Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

                                                                        Ezekiel 5:1-4

 

November 2, 2023

 

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

“And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber's razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair.  A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.  And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe.  And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

Often doing what God tells you will not be pleasant nor accepted in your culture.  A shaved head and beard was a shameful act in his time.  It reminded me of a story told about Rees Howells as a young man who was told by God to not wear a hat, which was not acceptable in his day.  It disgraced his parents, but it was clear to him what God had said.  He visited with a friend in the Parliament and longed to wear a hat, but honored what God had told him to do.  This act and others of training led Rees to be known in England as the Intercessor.  It has been said that Churchill often asks him what the Nazis were planning.  My Bride of 58 years and I were discussing Rees’s faith and it became clear that his kind of faith is faith that requires a John the Baptist faith.  Jesus has to increase and you must decrease.  

The following quote from Rees Howells; “I want to know that the Holy Spirit is stronger than the devil in the Nazi system.  This is the battle of the ages, and victory here means victory for millions of people.” Rees Howells

If we, you, and I want to have faith that can faith that move mountains, it will require the following; A quote from Jesus, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  Taken from Matthew 6:33, but look at verse 34, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  It brings to mind this quote;

“Sorrow and regret look back.
Worry and fear look around,
But faith and hope look up!”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice