Ezekiel 13-14

Introduction

Maybe if one or two might come in yet. A lesson this morning is in Ezekiel chapters 13 and 14, which is lesson nine in your workbook. I missed uh Wednesday night. I’m thankful for uh Angelo teaching the class. And uh I’m sure you’ve all got your lesson up on lesson number twelve. So let’s just start there with questions to sort of use that as a review and kind of kick us off into chapter 13. Some of the things in chapter 12, even we found early on in our workbook uh Ezekiel dwelt in the midst of what kind of house? I’m on page 34. Rebellious house. Has that been said before to Ezekiel? Yes. Where? About every chapter. About every chapter, right? Because and what did what even what did God tell Ezekiel when you go out to speak to this people?

They are rebellious, but they will not listen to you. What a what a good start. Wouldn’t you like to be a preacher that goes out and you know God tells you in advance? They’re not gonna listen to you. But why would Ezekiel go? Tell me. Why did God say, I want you to go anyway? Why why would God send them when he knew that they were not gonna listen, that they’d be a rebellious people? That his word was said.

At least that yeah, at least they will know that a prophet has been there. They’ll know. They can’t say, Well, I didn’t know. Because God’s message is being spoken to them, that they may know. Can that happen to Ben too? Yes. Uh, you know, our mission is to go preach the word. It may be that those will not receive it, will reject it. But at least come judgment day, is God going to be just when he exercises uh punishment those who rejected his love? Yes. So it’s the justice of God that is involved in this. And I think that’s true throughout the Bible. You’ll find that God always warned before he caused destruction. You know, one of the greater stories is the story of Jonah when he went to Nineveh.

Well, all we know about Nineveh, that was the capital of a Gentile country, but God still said, go warn them. They repented. And we would hope that others would too. Question number two what perhaps would be the result when Ezekiel removed his stuff? What would be the result? It would appear that he was leaving. That was the point. Alright, that’s what it was. That was the purpose. Let’s talk about that moment. What was the removal of his stuff? What was he to do? John. He was to take his baggage out by day. Right. But uh perhaps the meaning here, perhaps the meaning here is so that they would believe the truth of God’s prophet and not the false prophets. That in effect it might cause him to recognize we’ve been rebellious and we need to change.

It might cause him. That’s really from uh verse three of chapter 12. The fact is that, you know, we said earlier, uh Ezekiel’s called God’s visual aid, and that’s what this was. It was a sign, it was to teach them something by action. So the day he would stack his baggage, and what would he do later? Dig to the wall. Dig through the wall. And at nighttime, even and with his head down, low carry it out to illustrate what? The exile. There’s going to be exile. It’s going to be captivity. And you’re going to be taken from this very place. Number three, well, this I just answered it then. What was he to do in the day? Then in the evening. Let’s go to question number four.

Why could he not see the ground when he carried out his son? Alright, it covered his face. Verse 6 of chapter 12. What was that point for? Signified humiliation. Did it signify what? Humiliation. The humiliation. And despair. Okay. And despair. The replying of the king. Alright. The prince is described here in that chapter. Who is the prince at that time? What was his name? Who is the prince? Who is the king’s name? Zedekiah. I don’t know all of you knew that. I only heard two or three answer it, but Zedekiah. And how did that come to pass? Yes. What when you read 2 Kings 25? What happened to Zedekiah? Whenever, of course, the Babylonians were encamped around the city for how long?

Two and a half years. Chapter 25 of 2 Kings. And then when they broke through the wall, what did Zedekiah and you might say his princes did? They fled. Got out of the city. To the plain of Jericho, only to be captured. Brought back. And what happened? Tilled his sons in front of his sons. He watched them kill his sons. And then he put his eyes out. And then he’s taken to Babylon, isn’t he? But he never saw the land. And that’s what this prophecy was about, also, isn’t it? Let’s see. I’ll probably answer that question too down in here. Number five, how would he answer when they ask, What doest thou?

Verse 10.

Alright, thus says the Lord, this burden concerns the prince of Jerusalem and all Israel. Number six, what was promised would happen to their prince? We just really answered that. Hear the belongings, but not see. Pardon? Hear his belongings but not be able to see. Alright. He he would be brought to the land of the Chaldeans where he will die, but he will not see it. Number seven, how would a few Israelites be left alive? As witnesses. Okay. And they would be able to declare what has happened to us. All their abominations, even though they too may be taken captive among the Gentiles, yet would they would they also declare the glory of God? Here is why we’re captives. It didn’t just wasn’t just because you’re stronger than God, but rather God, in fact, even in advance foretold, because of our abominations.

We have sinned, and that’s why. That’s from verse 16. Number eight, what was the second sign Ezekiel performed? The second sign. It were to do what? To tremble as he eat. He eat his bread, but he was to be quaking and trembling. Why would it be like this? Why would he spill his tea or whatever, water? Why would he eat like this, you know? Because it would illustrate what? The fear and the dread that they indeed would have when the enemy indeed came and conquered them. So that that uh again, an illustration of what was about to happen upon them. Number nine, what was the proverb in the land of Israel? What was spoken in the Lady? The days are prolonged, and every vision fell. What’s that really?

Who’s that directed to? They were saying the days are prolonged, meaning. The false prophets were saying what? Put it in your own words. The days are prolonged, saying what? What does that mean? It’s not worry. It’s not going to happen. Now, you know, Ezekiel and Jeremiah, they’ve been saying things. They’ve been saying this city’s going to be taken. But those days are they’re far off. They’re not really going to happen. In fact, uh, every vision fails. But also, they kind of had another one. Well, in case it does, uh, verse 27 on down, but need to tie the two together. That the house of Israel saying the vision that he sees is for many days from now. It’s kind of like they cut it either way.

It’s not going to happen in the time that Ezekiel or Jeremiah said it would. You don’t have to worry. You know, maybe it happened, but it won’t be your generation. It’ll be later on, if it happens at all, which is to say, to your generation, what? Be at peace. Don’t worry about it. It’s not going to happen now. The vision fails. Number 10, what shall be no more within the house of Israel? This proverb of God’s words. Any false vision or flattering divination. Which will tie into our lesson in chapter 13. But let’s go quickly the true or false. God will take the prince to Assyria. False Chaldea or Babylon. Number two, Ezekiel dwelt in the midst of a rebellious house. Sure. The prince would be taken to Babylon, but would not see it.

1. Woe to the Foolish Prophets Who Follow Their Own Spirit

A multitude would be spared from the sword, famine, and mo and pestilence. What made that false? A remnant, not a multitude, right? Number five, the word of God spoke shall come to pass. True word God spoke shall come to pass. Alright. And I’ll lesson now, in chapter 13. If you have your Bibles open in Ezekiel chapter 13, the first three verses, understanding that they’ve been saying, oh, the the this proverb, the vision fails. And even if it happens, it won’t be this generation. It’ll be later on. In chapter 13, the first three verses, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel. Who prophesy and say to those who prophesy out of their heart, hear the word of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord God, woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen what? Nothing. Nothing. Interestingly, how many times are shall I just say there are many times through the book of Ezekiel to where you read, the word of the Lord came to me? Well, you talk about being impressive this time, though. Now, these false prophets have been speaking out of their own minds, what he says, right? But Ezekiel would say, it’s the word of the Lord. It’s the word of Jehovah. That’s what came to me. And that’s what I’m speaking to you. A lot of difference between the message that is being spoken. It’s not from Ezekiel’s mind. It is the word of God. But now, all right, can’t you?

What won’t those false prophets say the same? But they might be saying the same.

They’re talking, and yes, it is from their own heart, but they’re telling it’s from the word of the Lord. And how are you going to tell the difference then? If it comes to pass. Alright. And well, you wait to see if it’s going to come to pass or not. No. There were many things, certainly, you know, that’s a good question. And the fact is that Deuteronomy chapter 18 did say, if it comes to pass, then you know it is from the Lord. If it doesn’t, then you know it’s not from the Lord. That sounds like I’ve got to wait and see. But let’s just ask some questions. Have some of the things already happened. Let’s just say what Jeremiah prophesied. What did Jeremiah prophesy? He’s about 20 years older than Ezekiel, so we’d say, we’ll start with him first.

Because Ezekiel did not prophesy until he was already in captivity. What had Ezekiel said? Had Ezekiel said they’re going to be taken in captivity? Had it happened? Yeah, there’d already been two taken away. With Daniel first, and then with the 10,000 who had Ezekiel had been with. Had Jeremiah’s word been proven to be true from the Lord? Yeah. Yes. So there’s already some verification, you might say, of Jeremiah’s word. And so here again, Ezekiel will say, here’s some things that are about to take place. And so they’ve got reasons to listen to him. But now what does he just say to them? They prophesy out of their own heart. And they say, Hear the word of the Lord, don’t they? Now, how why would you believe them?

You know, in this study of Ezekiel, there’s so many passages that are so relevant from the study of Jeremiah. How many of you took the Jeremiah class last quarter? Good portion of it. That’s good. Because that really will help you understand, I think, some of the things and how they are so close. In Jeremiah chapter 28, y’all remember the story of Hananiah? Jeremiah 28. You might turn here. Let’s look, let’s look at a couple things here. In Jeremiah chapter 28, here was a man who challenged, you might say, uh Jeremiah. His name was Hananiah. And Hananiah was really saying, Babylon’s not going to come down. In fact, in two years, uh, let me read verse 2. Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

Within two full years I’ll bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house. That Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took away from this place and carried about him. And I’ll bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, who went. Thus says the Lord, I’ll break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Now, that’s pretty, you know, you might say he really got firm. In two years, Hananiah says, God’s going to break the yoke on the uh around the that happens to be really around Babylon’s neck or Nebuchadnezzar’s neck. Now he’d be bringing back everything. Did that happen? You don’t know what happened to Hananiah? He died seven months later. Well, within the year, that’s right.

Well, mine says seven. Seven months? Yeah. In verses, go to the last two verses of chapter 28. The prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I’ll cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord. Right off there, is that not an illustration of now which one had the word of the Lord? When Hananiah himself died, you know, it was Jeremiah that had the word of the Lord for sure. And what Hananiah said did not come to pass. I want to emphasize what are we looking at here? Even though we’re talking about how many years ago from now?

2. We Have the Word of God; Doctrine Matters

If we just say 2,000 years to Christ, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were how many more years? Five six hundred years before it’s already been erased, so whoever erased it just didn’t want you to know. Five, six hundred years. Okay. Oh, Angelo erased it. Okay. Angela, how many years ago then? About 2500 years ago. Yeah. 25, 2600 years ago. Have times changed? Have people’s hearts changed? That is a better question. Are there false teachers today who would say, well, you know, the Lord told me this, the Lord spoke to me. Yeah. And led me to this and led me to that. And doctrine doesn’t really matter. There are many people in the religious world today who are saying, you know, it doesn’t really matter. God loves you. And God wants you to know him.

And if you just say, I believe, it’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right with you. And yeah, we have a lot of division in the religious world today. But that doesn’t matter either. God loves us all. And it’ll be all right. So just believe what you want to believe, pick the church you want to be part of, and do your own thing kind of a way. Well, I I’m drawn more toward the cult. And those charismatic leaders who are are claiming divine messages. Absolutely.

This person obviously has a connection with God. I need to follow this person. That’s right. And I mean they they’re deluding themselves as well as all the others. That’s right. And so it is done today. Absolutely. The attitude. What did Jesus say about the religion that is not according to the commandments of God, but rather the commandments of men? Matthew 15, verses 7 through 9. Anybody know it? Will and Isaiah prophesy for hypocrites, it’s written. This people draws nigh with their mouth that honor me with the lips. But their heart is far from me. In vain they worship me, doing what? Keeping the doctrine. Teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. You know, how can we tell what is a false prophet from a true prophet today?

We have it revealed. We don’t have to just wait to see that if it comes to pass. We have the word of God. And we don’t stop and ask every person who’s saying, Well, this is what God wants you to do, or this is the way God feels about it. You say, Well, where’s that scripture? Where’s that kind of Bible? And then you go from back. You have to say, Well, what is the word of God? Because vain religion really will be rooted up in Matthew 15 and verse 13. The blind lead the blind and what bold fall on the dead. So, woe to the prophets, Ezekiel would say, or God would say to Ezekiel, you go tell the prophets, woe to them. And today we have the same commission, you might say.

Speak the word of God. Give me scripture for it. Does doctrine matter? Absolutely. In Galatians 1, though we are an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that which we preach to you, let him be what? A curse. Second John 9, whosoever does not abide in the doctrine of Christ has not gone. So there’s so many. If doctrine doesn’t matter, I’ll tell you what these scriptures in Ezekiel really would be hard to fathom. How would God still exercise discipline against those who really would say, Well, it doesn’t matter? Angelo? Can you bring up an excellent point in Galatians chapter one where he says they’ve taught another gospel? He called it another gospel. So it’s so sometimes it’s similar. And it sounds like the gospel itself.

Good news. Alright. Very much. Now let’s look at one more passage in Jeremiah before we move on. Jeremia chapter 23. I think there’s a kinship right here in Jeremiah 23 with Ezekiel 13. In Jeremiah 23, verses 16 and 17. Thus says the Lord of hosts do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless. They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They are people, verse 17, that continually say to those who despise me, The Lord has said, You shall have peace. And to everyone who walks according to the dictates at his own heart, they say, No evil shall come upon you. Now, you know, that’s satisfying. People say, it doesn’t matter.

It’s going to be peace for you. You may not like what the Lord said here, but it’ll be alright. The Bible may say that, but I don’t believe that. I’ve had people say that to me before. How do you deal with that? Look at verse 21. I’m going to skip through some right quickly. God will say, I have not sent these prophets yet, they ran. I have not spoken to them yet, they prophesied. In verse 25 through 26, I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed. I have dreamed. How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed, they are prophets of the deceit of what?

Then finally, verses 30 through 32. Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets who prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words. How do you steal God’s words? How can a man steal God’s words? That’s the change it. Here’s what God’s word says, but they would say, no, no, no. That’s that’s not really. Don’t believe that. You’ve you’ve misunderstood that. They steal my words, everyone from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their tongues and say, He says, Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams, says the Lord, and tell them and cause my people to err from by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or commend them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, says the Lord.

3. Peace When There Is No Peace: Untempered Mortar

I tell you, those are warnings. During a critical time, Jeremiah and Ezekiel both are saying look, be careful what you hear. Be careful what you follow. They’re false prophets out here. And they’re they’re going to say, It’s going to be all right with you. In fact, back in Ezekiel 13, let’s kind of get a little more of this text and then make a comment or two. Ezekiel chapter 13, beginning in verse 4, O Israel. Your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. You’ve not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, Thus says the Lord. But the Lord has not sent them.

Yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. Have you not seen a feudal vision? And have you not spoken false divination? You say, the Lord says, but I have not spoken. What do you think it means by verse 4? Your prophets are like foxes in the desert. What’s to be like a fox in the desert? I mean cunning, cunning. Honey. Okay. Sneaky. Sly. Very sly. Alright. Another point? A fox is an omnivore. They will eat anything. They fleak from here to there in search of sustenance. And that is what Israel is doing here, but they’re seeking it in the wrong place. All right. Very good point. And also I read one comment that foxes also would dig holes and trip people and people stumble over as from that analogy as well.

Very well said.

Jeremiah was in the prison. Ezekiel drew his signs, acted strange. If we saw people acting like that today and prophesying, don’t you think we would be automatically dismissive of them instead of taking the message and going back to read it and verifying it? When you say they’re strange people, describe what you’re meaning by that. Well, like we could go downtown Orlando and see doomsday type prophets or preachers today that would act much in the same strange way. You know, Ezekiel laying down on his side for a number of years, or you know, shaking when he’s eating. People are going to see that, and I think some people would just wonder if there was something wrong with the guy. Um and what I’m wanting to explore is is our attitudes towards people that we hear today.

I think we tend to just dismiss people as as being kooky sometimes when they may actually have a legitimate point. Okay. But our test is by what means? By the word of God. You know, we can still take the word of God and say, well, these are kooky, and they were off center. That’s what I’m saying. We at least I think a lot of times we dismiss people instead of actually hearing what they say and checking it out. Carrying it out. Okay. All right. He’s got a very interesting point because how many times have you people thought you were kooky because you told them they needed to obey the word? I mean, and thought that you were just off your rocker. I mean, the truth is uh But the difference is from what I call a kooky man is to say, look, when I can say uh terminal meeting this scripture, let’s read what it says, versus somebody saying, you know, uh uh this is what uh uh the Lord spoke to me and told me, and this is what I’m trying to tell you, and then you begin to go out and advance on that.

I think that’s done today quite a lot by men who really uh have assured uh salvation and methods and means that they couldn’t turn to the scripture and say, Here’s what you need to do. It’s gonna be all right with you. Uh I think one of the famous, most famous of preachers today. Y’all know that sign there, everything will be all right. God loves you, it’ll be all right. God has something for you. His first name is Joel. His last name is Osteen. Yeah. He lives in Houston. But if you’ve hear heard him, you don’t hear any scripture, or very little, maybe once every now and then. Usually that was misapplied. Yes. But the people love him, love it, and they go away feeling peace, peace.

Well, they really haven’t reached the peace of God in the right way. Now, I believe God brings peace. But but you can preach peace when it really isn’t based on God’s word. But they’ve slipped like a fox. If you notice, they never talk, they never teach doctrine. What they teach is feel good. That you got that’s exactly that. They do not teach doctrine, they teach feel good. Alright, let’s go forward. We won’t make it through if we don’t. Verse 8 and 9. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, because you have spoken nonsense, envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you, says the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies. They shall not be in the assembly of my people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord God. Because indeed, because they have seduced my people. You think these words, you know, they are like foxes. Now they have seduced my people, they’ve lied to my people. They seduce my people saying, peace. When there is no peace. And one builds a wall and they plaster it with untempered mortar. Say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, oh great hailstones shall fall, and a stormy wind shall tear it down. Let’s stop and say, well, what is untempered mortgage? What is that? That was only your questions, I think your research or thoughts. Pardon? Not cured, it’s not hard. It’s not baked in the fire. It’s just like whitewash.

Whitewash is a good term. It’s not cement, it’s not going to be stable in the term, but it looks good. Right. Just as far as you’re looking at the surface. They say peace when there’s no peace. How could we have peace? How can we really have false hope when there is no? Why do you think those prophets had any? Why would the multi why would the majority of Judah be listening to them instead of Jeremiah or Ezekiel? They wanted to. Alright, they wanted to. They have the temple. Alright. The temple is here. And the throne of David is here. And the lineage of the descendant of David’s Edechai. He’s on the throne. And God said to David, you know, he would establish his throne forever. And besides Babylon, they’re not God’s people.

The message was better. The message was more appealing. I got to thinking about how could you have peace? How can people today have peace when there’s no peace? How can people have peace with unbelief? You ever thought about that? I don’t believe in God. Is there a sense of peace there? Yeah, I think so too. Because their conscience won’t bother them. I think that’s one reason people today say, I might say I’m an atheist. Why are you gonna atheist? Well, not because he’s thought about it and got a good argument against belief in God, but it it relieves his conscience of any accountability. Right. And it’s considered if you say a life loud enough and long enough, somebody’s gonna believe it, and if people start believing it, you know, more people start believing it, so kind of can false teachers even begin to believe it?

Oh, I think so too. Hitler believed it? Yeah, well, there’s a sense of sometimes presumption gives peace. I presume that you know, I I really think God will accept this. In fact, there’s a passage in Second Thessalonians chapter two. What you look at? And sometimes it’s hard for us to comprehend. How can people be so so far away from truth? Uh don’t even preachers, you know, don’t they? Don’t they know better? And don’t they believe that the Lord is gonna come again and it matters what they say? Passages like 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He talks about verse 9, the coming of the lawless one, according to the working of Satan with all power signs and lying wonders, with all unrighteous deception among those who perish. Now look at the rest.

Because what? They did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. So first of all, there’s some rejection here going on. Verse 11, and for this reason, God will send them strong illusions, they should believe the lie. That they all may be condemned who do not believe the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness. So that’s a fearful passage. To say that God will allow, really the idea. That a person can become convinced and believe the lie in the place of truth. But it starts with, he does not receive the love of the truth. So our heart has to always be open.

If I’m wrong, I want to know it. The hardest words to say in English language, the three words, I was wrong. There’s a sense of pride there. That you have to say, look, I’ve tried to be right. But does sincere always mean you’re right? No. You can be sincere and be wrong. The apostle Paul is the classic example. How often had he persecuted Christians, yet he said, I’ve lived in all good conscience before God in a disdain. But when he came face to face with truth, he did something about it. He changed. But then there are those who even may see the truth, but they say, Well, you know, boy, I have believed this. My parents believed it before me, and I’ve taught this for so long.

And in other words, they begin to harden their heart, and in the place of truth they believe a lie. I think that’s why that’s a fearful passage. We can think we have peace because we’re searching. We want it, and we presume, well, this is the way I think it ought to be, out of the imagination of our own heart. Come over and over in the Old Testament many times, God has warned against, following the imagination of our heart. And that’s really what I think he’s saying here about these false prophets to Ezekiel. It’s out of their own heart. It isn’t out of the word of God that they have been encouraging my people that there is peace. In fact, let’s go back to chapter 13, where in verse 13 he said, Therefore, thus says the Lord God, I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in my fury.

There should be a flooding rain in my anger, great hailstones and fury to consume it. So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar. Break it and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered, it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. They indeed might then question the prophets. But it’s going to be too late then, isn’t it? While in verses 15 and 16, he says, I will accomplish my wrath on the wall, and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar, I will say to you, the wall is no more, nor those who plastered it. That is the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord.

4. The Daughters Who Hunt Souls

Indeed, those prophets you may later ask them what happened. It’s going to be too late then, because that wall, it’s it’s uh it’s a wall that looks like there’s peace behind it, but it will fall. I am the one who will make sure that it falls, God will say. So, indeed, this message against uh against these false prophets. In verse 17, then he turns to another group. Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own heart, prophesy against them. How would you describe these women that he speaks of in this? You might have a way of thinking. Did y’all think of any modern day how they dress themselves? Would the women who sow magic charms on their sleeves or make veils for their heads?

It says they hunt souls, verse 18. Will you hunt the souls of my people and keep yourselves alive? Will you profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread? I don’t know whether you thought about it or not. Uh in my own mind, I I guess I kind of imagine the modern gypsies are forks and pickers, how tellers how they may dress. But here were women who were no doubt giving assurance, and maybe I can read your palm and tell you had a woman once wanted to read my palm and tell me it’s getting to church, but she wanted to tell me how long I was gonna live by reading my palm. You know, how how can you be so? But can you imagine there they’re here the women?

And it says, for barley, uh I’m trying to find the verse. Uh for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die. What’s he saying? Again, the value of their soul, they’re selling, they’re selling the value of the soul for just uh you know, here is is it worth what you’re getting? You’re really you’re you’re bringing death upon them, you’re bringing desolation upon them. You’re telling them it’s gonna be all right. You’re you’re you’re trying to give them peace. You’re like the men who are prophesying peace, but it’s not worth what you’re what you’re receiving in uh in value, it’s not worth what you’re giving them. They may pay you these things. You may send your prayer clause, and you may uh uh the medallions uh and people may think those are going to protect them in time of need, but it’s not going to protect them.

They may pay you the money. Out of covetousness, Jeremiah often said, these prophets would speak, and no doubt the prophetesses as well. There’s a spirit of, hey, I tell you, there are mansions today being built with people sending money in order to have the special prayer said for them, or special uh assurances of peace. But and it’s not new to our day, even in the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, both men and women were encouraging the people with false religion, false things. These women are also guilty of murder, aren’t they? Well, in effect, I don’t know if that literally they were taking, but how would he say they kill people or how they use the word murder? Well, by telling them there’s peace when there is no peace.

In that sense, you’ve robbed them.

They’re uh the veils, the wristbands was their peace, and that peace does not buy food. That’s right. That peace does not give sustenance, the spiritual sustenance, and I think that is our message. That’s right. In fact, in verse 19, they were killing people who should not die. What does it mean? Should not die. Well, they would submit, uh Jeremiah urged them, submit to Nebuchadnezzar. Don’t resist. So the very fact that they resisted, in fact, earlier, I believe it was chapter 11, he said, You’ve multiplied the number of people who would die, who really should not die. The fact that you’re giving them false hope and you’re giving them false instruction, not the word of the Lord. Now I think that that’s the sense of what he said.

Verse, I’m gonna drop down to verse uh well, verse 20. I’m against your magic charms, by which you hunt souls there like birds. I’ll tear them from your arms and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. In verse 22, because with lies you’ve made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad. You have strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. You’ve made the heart of the righteous sad? How? Do the righteous know these are lies? You think Ezekiel’s made sad? You think Jeremiah’s made sad? When you follow, maybe the multitudes are following, because what they say is so alluring, and what they’re offering is what people would wish for for peace.

And yet the righteous says, Look, the majority may be going that way, but that’s the wrong way. The remnant, only the few are the ones who would say, No, no, no, let’s stop and see what is the word of the Lord. Yeah, you make the righteous sad, and you strengthen the hands of the wicked. You make those who are wicked feel secure, and they will not repent, and they will not turn from their way to save their life. So in verse 23, therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination, for I will deliver my people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Over and over, why does this keep coming up in Ezekiel? You shall know that I am the Lord.

We mentioned that from the very first lesson that we’re going to read it many times in Ezekiel. Why do you think that keeps being said over and over? Any of you thought about it? That’s their great sin from the time they entered into the land is idolatry and not focused on the Lord. And they keep turning to other gods. And so at this point, with the captivity and with the punishment and the judgment to come, yes, the remnant will come back. Who really is the Lord? Who really is the Lord? And what kind of a Lord is he? Is he a Lord that says it doesn’t matter what you do? Is he really the God, the Sun God that these 25 men were worshiping that we read back in chapter 10?

Who is the Lord, number one? And when he brings about judgment against and the destruction, punishment, you might say, against evil works, is that the Lord that you thought you knew? You know, who is really the Lord? How many of us think of the Lord today and don’t think of him as being a just God who will indeed render punishment to those who reject his word? Now, another point, and the belt’s gonna hang on me in a minute, as we go into chapter 14. What kind of idols did some of them serve? Now we’ve seen earlier, you remember back when Ezekiel was taken by vision to the two Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and he saw the painting on the walls of all kinds of unclean animals, creeping beasts, and seventy elders were worshiping, and he saw the women worshiping and mourning for Tamil’s.

5. Idols in Their Hearts

And then he saw the 25 men who had their backs to the temple and they were worshiping the sun god. Was that the only kind of idolatry that literally they were bowing before? In chapter 14, what kind of idolatry?

What is that? Chapter 14 it says, Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. Now, that kind of reminds us of chapter 8 and verse 1, and that was the scene that when Ezekiel was taken up by the vision and taken to Jerusalem. No doubt when it was brought back, he could tell these elders, here’s what I’ve seen. Here’s why God will bring wrath against Jerusalem and will destroy the temple. But now I think in chapter 14, we got another occasion where these older men are brought before this young man Ezekiel, and they sat before him. In verse 2, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity.

You think about that question number one at the bottom of the verse 3? Why would God ask that? Should I be inquired of them at all? You think God is saying, Ezekiel, tell me what I should do? No. What do you think? Why is it in the form of a question then? That’s a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question, as if to say, No way.

Why should I even answer them or have them ask me? Because here’s their here is their sin. Here’s their problem. They have idols in their hearts. And uh that’s what causes them to stumble. What do you mean by an idol in your heart? How would you describe an idol in your heart? Could we have an idol in our heart today? Pardon? Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Well, what kind of idol could we have in our heart? Depend on the individual. Anyone? Anything that takes us away from the word of God is the idol. All right. What we choose. Yeah, it’s a choice. You know, in our country today, we don’t we certainly don’t have carved images, uh, or at least most of us do not, that we would bow down before.

We would never think, oh, we’ll make this uh uh tree stump and we’ll carve it and make it our God and have it in our home, we bowed. And we don’t do that, do we? Although Gentiles, heathen of the past may have done it. We wouldn’t do that. But we we’d come nearer having this kind of guilt of chapter 14. Kathy. Well, it’s a a prejudice of higher, I I think of education, of intelligence, of already having a predisposed answer before going to the Lord. You know, when Zedekiah asked Jeremiah, you know, go to the go to the Lord and inquire what he wants us to do, and Jeremiah told him what the Lord said, and Zedekiah says, Well, don’t really want he already knew what he wanted to do.

He’s just kind of going through the motions of asking what the Lord’s will was. Yeah. That was in Jeremiah chapter 41 or two. Um, and that’s a good illustration, example. After Jeremiah had prophesied over and over how that Jerusalem’s going to be taken, and Zedekiah kept asking Jeremiah, any new word from the Lord? And Jeremiah kept saying, Well, no, it’s the same thing I told you before. In other words, if you don’t repent, here’s what’s going to happen. And when it did happen that Jerusalem was taken, and already the story in 2 Kings 25, that Zedekiah was taken, he blinded, and so forth. What did uh what did uh the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, offer to Jeremiah? You remember? You can you can either go with these over to Babylon or you can stay in Jerusalem with the straggers that are left behind and scattered.

What did Jeremiah choose? Stay in the land. But when Nebuchadnezzar left, he had his captain Nepuzeron to appoint a man called Gedaliah to be in charge. He left someone there in charge of the straggers. And what happened to Gedaliah? Yeah, he was assassinated by one of their own. And the fear then came into their hearts. Whoo! Boy, when the word gets back to Nebuchadnezzar that we’ve killed the very man that he appointed, what’s Nebuchadnezzar going to do? He’s going to come right back down, and you know, he’s gonna really now really kill us, or at least take us all to Babylon. You know what we better do? What was it? We better go to Egypt. We’ll run to Egypt for protection. But I tell you what, let’s go to Jeremiah first and ask him.

He’s been proven to be the prophet of God because what he said came to pass. And so they came to Jeremiah, I believe it’s in chapter 42, and he said, Jeremiah, if you’ll pray to the Lord, whatever you say. Whether we like it or don’t like it, we’ll do it. Ten days later, Jeremiah came back and told them the word of the Lord is you do what? Stay right here. And then what did they say? You lied. Jeremiah, you lied. So who really lied? When they said it didn’t matter whether we like it or don’t like it, we’ll do it. They didn’t mean that, didn’t he? And so they went to Egypt and they took Jeremiah with them, and they everything they feared came to pass.

But is that not an example of an idol in your heart? We we have already decided what we want. And there are people they say, Well, just show me the show me what the Bible says. But they’ve already decided what they want. And it’s that attitude that can say, Well, uh, you know, that’s not the way I’ve always believed it. That’s not what I’ve always thought. And we can kind of get into the point of view of theory, well, I have felt so good in my heart. I’ve just felt the peace in my heart, and they pat the chest, where that’s not really the Bible heart anyway. But they pat themselves and say, I mean, this is what makes me feel good. When really there ought to be that spirit, turn to the word of God.

Well, we just heard the first bell, so let’s go a little bit farther into this lesson. In verse uh four, speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, every one of the house of Israel, who sets up idols in his heart, who puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes or calling to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from me by their idols. So what should they do? Verse 6. You tell them to repent. Turn away from your idols, turn your faces away from all your abominations, or any one of the house of Israel of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me.

6. Noah, Daniel, and Job Would Deliver Only Themselves

I the Lord will answer him, I myself. I’ll set my face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, I’ll cut him off from the midst of my people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I tell you, passages where God would say, I’ll set my face against him. Can you imagine? If God said that about you, I’ll set my face, I’ll become your enemy. That’s fearful. I think I’d rather have the nuclear bomb from North Korea fighting me than rather than the God to say, I’m the one that’s your enemy, I’m against you. Indeed, we need to understand. I know the bells will catch me, so I want to get into the last part of this chapter, where in from about verses 13 through the end of the chapter, he talks about four different things that God might bring upon those who have refused his word.

In verses 12 through 14, he speaks about famine. He said, verse 13, tell the man, when a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it, I’ll cut off its supply of bread and famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Here again, the justice of God through Ezekiel is coming again and again. But what does he say about it? Even verse 14, if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. Now he repeats that three more times. In verse 15, if I cause wild beasts to pass through it. Verse 16, even though these three men were in it, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, only they would be delivered.

They, those three men. The man would be desolate. In verse 17, if I bring a sword, or here’s the army coming, military. Again, he replies in verse 18 These three men would deliver any the sons and daughters, but only they themselves. And then verse 19, even if I send the pestilence or a disease. In verse 20, only, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord, they would deliver neither son nor daughter, they would deliver only themselves. What’s the point of that? Four different things. God said, I might bring famine, I may bring sword, I may be pestilence, I may bring wild beast. And if I do all that, it’s going to say something about the land itself. God wouldn’t bring those things unless the land deserved it, would he?

So it’s going to talk about the abominations of the land or of the people. So if there’s sinful people among them, but they’ve got these three righteous men. Can you imagine? A Noah, a Daniel, and a Job. Surely those righteous men are among us, we’d be spared too. Is that the feeling of some? I’m a member of a good church. Now I may not be real unfaithful, but there are some good people there, and so all of us ought to be saved. Is that what works? No. What’s the point? What’s the point? Everyone answers individually. God will you’ll stand before the judgment seat individually. And even if a Noah or a Daniel or a Job were there, it can’t spare, it can’t save you. You have to answer for yourself.

Conclusion

That’s a pretty important lesson, even for us today. Sometimes you know we say, Well, Boy, I have a really good wife, or I’ve got a very faithful husband, or my children, or my parents. Don’t lean on anybody else. You must answer for yourself in judgment day. Alright, Lord willing, we will move on in.