The Shepherd’s Rod (4)
In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.
Commonly, the “elders of Israel,” the leaders of God’s churches inquire of prophets in order to know the word of the LORD for them. Too often these prophets fear the reproach of men and will not speak the word God gives them, knowing it will offend the elders who give them esteem. Thus we find the prophets of Scripture often rebuking these “pillow prophets.” Ezekiel, however, fears not to speak the LORD’s mind.
[2] And the word of the Lord came to me: [3] “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. [4] Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, [5] and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. [6] On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. [7] And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. [8] But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
The true prophet remains unpopular because he judges as God commands. For many years now the Christian mantra has been “do not judge,” and because church leaders listened to Satan’s lie both they and their congregations lost the ability to discern between good and evil. Today, regarding food both natural and spiritual, they cannot discriminate between the real and the unreal. Often for them “fake is always better.” They cannot taste the difference between butter and margarine, vanilla flavor and vanilla bean, and they cannot discern between rightous and unrightous behavior. In fact, to them “to be righteous” means to be legalistic and judgmental. They would rather confirm the sinner in his sin than raise God’s standard of morality. And so they learned not to turn their eye away from the detestable, but feasted, as did the ancients, upon their idols. “Will you not judge them?” God asks.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. [9] But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. [10] So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. [11] I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. [12] Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. [13] But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.
We in America began well. We obeyed the Scriptures at first. God blessed us and we became rich. But we honored our riches more than God’s truth and as our leaders began to turn away from that truth we did not hold them accountable. Now we live in apostasy and bankruptcy in a land no one would dare call Christian. Governmental and judicial edict slowly wiped away each vestige of Christianity from the public square. Now every abomination known to man stares in our faces and beckons our finger tips. Untold millions pay to watch this filth on television and the movie theaters. Some, the false prophets, even go so far as watch all the movies so they can preach what God “prophetically” says through them. Know this. God speaks constantly, even through Balaam’s donkey. But, he does not want us to seek the unclean animal in search of his word.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. [14] But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. [15] Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, [16] because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. [17] Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness. Ezekiel 20:1-17 (ESV)
So far God has not destroyed us. His eye continues to spare us. But, the judgments have begun and wrath is now certain. Repent! Repent! Repent! Why will you be destroyed with the wicked? This is the Day of the LORD.