bombs" just short of nuclear, being considered against Iran. And I thought: God still indeed governs in the affairs of men. He uses the unlikely to do His discipline.

Just look at the headlines screaming across our news feeds this very week. Military planners are mapping strategic strike options against Iran’s heavily fortified nuclear facilities like, Pickaxe Mountain. They aren’t planning a ground invasion or using nuclear options. Instead, they are drawing up contingency plans to deploy the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb—the MOAB, known across the globe as the “Mother of All Bombs.” A 21,600-pound weapon specifically engineered to detonate as an airburst (not deep penetrating bunker-buster), creating a blinding, terrifying mushroom cloud, shattering foundations and obliterating everything above ground.

Whether it’s Babylonian chariots kicking up dust in 587 BC, or a satellite-guided air strike filling the sky with thunder and a giant mushroom cloud in 2026, do not fear.

God still indeed governs in the affairs of men.

The Mother of all bombs may obliterate everything in a mile radius, but the Father of all Creation can obliterate and create nations with just His Word.

12 “I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make the land and all that is in it desolate, by the hand of aliens. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

God can start and stop rain. He can dry rivers; and drain swamps.

He can open borders into the hand of the wicked and make the land desolate by the hand of aliens.

According to this an open border is a curse, a punishment, a way to make the land desolate.

Listen. If you’re not voting against parties that support open borders, you’re voting for selling your land into the hand of the wicked, you’re voting for making your own land desolate by the hand of aliens.  

13 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Noph; there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; and I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”

Noph (Memphis): This was the ancient capital of lower Egypt. It was a financial center and the home of the Apis bull cult. (they thought the bull was an incarnation of the creator god ptah).

Bull hockey.

 God says, “I will cause your idols to cease from Noph.”

Their idols and images, their pagan religions could not save them.

14 “I will make Pathros desolate, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgments among No.”

Pathros & Zoan: Cities known for culture and commerce.

No (Thebes): The grand metropolis famous for magnificent temples to the god Amun and its staggering wealth.

Their wealth could not save them.

15 “I will pour My fury on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; I will cut off the multitude of No.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt; Sin shall have great pain, No shall be split open, and Noph shall have distress daily.”

Sin (Pelusium): Located on the northeast frontier, this city was the key military “stronghold of Egypt.” It was a fortress designed to stop invading armies.

Their military could not save them.

God says, "I will pour My fury on Sin."

While preparing this message I received a text from my sister Sherri, that said:

This morning as I was reading in Luke my attention was brought to something I read in the Complete Jewish NT Commentary. It pointed out the judgement coming is SIN. sin is what is judged and people will have consequences based on their choice. That goes along with what you are pointing out for tomorrow's sermon. sin will be dealt with. People will suffer due to their embracing sin. God hates sin and will judge and end it. God LOVES human and He gives us time to choose Him and reject sin. (emphasis mine).

SIX TIMES, she mentioned the word SIN. God is working, speaking... to those who are listening. She was hearing from the Holy Spirit.

When I told her one of the cities being judged in our text is named: Sin. She said “Seriously!”

Seriously, is exactly how God wants us to take the issue of sin. Not cozy up to it, not compromise with it, not live in it.

17 “The young men of Aven and Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and these cities shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall also be darkened, when I break there the yokes of Egypt. And the pride of her power shall cease in her; As for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.”

Aven (Heliopolis) & Pi-beseth (Bubastis): These were the prestigious university and temple towns where young men were trained (indoctrinated) in pagan philosophy.

Tehaphnehes: A major palace city. Their glitter and lights went dark.

Their intelligence, their beauty could not save them.

19 “Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’

Justice is served, so that they shall know that I AM the Lord.

Now, as we round the bend into the homestretch, buckle your seatbelt because it may sound a little bit like, God goes gangster.

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Notice the time stamp: April 29, 587 BC. This is just under four months after the vision in chapter 29.

Why does this date matter? Because HIStory tells us this is when Pharaoh Hophra attempted to fulfill his secret military mission with Jerusalem. He marched out of Egypt to attack the Babylonian siege surrounding Jerusalem.

Those in Jerusalem who put their trust in chariots and horses thought their secular savior had arrived.

But remember God had strengthened Nebuchadnezzar’s arm and thus, the Egyptians went running home with their tails between their legs.

Kind of mind boggling that Egypt was coming to help Jerusalem, the city of God, yet God, strengthened Babylon.

God is on the side of Righteousness, no matter the color the flag.

21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has not been bound up for healing, to put a splint on it, to bind it with a bandage, to make it strong enough to hold a sword.”

God says Egypt’s failed attempt to stop Babylon was a broken arm, that He gave Pharaoh.

One, to this day, Egypt never recovered from.

But God’ not done:

22 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand.”

See? God saying, I broke one of his arms, and now I’m going to break the other one, sounds gangster. More like the Godfather, than God the Father.

But make no mistake.

God is just.

God is Sovereign.

God directs the course of nations. He lifts up one and puts down another. Proverbs 21:1, Daniel 2:21, Psalm 75:7.

God’s Divine Judgement is Just.

Today, breaking both arms of a nation’s leader, might manifest as a lame duck president, who can’t accomplish anything because both hands are tied behind his back by corrupt politicians, rogue judges, dysfunctional congress, phony indictments, bogus impeachments.

But the root cause that results in such wickedness, at least in a free country like America, is lazy, complacent Christians who muzzled God’s voice, by not letting His voice be heard through their voice, at the ballot box, or by not fulfilling their calling to stand up, speak out, take hold of the positions of leadership He called them to.

To whom much is given, much is required. Luke 12:48.

Christians stayed home and watched TV instead of taking a stand and taking a seat at Ottumwa Iowa City Council, thus, allowing a devil worshipper to take their place, and open the meeting with a prayer to evil, a prayer to him who seeks to kill, steal and destroy, a prayer to satan.    

23 “I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries.

God’s Divine Justice.

They were scattered like Israel.

For forty years, like Israel.

24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man.”

Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”

25 ‘“I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but Pharaoh’s arms shall fall down; they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.
26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’

HIStory tells us all this happened, exactly as written.

Finally, as we close, we see, for the third and fourth time in this chapter God’s favorite phrase in Ezekiel, repeated about 70 times:

Then they shall know that I AM the Lord.

God is at work both strengthening and scattering, that all shall know the He is Lord.

Think about this, while Ezekiel was speaking this prophecy, God was also speaking through Jeremiah in Jerusalem, and through Daniel and friends in Babylon’s palace.

Dear Church, God is doing the same today.

Especially here, because He promised a special kind of Presence when His people gather in His name.

Especially now, because the night is far spent, the day is at hand, the time of the Gentiles is about to strike twelve. Romans 13:12.

So, as you’re listening, reading, God is watching your heart.

Strengthening those leaning in on the everlasting, nail-scarred, outstretched arms of Christ, and chastening those trusting in Egypt’s chariots and horses.

All for the purpose that all will know Him as Sovereign Savior and Lord.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we ask You to penetrate our hearts, illuminate our minds, create in us a craving for You and a hatred for sin. We pray that seeing You in action as we read Your Word today, will open our eyes to recognize Your fingerprints in our world and in our lives. Please wake from any lazy lukewarm apathy and give us a passion for pleasing You. Make us into prayer warriors, soul winners, and disciple makers. So, when we see You, we’ll be able to say, “Of all those You’ve given us, we’ve lost none.” And You’ll be able to smile and say, “Well done!”

Thank You, Lord Jesus.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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