Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 26: Friday
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying,–
‘The fathers eat the sour grapes,
But the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
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As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine.”
Ezekiel 18:1–4a LSB
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Friday’s Bible reading is Ezekiel 13–18. In the moral turbidity of today, reading Ezekiel provides clarity, strength and comfort as God cuts through the lies and deceptive whitewash of those who defy God and deceive others, and declares His judgment on those who propagate evil and rebellion. The character and holiness of God resonates in this book, and by His very nature, He provides a solid foundation on which we can stand.
Targeted in chapter 13, are false prophets and prophetesses who have claimed to speak for God, when they have only seen “false visions and utter lying divinations” and prophesied from their own inspiration. Look at how their lies have affected the righteous and the wicked:
“Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you hunt souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let their souls go, the very souls whom you hunt as birds. I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am Yahweh. Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief, but have strengthened the hands of the wicked not to turn from his evil way and preserve his life, therefore, you women will no longer see worthless visions or practice divination, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.”
Ezekiel 13:20–23 LSB
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As I wrote in House On The Rock (one of the posts I later collected for the Apologetics page), who among us, whatever our code of morality may be, has not at one time cried, “That’s not fair!” and yearned to see justice done. I think our desire for justice is a reflection of the holiness of God. Even those who may rail against a God they say exists only in the minds of men to give condemnation and guilt, have at some point in their life cried out to see wrongs made right, even if only within their own life. As you read of God’s judgment, see in the wrath of God, the justice of God and the immovable rock of His righteousness.
Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, break its staff of bread, send famine against it, and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares Lord Yahweh.
Ezekiel 14:12–14 LSB
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As God details the sin of His people and His judgment, He also declares:
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying,–
‘The fathers eat the sour grapes,
But the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
–
As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine.”
Ezekiel 18:1–4a LSB
–
God makes it clear that He will judge each for his sin, and that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
“But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has done and keeps all My statutes and does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has done will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has done, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares Lord Yahweh, “is it not that he should turn from his ways and live?
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“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, does injustice, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his unfaithfulness which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, does injustice, and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has done he will die. Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has done and does justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life. Again, he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had done; he shall surely live; he shall not die. But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?
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“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his way,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Turn back and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. Cast away from yourselves all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Now why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Therefore, turn back and live.”
Ezekiel 18:21–32 LSB
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Read that again. God will judge each for his sin, but He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Justice and mercy. Sin and be judged, or repent and be forgiven. “Therefore, turn back and live.”
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Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
‘Druer i et Drivhus’ (Grapes in a Greenhouse): Anna Syberg. Public Domain.
1G. R. Beasley-Murray, “Ezekiel,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds., (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 670.
2,3John B. Taylor, Ezekiel: An Introduction and Commentary (The Tyndale Press, London: 1969) 102 Ellison quote from Ezekiel, the Man and his Message by H. L. Ellison, p. 44; 103.
I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.
Copyright ©2011–2023 Iwana Carpenter
Kindling for Candles 