Dry Bones

 

 

Ezekiel 37:1-14

 

February 1, 2024

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.  And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.  And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live? ” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So, I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus, says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”  So, I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’  Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus, says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

 

A valley of dry bones, turned into a mighty army by God, question: do you know of a dictator who can do that?  We the Church are a mighty army, a chosen people, a holy nation, our Lord can take dry bone and make a mighty army, and we fear China, and Russia, what is wrong with us?

 

It may be hard for you and me to grasp that taking a valley of dry bone scattered all over a valley and God telling Ezekiel to prophesy over them, and yet that is what happens when one obeys God.  Unlike you and me, Ezekiel had learned to obey and do as God directed him, what if we the Church learned to do so? 

 

What if the Church followed orders, what if we loved others as ourselves, not choosing the ones we would love and the ones we chose not to love?  What if, as we go, we share our hope in Christ Jesus, and how He has changed our lives?  What if you honor God above all others, and study the Scriptures looking for directions on living life on planet earth?

 

What if you and I obey God the first time we hear the Spirit speak to us, for anything less than that is not obedience?

 

Then, and only then, would the Church be that mighty army marching to war, living in the power of a God who can make an Army out of dry bones.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

​

Note: As a member of the Body of Christ, His Church, these are painful questions, I had to ask myself.  How did you do?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

 

Ezekiel 36:22-38

 

January 31, 2024

 

I Will Put My Spirit Within You

“Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus, says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.  And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.  I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.  And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.  I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.  Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.  It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

“Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.  And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.  And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’  Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

“Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock.  Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

It has never been about you it has always been about God.  We live in a culture that teaches it is all about us, in sells we were taught the (WIIFM,) "What's in it For Me", and it is the way many inside the church and outside the church run their lives.  But our Creator God has never put that into your heart, for it has been clear from the beginning it is all about Him. 

 

As one reads these verses, it becomes clear that the Church, each of us who enter by the faith we were given by God, and His grace that has been poured out on us, that we have been given a new heart, a new spirit, and that the Spirit of God now indwells us.

 

What is the Church? It is not a building nor is it a religion, not a denomination, it is individuals who were getting their needs met outside of Christ and were drawn by God’s Spirit to a place of agreement that they needed Jesus.  And have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 12:12-14,24b-27 gives us clarity on what takes place after one has entered into Christ.  

 ^“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 

 But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Is the Church still the Church when it does not abide by what the Scripture states?  Let me address that with Scripture about the Church both in Revelation and 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”  We are witnesses to that in our time on Planet Earth.  And Revelation tells us that we will see falling away, of the seven churches two were like many in our time, they were; “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.  Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

You may be in one of these types of churches, ask the Lord if you are to stay and be a light to a very dark place or to leave, and find a body who follows the teaching of the Scriptures.

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name

 

Ezekiel 36:16-21

 

January 29, 2024

 

The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity.  So, I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it.  I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds, I judged them.  But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’  But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.

Is the Lord still concerned for His Holy Name?  Scripture tells us God changes not, in Hebrews 13:8, The Bible tells us that God is unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, and I do not change…”While everything around us changes, we can depend on God continually showing us His grace, love, and compassion.  

 

His chosen disgraced His holy Name, and we the Church can do the same. We were not the chosen, but we the wild vine grafted into the Vine that is Christ.  We are now God’s children and called to bring praise to His Holy Name, not shame.  1 Peter2:9-10, ^“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. “  

 

How that the good news, but it comes with you having a funeral, the old you died, but you got your needs met outside of Christ, before you by faith came to the understanding that you needed a Redeemer, someone to make you in right standing with God.  It was not a religious act, you did, but a confession of your sinful life, and your entering into a relationship with Christ.  Your desire for the old you should have changed, the things that once were ok, should no longer be ok, you are a new creation in Christ, and He has sent the Holy Spirit to live in you and guide you.

 

Now some warning size that you may be a religious person and not a child of God, do you seek Him, do you study His written Word, so that you learn how to have fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Do you take a stand, against evil, and do you call what God calls evil, evil?  If not, you missed the mark, you may be a pastor, a deacon, or the person at the church building all the time, but you need to examine yourself, to see if you are in Christ. If you are not seeking a deeper walk, you must ask why, and God will show you.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

 

Ezekiel 36:1-15

 

January 28, 2024

 

Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,’  therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people,  therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around,  therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey.  Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations.  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach.

“But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home.  For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.  And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.  And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.  I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children.  Thus says the Lord God: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,’ therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord God.  And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel was taken captive with the people of Israel, Ezekiel was a priest who was among the Jewish captives carried away to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar in approximately 597 B.C.

 

The countries were pleased to take the best of the grazing land the cities that were deserted, and even Edom, took joy in the fall of Israel, so they brought God’s wrath on themselves.

 

Ezekiel is prophesizing about a time in the future when God will return His people to their homeland and bless them greatly.

 

It is amazing how many people are ignorant of the Scriptures, for God has spoken, He will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel.   Ignorant is not an out.  

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Your True Identity in Christ

 

Your True Identity in Christ

We will discover what God has done through Christ.  We are not only forgiven, but we also have a new identity and a new life as His nature and His life become our life.

 

·      Romans 3:24  You are now justified and redeemed.

·      Romans 6:7     Free from sin’s power.

·      Romans 8:1     Indemnified (God does not reject

·      Rom.    15:7     Accepted in Him

·      1 Cor.   1:30      Have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption

·      1 Cor.   2:16      Mind of Christ is in you

·      1 Cor.   6:11      Washed, sanctified, justified

·      1 Cor.   6:17      One with the Holy Spirit

·      1 Cor. 15:22      Alive ( formerly dead)

·      2 Cor.   2:14      Always led in His triumph (whether it appears so or not)

·      2 Cor.     3:3      His Laws are written on your heart

·      2 Cor.    3:14     Your hardened mind is removed (mind transplant)

·      2 Cor.    5:17     A new creation (not an old garment with a new patch)

·      2 Cor.    5:21     The righteousness of God (cannot get more righteous)

·      Gal.       2:14     Have liberty (not a peaceful feeling, but a knowledge)

·      Gal.       3:28     All are one (no inferiority)

·      Gal.       4:7       A son/daughter and heir of God

·      Eph.      1:3       Blessed with every spiritual blessing

·      Eph.      1:4       Chosen, holy, blameless before God

·      Eph.      1:7       Redeemed, forgiven

·      Eph. 1: 10-11   Have an inheritance in heaven

·      Eph.      1:13    Seal in the Spirit

·      Eph.      2:6      Seated in heaven (now)

·      Eph.      2:10    Created for good works (which He can do through you)

·      Eph.      2:13    Brought near to God

·      Eph.      3:6      A partaker of the promise

·      Eph.      3:12    Have boldness and confident access to God

·      Eph.      5:30    A member of His body (not inferior)

·      Phil.      4:7      His peace guards your heart and mind (not a                           peaceful feeling, but knowledge)

·      Phil.      4:19    Have all needs (not greed) supplied

·      Col.       3:1      Raised up with Christ

·      Col.       3:3     Your life is hidden with Christ in God (see this by faith)     

 

One of God's precious promises is found in John 14:20, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Taken from “The Life” by my dear friends and mentor Bill and Anabel Gillham

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

 

Ezekiel 35:1-15

 

January 25, 2024

 

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste.  I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord.  Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you.  I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go.  And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall.  I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them’—although the Lord was there—therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And I will make myself known among them when I judge you.   And you shall know that I am the Lord.

“I have heard all the reviling’s that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.’  And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.  Thus says the Lord God: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.  As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Got Questions” had this to say on Mount Seir, “The term Mount Seir is most often used simply as a geographical marker to explain where something happened. The primary significance of Mount Seir is that this mountainous region was the territory that God gave to Esau: “The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day” (Deuteronomy 2:22). Because Seir belonged to Esau’s descendants, Israel was forbidden from invading or capturing that territory. God explains in Deuteronomy 2:5, “Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.”

 

“Later, when Edom became a threat to Judah, God did allow Judah to attack (2 Chronicles 25). Later, Ezekiel still records prophecies against Edom, using the name Mount Seir. The final mention of Mount Seir is a warning in Ezekiel 35:15: “Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

I hope everyone has learned from the book of Ezekiel that God desires each of us to have knowledge of Him and to honor Him with our lives.  It is very clear that none are without excuse, for God has manifested Himself in all that He makes clear in Romans 1:18-23, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

 

Ezekiel 34:25-31

 

January 24, 2024

 

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

“I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.  And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.  And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.  They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.  And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations.  And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God.  And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

Have you entered into a covenant of peace as a follower of Christ?  The answer can be found in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  Do you understand the world system gives you stuff, it rusts and gets old, it brings temporary happiness, but not lasting peace, and it comes often with a great price tag?

It matters not where you are in your relationship with Jesus, if you have by faith that God has given you, ask Jesus to forgive your sin, and you have confessed that to others, you have entered into Him, and God calls you family.  Family comes with this promise found in 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  That is your true identity in Christ, it matters not how you feel.  Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”  

Many of us who are His followers need to do a lot of taking off, the clothes of this world, the control of fear, the desire to control, and the desire for stuff, and put on the clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  It will require you to die to all the lies and deception the world tells you need, and then and only then will you proclaim as you go, the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

 

 

 

 

Ezekiel 34:11-24

 

January 23, 2024

 

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I will search for my sheep and will seek them out.  As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.  And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.  I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.  I will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.  I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

“As for you, my flock thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.  Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?  And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

“Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.  Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.  And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.  And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.

 

One cannot read this without seeing a Father’s love for His chosen people, and how the religious system had become a total failure from heaven's view.  The people had been led astray by men who desired power and wealth and showed an outward appearance of serving God, but inwardly their hearts were evil.  We have seen how God judged them and now He is taking compassion on His flock.

 

So how should we apply this Scripture to our daily lives?  First and by far the most important is an understanding, you who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who have been grafted into the Family of God by His blood that covers your sin, you are greatly loved. You will be fed Truth, and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.

 

You may be saying free from what, let me share, the fear of loss, for you are never far from the Lord.  He promises you, and it is not based on feeling, but Truth, “I will never leave you are forsake you.”  (Hebrew 13:5) You will be free from a religious system that tells you it all about performance, what you can do for God, for it is God who will give you everything you need for life in the full. It is not performance but relationship.  

 

And last it is freedom from a political system that all who put faith in it, are living in ignorance that no person has ever been in a role of power without God allowing it.  Your allegiance should be to God, and never to a political party, and if you value a political party to the point it takes priority over your relationship with God, you put your oars on the wrong side of the boat.  You have an idol and it cannot bring you, life, joy, or peace.  You and I are called to pray for our leaders, and nation, vote, yes, be good citizens, yes, and love God above all others. 

 

Our Shepherd is greater than David, in that He made David, His name is Jesus, and He loves you beyond your understanding.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

 

Ezekiel 34:1-10

 

January 22, 2024

 

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness, you have ruled them.  So, they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

 

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

 

I was recently at a funeral and I saw two signs at the building where the Church gathers to worship, both were signs that reminded me of what God is saying to Ezekiel about the shepherds.  The signs were in a prime parking place and they said Senior Pastor Parking and Senior Pastor Wives Parking.  Now I do not know how anyone else feels about that but I sent them to my pastor, as a joke, and asked where his sign and his wife's signs were, a quick reply, servants do not have special parking.  In fact, at Oakwood, the staff from the senior pastor down is required to park on Sundays away from the building to give others better parking.  

 

Does God have anything to say about being a shepherd, and what are their duties? Yes, Jesus tells us in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  Jesus is the head Shepherd, but what those who are called to pastor, and teach, has the Scriptures given them direction?  It does, in 1 Peter 5:1-6, “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.  And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.  Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

If you have been called by God to the role of shepherd, you are blessed but remember your calling is not to be dictatorial or too dominant, but to preach the Word in season and out of season.  You are a guide, not the center of attention, you live a life that others will follow, and you love and forgive as Jesus has done.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jerusalem Struck Down

 

Ezekiel 33:21-33

 

January 21, 2024

 

Jerusalem Struck Down

In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.”  Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came, and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’  Therefore, say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?  You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land?  Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.  And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through.  Then they will know that I am the Lord when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.

 “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’  And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.  And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it. When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

What happens to a people or a nation when God shuts the mouth of His spokesman? We have not experienced such in the USA, but we do have many who tell the people what they desire to hear. But now God has opened the mouth of Ezekiel, and the bad news is that the people were like many today: They acknowledged God with their mouths, but their hearts were far from Him.

Like the USA they worship stuff, and themselves, but do not obey the teaching of God.  They enjoyed listening to Ezekiel, even believing he was a prophet of God, but they did as many who heard the message today, left the building and the words they heard had no impact on them.

On this note, I must say what will it take for the Church to awaken to its calling, to by your love they will know you are Jesus' disciples?   What will it take for the Church to love its neighbors as itself, or what will have to happen to love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as you and I were commanded?

What will happen in your life for you to know that God loves you and desires that you obey His teaching? I understand this from my walk, obedience brings blessing, and closeness with the Lord.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice