WHEN GOD IS AGAINST US (PART 1)

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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, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn My sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’”

Ezekiel 21:1-5

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

“I am against you.”

These were the words we see the Lord using against His people in today’s scripture passage and perhaps there could be no more frightening set of four words we could ever hear from Him. For who could ever stand a chance against God Himself?

The answer is no one and here’s the thing:

The Israelites knew this. They had seen God’s power displayed through the ages in ways that showed them that no one could ever win any encounter with Him. And yet, they still chose to oppose Him.

We know they opposed Him because of the primary charge God made against them, a charge which called the Israelites out for their idolatrous worship practices.

God had commanded His people to have no other gods before Him, adding that He was a jealous God. This means that He was not going to stand for His people being unfaithful to Him and sharing their spiritual devotion with anyone or anything else. In fact, He even sent more than a few stern warnings to His people, hoping those warnings would be enough to deter His people from committing spiritual adultery against Him.

But the people didn’t listen. They chose to challenge God and channel their commitment elsewhere to gods and idols who were as lifeless as their faith life. And so God responded in a way that showed He was ready to go to war against His people. Look again at these opening words from Ezekiel 21:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn My sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’”  Ezekiel 21:1-5

The imagery is scary. For God orders His prophet Ezekiel to share the following message with the Israelites:

“I am against you.”

You’ll recall the covenant God had made with His people. He would be their God and they would be His people as long as they remained faithful and obedient to Him, living in His righteousness and apart from wickedness.

But the people chose rebel and sin against God instead and so He went to war against them. He drew His sword and cut His people off, removing them from their homeland and putting them into a seventy-year captivity in Babylon.

The people had chosen to go against God and abandon Him. So God gave them seventy years to think about how much of a mistake that was, causing them to abandon their nation and then experience being spiritually abandoned themselves. It’s little wonder why the Israelites were so excited about a chance to return to Judah and Jerusalem to rebuild their home, their lives, and their relationships with God once their lengthy punishment ended (Read Books of Ezra and Nehemiah for this account).

So this brings us to today and the question as to whether or not we have come into opposition with God in our own ways. Have we placed ourselves in the same position as the Old Testament Israelites of Ezekiel’s day? Are we committing spiritual adultery in plain sight of God with no fear of His repercussions? Finally, are we close to hearing God speak the words, “I am against you”, to us here in the 21st century?

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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