August 18 - Ezekiel 10:1-13:23

Good morning everyone,

In chapter ten, just like in chapter one, I would encourage you to just slow it all down and let your mind’s eye, though you will not fully grasp what you are seeing, take it all in. Ezekiel is doing his best to describe heavenly visions in an earthly vocabulary. He describes seeing the likeness of a throne made out of a semi precious, rich blue, stone above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim. Then the Lord speaks to a man clothed in linen and instructs him to scatter burning coals over the city, representing their means of destruction. After which the glory of God departs from the temple and while He is doing this the sound of the cherubim’s wings could be heard like the voice of God Almighty as far away as the outer courts. How amazing an experience would that have been? Even though Ezekiel was the son of a priest and familiar with what the description of a cherubim, all of this has got to have been somewhat jaw dropping for him, right? Every time. 

Okay a little bit about my life and where my mind goes, please do not judge. Where I live I am completely surrounded by very tall evergreen trees where from time to time, and this just happened a few days ago, the wind will whip whip through these trees and across our property at very high speeds that send my wind chimes crashing against the house, the windows will swell and recess, the doors, when not closed tightly, will burst open, and the trees will all be jiggling and wiggling a great big delightful “hi” to me. In my my mind’s eye, I can see God’s angels racing through on their lightening speed chariots chasing away and wicked demon in the spiritual world wishing to do me harm. It comes and goes so quickly, to me, it is the only thing that makes sense, and once gone, His angels resume their position, protecting all that goes on here. This had really nothing to do with anything in today’s scripture, just thought I’d share. Thank you for being patient with me :-)

So, back to today’s scripture, there is so much going on in Jerusalem at that time.The are the twenty-five men who were plotting evil and giving wicked advice, these are most likely the same men from chapter eight. God gave Ezekiel a message for them, and not a very favorable one at that.  Jeremiah is still preaching God will allow Nebuchadnezzar to be victorious, get right with God. Ezekiel is reiterating what Jeremiah is saying, not all are going to die, even though the city will burn, God will show favor on those who obey His commands. God said, “They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries.” And He did. For over two thousand years the Jews survived scattered amongst different nations away from their homeland and then, then returned to Israel and reclaimed it as their nation. God is so good.

The more I study today’s scripture the bigger it grows, there is so much in it to glean from. In looking at the false prophets and the people who jumped on their band wagon and then the few people who held true to their faith, that would be spared with the crash of Jerusalem; what comes to mind is, like today, it can all just get so overwhelming. You know? Pastors, preachers, people say, “Believe this!” and others say, “No, believe that!” Which way should we turn? Who is telling the truth? It can get so … bewildering, and believe me when I say, friends, that is the enemy’s plan, because our God is NOT a God of confusion. No way! The enemy is subtle and will whisk you away before you even know what’s going on. Do not let that happen to you. Be grounded in God’s Word. What does that mean? Know your Bible so you can tell when someone is speaking an untruth to you. A lot of times the enemy will lace the lie with a bit of truth so you think you recognize it, but it is not the whole truth. He did it to Eve in the garden and he even had the audacity to try it on Jesus when he was fasting in the wilderness for forty days. You have got to know what God says in the Bible then stand firm, stick to your guns, dig in your heels and do whatever it takes to hold your position on your Rock of salvation.

Ephesians 6:10-18 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Right on?? 

And let all God’s people say …. Amen!

Have a good day and to Yahweh be all glory, honor and praise.

God bless you all.