Fill in the blanks with your best guess in this passage from Ezekiel 21:2-3:
“Son of man, set your face against ____________ and preach against the _________. Prophesy against the land of ______ and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you…”
You might expect the blanks to be filled with nations like Babylon, Assyria, Moab, or Egypt because those are the nations that we typically think about God being against in scripture because of their oppression of God’s people and of the innocent. But that is not what these verses in Ezekiel say. Here is what they say, “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 scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.” It is not just the nations that can be unjust and unrighteous. Sometimes we see in scripture and even today that God’s people turn to wickedness, oppression of the innocent, and disobedience.
I don’t typically do negative posts about church or Christians as a whole because I think there is enough of that to go around without me piling on. I also think it is normally more beneficial to offer a positive voice to the online conversation that brings encouragement rather than bringing discouragement. At the same time we cannot always paint a smile on our faces and overlook things that should instead bring tears to our eyes. So my question is, what have we seen the modern church at large, ministers, individual Christians, etc do in our day that migh evoke a similar response to God as the rebellion in Ezekiel’s day brought about righteous judgment from God? Now that you have thought about all of those guys who are making Christianity a mockery and giving God a bad name, ask yourself this question – “In what way or ways have I ever played a role in the things I just listed?” How you answer the second question plays a key role in how honest and authentic we are being with ourselves.
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I don’t like it when you let me beat myself up 😉
As I reflect on the many reasons I have for being thankful, I am definitely moved to give God thanks and praise for your light and life. May God’s richest blessings continue flow through you to enlighten and enrich the lives of others.
Love in the Lord,
Bill Williams