The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet
1232 Ezek 23
You
do not want God to "set His face against yours",
EZEK-I-EL,
which means El is Strong,
or
Whom God Strengthens,
was
standing by the river Chebar (see chapter 1)
when
he saw the Chariot of Israel come out of the north,
carrying
the Lord GOD upon His very throne
with
the Shekinah Glory surrounding Him.
During
this personal visit by the Lord GOD,
Ezekiel
was anointed as a watchman for his people
and
instructed to eat and digest the entire Word of God
and
then go preach the Word in the manner of "Thus saith the Lord",
to
warn the people of the impending siege and captivity by the king Babylon,
the
type and forerunner of the king of Babylon in Revelation,
who
is non other than the soon coming antichrist.
Ezekiel
14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before
me.
These
are not the elders of Judah,
but
of the House of Israel.
They
are from the 10 northern tribes who had been
taken captive
by
the Assyrians about 200 years preceding these elders making this trip
to
see Ezekiel,
whom
they obviously recognized as a true prophet of God.
So
they came before God's anointed watchman, Ezekiel,
but
before they had even opened their idolatrous mouths,
the
word of the LORD came unto Ezekiel
and
informed him concerning their abominable,
sad
state of spiritual and religious debasement.
[2]
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[3]
Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the
stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired
of at all by them?
All
these elders could think about was their "traditions of men",
their
idolatrous, religious practices,
even
those abominations set up by king Jeroboam (1 Kings 12-13)
that
caused their captivity in the first place.
These
religious substitutes of worship for God
were
foremost on their minds
and
caused them to stumble and sin greatly before God.
Because
you see, our Father simply detests idolatry.
So
the question is: Should our Father put up with them?
That's
His business, so we will let Him answer for Himself.
Ezekiel
14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his
heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face,
and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according
to the multitude of his idols;
"Tell
them, the Lord GOD says,
I
the LORD will personally deal with anyone in Israel
who
worships idols and then comes to ask for my help." (LB)
This
He will do according to the multitude of their idols,
meaning
the more idolatrous they are the more severely they will be dealt with.
Why?
[5]
That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are
all estranged from me through their idols.
Why?
So
that He might lay hold of the hearts
of
those of the house of Israel
who
have separated themselves from Him through their idol worship.
In
more basic terms,
"To
GET THEIR ATTENTION
and
cause them to Repent (next verse)."
[6]
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent,
and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all
your abominations.
Our
Father wants His children to love and worship and trust in Him
and
not to look to the traditions of men and practice churchianity instead.
Have
you ever wondered how it is that we have so many churches
and
church going people in our nation
and
yet we are in the midst of the great famine
for
hearing the Word of God (Amos 8:11)?
There
are that many people who go to church in this nation
that
the Word of God should flow through our nation like a great river.
Yet
it does not, and instead Biblical illiteracy abounds!
The
majority of churches do NOT teach our Father's Word
chapter
by chapter and line by line, do they?
All
you get is here a verse and there a verse,
and
then usually without explanation.
But
the buildings are beautiful, the songs are uplifting,
the
people are smiling, the activities are thriving,
the
missionaries are funded, the sick are prayed for,
and
food is gathered for the hungry.
All
this is done in the name of Jesus and everyone feels good.
Is
this what the house of God is for?
Well,
no matter, for EVERY ONE,
i.e.
each and every one of us,
will
the Lord GOD deal with on an individual basis in these last days!
It
will be every man for himself (no gender implied)
as
we shall see in the latter verses of this chapter.
Ezekiel
14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth
in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in
his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face,
and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will
answer him by myself:
Don't
expect a positive answer to your prayers
if
you have separated yourself from your Father
with
a heart [mind] full of men's traditions.
Do
you follow those who cover-up and "whitewash" the truth
who
we read about in chapter 13?
Do
you follow preachers who claim that God speaks to them,
when
God clearly stated in the last chapter
He
does not speak such frivolity?
Do
you follow preachers who teach you to roll Ishtar eggs
and
play with bunnies
and
come watch the sun come up at the time of our Lord's Passover?
Do
you follow preachers who babble unintelligible syllables
and
claim the Holy Spirit made them do it,
which
shows their complete lack of scholarship
and
declares them unqualified to teach His Word?
That
may offend some, but it is late in day and it is time to wake up.
If
your church does not teach the Word of God
chapter
by chapter and line by line,
then
what good is it?
You
see, you might feel real good, but you could be in big trouble!
[8]
And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a
proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall
know that I am the LORD.
You
do not want God to "set His face against yours",
i.e.
to be at odds with you,
because
you will surely lose
and
He will make an example out of you!
Yet,
all of this can be avoided if we just study His Word
and
DO His will, which is what He wants us to do,
not
what we want to do or what preachers tell us to do!
Our
Father is not mean or cruel.
He
is very kind and gentle and loving toward His children
who
love Him and keep His commandments.
[9]
And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD
have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and
will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
If
a preacher or "Rev" allows himself to be deceived
by
not studying the Word of God,
and
leads astray those in his congregation (next verse)
who
follow his teaching, or lack there of,
God
will deal with him FIRST and remove him at His coming,
and
there shall be no more false prophets among the people.
It is written,
thus saith the Lord in 1
Peter 4:17, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house
of God..."
As
we have learned in our previous studies,
being
an elder or spiritual leader of God's children
carries
with it ENORMOUS consequences,
which
could be very good or very, very bad.
How
severe will false preachers be dealt with?
[10]
And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of
the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
The
false teacher will suffer not only the punishment from his own sin
but
that of everyone that he or she has misled,
or
starved to death (spiritually) .
As
we read in verse 3 of chapter 13,
"WOE
unto the foolish prophets...".
God
WILL put a stop to all of man's church traditions
which
lead His children astray.
That
time is fast approaching.
[11]
That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted
any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people,
and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
We
look forward to that Day of the Lord,
the
ushering in of the Millennial reign of Christ and His saints,
when
this verse is fulfilled.
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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