Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
Today’s passage begins with a prophecy against false prophets, against those who prophecy out of their own imagination. He compares them to masons who whitewash a wall to hide where it is starting to fall apart rather than repair it. I really love this metaphor, and the way Ezekiel keeps coming back to it throughout his prophecies. Prophets are called to speak a message which addresses the places where people are falling short of God’s will, a message which addresses the ways in which people are behaving unjustly. Ezekiel is condemning those who prophesy things which cover up the ways in which people behave unjustly, which cover up the ways in which people anger God. God sends prophets to tell people about the things they need to change, those who tell people they can keep on doing whatever they want are false prophets.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
Ezekiel starts today’s passage with a prophecy against those who preach, but do not have, or even seek, a message from God. He compares them to people who coat a wall with whitewash rather than repair the damage. When he makes this prophecy he refers to those who speak in platitudes instead of speaking the hard words with which God condemns sin. We have similar people today, people who are busy telling people that God blesses their sins rather than calling them to change their ways. He goes on to condemn those who seek to profit from speaking spiritual messages which they have created out of their own imagination. Finally, Ezekiel condemns those who have created their own idols within themselves, but then seek guidance from those to whom God speaks. So, rather than look to “prophets” who will tell us that everything is OK, let us turn from whatever idols get between us and God and renounce the detestable practices we have fallen into. Seek to rebuild the wall of righteousness which protects the land, starting with yourself. Just as I need to start with myself.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
Ezekiel speaks out against those who prophecy without first looking at how the world is. They base their proclamations about how people should act on how they wish the world to be rather than on how it actually is. Rather than seeking to learn what God has to say, rather than seeking to understand how the world really works, they proclaim that whatever gives people pleasure is good. Instead of seeking out what was broken in society and attempting to repair it, they covered it over and proclaimed it good. There is a second, closely related group which Ezekiel condemns. This group seeks to make people feel better about themselves, but instead of telling them to stop doing the things which makes them feel badly about themselves tells them to stop feeling badly about doing those things. Further, this group condemns those who tell people, “if doing that makes you feel badly about yourself, stop doing it.” There are many in our society who begin with the truth that people should not feel bad about themselves, but instead of telling people to stop doing the bad things which make them feel bad about themselves they tell them to stop thinking those are bad things. Ezekiel calls us to tell people that the first step to stop feeling bad about yourself is to stop doing bad things and start doing good things: stop sinning and start doing God’s will.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
In today’s passage, Ezekiel speaks out against false prophets. He appears to give a separate condemnation for female false prophets than the one he gives for male false prophets. However, his condemnations are actually against two different kinds of false prophets, those who claim to speak on behalf of God, but to whom God has not spoken, and those who claim a source for their prophetic visions other than God. And as I think a little more about it I realize that both types of false prophet are two sides of the same coin. The first fail to point out the sins of society and encourage people to turn to God. The second condemn those whose sins are relatively minor and defend those who commit more destructive sins. In both cases, they cover up what is truly wrong and make efforts to make society’s true failings look like strengths. Ezekiel then goes on to condemn those who might think they are exempt from his previous condemnation because they do not prophecy. He condemns those of us who turn to God for guidance while worshiping idols we have set up in our hearts. Let us scour our hearts for those things which we have allowed to keep us from doing God’s will. This last condemnation should hit close to home. Just because we do not publicly worship an idol does not mean that we do not worship one, or more.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
I was struck by Ezekiel’s condemnation of false prophets whom he identifies as those who have done nothing to repair the breaks in the walls around the nation of Judah. They failed to help the nation stand firm. We know from elsewhere in Ezekiel’s writings (and those of other prophets) that he meant that they had done nothing to fight the idolatry and bring the people back to God. I find this terribly relevant today. While I do not consider myself a prophet, I felt called out by it. In the United States, too many people think that the solution to what is wrong with the country and with society is to elect the correct people into government: if only the right people held office our government would fix things.
That idea has it exactly backwards. If we turn to God, He will fix things, and then, and only then, the right people will hold office. I have been guilty of arguing politics rather than calling people to God. I had this realization on the issue of abortion some time back. As a Christian, I do not care if abortion is legal or illegal, I just pray that no one kills their unborn child. Instead of seeking to change the law on abortion, or many other issues where the law allows evil, we should attempt to change hearts so that people do not do those evil things.
As I was writing this I came across this article which provides a starting point for repairing the walls around our nation.
Ezekiel once again condemns those who falsely prophesy that nothing is wrong. And once again he addresses two different types of false prophets. First he condemns those who speak in the name of God and say to the people that everything is OK, that there is no reason to turn from their sins. As I mentioned the other day, we have such people today. People who claim to speak on behalf of God who preach “tolerance”, but are really saying there is no reason to not sin. Yes, as Christians we should be tolerant of others, and we should strive to show God’s love to them. But it is not tolerant and loving to tell people it is OK to continue practicing self-destructive and/or hurtful practices. People set up barriers to protect themselves against the self-destructive and hurtful things they, or others, do. The prophets Ezekiel is talking about come along and apply a “whitewash” which covers up the inadequacy of these barriers. They allow people to continue destroying themselves and others while thinking that everything is OK. God will bring judgement against those who have helped them to think this way.
The second group of false prophets whom Ezekiel condemns are those who provide spiritual comfort aside from God. Ezekiel aims this second condemnation at women, but I think that is merely a product of his time. Men are equally capable of this sort of gimmicky false prophecy. This second group of false prophets encourages people to put their trust in “magic” items, or rituals. They convince people that they do not need to turn from sin because these “magic” items or actions will protect them from the consequences of their self-destructive or hurtful behavior. It was prophets such as these who gave Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polansky a pass for many years because they supported the “right” causes. But these “prophets” are not necessarily outside of the Church. It was prophets such as these who gave organized crime bosses a pass for many years because they gave money to the Church. I use an example from the Catholic Church because we all are familiar with it, but every other denomination has had similar things happen. Sometimes these prophets only give an “exemption” to the rich and powerful, but other times they offer it to all anyone willing to check the right boxes. God offers no such special exemptions and will bring His judgment against those who lead people astray in this manner.
Finally, Ezekiel condemns those who set up idols in their own hearts which lead them to sin and then turn to God for guidance. This one scares me. Am I guilty of doing this? To what things have I committed myself that lead me to sin? Are there things in my life which I put ahead of serving and worshiping God? I know that I frequently turn to God for guidance, but I also know that I often sin.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
In today’s passage Ezekiel speaks out against two types of people who offer spiritual guidance. First, he condemns those who claim to speak on behalf of God but have not actually listened to what He has to say. Rather than seek God and the message He would have for the people they tell people what they want to hear. Rather than strengthen the walls that hold back the suffering and destruction which result from sins, they merely cover up the weak spots. As I read this I think of the religious leaders whose messages seem designed to gain social acceptance rather than to call people to righteousness. This first category of false prophet whom Ezekiel called out are the public religious leaders, those who are called “Reverend”, or “Pastor”, or some other term which implies they speak God’s word who do not actually listen to what God has to say. The second category are those who are “spiritual, but not religious”. They “bless” objects, burn incense, and conduct other private rituals which give them a sense of connection to the spiritual. But again they do not risk actually listening to what God has to say because they might then need to stop doing something which God tells them is wrong. I like to call both of these groups the “no cost” religious. They want the benefits of being spiritual without the cost. They are happy to condemn those sins which neither they nor their followers would ever consider committing, but will find reasons to excuse those which God’s Spirit is actually convicting them about.
Both of these groups of “prophets” exist because we have set up idols in our hearts, because we embrace things which lead us to sin. Rather than turn from our idolatry and sin we seek prophets who will tell us that they are OK. When we seek out religious and spiritual guides who will tell us that we do not need to turn away from our sin God will not answer our questions. When we know what God asks of us, but seek out those who will tell us something else we will soon receive God’s judgment for our sins.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 13-15.
Ezekiel prophesied against the false prophets who speak on behalf of God, but have not heard a message from God. This message is directed against those who want to tell others to do the right thing but do not listen to what God says is the right thing. Rather than repair the cracks in the wall of integrity which keeps evil out, they paper over them with platitudes. The dangerous part about reading this passage is that it is easy to point to others and say, “This applies to them. They are doing exactly what Ezekiel prophesied against.” However, we need to read this passage and examine how it may apply to ourselves. This is where reading the Bible through repeatedly has value. I know that later in this book Ezekiel calls for someone to stand in the breaches in the wall. Knowing that tells me that I need to look to see what I have done to repair the breaches in the wall of integrity. Am I repairing the cracks in my integrity, or am I papering over them? Because God is sending winds, hail, and rain. If our integrity is intact we will be able to withstand the coming storm, but, if not, the wind will blow us away, the hail will hammer us into the ground, and the rain will wash the earth clean of us. This is one of those passages which calls us to examine ourselves and put our lives in order. But it also calls on us to examine our society and call those around us to live with integrity. The storm is coming and, as we see in Texas, it is not enough to be prepared ourselves, we need to help our neighbors prepare as well.
As I read Ezekiel’s prophecy against false prophets, both men and women, I am convinced that a similar prophecy can be made against many of the popular preachers of our day. I know that we have many who preach something other than Christ’s Gospel. There are those who preach that the gospel is a way to become prosperous. There are those who preach that we can have peace in the Church if we just stop talking about sin. The audience for these preachers know that our society will fall apart around our ears if we do not retain righteousness but they are unwilling to discipline themselves to follow God’s definition of righteousness. Preaching to these people is like putting whitewash on a stone wall that has no foundation, nor mortar between the stones. It will make the wall appear more solid and may even prevent the stones from shifting when someone brushes against it. But when the waters rise and the wall needs to stand against the flood, the water will scour that whitewash and overturn the wall.
There is a flood coming and a wall built of true righteousness is the only thing which will stand against it. That wall of righteousness must be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and must be held together by the fear of God. We must be careful not to listen to those who discourage the righteous and encourage the sinner. Even more, we must make sure that we do not join them in their false prophecy. We do sinners no favors by telling them that their sin is not sin. Our society has been proclaiming that sexual sin is not sin for decades. Yet recently a study revealed what those who trust the Bible have known for generations: that those who practice these sins are deeply unhappy and telling them that their sin is not sin does not relieve their unhappiness in the least.
