Today’s Reading: Ezek 6:1–8:18, Rev 2:12–29, Job 33:1–7

Today’s Theme: Judgement for God’s Glory

Today’s there is the judgement of God. God’s judgement is for his own glory to display his holiness, justice, truth and love.

The judgment and discipline of God calls us to repent and walk in holiness.

Ezekiel 6:1–8:18

Judgement for God’s Glory

And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.(Ezekiel 6:7, ESV)

This great judgement is for the glory and honour of God, notice the theme of destroying idols and alters

Be sensitive to God’s heart

then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations.(Ezekiel 6:9, ESV)

Wow, what an insight into Gods affections and feelings, more than the sin of the lost, the unfaithfulness and wandering of the people he has chosen to save breaks His heart.

Idolatry leads to death

And you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols.(Ezekiel 6:13, ESV)

Idolatry will lead to death, if we idolise anything or anyone, it will lead to our spiritual death. Idolatry is a deadly sin as it directly affects the zealous passion and jealousy of the Lord resulting in our judgement

You might not be able to repent!

And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(Ezekiel 7:4, ESV)

A great warning to all who think they can sin now and repent later, NO, God will judge you in the middle of your sin, rebellion and compromise

The Lord who strikes

And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.(Ezekiel 7:9, ESV)

God is not anti spanking, he is a God who strikes us in discipline and expects us to follow this pattern with our own children

Money, a functional idol

They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.(Ezekiel 7:19, ESV)

Money which can become a functional idol and hence be a stumbling block, it can not save us in times of judgement or discipline from God, when difficult situations arise money can become worthless to us and only God can help

Seek God now

Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders.(Ezekiel 7:26, ESV)

When disaster and judgement strike, it is often too late to seek council, we must seek Lord before the fact and then he will guide us in the difficult times

Ezekiel’s status

In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there.(Ezekiel 8:1, ESV)

This shows us that Ezekiel was respected

Hidden sin… No such thing

Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”(Ezekiel 8:12, ESV)

Leaders committing sin in secret and darkness causes disaster to fall upon Gods people, Lord keep us from the folly of so called hidden sin… nothing is hidden from you

Babylonian religion

Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.(Ezekiel 8:14, ESV)

This is the blatant old religion of Babylon, now adapted into many world religions and esoteric schools of theosophy in the new age movement, we need to run this nonsense out of the church

Don’t worship nature

And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.(Ezekiel 8:16, ESV)

The worship of nature is all around us in the environmentalist movement and new age movement, we need to guard against this, notice they had turned their backs on the Lord

God is free

Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”(Ezekiel 8:18, ESV)

Crying out to God does not mean he has to do a thing, he is not bound by cosmic rules etc as is implied by the word of faith movement

Revelation 2:12–29

False teaching is evil

So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.(Revelation 2:15, ESV)

God will hold us responsible for false teaching especially ones that lead to debauchery

Combat false teaching

Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.(Revelation 2:16, ESV)

God fights false teaching with teaching of the bible through servants he raises up to combat the false teachings

The overcomes reward

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’(Revelation 2:17, ESV)

A great, personal promise and incentive for all of us to overcome in the area of upholding and teaching the truth

A healthy church

“ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.(Revelation 2:19, ESV)

This was a good church, they were working, loving, had faith, served and were enduring, all healthy sings for a church community

God knows your actions which come from your heart

and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.(Revelation 2:23, ESV)

Look at the language the Lord uses here, he says yes I search the heart and mind and know the heart and mind… but will reward according to what you do, because what you do came from your heart. So the excuse God knows my heart will not fly.

We must stand up as a church against both sexual immorality and women not submitting to authority, these sins are linked in many ways.

Hold fast

Only hold fast what you have until I come.(Revelation 2:25, ESV)

In the midst of a corrupted church system, God calls his people to hold fast to the truth

The conquers reward

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,(Revelation 2:26, ESV)

A great promise and reward to look forward to, this gives us insight into the work we will have to do in the kingdom

Job 33:1–7

Humble and bold

Behold, no fear of me need terrify you; my pressure will not be heavy upon you.(Job 33:7, ESV)

I think this gives us some insight into the type of man Elihu was, he seems like a humble and gentle man who at the same time was bold to stand for truth