Two Sister’s

 

Ezekiel 23:22-35

 

December 20, 2023

Two Sister’s

Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors, and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.  And they shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.  And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.  They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.  Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring have brought this upon you because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.  You have gone the way of your sister; therefore, I will give her cup into your hand.  Thus says the Lord God: “You shall drink your sister's cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much; you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.  A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria; you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its shards, and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

We have two sisters Israel and Judah, first Israel went after the little gods of their neighbors, and God brought Judgment on them.  Then Judah became more evil than Israel, and they are experiencing God’s wrath.

I sound like a broken record, but what about you, are you allowing this present darkness to dim the light that lives in you, in our nation, God spoke these words to Judah, are we not guilty of much the same?  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”

It is time to be the light of the world, for it has lost its soul seeking the little gods that have no power to do anything.  Matthew 5:16 gives us marching orders; “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” And the apostle Paul gives us this insight on how to do so. In Ephesians 5:8-10, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light for the fruit of the light^[a] results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What Profit a Man who has not invested in his Family

 

Today's lesson was very thought-provoking and well done.  I allow the Lord to speak to me as I listen to the many great commits.  Solomon was the smartest man that ever lived outside of the Godman Jesus, he sure got lost in himself.  That is not all that uncommon to man, but you would have thought a man with that much smart, would not have dropped the ball of life so much.

 

I need to reread  Ecclesiastes 2:18-23,  ^“I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.  So, I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,  because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.  What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?  For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night, his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.”

 

These thoughts flooded my mind, many a person is driven by I want to be in power, I want to have influence, I want to be prosperous, I want to have security, I believe that the first of these,(I want to have power) will lead a person to get their need met outside of Jesus.  It came at a great cost for Solomon, in that he sought many things, but did not invest in his sons.  Many a man today is making that same mistake, getting to the top, and letting the urgent rob them of the important, family.  Solomon’s sons were not taught wisdom, the seeking first the kingdom of God, and His rightlessness, and all these things will be added.

 

Many people are going down that same rabbit hole.  My niece and I had this discussion, she makes a six-figure income, and wonders if maybe Marxism might be better than Capitalism.  My niece's dad was all about himself and left his wife and kids, and it left them damaged.  This is my reply from her uncle who loves those kids.

 

But what I did not share strongly enough was I fully understand I was blessed by God; I will not take credit for what God has done; he has allowed us to manage what He has given us. I learned to work at an early age, we were poor but did not know that till much later in life.  But we were loved, and always had food to eat, and clothes to wear, most were patched or hand-me-downs.  But my parent love Jesus and my dad is one of the men I long to be like. The following is some of what I sent  my niece:  

 

 We are told that 14 to 20 million Illegals have come into our nation Under Biden & Harris and she has made the statement that we need equality.

 

Bernie  Sanders agrees with Harris he is also a lover of communists and approves of Harris's running mate, who calls China a good form of Government.

 

Now let me be blunt, I am not well educated, only two years of college, and I worked from 11-7 at a place called Corn Products cleaning out the oven and unloading bags of carbon in box cars, plus pulling samples from grain trucks, to pay for that college.  So, I’m not smart like many who ran up debt and now want the taxpayer to take care of their debt.  I would never have been that selfish.  But when many of you were playing video games at 12, I was working for H.E.B. making 60 cents an hour.

 

Got married at age 23,  still married to the same lady at the age of 82, and she is a wonderful lady.  Before we got married, I asked Jan if she wanted to be a slave to debt, and we agreed that was not a smart move, can you believe that, she never went to college, and as a high school student helped me pass college English.

 

Now that decision we made before getting married, has paid off big time, often we waited and waited for the funds to buy something we desired, and when we had saved the money, it was no longer a priority.  Now did that pay off, for 45, years we have been debt-free.  I worked for a good company but only in my last five years did I reach the six-figure salary.  But we saved our money, and we still control our spending, yet we have been blessed to be of help to both family and friends.  We are also able to support, not politicians, but people who risk their lives to share the gospel, with others like Samaritan’s Purse & the Jesus Film, which does great things for people all over the world.  Jan and I have been able to help do what they call mud out when a house has been damaged by water.

 

Now I have some questions you might enlighten me on.  I’ve not read anywhere that U.S. citizens are trying to get into Venezuela, Cuba, China, North Korea, Iran, China, or Russia.  But all of those countries have flooded our borders.  And some of you so-called enlightened, well-educated folks think we need equality.  To get that you got to take it from someone who has worked their buns off. 

 

Now the second question is are you so misinformed or ignorant of the Truth, that in all of those communist countries, there is a ruling group of tug that kills anyone that opposes them?

 

Now I come from a poor family, we work hard, and we love each other, we not only believe in God, but we worship Him and still do.  He has a name, and He loved you and desired to have a personal relationship with you, His name is Jesus the Christ, the one that Israel looked for but when He showed up as a servant and not a king, they rejected Him.  But they are still His chosen people.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Oholah and Oholibah

 

Ezekiel 23:1-21

 

December 15, 2023

 

Oholah and Oholibah

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.  They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.  Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

“Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors clothed in purple, governors, and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.  She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted.  She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her.  Therefore, I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.  These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women when judgment had been executed on her.

“Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.  She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.  And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.  But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.  When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.  And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.  When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister.  Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.  Thus, you longed for the lewdness of your youth when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.”

 

 

This chapter describes the spiritual infidelity of Israel and Judah, picturing them as two sisters.

 

Ezekiel refers to Oholah and Oholibah and identifies them as Samaria (the capital of Israel) and Jerusalem (the capital of Judah) in Ezekiel 23:4. The sisters are “daughters of the same mother” (verse 2) because Israel and Judah were originally one nation, Israel. The meanings of two names have special significance. Oholah means “her own tent or tabernacle”—Samaria had a separate worship place apart from the temple in Jerusalem. Oholibah means “my tabernacle is in her”—this represents Jerusalem, where God did establish worship.

Both Oholah and Oholibah engaged in prostitution (spiritual infidelity) in Egypt in their youth (Ezekiel 23:3). The older sister, Oholah, later played the harlot with the Assyrians (verses 5–8). That is, Samaria and Israel had sought fulfillment and security by aligning themselves with idolatrous Assyria. The punishment of Oholah fit her crime: “Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword” (verses 9–10). Israel was conquered and her people were deported to Assyria in 722 BC (2 Kings 17). The Assyrians were the instruments God used to inflict His judgments upon Israel.

In Ezekiel 23:11–21, Ezekiel portrays the younger sister, Oholibah, as even more corrupt and promiscuous than Oholah. Rather than learning from her sister’s mistakes, Oholibah craved after the Babylonian idols and then the Chaldean lifestyle, committing spiritual prostitution with the Babylonians. Because of Jerusalem’s and Judah’s idolatries, God alienated Himself from them and allowed them, too, to be taken into captivity: “I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards. I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury” (verses 24–25). Oholibah had learned nothing from her sister’s sad story, and Judah finally fell to Babylon in 586 BC.  (Taken from Got Question)

 

What about the spiritual infidelity of the USA?  How about in the Church, is there pride, arrogance, theft, hate, and unbelief?  Now in a pagan nation as we have become, where both man’s law and God’s are made little of, do you not have spiritual infidelity, much the same as God is talking about to Ezekiel, His prophet about, Israel and Judah?

 

So, as you go are you being a light to a lost world? ​ Are you telling them what Jesus has done for you and desires to do for them?   How will you be, I found each morning I must ask the Lord to guard my mouth and let me be light so that someone will ask me about the hope and peace I seem to have.  And I can tell them about Jesus.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 Ezekiel 23:1-21

 

December 15, 2023

 

Oholah and Oholibah

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.  They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.  Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

“Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors clothed in purple, governors, and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.  She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted.  She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her.  Therefore, I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.  These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women when judgment had been executed on her.

“Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.  She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.  And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.  But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.  When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.  And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.  When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister.  Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.  Thus, you longed for the lewdness of your youth when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.”

 

 

This chapter describes the spiritual infidelity of Israel and Judah, picturing them as two sisters.

 

Ezekiel refers to Oholah and Oholibah and identifies them as Samaria (the capital of Israel) and Jerusalem (the capital of Judah) in Ezekiel 23:4. The sisters are “daughters of the same mother” (verse 2) because Israel and Judah were originally one nation, Israel. The meanings of two names have special significance. Oholah means “her own tent or tabernacle”—Samaria had a separate worship place apart from the temple in Jerusalem. Oholibah means “my tabernacle is in her”—this represents Jerusalem, where God did establish worship.

Both Oholah and Oholibah engaged in prostitution (spiritual infidelity) in Egypt in their youth (Ezekiel 23:3). The older sister, Oholah, later played the harlot with the Assyrians (verses 5–8). That is, Samaria and Israel had sought fulfillment and security by aligning themselves with idolatrous Assyria. The punishment of Oholah fit her crime: “Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword” (verses 9–10). Israel was conquered and her people were deported to Assyria in 722 BC (2 Kings 17). The Assyrians were the instruments God used to inflict His judgments upon Israel.

In Ezekiel 23:11–21, Ezekiel portrays the younger sister, Oholibah, as even more corrupt and promiscuous than Oholah. Rather than learning from her sister’s mistakes, Oholibah craved after the Babylonian idols and then the Chaldean lifestyle, committing spiritual prostitution with the Babylonians. Because of Jerusalem’s and Judah’s idolatries, God alienated Himself from them and allowed them, too, to be taken into captivity: “I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards. I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury” (verses 24–25). Oholibah had learned nothing from her sister’s sad story, and Judah finally fell to Babylon in 586 BC.  (Taken from Got Question)

 

What about the spiritual infidelity of the USA?  How about in the Church, is there pride, arrogance, theft, hate, and unbelief?  Now in a pagan nation as we have become, where both man’s law and God’s are made little of, do you not have spiritual infidelity, much the same as God is talking about to Ezekiel, His prophet about, Israel and Judah?

 

So, as you go are you being a light to a lost world? ​ Are you telling them what Jesus has done for you and desires to do for them?   How will you be, I found each morning I must ask the Lord to guard my mouth and let me be light so that someone will ask me about the hope and peace I seem to have.  And I can tell them about Jesus.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Israel has become as Dross

 

Ezekiel 22:17-31

 

December 14, 2023

 

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver.  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.  As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.  I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.  As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

What is God saying when He compares Israel to dross?   “DROSS is the scum or unwanted material that forms on the surface of molten metal.”  And fire is used to remove it from the metal.

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.  The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.  Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths so that I am profaned among them.  Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.  And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.  The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.  And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore, I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

 

Her is Israel, and her prophets are liars and looking for personal gain they have no regard for the people and are responsible for making many widows.  Is that not a close parallel to what is happening in our day?

 

God is not happy with the priests, because they were not teaching God precepts and commandments.  Is that also a problem with the priest and preacher today, who do not teach the Scriptures, but are doing what 2 Timothy 4:3-4, said they would do?  “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 the Church have seen many who have gone after teachers that suit their own passions, and truth is what they say it is with no regard for what Scripture states.

 

Her princes sound a lot like many in the Congress and Senate of the United States of America, they seek only power and wealth, with no regard for the people.  Many have entered office with little in the area of wealth, but not many leave office that way.  And we the people have allowed this to happen.

 

The prophets had said God had spoken when they knew that God had not and they will receive a special place in Hell if they do not repent, and confess.

 

The people have no regard for the law of man or God and have done all kinds of evil.  And the Church as a whole is silent.

And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.   Have we forgotten that God often uses a total pagan to bring about His will? I do not know anyone's heart, but we sure need to be praying for our next President and remember that we have an election but God puts whom He desires in office, to bless or to curse.  And often He allows the people to get the one they want.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Israel's Shedding of Blood

                                                                 Ezekiel 22:1-16 

 

December 13, 2023

 

Israel's Shedding of Blood

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.  You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!  You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore, I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries.  Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.

“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.  Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.  You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.  There are men in you who slander to shed blood and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst.  In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you, they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.  One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.  In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.

“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.  Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.  I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you.  And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

 

A nation that is a sleep, a sinful people who have rejected God, in their desire to live life on their terms.  I am not a Prophet, but a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe we the Church are more like them than we understand.  Were there not Prophets like and Priest who saw and understood how Israel was becoming an abomination to God, and they kept silent?  That is what the Church has done.  Overall, we the Church have been witness to The Consequences of Roe v. Wade 63,459,781 Total abortions since 1973. (Taken from National Rights to Life).  One evil woman was used by the devil to steal, kill, and destroy the lives of over 63, million babies and as a whole we the Church were silent.  We watched our nation get invaded by people who have no regard for our law, and who lie when caught, they say as a whole, they are fleeing from persecution. We the Church have been silent and allowed our school system to fill our kids with untruths, and have told our children that God made a mistake, they should be another gender.  And we have allowed some of the evilest people to be our representatives in Washington, they do not care about this nation or its people, they are in it for themselves.  And we keep silent, payday is coming, and the house of God will be the first to be judged.  You will find that in 1 Peter 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

A day of Judgement

 

Ezekiel 21:14-34

 

December 12, 2023

 

 “As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them,  that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter.  Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.  I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the Lord have spoken.”

We who have been so blessed should have a hard time grasping God doing this to Israel, His chosen people.  Let it be a wake-up to the Church of our Father in Heaven will not put up with rebellion even from His chosen, much less His Church.

The word of the Lord came to me again: “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city.  Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. But to them, it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.

The king of Babylon is using his 'idols', or 'household god(s for divination but it is God who is pulling the string, he is God's instrument for the destruction of both Israel and Judah.  

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.  And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted.  A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.

“And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning—while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.  Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.  And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.  You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the Lord have spoken.”

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Lord Has Drawn His Sword

 

Ezekiel 21:1-13

 

December 11, 2023

 

The Lord Has Drawn His Sword

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.  Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.  And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.

“As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. ⁷ And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God.  And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: “A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished, sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!

(Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.) So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.  Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.  For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?” declares the Lord God.

This is much different than the Psalm of David, where he talks about the rod and staff, he is following after God, He is seeking God, and he desires God to be his provider and protector.  The contrast between Israel and David is very clear, with David seeking after God, looking to God and worshiping God, and Israel in total rebellion, seeking after the little gods of their neighbors. 

As I read this one must wonder, when will we who have said no to God as a nation, the church have been silent as we allow the theory of God and State separation.  We the Church were quiet when they said keep God out of the government, out of our public schools, and even out of many businesses.  When will God bring the judgment against our Nation, are we seeing the beginning with the present amination?

I have once more when to “Got Question”:

Psalm 23 is a beautiful poem that uses the image of God as a shepherd. David, who penned this psalm, had been a shepherd himself and understood the parallel between the task of a shepherd caring for his sheep and of God caring for His people. Sheep are totally dependent on the shepherd for food, water, leadership, and guidance as they move from place to place, just as we are dependent upon God for all that we need. Sheep depend on the shepherd for protection from a wide range of predators and dangers, just as we look to God as our Protector and Defender. In the New Testament, Jesus reveals Himself to be the Good Shepherd of His people (John 10:11, 14), fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy that God would come to shepherd His people (Ezekiel 34:7–16, 23).

 

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

In Search for Meaning and Truth

 

 

In Search for Meaning and Truth

 

July 4, 2023

 

 

Like the Samaria woman at the well, I came searching for anything to fix my thirst, and like her, I met Jesus, and he knew all about the things I was ashamed of.   All Jesus asked of her was a drink of water, and like so many, she did not know that He had living water, for the asking came with receiving Him.  

 

She like so many of us wonders how this could be true, in that he has no way to get the water out of that deep well.  But like her, we sure want to have that living water so that we do not need the well.  

 

And like the Samaria woman Jesus asks about our lives, the question he asks her is to go get your husband.  Her answer was I have no husband, and Jesus reminded her the man she was living with was not her husband, and that she had five husbands.  And as with her Jesus has to deal with the past before your encounter, to bring conviction that we have sinned and fall way short of God's glory.  In her case, conviction brought about repentance, 

 

Do you find it of interest, that Jesus did not come up with the four-step plan to fix her, that religion?

 

But He shares this with her and everyone; "But the hour is coming, and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

I have often called my encounter with Jesus when I pulled off the 18-lane highway on my way to hell, and at that rest stop, I met a man who told me all about the pot-holes and detours that lead me to nowhere, and that I've long regretted.  He told me how I had tried to take His dad's place and I came away from that encounter like the Samaria woman, changed not perfect, but with a spirit that longed to know my new friend Jesus and His Father.  To search His written Word for direction, and it has not been easy, I had to unlearn much that I believed, and my patterns of getting my needs met outside of Christ.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

How many Church Member or in the Wilderness?

 

 

Ezekiel 20:14-26

 

December 7, 2023

 

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.  But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.  Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.  Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.

 

It seems to this writer that many who go by the name or title of Christian in the USA are walking in the wilderness. Too much that has been given is expected.  So, the question is: Do you care that your family members friends, and neighbors are going to be in a place of darkness and isolation for eternity?

 

“And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols.  I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God." But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

 

Have you Examined yourself, I have too often, my time on planet Earth is short, and I desire to see Jesus.  I’ve heard many say they are looking forward to seeing Mom or Dad, and that is nice, but for me I long to see the one who took my punishment, and forgave my sin of trying to get my needs met outside of Him.  Yes, I want to see Jesus.

 

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.  But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.  Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, because they had not obeyed my rules but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols.  Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.

 

Church member and I’m addressing the one who like me for 27 years had my name on a Baptist church role, but it was not written in the Book of Life.  I am so thankful for my barber, Bob Keese, who asked me to attend a Bible study on Wednesday at noon at the Holiday Inn.  It was there I was introduced to four other men, who knew the Jesus I was only informed about.  It took six months but I came to the reality that I had missed the mark, and I needed to confess, that meant I needed to agree with the teaching of the Scripture, and that I had to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Blaise Pascal said and I quote: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

 

 I was in Victoria, Texas at a hotel opened the Bible to Romans 10:9-10, and read these words, and that night I got life in the full, I often allowed my flesh to rule and had many bought lessons, some that disgraced the name of my Lord.  But that night, this written word, was acted on by a sinner that God not only calls his child, but a saint.  “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

 

Ezekiel 20:1-13

 

December 6, 2023

 

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.  And the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.  Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God.  On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.   And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’  But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

 

Our Lord is very detailed in the messages He leaves for us to understand the relationship, He is Father, Lord, mighty God, and we are His children.  He will not put up with our putting other things before Him or trying to get our needs met outside of Him.  

Or we the Church are more like them than we want to admit?  And as the Church, we do not need to seek God through anyone but His Son, our Lord Jesus who intercede for us with the Father.  In Egypt the people were slaves, and God used Moses to speak to them, and God did mighty works to bring them to believe in Him, and to put the blood on their doorpost so the angel would pass over them and the firstborn.  But once they left Egypt, they were willing to go back to being slaves of man and not submitting to God’s authority over them.  Are we the Church that much different than them?  Do we not worship many things more than God?  How about knowing all the names of movie stars, but not knowing that Ezekiel is found in the Old Testament?  What about sports, how much do you know about them, compared to how much you know about God’s promise and instruction on living a victorious life?

 

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.  But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.  So, I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.  I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.  Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.  But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

 

We the Church are instructed to assemble ourselves, for worship, fellowship, and to encourage one another, and yet many since Covid, have not done so.  We have been told to honor God’s commands and it is our self-righteousness that makes us believe we are in step with our Lord.  If you go by the title of Christian but do not obey God’s commands, are you not a stumbling block that leads others to sin?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

 

Ezekiel 19:1-14

 

December 5, 2023

 

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say: What was your mother? A lioness!  Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions, she reared her cubs.  And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.  The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.  When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.  He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men, and seized their widows. He laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring.  Then the nations set against him from provinces on every side; they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit  With hooks they put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.

Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water. Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches. But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered.  As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.  Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.  And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling.

This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

 

The first question I had was the word Lament: and I went to “Got Question”

To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or actions. Lamenting is a common theme in the Bible. In fact, there is an Old Testament book named Lamentations.

The Bible records several reasons why people lament. We lament when we grieve over the loss of someone or something dear to us (Luke 8:52). Grief is a common human experience, and Jesus entered into that grief with us when He was on the earth. When Lazarus died, his sisters Mary and Martha grieved, and their friends lamented over this loss (John 11:17–37). Jesus’ heart was touched to such an extent that He wept with them (John 11:35).

 

Something has happened to the princes of Israel.   They were carried off to Egypt, and later to Babylon.  Mankind often lamented, over the loss of a job, the loss, of a parent or child, and when they feel helpless.  Many a night lying in a hospital bed, I cried out to God for I was helpless.

 

But does God lament over our sinfulness and out trying to get our needs met outside of Christ?  The answer may surprise some, but yes, we have many places in the Scripture where He does so.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Sin of the Father will not be past to a son who is Righteous

 

Ezekiel 18:14-24

 

December 4, 2023

 

 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,  withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live.  As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

Each of us stands before God, not for the sins of our fathers, but for our own sins.

“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.  The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done, he shall live.  Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?  But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

The real question is can a righteous person who does these things be forgiven.

I believe that God has made clear they can if they come to Him with a broken and contrite heart of confession.  First, I find that all have sin, Romans 3:23-25, and there is forgiveness and grace shown to anyone who agrees and confesses to God and seeks forgiveness.  That is made clear in 1 JOHN 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

As I searched, Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.  Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

 

I’ve also found peace from John 10:27-29 when the enemy of my soul attacks me, about my time of regrets of allowing my flesh to rule over my heart. ^”My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”  

 

I’ve also found peace in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

This I am sure that I sinned and disgraced my Lord’s name and, I also am sure I was in Christ and He was in me, and that I have confessed and was broken over that time in my life. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice