tough part of the Old Testament. Not where you would direct a seeker or a new believer. This is the story of a succession of bad kings and folks who seem to refuse to be obedient to God. It is an amazing thing to read, but in defense of humanity remember that we are reading a few short chapters that cover several hundred years and several generations of people. Having said that doing what we have always done when what was done was evil will have the same result.....God cannot bless evil. Notice how often the phrase, "did evil in the sight of the Lord" appears with this list of kings of both Israel and Judah. There is a difference. In the history of Judah there appears from time to time leaders like Asa, the great grandson of Solomon whose hearts are more in line with what God saw in the heart of David. Reforms are initiated idols and altars are destroyed and the temple becomes the focus of the nation. But even in the reforms they are never able to fully restore the nation to what God had intended. the sins of the king are almost always around what Paul called the sins of the flesh. The gods that are introduced represent fertility and sensuality and reprehensible practices like temple prostitution are instituted.
God raises up prophets during these years, men like Jehu who speak to these kings on behalf of God and who warn them of the great danger they and their followers are in, but for the most part, the lure of sin is too strong and wine, women and song win out over righteousness and fidelity to God. The end result will be the disenfranchisement of Israel and later Judah. One of the lessons for us is that God will not be mocked and while it may take several generations for the price of evil to be paid in full, a fall will come and a nation will implode and the mantle will be passed to someone else who will have an opportunity to live a life that God can bless and use to restore humanity.
When we see the phrase, "walked in the ways of Jeroboam" we can conclude that the person did evil in the sight of God. Jeroboam becomes synonymous with evil in the history of Israel.
Evil can become so entrenched in a culture that it is normalized. this is a great danger for America. Think how difficult it is to keep the sabbath. Think about how we have worked so hard at being inclusive that we have minimized Christianity. Think about how practices that would be anathema to God are allowable because of our desire to protect the rights of self. I love freedom, but human freedom and can lead us to places that endanger our immortal souls. That is what happens to Israel and to Judah.
We are introduced to Ahab, often thought of as the most vile king to rule in Israel. He builds Jericho and Samaria. Remember when Jericho was destroyed by Joshua God commanded that it would never be rebuilt. Sin upon sin is committed by those who lead. Ahab marries Jezebel (please don't name your daughter Jezebel). Jezebel is evil and introduces awful things to Israel. It is believed that sexual images were built as idols and worshiped in the groves and high places. Sodom and Gomorrah have returned! In this context God raises up one of the most famous of prophets, a man named Ezekiel. Chapter 17 takes pains to let us know how powerful God's influence is in this mans life. Much of what we read in the next few days will be about God's use in bringing down Ahab and Jezebel. See the mighty hand of God at work as God provides for Ezekiel by catering to him with the ravens and a poor widow woman. the miracle of the flour and oil and the 1st biblical instance of a dead person being restored to life our proofs of God's spirit in Ezekiel.
I think you will enjoy these next chapters as God demonstrates his power and reminds Ezekiel that we are not alone in this battle against Satan and his minions. We fight the battle against evil accompanied by a host of heavenly beings and with all the resources of God and his mighty power.
Looking forward to the return of Spring in a couple of days and to hearing Sara Howard on Sunday morning. God bless you in your work this week!
No comments:
Post a Comment