SIGNS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”

“Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.”

So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’”

“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.’ Say to them, ‘I am a sign to you.’”

“As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives. The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword.”

“They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water. Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there. The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’? Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.’”

“Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel 12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you think about communications, you can say it happens in many different forms.

We can speak to others verbally. We can speak to others through written words. And we can speak to others without saying anything, something referred to as non-verbal communications.

You see, we can sometimes say volumes without really saying anything and it’s this style of communications that we find at the center of today’s devotion as God uses His messenger to “tell” of what was to come through a series of actions, a series of signs. Look again at these words from Ezekiel 12:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”

“Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.”

So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’”

“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.’ Say to them, ‘I am a sign to you.’”

“As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives. The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword.”

“They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water. Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there. The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’? Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.’”

“Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”  Ezekiel 12

The Israelites had sinned against God for some time with their idolatrous practices, disobeying His commands to not worship false gods as well as ignoring His warnings of judgment if they refused to stop their wicked ways and turn back to Him. They were, as God called them, “a rebellious people” with “eyes to see” and yet unable to see and “ears to hear” but unable to hear.

God was fed up and ready to act but before He did, He chose to show the people what was to come, using Ezekiel to do so. He gave His prophet the following direction:

“Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.”

God was about to send His people off to Babylon for a very long time, seventy years to be exact, and so Ezekiel was to give them a sign to get ready to pack their things and leave. He did as God commanded and packed his things for exile during the day before digging through the wall with his hands and walking away from the city, carrying his things at dusk in plain sight of his peers who looked on in curiosity about what Ezekiel was doing. It would only be a short time before someone would not be able to watch anymore without knowing what Ezekiel was up to and when they asked, the prophet was to change his communications method and speak these words from God:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there. I am a sign to you. As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives. The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword. They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

In doing what God told him to do, Ezekiel was a sign for the people, a sign of what was to come when God brought judgment on His people. Exile was in the Israelites’ future.

So what impact would this news have on the people of God in Jerusalem?

Again, God had Ezekiel give them a sign through His behavior as he was told to tremble as he ate his food and shudder as he drank his water. Such would be the fear, anxiety, and despair that would grip those living in Jerusalem and the land of Israel for they knew that soon their land would be stripped of everything in it, their towns laid to waste and the land left desolate. The Israelites might have ignored God’s words to them but there would be no avoiding the punishment He was bringing through the Babylonians. But note that even in the midst of these promised consequences, the sinful people of God were still living in denial that they would experience them.

We know this because God, who is aware of all things at all times, had full knowledge that His people were clinging to the following proverb:

“The days go by and every vision comes to nothing.”

And so God had a different version of the proverb for Ezekiel to share with the Israelites. It simply said:

“The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.”

God was not playing around with His people. They were given every opportunity to change their ways and chose not to so God wanted His people to know that when He spoke against them, His wishes would be carried out and He would fulfill what He threatened to do without delay. The Israelites could try and hold onto the hope that Ezekiel’s vision from God would not be carried out for many years in the distant future but they would only end up disappointed because God promised that none of His words would be delayed as He was ready to act.

And act He did for we know how this story ended. God sent the Babylonians on His people and when they were finished attacking, everything would be looted and laid to waste In Jerusalem and in its surrounding vicinity in Judah. The Israelites would be taken captive and marched off to Babylon where they would spend seven decades before being permitted by God to return. That’s a long time to be exiled to a foreign land and oppressed while there.

It would have been a lot easier if the Israelites had just been obedient to God’s commands and not pursue idolatry in the first place. At a minimum, they should have listened to God’s warnings of judgment and given up their wickedness to return to His righteousness but they didn’t do that and so God did what He had to do. His people may have ignored His signs but there was no running from His judgment.

And this brings us to the 21st century and the state of our relationship with God. Have we become any better than the Old Testament Israelites we are reading about in today’s scripture passage and many other passages before? Are we choosing to sin against God despite His warnings to not do so? Do we hold onto the false hope that His judgment will pass us by, that it will come in the distant future when we will not have to worry about it any longer? Will we ignore the signs God has given us, signs found in His word that show us the potential penalties for opting for wickedness in the way we live?

Or will we choose full surrender to the Lord’s word, will, and way? Will we decide to submit to Him and allow His desires to be our own? Will we ever seek to fulfill His holy purposes as we live this thing called life?

If we’re smart, we will learn from the mistakes of the Israelites of Ezekiel’s day and turn from sin toward a life that will always be pleasing in God’s sight, a life that will always bring with it signs that He is pleased with how we are living for Him, signs we commonly call blessings.  

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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