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 prophesying 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

 

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 revilings 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 still, Ezekiel 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.  None is 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 often comes 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 God's 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

 

Where does Power Come From?

 

Good morning, it began with someone calling the house at 5:50 a.m., and no answer when I awoke from a deep sleep.  It has been very windy so far, but the sun is breaking through the clouds, and I’ve been reading on page 1427 of (The Complete Works of O.C.) title Perils of Power.  This thought came to mind: the perils of power are taking place in our Congress?  Jan and I discussed this, and she thought not, because many of them are not Christian. As Oswald states, it is God who places a person in a position of honor, as he did with Pharaoh.  King Nebuchadnezzar came into my mind, and how God gave him great power till the terrible peril of pride entered his heart, and God hardened his heart, and only after seven years of eating grass did God extend grace and bring him back to rule.  It was at this point that we see a man who understood that his power was a gift, and that the God who gave the gift was more than able to remove it at His will.  

 

Chambers used this line: “The inevitable result of sin is to destroy the power of knowing it is sin.”  That quote reminded me of what Pastor Joe, the missionary, told me as a young Christian: “Sin is akin to darkness; at first it is so dark, but the longer you stay in the darkness, your eyes adjust, and before long it is not dark.”  Is that what has happened to Congress? Do they not even know that they are sinning when they lie, steal, and break the public trust with the very people who sent them to Congress to represent them?

 

Just Pondering,

 

Bob

 

If you do not have the book “The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers,” I am adding the article.

 

Perils of Power (Jeremiah 23:1-3; Luke 22:24-27)

 

Temporal power is merely the manifestation of a Divine purpose, leaving ample room for the prostitution of that power.  “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”  When a man is once placed in a position of honor under God’s providence and does not maintain a right relationship to God, the very position in which God has put him will harden him away from God.  Power we must have, whether we like it or not, but power is a terrible peril unless the life is rooted in God’s grace.

 

Bear in mind the distinction between the results of sin and punishment for sin.  Verse 2 refers to the latter – “ . . . behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”  The inevitable results of sin are to destroy the power of knowing it is sin.  The punishment of sin is that God banishes the sinner from His presence.  What is being forgotten today is that there is any punishment –“This is simply the result of having made a mistake.”  The suffering that comes to the children of bad people is the inevitable result of sin, not its punishment; punishment is meted out here or hereafter to the parents who may never suffer in this present life.  In this case, God interfered with the punishment because they were His people.

 

“Ye have scattered My flock, and driven them away . . .” Beware of the possibility of being faced by God at some time with the lives you have been the cause of being driven out.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Five Results of Greed

 

Five Results of Greed

 

1.   Family Troubles

a.   “Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.” Proverbs 15:27

 

2.   Disappointment

​      a.“ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor                     he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” 

  ​         Ecclesiastes 5:10

 

3.   Folly

a.   “Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay,​ are those who        gain riches by unjust means.​ When their lives are half gone,              their ​   riches will desert them,​ and in the end they will prove to        be fools.” Jeremiah 17:11

 

4.    Apostasy

a.   “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1 Timothy 6:10

 

5.    Misery

a.   “Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.”  James 5:3

 

Your assignment is to search the book of Proverbs for where they caution against greed and place them where they fit with these titles.

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 that 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 God has called you 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