King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: September 02, 2022
Chapters: EZEKIEL 21-22
Study: God or Tradition
Hello My Friend,
There are many people in the world who act as Christians, they follow a script, even have the right expressions, and are very good at emulating Christ. While only God knows who are truly His, a good indicator of a Christian is not in how well they act out a script, it is how they emulate Christ on and off camera. You see, nothing we do goes unnoticed as God always has the camera on us, While no one is perfect, Jesus, sees all, the heart, the mind, and the spirit within each and every one of us, and He knows who are true.
[Mark 7:5-9 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.]
Israel is no exception, they pride themselves on the fact that God calls them His people, and believe that God will always have mercy on them. They imagined that He would be like He always has been, but God was no longer coming to their aid. You see, He knew they were only acting, and had no intention of turning away from their sin. As we continue in the reading of Ezekiel, God, goes on to explain the parable spoken in the last chapter, His anger toward Jerusalem and how much they destroyed it with their wicked abominations.
[Ezekiel 21:2-6 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. 6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.]
[and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.] Remember, God gave the country of Israel to Israel, which was Canaan, for an inheritance, but they have polluted it and destroyed it with everything from idolatry to incest, and even sacrificing their own children. This was something that He actually foretold would happen, [Joshua 23:15-16 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.]
Although we know that they are in denial of Christ, we really do need to have compassion on them and pray for them. Why? We should never take delight in seeing the lost, whether Jew or Gentile, fall into their own destruction, but that is exactly what they are doing. God, was about to cut Himself off from Jerusalem and the entire land and goes on to tell them that they are all on trial.
[Ezekiel 21:13-17 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD. 14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. 15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. 16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. 17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.]
[and I will cause my fury to rest:] God Himself, will clap His hands together after Jerusalem is destroyed, just as He told Ezekiel to do, symbolizing that His anger toward them was now satisfied, He is now at rest, and then restoration can begin. This will actually be a foreshadow of what will take place when Jesus returns as King and judges the world, and not only will the deniers of Christ and anyone not knowing who He is will face their judgment, so will Satan, that great accuser. Right now, Satan is actually the prince over the world, and he is basking in his glory right now as he sees the world getting more wicked by the day, and “Christians” too as they are falling away from Christ, but he too will face judgment. And while God is referring to the king of Babylon.
[Ezekiel 21:19,21,23 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. 21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. 23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.]
[but he will call to remembrance the iniquity,] It occurred to me why God keeps Satan around right now, He is actually using Satan to sift the wicked as wheat from His own, [Matthew 13:27-30 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.]
Again, the day will come when Jesus will judge Satan, and overturn all evil, [Ezekiel 21:24-27 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. 25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.]
[profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come,] Satan’s day is coming, and while he is in denial of that fact, he is also freaking out right now, which is why we are seeing so much evil taking place. And talk about being sifted as wheat, God goes on to tell Jerusalem what they are guilty of.
[Ezekiel 22:4-8 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. 5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed. 6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. 7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. 8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.]
[and a mocking to all countries.] Boy, if this is not the state of America right now, my goodness, it is such a mirror to Israel. America is a reproach to our enemies, being mocked like never before, and oppression among Christians growing more rapid by the day, which by the way, we are the strangers of this world as this is not our home, [John 17:14-17 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.]
As you read through the chapters of Ezekiel you start to feel the pain that God felt as He describes the state of Israel and how He could no longer stand to watch them destroying the land He gave to them with all the evil. And let me tell you, America has many cities that are starting to look like that now, if we do not start heeding these warnings, God will do the same to this country. And if you think that committing the sin is not bad enough, imagine what those who are making money off the sin are going to face. God goes on to tell them what He is going to do to them.
[Ezekiel 22:12-16 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD. 13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. 14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. 15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. 16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.]
[at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made,] Make money killing babies, cosmetically altering ones gender, creating a virus (which was not America, but they did deny the fact that China did it, and supported them, over American citizens), and they will lose their inheritance. While Satan is the prince of all evil, he still cannot make us do something no more than God can, and we will be held accountable for all sin. The “City of Bloods”, was the name given to Jerusalem for her sin, the crimes she committed were charged, included murder, idolatry, sacrificing their children, abominable acts of the flesh, dishonoring parents, oppression, extortion, profaning the sabbath. God gives the sentence, He was not only going to sift them as wheat, He was going to remove them as dross.
[Ezekiel 22:18-20,29-31 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.]
[that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land,] Every nation is subject to the judgment of God, especially one that was His nation and has turned away from them, which is why He was so angry at the state of Jerusalem. We are blessed right now to have God’s protections in many of our states because there are the few and faithful who are willing to stand in the gap and speak on behalf of Christ, but they are becoming few and far between [II Peter 3:10]. God will judge each state until there are no more, and will pour His indignation upon all, including the ones who say they are saved and are not. Jesus is the one who stands in the gap if every true Christian, He actually purges the dross from our own lives as we draw closer to Him.
[Romans 8:34-39 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for the great sacrifice that You made in sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the payment for us to be saved from judgment. It is only by Your mercy that we are not consumed on the spot, and it is only by Your grace that we are not given the punishment we deserve when we believe in and receive Your Son as our Saviour. Lord, As our relationship with You grows, give us Your love, mercy, grace, and strength to remain faithful to You, no matter who or what tries to get between us. Help us to keep our eyes on You and Your Word is our heart so that we truly emulate Your Son and bring others to You by our faithfulness. Give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance, to fear You, and never let us forget just how much You love us and want only the best for us. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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