Bible Study: August 21, 2024

So tonight, it's been a couple weeks since we've been together, so tonight we're going to go through Chapter 14 and Chapter 15 of Ezekiel. We're in the section of Ezekiel where God is revealing to Ezekiel the sins of the people.

We know what God is saying is going to happen. The punishment that Israel is going to receive are the sword, the famine, the pestilence, because they have turned against him, that they have frustrated him, they have rejected him at every step of the way. And beginning in Chapter 8 and down to Chapter 12 and 13, tonight you'll see in 14, God is recounting to Ezekiel what it is that the people have done, how they have sinned against him. And as we read through these chapters, many people would think this was written for Jerusalem and written for the Jews of old. Throughout it, we remember that God addresses the house of Israel, all the house of Israel, and so it's written for our time. And when we look into these scriptures, we can see ourselves, maybe the faults that we have, and we can certainly see what the modern-day nations of Israel, the America, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, they are responding to God and moving further and further away from him. And so, you know, these chapters come alive to us, and we learn something about us, so we learn something about how we should be living our lives and turning to God and examining ourselves to make sure that some of these tendencies that we see that God talking about in these chapters aren't reflected in us. Let me admit some people here.

So let's go ahead. If you'll recall in chapter 13, God was talking about prophets, and he was talking about the wall that we built, and that we should be building our wall on truth. And you remember from chapter 13, he said, people who build their wall with untempered mortar, with the straw, and the wheat, the hay, the straw, the weak things of earth, that he will send rain, he will send wind, he will send things to test that wall, and he will reveal what that wall, what that temple that he is building in us is made of. Many are very reminiscent of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3, where he's talking about the temple that we're building. Build it with gold, build it with silver, build it with things that will withstand the storms that come. And in Ezekiel, he talks about the untempered mortar. We want to build our wall on truth, on faith, and truth, and trust in God.

So when we move into chapter 14, we see some of the things that's in the edition that God is talking about, and he has some interesting things to say about how he will deliver people from the times of trouble that are going to be coming upon the nation because, or the people because of the sins they've committed.

So let's pick it up in verse 14. Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me, and the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let myself be inquired at all by them?

We're kind of saying they've set up their idols in their hearts. Maybe they haven't erected a stone statue someplace that they're bowing down behind. Maybe it's just their ideas. Their ideas have become their idols, right? They have set up idols in their hearts and their false idols. And again, you know, we can look at ourselves in many ways, and self-deceit is one of the one of the seats, the types of the seat that could be so deceptive if I can use that turn.

So deceptive where we can deceive ourselves into thinking we really are doing God's will. We are really looking at things his way. And all the while, we set up idols in our hearts thinking that our ideas and our way of doing things and any kind of prophecies that we might have. And we fool ourselves into thinking we're doing things the way God wants, but it really we're doing things the way that we want. And that's what he's talking about here in verse three.

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. It's by their own by their own things that they stumble into iniquity. Should I let myself be inquired at all by them? So God is saying, well, see what they've done. They might not be sincere, but they have set up their own stumbling blocks.

Should I listen to them? Should I call on them? Because they're really not seeking God. They're really using God to promote their own way instead. So in verse four, he says, therefore, speak to them and say to them, thus says the Lord God, everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes according to the multitude of his idols.

Now, God knows what the motives and intents of our heart is. He knows what we're about. He knows what we're thinking. Sometimes we have to just ask God and really ask him in sincerity, you know, search my heart.

Whenever I say that, I reminded of Psalm 139 when David asked that question, search my heart. Let me know if there's any wickedness in me. He sincerely wanted to know, am I fooling myself in any way? Am I have I set up something for myself? And that's what God is saying here. You know, he set up these these ills in his heart, and I'm going to answer him according to the multitude of his idols. It's some of the burbage there is a little bit tricky, but what God is saying there when he says the multitude of our of their idols, to the extent that we've done that, to the extent that we set up these things in our hearts, he will respond in the same way.

I have written down here in my notes, God says he will answer them according to their idols what they want to hear. They don't ask right, and he won't answer. Right? So if we set up a multitude of idols in our hearts, God will just allow us to go on thinking that because we're not answering in sincerity. Some of these verses you have to think about because they're getting deeper into the type of things that we can do and fool ourselves and think that we're doing God's will.

But we really, really have to look at our motives and ask God to reveal, am I pleasing myself? Am I looking to glorify myself? Or am I really following you? Am I really doing what you want me to do? It's something we just have to kind of look at and ask God and always be aware that we can deceive ourselves if we're not watching what's going on in our lives.

So God says, I'm going to answer them. I'm going to answer them according to the multitude of their idols. If they have set a lot up, he's not going to answer them. He's not going to be... He's going to be as delusive in the response to them as they are in dealing with him, if I can put it in that way. He says, I'll answer them according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from me by their idols.

Again, you have to think about that verse. They're self-deceived. They're thinking they're doing right. They're not really seeking me. I may seize the house of Israel because they are all estranged from me by their idols. They're not really my people. They're not really doing my will.

Even though they may look like they are, talk like they are, they're not. We have to know God. We have to know his word. His Spirit will give us the spirit of discernment when we're dealing with people. Is it really about God? Is it really about them? Is it really about something else? What is the real motivation as we all work together to serve God in the way he wants to be served? Verse 6. Therefore, say to the house of Israel... Again, notice the house of Israel. The house of Israel, I keep reminding ourselves that they had been taken into captivity 100-some years before Ezekiel was written. Therefore, say to the house of Israel... Thus says the Lord God, Repent! Turn away from your idols and turn your faces from all your abominations. It's the common message of Jesus Christ, the basic message, Repent and turn to me. It requires self-examination. It requires humbly, humbly and sincerely asking God, Show me my sins. Show me my sins. Show me why-ways. And a desire in our hearts to become like him. That we're willing to put away any part of our personality, any part of our thought process, any part of our so-called identities that we have. We're willing to sacrifice it all because we truly desire the truth of God in our hearts. That's something that the Holy Spirit, only the Holy Spirit, can lead us into. And it has to come from a sincerity apart when we beseech God to do that. Apparently, the people of Israel, you know, who have done these things, just, they went through the lip service with God. They made all the right sounds. They said all the right words. But their hearts were far from them, and yet they had to see themselves into thinking they were doing God's will. So God says, Repent. Jesus Christ, when he came, the first words recorded in Mark, he said, Repent and believe in the gospel. Repent and turn away from all your abominations. Now, remember, we've seen that word abominations in the Book of Ezekiel a lot in the early chapters. And it is like anything that is against God. We went through, back in an early Bible study, where in the Bible it talks about, this is an abomination, this is an abomination, this is an abomination. It's putting away the sins out of our lives and the things that separate us from God.

Verse 7, Now, again, this is something that you've got to meditate on a little bit, and understand what God is saying here, but look at how much time he's put into here in chapter 14. The first seven verses here have all been about these idols that we set up in our hearts, these stumbling blocks that we set up for ourselves.

As we go through the Book of Ezekiel, these chapters here, where God is leading to the time when Israel is taken into captivity and they pay the consequences for how they live their lives, he is getting us something, I mean, the commandment that says, No other gods before me, don't set up any graven image before me. Include ourselves. Don't set up an idol in our own mind. And, you know, as we read through these words, you know, focus on that. And I'd say after the Bible study, ask God, What do you mean? Have I done that? Have I done that already? Have I set up some things that are stumbling blocks in my way? Are there some things I say, I believe most of what you say, but that one I don't. That one I won't go there. That one I won't go there. I think I know more than the Bible in that case. I think I have a better interpretation that the Bible gives me, or this is my way of, this is how I think this prophecy is going to be fulfilled. Or I don't think God cares if I do this. He's going to give me an allowance in this area, even though the command or the precept in the Bible is very clear. So pay attention when God spends time, because here we are, you know, a third through this chapter, and God is still repeating the same thing. The idols that we set up in our own hearts. They're stumbling blocks to ourselves. And when we come to God and ask Him, and we go to someone and ask, What's the problem? We don't want to hear because we just will not throw that idol, remove that idol from our lives or our minds. But God says He's going to answer Him by Himself. And when God says that, that means there's going to be words that we really need to take attention to. Verse 8, He makes it pretty clear. I will set my face, I will set my face against that man, and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. You know, those are tough words. And people have done this to themselves. They set it up in their own minds. They won't listen. Jesus Christ talks about how many times the people are dull of hearing. They're not listening. They've shut their ears. They just won't listen. They just won't change. They set up idols in their hearts. They will not take them away. And so much of it has to do with pride and all these other aspects of life that just want to glorify ourselves rather than glorifying God and allowing Him to do what He wants to do in our lives. And when God makes a comment like He does in verse 8, because we see this in other parts of the Bible, I will set my face against that man. I will make him a sign and a proverb. You know, God says that about Israel itself, the land. It's a land that He has richly blessed in the old days back in ancient Israel. He blessed Israel greatly. He blessed Judah greatly. And when they went captive and when they lost everything, they were an astonishment to the people around. They did become a proverb. What happened to that people? Well, they turned against their God and they lost everything. As we read prophecies in Isaiah, we would talk about, you will be an astonishment to people. People will look at you and what happened to Israel. How did this great nation fall apart when they had so much going for it? We look at America and Canada and Britain and Australia today, and you look at the magnitude of the blessings that God has given us. And you see what is going on. You know, here in America, we have these political stuff going on here in this presidential campaign, and you can see the direction it's going.

It's going. And you can see how America can fall. It won't be because of outside attacks. It'll be because we do it to ourselves. We set up idols in our hearts in the land.

And one party wants this, and they want it desperately. And we can see where the end of that will be. The other party, you know, may talk against it, but they have their idols too. And they will not yield. And so we have a nation that's divided and divisive. And where it goes, one day when it falls apart, and the world around looks and says, what did these nations do to themselves?

We didn't have to do anything. We just sat by and watched them self-destruct because they did not follow proper principles, and they got all caught up in what they wanted and how they thought things should be, even though history, the preponderance of history, every idea that you hear coming is going to be disastrous if God allows it to go that way. So one day we'll be sitting here and thinking, America, it's an astonishment. What's happened to you? Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand.

It's an astonishment what happened, but you did it to yourself by the idols that you set up in your own heart that were stumbling blocks to use. You couldn't see clearly. So very stern words that God says here in verse 8. Verse 9, then, he says, and always when God says, as he does in the last part of verse 8 there, Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

It means that there comes a reckoning. It's a very hard price to pay to come to the knowledge that, Oh, now I recognize God. Now I know who He is. Now I repent in dust and ashes. Now I am for forgiveness because I recognize what I did. If God can show us the error of our ways, and we can just repent before Him, because we are so committed to Him that we know that whatever He shows us, we need to take out of our lives, overcome, not have that part of our personality anymore, or whatever it is.

If we would just willingly do it, how good and how peaceful life would be. But too often we're so stubborn that God has to just absolutely obliterate people, nations, or whatever. And when they are at nothing, when they are at absolute base level, then they can repent. Then they know God's way was best. You and I know that already. We already know that God's way is best. And we should willingly yield as He leads us.

Verse 9, if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I, the Lord, have induced that prophet. I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. Okay. If the prophet is induced to speak anything. You know, God is saying something interesting here.

You know, He does allow falsehood to go forth. If people are so heaped up in the stumbling blocks and the idols that they have in their hearts, you know, I was looking at my notes here, so I say this in a way that has some sense. I wrote down, God allows falsehood to go out to see what really is in our hearts.

You know, it's interesting as I thought about this. You think about some of the things that God said, because He wants to know that we know His truth. Sheldon, go ahead. If you have a comment, go ahead and please make it. Yeah, thanks. I had to answer this one about this one. So I've spent a few hours diving into the Hebrew here. One translation of this that's very good is that if a prophet speaks something that is deceived, I, the Lord, have revealed that prophet to be deceived.

I have shown that prophet is deceived. So it's him who reveals the deceit, but he has allowed it to be spoken. And you're right, it's a test, but then he reveals it to be a deceit. I think, and I don't want to say too authoritative, but I think that translation is more clear when it says, I, the Lord, have revealed that prophet to be deceived. And he allowed that deceit to be spoken, but then he reveals that it is a deceit.

Revealed to those who have their heart with God, right? Because there were some who would believe that prophet too. That's God allows those things to be, but we have to have the discernment to be close and understand the truth so that we can see, oh, that is error that's being spoken there. Again, it's a concept you have to kind of go back and look at and put yourself in some places. You know, God doesn't say anything false. But I know one of the things I thought about when I read this verse, and we read it earlier in Ezekiel, remember when God was having Ezekiel prepare for some food and he said, use dong to fertilize.

And Ezekiel said, wait, I've never done anything unclean. I've never done that. So he knew God's way. And God sees what's in our heart. Okay, do we just kind of just do it if someone says something or do we say, wait a minute, that isn't what I've been taught. That's not your way. And God said, okay, fine. Okay, use the plant-based things. You know, in Acts 10, when Peter, when God is revealing that he's going to be calling Gentiles, and he tells Peter, rise. He gives Peter the visions, rise, Peter, kill, and eat.

And Peter says, no, no, I've never. Uncleaned food has never touched my lips. And because, you know, God knew what he was saying, but Peter was like, no, that isn't the way.

Just because you've never, I read some words in the Bible, I have to look at the context and say, no, that's not your way. That isn't what the Bible is saying. We have a world that looks at the Bible and says, oh, no, God cleaned all meats and everything is fine to eat. God did that. Jesus Christ in Matthew 15 said, everything that enters your body is fine and cleansed, or whatever. And that isn't at all what God says. So we have to be aware when we hear people say these things or we read things that we go back and we think, no, we know God's way. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. What he says is truth and what he says stands. And it may sound and be presented differently, but we always go back to what is it that God said? And that means we have to know the Bible. It has to become part of our heart and be the truth in our heart so that we discern false from evil. When something is said, we can call attention and say, no, that isn't what the Bible says. That isn't the truth that is there. I'll tell you one of the things that occurred this week. Again, someone asked a question about something, sent it in by an email. And sometimes you read those questions and think, wow, I don't know. Actually, this happened twice in the last couple of weeks. It said something about the Bible said this and the Bible said that. And I thought, I don't remember where the Bible said that. So I went back and I thought, well, maybe I missed a part of it, whatever, and what they were talking about. But when you go back and you look at what the detail of the Bible is and you ask someone, give me the Scripture and verse you're looking at so I can kind of respond to that, it isn't something else. It's something they've heard from another party or from another church or something they're listening to. And you know it is, but it teaches us, keep your eyes in the Bible and know what the Bible says. So when you hear these little twists and something that isn't there, they're not major things, but you know that they're not in the Bible. And that comes from just us studying the Bible and staying true to it. Hey, Xavier, how are you this evening? Good. Yes, sir, Brother Sherry. Good. There's a few other related verses I'm sure most have known them already. Deuteronomy 13, verse 1-3, where God says He's testing us. And also Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 19, he says, As scary as it is, He says, But there must be heresies among us, that they which are approved may be made manifest. So we just regard that as being a garden. Yep. Yep. It tests us, tests our knowledge. Will we follow? Will we go back to the source of truth? Hey, Dave. Hey, good evening, everyone. Mr. Shave, I just was going to ask if you would go ahead and re-mute everybody. I'm getting a couple messages from about feedback coming through. Okay. I'm going to mute everyone. Just keep your microphone off until you're ready to talk, okay? Thanks.

Okay. So we should be getting a little clear about what God is talking about. The sin that could easily beset us if we're not watching what's going on or if we get too full of ourselves and our interpretations or whatever.

Let me read verse 9 again, based on the comments we've heard here already.

Okay. God will allow false teachings to go out, but there will be a price to pay for that. But it's our responsibility to be able to discern truth from error. We go back to the Bible and follow what the Bible says. Verse 10, And they shall bear their iniquity, the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired. Okay. There's, you know, truth. Let's go back to truth. That's where it is. That's what we have to do. And that's what we have to, as it says in Thessalonians versus 2 Thessalonians, I think 1 Thessalonians 5, things. Prove all things and hold fast that which is good. Let me see. They shall bear their iniquity, the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me, nor be profaned any more with all their transgressions. That the house of Israel may no longer stray from me. You'll see that prophet is, as Mr. Sidder said, will be revealed. The truth will be revealed. But God is teaching us, cling to the truth, that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me, nor be profaned any more with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, says the Lord God.

Trust in him, know the truth, and love the truth, as we're admonished in the New Testament as well. Okay, verse 12. The word of the Lord came again to me saying... Now, this is an interesting set of scriptures here where God is saying it has to be in our personal hearts. I mean, all of us have ones that we love who are in the church. We have children that know the truth. God is saying something here, and as I... Well, we'll read through these verses and come back and talk about them a little bit.

So we hear about these punishments, if you will, that come from God. The famine, the sword, the pestilence that comes from it, with persistent unfaithfulness. You know, when we look at America, when we look at the Israelite nations of the world, there has been persistent unfaithfulness and increasing unfaithfulness to God. More and more, God put away, even to the point that, you know, even people who don't know God the way you and I, know God or know the truth, that they talk about people who believe in Jesus, you know, being enemies of the state. Now, where the country and society is going in that? Persistent unfaithfulness. Verse 14, even if these three men...and these are men of faith, Noah, Daniel, and Job, Noah, the only one saved, you know, during that blood era, when God looked down on the humanity and saw the violence and the corruption, only one man, only one man was righteous. God said, build the ark, and he faithfully built that ark in the middle of nowhere for a hundred years and showed his faith and complete trust in God, despite all the persecution and jeering and whatever else he had to endure during that time. God preserved him through that land, through that flood. I began humanity again through his family. Noah, Daniel, the Bible shows in the book of Daniel how faithful Daniel was in all of the trials and tests that he endured. Never really says a bad word about Daniel. He was always loyal to God. And Job. Job suffered some terrible things. But in the beginning, we remember God said, Job is blameless from me. And he went through a hard trial to test what was in him. And through that trial, God revealed something that Job had to overcome, the self-righteousness that was in him. And he had to repent of that. And when he did, God blessed him more than what he was blessed before.

So he had these three solid examples of faith in God, trust in God, and obedience to God. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it in this time of famine and everything, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. Only themselves. We remember in the book of Job that he would go and he would make offerings to God on behalf of his children. Remember, they would have parties or whatever in the house. And just in case they sinned, he was going to offer sacrifice for them because he was trying to protect his children. But God is saying in this verse, as much as we want to do that, as much as we want to do everything for our families and our other loved ones, and you know, sometimes they say if we could sacrifice ourselves that they could be in the kingdom and follow God, rather than ourselves, probably many of us would do that. But God says it can only be ourselves. Everyone has to learn to trust God. Everyone has to repent before him. Everyone has to have the spirit in him. Everyone has to yield to God and be at one with him. What our husbands do, what our wives do, what our children do, it's got to be them. It's got to be the individual. In Philippians it says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Work together, exhort one another. We're part of a body. God gives us that tremendous blessing to be with each other so we can encourage each other. He gives us wonderful marriages that we can encourage each other in that and help each other grow. But you got to do it. God's looking at what's in each of us and not us separately. Even if these three were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. He's looking at how our collective wall and temple is built, but also the individual temples that are in each of us and the individual walls. What are we tempering those walls with? If I cause, verse 15, you can see how God increases this statement that he's making here. If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they empty it and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, you can see what it is. Almost like closed door. It is impossible to get out. When I read verses like that, I think of what it was like. You've seen it depicted in the movies in Nazi Germany. When people had an opportunity, the Jews, to get out. They delayed and then all of a sudden the door was shut. They couldn't get out. They were trapped inside Hitler's Third Reich and they had no way to exit. So they knew what they were going to face. Now, God says the same thing, or Christ does, in Matthew 24 when he talks about two were in the field. One was taken and one was left. There's a time. There's a time that the door closes. Matthew 25 and the ten virgins, right? Five enter into the bridegroom because they're ready for them and five aren't. The door closes and there's wailing and weeping because they weren't ready. So verse 15 has got that same sentiment to it, that same atmosphere, by cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they empty it and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts. Even though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, only they would be delivered and the land would be desolate.

Can't save someone else. We can save ourselves. And God can deliver us through any situation that we're in. Even though it looks desolate and hopeless, those who are with God and righteous that he is looking at, he can deliver from any situation. Our faith is in him. These verses come alive when we see things like that. Hey, bud, how are you doing tonight?

I still feel that we should pray for our children. A lot of our children and our families. And I ask God to open their minds to see what we see because a lot has to do with when God gets our attention. And I pray for my family and I pray for my children and grandchildren. Even when I read this verse, it doesn't discourage me from doing that. I hope I didn't infer that at all. No, we should pray for our children. We should pray for each other. That God would open our minds that we will let his truth in us. Yes, I didn't mean to imply that at all, but God will look into our own hearts so we can't save someone else. We can certainly encourage them and work with them and pray for them. And everything you said is right. And I didn't mean to imply any differently. Well, I didn't think it did, by the way. Okay, no, no, but thank you for that comment because I think that's very important. We should pray for our children and for each other always. Okay. Okay, verse 17. Verse 17.

Or if I bring a sword, God says, on that land and say, sword, go through the land, and I cut off man and beast from it. Even those these three men were in it. As I lived, says the Lord God, they would deliver, neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. So you can see God repeating this. It's like when he says things once, we pay attention. But when he repeats things and adds a little bit to it each time, we pay attention. What is he teaching us? Yes, teach the people around us, but each workout is only salvation with fear, the fear of God and trembling, and to the extent that we can induce or teach that fear of the Lord to our children as they're growing up, and that they understand these things, and we bring them up in the fear and the admonition of the Lord, we are giving them. We are giving, we're pleasing God, but giving them a great gift as well. So here we see the sword, the famine, the pestilence, and we see God delivering, right? It says, I will deliver that person, not their children. They've got to do it themselves, but we can help in that, as Bud pointed out. Verse 19, if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my fury on it in blood and cut off from it man and beast, that desolation again, that hopelessness when we look around us, maybe that kind of that hopelessness that we read about at the end of Revelation 12, where the church is headed off into whatever place God has prepared for them, and they see this flood coming after them, which we commonly say is an army coming after them, pursuing them, and it looks like they're going to be there, but God opens up the earth and swallows up that flood. Always trust in God. He can deliver us from anything. The lesson of the Israelites with their back against the Red Sea looked hopeless. For man, it would have been like we are doomed, but God can do things that don't even enter our minds. He can save us. The faith is always with Him. If I send a pestilence, did I already read that one? I'll read verse 19 again in case it did. Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my fury on it in blood and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord, they would deliver neither son nor daughter, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.

Chapter 14 is just a very telling chapter. It bears thinking through it and making sure our hearts are right with God and we are focused on Him and asking Him for the purity in mind and heart and life that He wants us to develop. And He makes some promises in those chapters in this chapter, very telling times. When that time of punishment comes upon a land for their persistent unfaithfulness because where persistent unfaithfulness continues, there will be that time of reckoning.

Verse 21, for thus says the Lord God, How much more it shall be when I send my four severe judgments on Jerusalem, the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence to cut off man and beast from it.

How much more it shall be when I send those punishments upon them. We need to be men of integrity, women of integrity, you know, building that during the course of our lifetime now, just like Noah, Daniel, and Job did.

It looks hopeless. It looks like when God punishes a land, He's just going to completely eliminate it.

But God always has that hope. Always when we read these chapters and we read God talking about the punishment that will come.

And while we're the punishment that comes, He always has the hope at the end of it. He always at the end says He won't make a complete end of Israel.

There will be death. There will be lives lost. Of course, we know there is the resurrection. There is the plan for all mankind to have the opportunity to repent and come before God.

There will be lives lost, but Israel, His people, will never be completely cut off. And He says that in verse 22.

Yet behold, there will be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings.

And you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it.

The comfort. Because they have turned back to God.

We read about the remnant that God is going to preserve. In Isaiah 6, we read about it where 10% the remnant would be.

We read about it in Ezekiel 5 when we went through that prophecy that talked about shaving off your hair.

A third of it here goes to these three different places. But keep a remnant wrapped up in your hymn.

God said you will be comforted. We read, I do not remember now, the exact chapter where it was, where they will glorify God when they are in captivity, when they are in whatever situation they are in.

And people come to a state of repentance, and they glorify God, and they recognize, this is what I have done wrong.

This is what I have done. Twice in Ezekiel 6 and chapter 20 it says that Israel will loathe themselves for what they have done.

We can come to that point in our lives too where we loathe ourselves for being against God, for holding our idols up in our own minds and not completely yielding to Him and surrendering to Him as we go through life.

Not fully understanding the joy that comes from doing those things. That when we come to a point of repentance, that is beautiful to God.

You know, what it says in 2 Peter, God is not willing that any should perish. His will is not that people should die.

But it says that all His will is that all will come to repentance. Because when we come to that deep repentance, when we recognize God and we can glorify Him, when we loathe ourselves and recognize what we've done, when we can acknowledge that, then life, then eternity comes.

And that's the real blessing from God. And sometimes we have to go through some hard times to reach that. And Israel will have to do that.

But it will be a comfort. It will be a comfort when they're brought back to their ways, as we read in Isaiah, and God brings them back to their Promised Land.

And they will be eternally loyal. They will be eternally loyal to Him.

Verse 23, And they will comfort you when you see their ways and their doings, and you will know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it, says the Lord God.

Everything God does to the world, it may seem cruel, even to when we look at it through our human eyes, say, that's tough. Those are some tough times.

But through the call, what God's will is, is the good for mankind.

As you look through, you know, as we're coming up, which is just a few weeks on the Feast of Trumpets, or another month to the Feast of Trumpets and the Ball Holy Days, we know that time leading up to the return of Christ is going to be a terrible time. You have the trumpet plagues. You have the Day of the Lord, where God exacts His vengeance on mankind.

And that's a terrible time. Who can withstand the Day of the Lord, we read in the Book of Joel.

But it's done to punish, but also the people when they appear before God, those who are left at that time when Jesus Christ returns, and Satan is put away as pictured by the Day of Atonement, they will be humble people before God. They will understand, and they will be teachable, and they will be able to do what God wants us to do.

They will be able to yield to Him, and they will, they will, as we read in Isaiah 4 or Isaiah 2, they will come up, and they will want to learn the way of God.

They will realize the way of life in this world with the war, the strife, the misery, the divorce, the everything that's going to go on between now and then is going to be so much different, even though what we've lived in the past, as we see it magnify the wickedness of the evil.

And everything else between now and the return of Jesus Christ, they won't want that way. They will want to live God's way.

I don't do anything without a cause, God says, and His cause is good.

And as we go through those things, and you know, I hear people say, the church talks a lot about gloom and doom. Yes, that's because man brings it on himself, but it is God who saves us through it all.

It's God where our hope is, and you and I have that hope, that hope that God has built into all of us.

So let me stop there of Chapter 14 before we go into 15. If there's any comments or any clarifications or any thoughts that anyone wants to share on that at all, we can spend a few minutes on that.

Mr. Shavey? Yes. Hi. This is Marta Sadeño. Yes, Marta. I am sorry. We lost you there for a minute.

Okay. So thank you for reminding me of a sermon from Mr. Herbert Armstrong. He addressed the problems during this time. We do think it is a very... how should I say?

It's a terrible time for humanity, but humanity has to be shown that God has to get their attention. This is the only way He can do it by allowing them to go through these terrible times.

And so I remember Mr. Herbert Armstrong said, it has to be done, but He does it in a low. But they will have to suffer, and that's the only way He can get their attention.

Exactly right. It's like we do with our kids sometimes, right? We don't want to. We don't want to have to punish them, but sometimes you've got to get their attention and make it hurt.

I don't mean hurt physically, hurt by something they lose or whatever, you know, to do that. And unfortunately, we have to go through that. Always ends up good if we follow God.

Thank you.

Hey, Mr. Murray, how are you? Good to see you. Yeah, good to see you, Mr. Shavey. Once again, it was lovely to have you and Debbie in Australia with the other ones from Cincinnati.

Yeah, it was a great time down there.

It was wonderful. Just a little point about verse 20 of Ezekiel 14. It's just an interesting point that Ezekiel makes, including Daniel, along with Noah and David.

And it is interesting because there were people or there have been people that have claimed that the writings of Daniel were post-exilic and because the prophecies are so precise. And whereas here we see where Ezekiel is including Daniel amongst other forefathers who were very faithful. So it's showing that Ezekiel knew of Daniel, and that really puts to pave the idea that Daniel wrote was written at some time later and not written by Daniel. Yeah, that's a good point, right? Because you're right, they were kind of like contemporaries in a way. So he did know Daniel. He hadn't even thought of that. It's a good point, though. Yes.

Okay, chapter 15 is pretty short. It really just has really one main point. So let's go ahead and look at chapter 15. I'm not as drawing an analogy here on...

Mr. Shabe. One quick question that the other gentleman just brought up. How would you know about Job?

I guess they had transcripts. I don't know. This is God's inspiration, right? So maybe they had the book of Job at the time of Ezekiel. They did have scriptures, right? They did have the scriptures. They did have the scrolls. They had the Torah and the books that all those came before their writings. So they probably had some of that information with them. Or, gosh. I mean, yep.

Okay, chapter 15.

After 15, God makes quite an interesting point to this short little chapter. It says, Okay, so we all know what what vines are, right? We've seen vines growing on trees, and there's some wood that's on there and whatever. We're kind of saying, well, is that wood on the vine? That little bit of stuff? Is that as good as the wood of the forest? Is it any better than the wood of the forest, which is among the trees of the forest? Is wood, verse 3, taken from it to make any object? Can you make furniture? He's going to say, can you make furniture from the wood of the vine? You know, these little vines that are there, it's kind of like woody substance, but it's not really strong. It has no substance or strength to it. Is wood taken from it to make any object? Can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? Even something is basic of that. Can you take something and stick it in your wall, hang your coat on it?

No, it's just kind of like there. It's kind of necessary. It serves its purpose, but there is no strength in it at all. Instead, he says, it's thrown into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. But is it useful for any work?

Well, it's useful as a fire, but it has no value, it has no worth intrinsically to build furniture, build houses, build even a little peg to hang your coat on, right? But, no, when it's served its purpose, you throw it into the fire. You get rid of it. You just throw it out. Not like a tree that has the strength.

Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured and it's burned? It had its purpose, but it was useless, and when it's burned up, it's just gone.

God is making a point here about people, the people of Jerusalem, the people of Israel, you and me. My guess is, well, therefore, he says in verse 6, Thus says the Lord God, Like the wood of the vine, like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Inherently, within the people of Jerusalem, within humans, there is no worth. The strength and the value of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, human beings, is what comes from God. Intrinsically, we are like the grass of the field. Remember we read in Isaiah about, like the grass of the field, it withers away, like flowers, they just fade. They're there for a while, then they fade away, they wither, and they're forgotten. There is no intrinsic worth in them, except what God gives us. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, dust you are, and to dust you will return, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will set my face, I will set my face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire will devour them. They may try to escape, but basically, if they don't turn to God, their lives are empty. They're useless. They will be just a part of the things that people...we read in, I guess it was in Isaiah, we read that they will look down at the remnants there in the Gehenna section of Jerusalem. What are these people? Wasted lives. They never reached their potential. They never had the strength. They were never useful to God for anything going forward. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. You can't turn from God. There is only one way to salvation, and that is to yield to God, yield to Jesus Christ, repent, and live our lives his way. His way. Don't leave the things that it tells us. You know, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit, and let the Holy Spirit lead you. Otherwise, you're like the vine of the wood.

They are for a while, but useful for fire. And then we'll go try to maybe move from one fire to another, but ultimately the fire will devour them. God says, then you will know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them. So unfortunately, there is a group of men that we know, or a group of people, that will end up in the lake of fire who never will yield to God, who will never yield, give themselves to him, who will fight against him and just become the frail, meaningless, futile human beings that they are and stand against God, and they will lose it all.

They will just be fuel for the fire. None of you, none of us, should be that. None of us should fall into that. And we should learn the lesson of that. God gives us life. God gives us purpose. He gives us meaning. In him is all life. When Jesus Christ said, the way, the truth, the life, it's all in him. And our, I guess, God leads us, completely yield to him, so that our lives have some meaning and the strength is there that we survive, or maybe survive isn't the right word, that we move from physical existence into the eternal existence that God has in mind for all of us.

When we see them thrown into the fire, then you will know that I am the Lord. You'll know that my way is. We'll absolutely know that what God said and what he's recorded for us is the truth in his Bible. And we will worship him and glorify him and appreciate his plan all the more when I set my face against them. Thus I will make the land desolate because they have persisted. You know, we have this, we have this persistent word show up in Ezekiel 14 to 15.

Persistent unfaithfulness, we read about in chapter 14. Here we have, I will make the land desolate because they have persisted in unfaithfulness, says the Lord God. We should never be people who persist in unfaithfulness, but constantly, constantly yielding and turning to God. So let's end there. Next week, chapter 16 is quite an interesting and revealing chapter that again speaks to us much longer than the chapters we were in today.

I don't think we'll get through all of chapter 16 next week, but a very compelling chapter. You could almost just read it without having any explanation as you read through it because it is one of those chapters that God has written that are just riveting when you read it.

And again, you realize he's talking about our time now, especially when you get to the latter verses of chapter 16. So let me end it there. And if there's any comments, questions about anything that people want to talk about, we have some time to do that. Hey Sheldon. All right. May I just address that question about Job a little bit? Yes. So almost all scholars will agree that Job, the story of Job and the life of Job, was very, very ancient, probably occurring before Abraham, post-flood, but pre-Abraham.

It's one of the oldest pre-Abraham stories. Some scholars recently have been saying that it may, they think it might have been written between 700 and 300, like later, but the thing is that there is very clear consensus amongst all scholars that it was at minimum an oral tradition, an oral story that was told over and over, and memorized verbatim for hundreds and hundreds of years prior.

And in fact, one of the the reference in Ezekiel is used by many scholars to prove that thesis, not that it was a made-up story that came later. And the analysis of the language used is what some scholars use to say that it was written later, but then other scholars will look at that same language and say, no, that language predates the language, the types of language used by Ezekiel.

So I think it's safe to say, based on biblical evidence alone, that the story of Job was much older than Ezekiel, and probably in some format written down at minimum, passed down, as many of us know Jewish tradition is, to memorize word for word some of the ancient stories. So it would have been his life was very much before, and the story came from much before. There's just some recent scholars that say, well, we think it was written later. That's all. Yeah, very good. Thank you for that. Hey, bud. Hey, bud. We have the commentary on the two chapters the United does, and I thought it was very interesting, the comments right after Chapter 15. Can I quote? Oh, yes, please do. Please do.

The lesson for all of us today is sobering. We must stay close to God, the Father, and Jesus Christ so that we can produce fruit. The word nations of Israel should certainly take warning, but all Christians should also consider the lesson and take heed.

The Church of God today, as stated earlier, is spiritual Israel. Galatians 6.16 refers to it as the Israel of God. In Romans 2.29, the Apostle Paul tells us that he is a Jew who is one and worldly.

Those of spiritual Israel are now being judged as to how much fruit God is able to produce through us. Judgment is now upon the house of God. 1 Peter 4.17 We are to spiritually come out of the world, the wild, and not return to it, being instead of a people cultivated by God to produce much good fruit, setting the example of persistent faithfulness.

Very good. The vine produces fruit, and that's how God is pleased. Produce much fruit. That fills in the blank on that one. Very good. Thanks for reading that.

Hey, James.

Hey, I just wanted to pull out a crazy news article that I saw today. Russia is such a huge country, and the population there is just, I think maybe it's not very much. There's a lot of land that's not populated.

Well, Russia is going to issue, starting probably as soon as next month, visas to any people in the West that want to escape its downfall.

And, quote-unquote, Christians in Russia believe God made it that way. The land is so vacant, and they could take millions of more people inside of Russia.

I thought that was kind of crazy, but it's something to think on, I guess.

Well, that's interesting. They say Putin is very aware of what's going on over here and kind of sees where this country is going. But Russia has had this reputation of being anti-Christian, right?

So for them to even say that is kind of a wrinkle that you wouldn't expect. Yeah, but that's interesting.

You can say that in the news thing, it was saying that America, or not America itself, but the West, is diametrically opposed to the traditions of Russia and its Christianity.

So that's... I think that's same...

Strange world we live in!

So, hey, Ken.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shabey. It is interesting comments.

It's interesting that chapter 15 of Ezekiel, speaking of the vine, is like a parable like Jesus Christ gave in John 15 about how He is the vine, how He ruins the vine from time to time to bring forward more fruit.

And the interesting thing is that while they were persistently unfaithful, Israel's Judah was persistently unfaithful.

It's interesting that in Revelation 17 verse 14, it speaks of, well, hopefully us who will be in the first resurrection, we are the called, chosen and faithful.

So that's quite contrast with God's people who truly put away the idols of the heart and who really seek and love the true God, our Father and Jesus Christ.

That we are called, of course, by both the Father and the Son, John 644 and John 14 verse 6.

And also we are chosen when we receive God's Holy Spirit. So the important thing, of course, is unlike ancient Israel who was persistently unfaithful, we should remain persistently faithful.

Exactly. Very good. And I'm glad this has come up on that, to compare Ezekiel 15 to John 15.

Because even with that vine, if it doesn't produce fruit, what happens to it? It gets cast into the fire in John 15. So it is a direct correlation to Ezekiel 15 that sheds more light onto it. So I'm glad that has come out of this conversation here.

Hey, Jim, how are you?

Thank you. It's a very interesting time. And I'd just like to make a comment, though, about the situation in the world.

Because people always wonder about Russia, and they wonder about China, and they think that they're going to take us down.

But it should be a heads up for the people of God, and realize that it is a time of Jacob's trouble.

And Jacob is the unconverted name of Israel.

And he is the one who has handed all the promises from Abraham. They were promised to Abraham. Not that he deserves it.

And so what we see in the end time, and it should be on our minds, and that should stimulate us to get behind at work, that Jacob is ready to go into captivity for the evil he's done.

Don't point your finger at Russia. Don't point your finger at China. We've done it to ourselves.

And we're going into the greatest tribulation that Jacob has seen, and that means all of them.

It's not Judah's tribulation. It's not Ephraim's tribulation. It's not Manasseh's tribulation. It's Jacob's tribulation.

The United Nations has some of the most disgusting foreign policy this world has ever seen.

And it's our job, like Ezekiel's, we're called to be the watchman.

We ought to put everything we have behind that job because, like it says in Habakkuk, you shall be saved by your face. Do what God says.

Very good. And our people need to remember that, too. It is Jacob's trouble.

And I find it just interesting that some of the major news commentators are putting together the fact that, you know, these English-speaking nations are having the same troubles at the same time and having the same type philosophy that's kind of ruining them and leading them down this path.

They don't understand it, but we should understand it. It's Jacob's trouble that's coming first, and then the beast's power, and whatever. So, yeah, good point.

And I think the people in our church need to remember that as well as we look at that.

Hey, Reggie and Sandy, how are you?

Hi, Mr. Chaby. How are you?

I'm doing good. Thanks.

What I remember is that Mr. Sibley, you know, he gave a sermon about Russia.

Prior to Russia invaded Ukraine. And I understand that he gave a sermon that he said just past Sabbath.

And he was talking about how the nations are aligned and everything, and how Russia is, you know, one of the ones that are going to be the beast power and everything.

Did he get a sermon that passed out at East?

No. Mr. Sibley? Mr. Sibley spoke in the East. Yeah, no, he didn't really. He didn't talk about Russia and Ukraine.

I mean...

No, he talked about the history of the church moving from Jerusalem over to England and America.

Okay. Yeah. Well, maybe that's in the morning, but I think... I don't know. I didn't hear what the morning sermon was. So I'll have to look that up.

But when you look at Bible prophecy in Daniel 11, you do have the king of the north, right? And that looks like the European powers. Then you have the... that doesn't say king of the East, but the news from the East, remember, at the end of Daniel 11?

I mean, that appears to be more and more the Eastern alliance with Russia, China, and North Carolina... or not North Carolina. North Korea. North Korea.

So that... they may be the East. Remember, they're in defiance against the king of the north in that war. So just to kind of keep that geography clear.

Thank you.

Okay, anything else? Oh, yeah, Daniel, hi. Yeah, hi there. Yeah, I just found it interesting. God uses the word face so much. Yeah. It's based against us or we put our iniquities in front of our face. I just think it's interesting. And then John 1, verse 1, it talks about Jesus Christ, you know, being the word of God. And I think it's with God, it means pros and pros open like they were face to face. I just think it's interesting God uses the word face and we really have to, I guess, put him before our face and maybe realize that we're always facing him in a way. I mean, we don't want his face to be against us, you know? I just thought that the idea of God used the word face and how he used it was very powerful, you know?

Yeah, it's, you know, even Revelation 14, 12, right? We've been in Revelation a little bit, talking of some things at the home office. And there it talks about the patience of the saints there. And it's like, here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith, the faith of Jesus, right? And it was accounted to Abraham because of his faith. His righteousness was because of his faith of God that he obeyed God and everything he said. So yeah, faith is such an important thing. Yeah, good point.

Bud, did you have another comment? I did again. We've had a famine of the Gospel Word by you being out here from us over in the other lands. And those 8 to 12 minutes presentations, especially on YouTube, are excellent. You are, God is using you as a tool to preach the Gospel. And I'm looking forward to the next one. Hopefully it will be soon. We taped it this morning. We taped it this morning so it should be out by Friday. So now that we're back in town, I'm committed to every week. I just make the time to do that as God leads. What is the topic? And him put together the Word so that we can get those taped out there every week. So that's what the plan is. Hey Bob Lomboy, how are you?

You're muted, Bob. Sorry about that. Good to see you, Mr. Shavey. My only comment here is, Chapter 14 and 15 really shows us what it takes to really remove idolatry from the heart.

It's easy to break physical idols when you first learn the truth, like smash those idols and images. But once it sets in the heart, Chapter 14 and 15 really shows, God shows us what it takes to do that. And I think even the people who are immersed in that idolatry, they don't understand it. But it is given for us as a lesson, those who are the truth, that it is really very hard to eradicate idolatry once it goes to the heart. And I think that's the gist that my take in this chapter is very powerful. I've never seen it that way before. It is only with God's Holy Spirit that it can be broken down. Without that, those idols are firmly implanted. Brandon, how are you doing? Hey, Mr. Shavey. I'm doing good. How are you? I just wanted to tackle what Bud said. The biblical worldviews are wonderful, and they are very refreshing. It's finally good to see somebody standing up on a larger platform where others won't call it out. Even though there are a lot of other worldly churches who are somewhat speaking up, they just say, Oh, well, that's not our understanding of it. It's really kind of beat around the bush. So it's nice to just hear a direct, like, No, this is not the way you need to... This is what you shouldn't be doing this, really. It's not the way we need to go. And the only way, really, the only way we get around this is following God's way. So I just want to commend you for not being... I remember in a few Bible studies ago that you were saying, We have to say it anyway. People may not listen. A lot of them won't listen, but our responsibility is to say it. So I just want to commend you for putting the actions behind the words. And like you said, God says that He says it in Ezekiel right over and over again. They won't listen. Do it anyway. Do it anyway. So, yeah, that's what the church has to do. So, yeah, we will. We will. Reggie? Miss Shaby, on the present Beyond the Day program, I noticed that it doesn't show the audience anything in this one, huh? Was that recorded without the audience or...? The current one, the current 30-minute program that just got posted? Yes. Yeah, Mr. Magnolia did it. Yeah, what we were doing is recycling back to two or three years ago and playing those because some of the fundamental belief ones and whatever, because they're brand new to a lot of the audience that's out there. And it's interesting as we've been replaying those, the responses are going up over where they were before with the ones, because we haven't recorded any new ones for a while. So it's very interesting to go back and see that. But, yeah, that's why there was no audience at that time.

You'll see the audience come back in a few episodes. Okay.

Mr. Shaby. Yes, Tim. I told a lot of people last night about your Bible study and said that you don't want to miss it. Okay, well, we got lots of room. If anyone wants to do that, we can go up to 500 on this connection. But, yeah, anyone, anyone, they don't even have to write me. They could just kind of look, look on that home office website thing and the link is right there. So. Yeah, I gave them a link. Okay. Okay. Sounds good.

Okay. Well, then it sounds like, are we anything else before we sign off?

Okay. Well, God willing. I mean, if you're ready, we've got, we've got several weeks in a row. We're going to be in town. So we, we'll be doing this every Wednesday, God willing. So we'll, we'll look forward to seeing you next Wednesday if we don't see you in Cincinnati this week, if you're, if you're somewhere among all the other countries that are out here tonight. So. Hey, Mr. Shaby. Okay. Okay. Mr. Shaby. Oh, yes, yes.

One more quick thing. When we went to get the passcode, it was missing the last three numbers. The passcode was? 64580. On your email tonight, the passcode was missing the last three numbers. Oh, well, sorry. Sorry about that. Okay. I will. Oh, no, no. We just went back to the earlier one and found it, but for everybody going forward. Okay. Thanks. And you did the right thing. What I'm trying to do is, yeah, we'll just keep the, we'll just keep the link exactly the same for the foreseeable future. So if you, if something doesn't like that comes up, just go back to the one before and it should work. So, okay.

Okay. Well, good night, everyone, then. Have a good rest of the week and Sabbath, and we'll see you next Wednesday. Thank you. Good night, everyone. Bye. Bye. Good night. Good night.