Beyond the Thorns: From Divine Justice to Redemption, Ezekiel 28:20-26
OUTLINE:
The Thorns 20-24
Divine
Justice
Divine
Redemption 25-26
What's your biggest pain...(don't say your
spouse :-)
What's your biggest stressor? Source
of friction? Burr under your saddle? What makes you cry out, “Dear
God, please, bring this to an end.”?
Whatever it is, can
be summed up in a word.
The word is: Thorn.
Thorns are a result of the curse.
You're feeling the friction of living in a
broken world with a broken system.
That is how the folks in our text were
feeling 2,600 years ago. The people of God, were largely exiled from the land
of God. Their nation, Israel, was surrounded by nations that were laughing at
their pain.
Their life was a bed of roses, only the
roses were gone and only the thorns remained.
But God shows up and turns the Thorns of
Justice on the prickling briers, then, He wraps His people in a
thorn-proof promise of Redemption.
Let’s turn to
Ezekiel 28:20-26 and we’ll look at that promise.
Beyond the Thorns: From Divine Justice to
Redemption.
As we drop into our
text, to establish context, here is the current lay of the land.
From Ezekiel 25 to 32, God pronounces judgment
against seven nations, (thorns): Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia,
Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt. We’ve already studied the first five.
The number seven represents
perfection, completeness, and
totality.
God does nothing by
accident.
By structuring this
section around exactly seven nations, God is sending an unshakeable, unmistakable
message: No matter how chaotic, dark, or
hostile the world looks, Divine
Justice and Redemption are coming.
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above
every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Okay, let’s dive in by reading the first four verses of
our text.
The Thorns, Ezekiel 28:20-24:
Then the word of the Lord came to me,
saying, 21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and
prophesy against her, 22 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And they shall know that I am
the Lord,
When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.
23 For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am
the Lord.
24 “And
there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the
house of Israel from among all who are
around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”
Ruh Roh.
You know you’re in big
trouble when the Creator of the universe tells His prophet to give you a
prophesy and it begins with, “Behold I am against you...”
At that point, your
wealth, your walls, and armies are completely meaningless.
Make no mistake,
this is not the heart of the Lord. He doesn’t enjoy judgement, but He’s
Holy and Just so sometimes, He must.
He’d rather say what
He told Moses to tell Aaron to say:
Numbers 6:24-26.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’
But in 586 BC after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple and killed or took captive the survivors, instead of
showing pity, Sidon and Tyre, and the other surrounding thorny nations were
glad and gloated.
They weren’t exactly hubs of
holiness and their influence on Israel was immense.
The maritime stronghold of Tyre sat a mere 12 miles
north of Israel's ancient northern border, while its sister city Sidon anchored
just 25 miles up the coast.
That means, the primary centers of Baal worship and pagan perversity weren't across an ocean—but were toxic, indoctrinating, superpowers in Israel's front yard.
Archaeological excavations reveal the footprint of Sidon
was only about 40 acres (only about 1/3 the size of Tyre). Yet, despite its
tiny physical footprint, its economic footprint was massive. It was an intense,
heavily fortified maritime trader, following in the footsteps of its big sister
city Tyre.
It accumulated
massive stores of silver, gold, and the
world-famous cedars of Lebanon.
Generations prior, King Solomon
used cedars of Lebanon for much of the temple. The structure, the interior, the
main altar, came from the cedars of Lebanon. Then, the interior was overlaid
with gold. (1 Kings 6:9-20).
Imagine that. The wood that lined
the dwelling place of God’s Presence, came from sinful Sidon.
Sidon was a primary
port for pagan idolatry. King Ahab of Israel
married wicked Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal,
King of Sidon (1 Kings 16:31). This evil alliance imported the vile worship of Baal and
Asherah into the heart of Israel, perverting the nation's relationship with God
for generations.
Perhaps that’s why
God called them a “pricking
brier” and “a painful
thorn”.
Israel failed to
heed the warning from way back in Numbers 33:55:
"But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then
it shall be that those whom you
let remain shall be irritants
in your eyes and thorns in your sides."
Think about this:
Those you let stay in your life, your nation, that shouldn’t be there, will
be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides.
For hundreds of
years, Sidon was indeed a physical and spiritual thorn in Israel’s side, pulling
them into sin.
Thus, God is just,
so He must, deal with the thorns.
He did so by pestilence, blood, and the sword
(see
verse 23).
HIStory, like
always, confirms every Word of God is True. Sidon was crushed by the Babylonians, the Persians, and eventually by Alexander the Great.
Just as the Lord had said.
However, notice
the repetitive phrase
that echoes through
verses 22, 23, 24, and 26: “They shall know that I am the Lord.”
That’s the goal of the Lord. That all shall know Him from the least to
the greatest (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:11). All will. Some will know Him
as He wants to be known, as Savior and Lord. Then, sadly, others will only know
Him as Judge and Lord.
God's judgment is not petty or vindictive; His Holiness
demands, Divine Justice.
About six centuries
after Ezekiel penned these words,
Jesus stood before the crowds of
Galilee and brought the
memory of the ancient, pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon back to life:
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth
and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon at the judgment than for you." Matthew 11:21-22 (and Luke 10:13-14).
Think about that
statement. Sidon was a capital of witchcraft, Baal worship, and fleshly pride. God judged them heavily for it.
Yet Jesus says that the judgment facing people who hear the Gospel
and reject it will be far more
severe than the judgment faced by Sidon.
Why?
Because Sidon sinned in spiritual darkness, but cities like Chorazin and Bethsaida rejected the very Son of God standing right there in the
midst of them.
Jesus promises us, whenever
two or more are gathered in His name, “There I AM, in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20.
God holds every soul
accountable to the light they have been given.
“To whom much is given, much is required” Luke
12:48.
God sees the
thoughts and intents of each and every heart and holds in the balance, Divine
Justice.
Speaking of Divine Justice, let’s zoom out to see and
hear how the Words of our text echo all the way to today.
If you look at a modern
day map you’ll notice the thorns that despise Israel are experiencing what
prophetically speaking might be, ever increasing birth pains of Divine
Justice.
Tyre and Sidon, modern day Lebanon,
are battling economic collapse, hyperinflation, political and military upheaval from Hezbollah (an Iranian proxy
terrorist organization).
Speaking of Iran: Historically, the thorns around Israel have relied
on regional support from others. Today it’s the same. Iran (ancient Persia) supports, trains, deploys, the thorns
around Israel.
Iran has
been the primary
proxy puppet master for terrorists.
Now for the very interesting part.
Just as ancient Israel was ringed by hostile briers and thorns, (Tyre, Sidon, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia,, Egypt), today she is ringed in the same locations, by the same demons, with the same goals, only with different names.
North:
Hezbollah.
East:
Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
West:
Hamas.
South:
Houthi.
They all
are extensions of Iran, hired guns. Terrorists for hire.
Names change, people die, the
demons remain.
They call it the Axis of
Resistance.
Really, they are, the Axis of
Evil.
THEY ARE NO MATCH FOR
THE ALMIGHTY.
Lately, God is using America, like
Nebuchadnezzar, to hammer out judgement on the pricking briers and painful
thorns.
Today, Iran is in worse shape than Lebanon (that flows down to its proxies). Crush the head and the serpent dies. An object lesson. A foreshadow of things to come.
If you look at the statistics,
Israel is less than one-sixth of one percent the size of the Arab
nations surrounding her.
By every law of mathematics,
geography, and population, she should be completely swallowed up; swept from
the river to the sea, as the ignorant demonized thorny pricks love
to chant.
Yet, Israel stands as
the undisputed superpower of the Middle East.
Why?
Because HIStory has proven that
NOTHING can override God’s Promise. No military might can wipe God’s people or
plan off the map.
When you calculate the size of
Israel (roughly 8,019 square miles) against the land mass of the 22 Arab nations
(approximately 5.3 million square miles), the exact math reveals that Israel is
just a tiny sliver: 0.15 % of Arab land mass.
Arab nations are about 650 times
larger than the state of Israel.
The most striking disparity since
David faced Goliath with nothing but a sling and a stone.
Despite this tiny footprint, secular
military analysts, historians, and political scientists consistently classify
Israel as the preeminent technological and military superpower of the region.
They say this for three distinct
reasons:
Qualitative
Military Edge (QME): Through advanced air
defense systems (like the Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow networks),
state-of-the-art cyber warfare capabilities, and highly integrated intelligence
frameworks, Israel projects disproportionate tactical power.
Economic
and High-Tech Might: Israel functions as a
global "Silicon Valley" with such an advanced high-tech economy that
it transforms its lack in physical size and population into an elite innovative
asset.
Strategic
Alliances: Its deeply rooted strategic,
diplomatic, and intelligence partnerships with western powers (USA) reinforce
its unshakeable regional power.
But we know, all that stuff is
just the manifestation of the Real Reason:
Because about 4,000
years ago God made a promise to a man name Abraham. And God never breaks a promise.
Genesis 12:1-3.
Speaking of promises, that
brings us to our closing promise: Divine Redemption.
Divine Redemption,
Ezekiel 28:25-26
‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26 And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.” ’ ”
A Global Gathering. A Family Reunion. A Divine Redemption.
When we track HIStory, we see God fulfilling this
gathering in stages:
539 BC (The Decree of Cyrus):
Following the fall of Babylon, the Persian king Cyrus issues a royal decree
allowing the initial return of a Jewish remnant to rebuild their walls and
temple (Ezra 1:1–4, 2 Chron. 36:22–23, Isaiah 44:28–45:4,13).
458 BC (Ezra’s Aliyah):
Generations later, the scribe Ezra leads a massive second wave of return
focused entirely on temple rebuilding, spiritual reform, and restoring the law
of God to the land (Ezra 7).
1882–1903: After nearly two
millennia of global wandering from Rome's destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70,
God begins stirring the hearts of the Jewish people to return to their
homeland. Following severe persecution and pogroms, tens of thousands of Jews
began buying back (NOT STEALING) their own land
and returning home.
1917
(The Balfour Declaration): In a historic political shift,
international recognition is granted to the Jewish people, legally
acknowledging their right to establish a national home in their ancestral
land.
May
14, 1948 (The Rebirth of a Nation): In a single day,
fulfilling the amazing prophecy of Isaiah 66:8, Israel declares its
independence, reborn as a sovereign nation to facilitate an unprecedented
sovereign gathering.
Who
has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
Post-1989 (Soviet Union Aliyah):
Following the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the gates swing open freeing millions
of Jews to go home.
Today
(Global Homecoming): From the four corners of the earth, Aliyah
continues to break records as communities face rising pressures, serving as an
active, visible display of covenant fulfillment right before our
eyes.
But,
for the Grand Finale...
Beyond the thorns.
Where God gathers the roses and burns the thorns.
Revelation
21:1-5
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
***Divine
Redemption***
A
Global Gathering. A Family Reunion. A
Divine Redemption.
This
is how we closed last week and this week and all week between the world
celebrated this very thing in the Feast of Tabernacles, which ended
sundown on Friday.
Where
God gathers his people and dwells with them.
Where
there truly is a happily ever after!!!
Let's
pray.
Lord
Jesus thank You for the Divine timing of this message, revealing Your Divine
Justice that removes the thorns and offers Divine Redemption. Cause us, and all
those You’ve given us, to hear and heed this Word, so we will be included in
Your Divine Gathering, that glorious family reunion, where we will be with You
and love You, forever and ever.
Amen.
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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
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