Day 242 (Ezekiel 13-15) - Year 4
07:40 Share

Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Today, God has Ezekiel launch out with prophecies against other prophets, false prophets specifically. He says they prophesy about things they've dreamed up in their own minds or just have a feeling about in their spirits. The text says they see false visions and lying visions, and it's unclear whether that means they're lying about what they see or if the enemy is faking these visions and the prophets just think they're from God.

but probably the former. The prophets also believe they have the power to speak things into existence as long as they attach God's name to it, because then God's hands will be tied and he'll be forced to comply with whatever they've spoken. If you look at their beliefs and actions carefully, you might see that some of the popular ideas and practices in the world today, and even in Christendom, aren't too far off from this.

But God makes it clear that he is not the one informing these prophets, and he will not bend to their will. Not only are his hands not tied, but his hands will be used against them. God compares their prophecies to a wall they've built and painted white. It may look nice and fresh and clean, but he will crush it and it will fall on them.

God is using a metaphor here. He's probably not going to smash them with an actual wall. He could, but more likely, the walls are their false prophecies, which will ultimately be turned back on them, just like we talked about with the people's sins. Then God turns his attention to the magicians or sorcerers.

He talks about people who sew magic bands on people's wrists. And if you go to Jerusalem today, you'll see a similar practice where some stores try to sell you little red string bracelets or pendants or home decor that's supposed to protect you from evil. How deceptive is the enemy? He uses the fear of evil to entice people into evil. And that's what these sorcerers are majoring in. They promise protection to people God is going to kill and promise death to people who will be among the remnant.

And God says that their efforts and lies will be thwarted because they're not all powerful. He is. They aren't the creator who can speak things into existence. He is.

In chapter 14, some of the elders come to Ezekiel as they're all in exile together. And since God knows what's happening in their hearts, God tips him off. He says they've taken idols into their hearts and that they fixed their eyes on idols. Then God asks Ezekiel a rhetorical question. He says, they're here to ask you for guidance, but based on the status of their hearts, should I give you any guidance to give to them?

And surprisingly, the answer is yes. Yes, God still welcomes these idolaters to seek his guidance. He wants them to come to him, not their idols. God will even respond to them directly, he says. And here's what he says he'll say. I'm not going to answer any of your questions as long as you're worshiping idols. I'm not going to tell you what to do in whatever scenario you're coming to me about. I will only deal with the problem of your idols until that changes, because that is the primary problem.

I have a friend who had a similar story, but let me offer up this caveat before I tell you the story. I'm not comparing her particular struggle to idolatry, so if you see yourself in her story, please don't hear any judgment from me. I just think her experience highlights some of the same aspects of God's character that we see in this situation with Judah. My friend had been trying to quit smoking for years. She asked me to pray about it for years. Then one day, she quit and never looked back. When I asked her what it was that made things so different this time, she said,

I wanted to hear God say something new. Every time I would go to church or read my Bible or go to D group, no matter what the topic was, all I could hear God say was quit smoking. And I was just ready to hear God say something new. So I knew that meant being obedient to what he'd already said to me.

I think of my friend every time I read this passage. She has a track record of obedience. It doesn't always happen immediately, but God is persistent. He shows us where to go, then he patiently walks us there step by step. We don't go alone.

Whatever our sins may be, we can go to him. And whatever our sins may be, he is persistent in addressing them, not out of condemnation, but because he loves us and he wants us to walk in freedom from whatever is obstructing our path forward. After God tells him all of this, he says, And by the way, if you do ask a prophet for guidance and he gives you a so-called word from God, then you'll both be guilty of sinning against me because I've already told you it's not going to happen.

Then God tells Ezekiel, things are really bad here. I've got to send judgment on the land. In fact, things are so bad that even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were a part of this judgment, they'd be the only survivors and would barely get out alive. Not even their kids would survive. God promises to send four kinds of judgment on the land. Famine, sword, pestilence, and wild animals.

And by the way, these three men are probably given as illustrations for two reasons. A, because scripture emphasizes their God-given righteousness, and B, because God preserved them through astonishing circumstances. We're familiar with Job and Noah, but we haven't met Daniel yet. We'll get to him soon, but just know for now that his story of survival is a doozy.

So God is basically listing out the winners of each season of Survivor. And he says there will be some survivors when he destroys Jerusalem as well, some people who apparently fall into the same two categories of those three men. In the end, God says, these survivors will be an encouragement to Ezekiel, serving as evidence of God's goodness and justice.

We end today's reading with chapter 15, in which God asks Ezekiel another rhetorical question. This time, he compares the people of Jerusalem to a vine and points out that they're useless. He says he will punish them with fire for their wickedness.

What was your God shot today? Mine was in chapter 13, as God is wrapping up his warnings to the false prophets and sorcerers. He says he's going to punish them because, as verse 22 says, you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life. First, I want to point out that this verse mentions two things that are unsuitable, peace for the wicked and lack of peace for the righteous.

So while this is true and beautiful on its own, what does it show me about God? It shows me that God wants his people to be at peace and to walk in truth. And God wants the wicked to hear the truth too and to turn from it.

And because God cares so deeply about these things, God says he will punish the people who discourage and dishearten his people. He is so protective, and he doesn't just care about our eternal destination. He cares about the peace we carry with us day by day, in every moment, as children who know and love the truth of who their father is. Truly, he's where the joy is. ♪

Each week, a team of people from D Group International spends about 120 hours putting the Bible recap together for you. Each episode is researched, written, and recorded by me, Tara Lee Cobble, and sound engineered by Allison Congdon.

Sarah Yochum leads our incredible social media team, and Morgan Young creates all the encouraging daily images we post. Landon Wade designed our logo. Brittany Murray designed our customized journal, daily study guide, and weekly discussion guide. If you haven't gotten your copies of those yet, visit our website and click on the store link to check them out, thebiblerecap.com.