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how the culture has molded the
Israelites into their mold. Just like in today's time, our
culture has molded us into its mold in the way we think a lot. And we probably need to change
a lot of ways of our thinking. When you come to Ezekiel 19,
which we've already gone over, we've looked at how there's no
hope in trusting those that are left in Judea. There's no hope
in trusting King Zedekiah. The exiles are basically left,
according to Ezekiel, what he said. There's no human hope. No hope. So, when you come to
chapter 20 and verse 1, what you see there, there's a date
given. It says, It came to pass in the
seventh year and the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, as
certain of the elders came to inquire of the Lord and sat before
me. Here's a time frame. It's around
July or August of the year 591 B.C. The last time a date was
given was back in chapter 8 in verse 1, if it's written in chronological
order. That means in 11 months, that
was back in 590 B.C., 11 months have transpired from chapter
8 all the way to chapter 20. That's 11-month time period. and the elders are coming to
ask of the Lord. They want to inquire of the Lord.
They want to ask the Lord a question. Now, what are they going to ask
Him? What's on their mind? You know what? The Word of God
don't reveal it because it's not important. The Lord don't
want to hear their questions. Notice what he says in verse
2 and 3. Then came the Word of the Lord
unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel,
and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. Are you coming?
To inquire of me as I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired
by you." You're coming to ask a question of me? I'm not going
to let you ask a question from me, is what he says. Boy, that's
pretty bold. That's kind of stunning when
you think maybe they were going to ask, how long are we in exile? What's our hope? Where is our
hope at? What should we be looking for?
What God basically says, you're not going to ask me no questions.
I'm the one that sets the agenda. I am the one who's in control.
John Calvin wrote of this passage of Scripture. He said, God saw
their lack of holy desires to know and do God's will. Therefore,
God says, no answer, no questions. In Jeremiah 29, which was a contemporary
right there with Ezekiel, down in verse 13, God says, you shall
seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all
of your heart. Only at that point, and that's
true today, will God hear our questions. When we seek Him,
that's when we'll find Him, when we search with all of our heart.
Don't expect answers if you're flippant. And don't expect answers
if you're like these, if you're lacking holy desires to know
and do God's will. What Ezekiel is told to do, he's
told in basically reviews of history. Look back over time. Look at what God has done and
look at what you have done. In verse 4, "'Will you judge
them, son of man? Will you judge them? Cause them
to know the abominations of their fathers.'" Let them know what's
happened. Say unto them in verse 5, "'Thus
saith the Lord God, in the day when I chose Israel.'" In other
words, these are my covenant people. I make covenant with
them. and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of
Jacob, made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when
I lifted up my hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God."
He had a relationship with them. And all the way down to verse
10, he's going to talk about their history when they were
in Egypt. Now, we'll read over these verses, and notice what
it says when they were in Egypt. In the day that I lifted up mine
hand, in verse 6, unto them, to bring them forth out of the
land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing
with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands, Then
said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of
his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am
the Lord your God." While the children of Israel were in Egypt,
notice here, and I believe this is the only time I've noticed
it in God's Word, while they were in Egypt, they had adopted
the false gods of the Egyptians. And God told them, don't defile
yourselves with them. And it says in the very next
verse, they rebelled against me. In other words, they took
unto them all the images of the culture and they sucked in the
culture. And the culture molded them into the shape that culture
was in. Just like today, our culture
is molding us and shaping us. They rebelled against me. They
wouldn't listen to me. They did not, every man, cast
away the abomination of their eyes. Neither did they forsake
the idols of Egypt. Then I said, I'm going to pour
out my fury upon them to accomplish my anger against them in the
midst of the land of Egypt." Now, here is just the first setting
that he's showing. These people, the Israelites,
instead of desiring God's promise, they wanted to get comfortable
with the culture. They wanted to trust in these
gods and make these gods their gods. They deserved God's wrath,
didn't they? But notice what God does in verse
9, but I wrought, or I worked. God says, here's what I did.
They deserved my wrath, but I worked for my name's sake. And let me
tell you, this is why God works, and this is why God works in
your life, my life. Why he does what he does, he
does it for his namesake, that it should not be polluted before
the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself
known unto them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. Wherefore I caused them to go
forth out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
They deserved God's wrath. What did God do? God delivered
them. That's a little unusual, but
notice the reason he did it. He did it for the glory of his
name and the glory of his promise. God's name was at stake. The
people deserved death and punishment, the wrath of God. But God defended
his great name, so he brought them out of Egypt. Now, the next
section, what it does, it covers the children of Israel in their
history, the timeframe when they're in the wilderness. God delivered
them from Egypt, but he brought them through the wilderness.
Now, this section covers verses 10 through 26. And notice here,
as this part's given, it says that God gave them a rulebook,
the standard to live by. Notice what it says in verse
11, "'And I gave them My statutes, I showed them My judgments, which
if a man do, he shall even live in them.'" Here's how you ought
to live. You go by this, you live. This
is how you should be living. It's what God's telling them.
He's giving them instructions. "'Moreover, also I gave unto
them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they
might know that I am the Lord that sanctified them.'" I'm the
Lord that separates you and sets you apart. But the house of Israel rebelled
against me in the wilderness." Now, they rebelled in verse 8. Here, in verse 13, they're rebelling
again. They rebelled in Egypt. They're
rebelling in the wilderness. You remember what they did in
the wilderness? Right after they got out of Egypt, they built
that golden calf. You know what? That was one of
the false gods of the Egyptians. And they kept it in their minds
So the imagery was made before them in the wilderness. They
rebelled against me in the wilderness. They walked not in my statutes.
They despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live
in them. Here's how you should live, as
God's saying. My Sabbaths they greatly polluted.
Then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness
to consume them. Here, he makes the same comment. And you know what they also did?
They committed sexual immorality. You find that Bel-Pior, and thousands
of them died. What was their response? They
rebelled against God. And what you find in verse 14,
how God worked. How did God work? He worked the
same way He did back in verse 9. I worked for my name's sake,
that it should not be polluted for the heathen in whose sight
I had brought them out." In other words, God's wrath was not poured
out upon him like he could have poured out, but he worked for
his name's sake. Yet also, I lifted up my hand
unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into
the land which I had given them flowing with milk and honey,
which is the glory of all the lands. God's working mercifully
toward these sinners. He's showing grace just like
He shows me and you continually. Here God says, I'm not going
to bring you into the land, because you despise my judgments and
walk not in my statutes, you pollute my Sabbaths. For their
heart went after the idols. Nevertheless, mine eyes spared
them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in
the wilderness." That generation. They produced another generation.
That other generation come up in verse 18. Here is that next
generation. And what was their response?
God said to them, to the children that come up in the wilderness.
Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe
their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord
your God. Walk in my statutes. Keep my judgments. Do them. Hallow
my Sabbaths. They shall be a sign between
me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.
Notwithstanding, how do they respond? The children rebelled
against me." Do you notice the consistent behavior here? They
walked not in my statues, neither keep my judgments unto them,
which if a man do, he shall live in them." Here's how you're supposed
to live. But they polluted my Sabbaths.
Then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them to accomplish
my anger against them in the wilderness. How did God work? Nevertheless, I withdrew mine
hand and worked for my namesake. You notice the consistency of
God's mercy and grace. God's consistently defending
his name. That it should not be polluted
in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them
out. God delivered them in front of
all these nations. They rebelled against God, but
God defended his great name. In verse 23, I lifted up mine
hand unto them, also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among
the heathen, and disperse them through the countries, because
they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes,
polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their father's
idols. Wherefore I gave them also statutes
that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live.
God's going counteractive to them here. I polluted them in
their own gifts, and that they caused to pass through the fire
all that opened the wound." In other words, they began sacrificing
their children to false gods. And God polluted their gifts,
that I might make them desolate to the end that they might know
that I am the Lord. God gave them the law, but the
law condemned them. God told them they're doing wrong. This child sacrifice. If you
can think about it, if you put yourself back in that culture
in that day and time, what would they offer false gods? You think
about it, they would offer the false gods the best thing they
could think of to try to appease the false gods. What was the
best thing that they had? The best thing they had was their
children. Boy, I'm going to offer my kids up. Now, maybe they perverted
the Word of God. Maybe they looked at when Abraham
was called to offer up Isaac, and maybe they twisted the Scripture
to think, maybe I should offer up my child. You remember God
said to the children of Israel, the first ones that come forth
from the womb, they are to be unto the Lord. Now, that wouldn't
mean to kill them, but maybe they twisted the Scripture to
meet their false gods and try to appease God at the same time.
They perverted religions, what they did, into fleshly desires. Look at verse 27, "'Therefore,
son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, saying to them, Thus
saith the Lord God, Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed
me.'" They blasphemed God, in that they have committed a trespass
against me. They offered sacrifices to the
Baal and Asherah, the Canaanite gods and goddesses. You remember,
these are the ones God drove out of the land because of their
ungodly practices, and they're coming in and they're changing
and they're bringing in the ungodly practices. Wow! Verse 28, "'For when I had brought
them into the land, for the which I lifted up my hand to give it
to them, then they saw every high hill and all the thick trees,
and they offered there their sacrifices. And there they presented
the provocation of their offering. There also they made their sweet
savor and poured out their drink offerings.' And then in verse
29, God said unto them, "'This is a high place whereinto ye
go.' The name thereof is called Bama, What is bema? It means high place, unto this
day. Wherefore say unto the house
of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, Are you polluted after the
manner of your fathers, and commit your whoredom after their abominations?
For when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass
through the fire, you pollute yourselves with all your idols,
even unto this day. And shall I be inquired of you? You're going to ask me questions,
O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God,
I will not be inquired of you. I'm not going to hear your questions.
and that which comes into your mind shall not be at all. That,
you say, we will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries
to serve wood and stone." You see what they're saying? I'm
going to be like the other countries. I'm going to be like the other
nations. I'm going to be like the other
cultures. These cultures were molding them into their mindset. And you know what? Isn't that
what God's warned us against over in Romans chapter 12? Be
not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind. How are we conformed to this
world? You know what a good illustration of this is? You ever make Jell-O? You put it in a mold and you
make that Jell-O a certain shape? We visited the Kentucky chocolate
candy place today. Boy, they got boxes of molds.
They make candy in all kinds of shapes. Fascinating. They let you sample it, too.
Can you tell? It was good stuff. But you know
what they were doing with those molds? They were shaping something
into the shape they wanted it in, and that's what the culture
does with people today. That's why God warns, even in
the New Testament, be not conformed to this world. Don't let it put
you into its mold. but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, which only comes through the Word of
God." The culture was forming them into a worldly mold. It seems like they never learned
from God's blessings, God's mercies, His promises, His guidance, all
of His judgments. It seems like they just didn't
get it. There was a cycle of rebellion.
You see that? There's Egypt, then there's the
wilderness, then it keeps on going. But you know what? There's
a book written just that does the same thing in the book of
Judges. You remember how they were gone into bondage? They
cried unto God. God delivered them by a great
judge. He ruled for a short time. He
died. They went back into sin. They
went back into bondage. That cycle goes all through the
book, over and over. And here, it was like a microcosm
of the whole history of Israel. It's kind of like a small picture
of it. Why does God not just smite them? Why does God's wrath
just not come down upon them? You know, he's already mentioned
it three times. I work for my name. God works to bring glory to his
name. Here's why God's work continues
the same way. Here's why you and I are not
destroyed, totally consumed, is because God works to bring
glory to his name. And you know what? He respects
the promise that he made, the covenant that he's made. In verses
29 through 32, you see the idolatry. You see the rebellion. In verse 32, you see how they
wanted to be like others. In verse 33, all the way down
to verse 44, what you have is kind of a future picture. And
in this future picture, different people would translate it or
interpret it in different ways. But what it's simply saying,
God's going to deliver again. In the same fashion that he brought
Israel out with the exodus, God's going to deliver in a mighty
way. Notice it says in 33 and 34. As I live, saith the Lord
God, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched-out arm
and with fury poured out will I rule over you. I will bring
you out from the people. I will gather you out of the
countries wherein you are scattered with a mighty hand and a stretched-out
arm with fury poured out." God's going to deliver in a mighty
way again is what he's saying. God's going to deliver. Then
you get in verses 35 through 38. This is another future thing,
I believe. Some people put it all the way
to the end of time. I believe it goes into the New
Testament. The Lord starts His kind of church. As He starts
that kind of church, the gospel starts to go forth. And notice
it says, I'm going to bring you into the wilderness of the people,
and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded
with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will
I plead with you, saith the Lord God. I will cause you to pass
under the rod. What does it mean to cause to
pass under the rod? Think back with me. They were shepherds
back in that day and time. They kept sheep. You know how
they kept sheep when they put them in the sheepfold at night?
They would pass under the rod one sheep at a time. They'd go
under the rod. You know what they were doing?
They were counting to make sure they got all the sheep. You know
what? God's going to make them pass
under the rod. You know what God says? He's not going to lose
near one. He's got them all. He knows each
and every one of us by name. And not one's going to be missing,
and not one's going to lose their salvation. Not one of them's
going to die and go to hell. He says,
I will cause you to pass under the rod. I'll bring you into
the bond of the covenant. I will purge out from among you
the rebels. What about those that are Rebelling. What about those that are transgressors? He says, I'm going to bring them
forth out of the country where they sojourned. They shall not
enter into the land of Israel. You shall know that I am the
Lord God. In other words, there's no way
they're going to make it. If they rebel and they're disobedient,
it shows they're not God's sheep. As for you, O house of Israel,
thus saith the Lord God, Go ye, serve every one his idols, and
hereafter also, if you will not hearken unto me, but pollute
ye my holy name no more with your gifts and with your idols.
For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,
saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, All
of them in the land serve me. There will I accept them. There
will I require your offerings, the first fruit of your oblations.
With all your holy things, I will accept you with your sweet savor.
When I bring you out from the people and gather you out of
the countries wherein you've been scattered, I will be sanctified
in you before the heathen." God's delivering those sheep. They're coming in. The gospel
goes forth. God brings his sheep in. And
you remember your ways, all your doings wherein you've been defiled,
you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils
that you have committed." As people are called with the Gospel,
you know what? Those that are genuine, they
hate their evil ways. They've turned from their sins.
They loathe the evil that they used to do. Look back at your
life. If you've been born again, don't
you hate the evil ways that were in your past? Here's that remnant God's saving. You shall know that I am the
Lord when I have worked with you for my name's sake, not according
to your wicked ways, not according to your corrupt doings. O ye
house of Israel, saith the Lord God. The only worship that God
will accept is when those line up with God concerning His salvation. And you know who's exalted in
salvation? It's Jesus Christ. And only as
we line up with Him, that's the only worship that's accepted. Here is the remnant. You know what? God has called us. And He's the one that's keeping
us. And it's only because of His mercies and grace, just like
to those in the Old Testament, That's the only reason we're
kept. It's because of the promise of God. May we cherish His promises. May we cherish that more than
what the world has to offer. The Israelites wanted what the
world had to offer. There's a lot of people in our
day and time want what the world has to offer. May we cherish
the precious truth of God's Word. as it's found in Jesus Christ
and Him alone. Let's have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we do pray that it
would find lodging in our hearts. And Lord, we pray that Your Word,
we would cherish the promises, and ultimately the promise of
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, may our worship
be acceptable unto You. We ask that you'd help us not
to be rebellious. Lord, we ask that you'd help
us to walk in your ways. Forgive us where we failed you.
Guide us by your Spirit. Give us sight to see your working
for your great namesake. Give us understanding. Lord, as we go through this life,
help us to see your mighty hand at work. that we will give you
glory for it, for you alone are worthy. For Christ's sake, amen. You are dismissed.
How God Works
Series Ezekiel
| Sermon ID | 430172337479 |
| Duration | 25:40 |
| Date | |
| Category | Midweek Service |
| Bible Text | Ezekiel 20 |
| Language | English |
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