5th February 2025

5th February 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ezekiel 20:45-21:32 focus v1-7)


Message (Alan Burke)


While some may dream of their knight in shining armour I doubt many of us would want to have a sword drawn against us. While we would be more familiar today with imagery of a gun being drawn we know enough to have a fair idea what the imagery here is about. Ezekiel is to turn his face against Jerusalem, they might have mocked the message and the messenger but the Lord’s judgement was coming and it was in the sword of Judgment that would cut off Jerusalem from the righteous and the wicked. It is important that we know who are the righteous and who are the wicked, the reason why is that not many of us would say that we are wicked, maybe that fella down the road, aye Jimmy who beat the wife with a frying pan he’s wicked, or wee Vera who looks like butter would melt in her mouth but she has a wicked tongue and is toxic, please note before the rumour mill starts I’m not talking about specific examples incase you didn’t get that. 


Well the righteous are those who have right standing before the Lord. Yet we have all sinned (Rom 3:23), every inclination of our hearts is only evil all the time (Gen 6:5), that’s a brief synopsis of the scriptures teaching not just my opinion. We are not righteous, we do not have right standing before the Lord by our nature we are his enemies. BUT those who are righteous for they have faith in the Lord God (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17). They had faith in the promised one who would come, Hebrews 11 makes it clear that it was the Christ that they looked to, the one who has come, Jesus Christ the one who came to save his people from their sins (Heb 11:26, Matt 1:21). The wicked are those who do not live by faith, who have not repented of their sins, they are those who reject God’s call on their life, live in opposition to his laws and righteousness, the wicked are those who remain in their sin, will be judged in their sin. Here though the Lord was making it clear that the righteous and they iced would be cut off. 


They are treated no differently here, the sword would befall on them both. The difference is for the righteous that even in the midst of life and death they can have hope and will have eternal life, whereas the wicked would face judgment here and the second death. For the righteous the Lord does not promise that in this life everything will smell of roses, that if we have faith that all our problems will be fixed but that we have eternal life where there will be no more sin or the consequences of that sin. You might need to hear that, I’ve come across many people who think that because they are a believer they should somehow be spared from the rubbish in this life, the Lord never promises that, in fact Jesus tells us that the world will hate us (Jn 15:18-25). 


The Babylonians would come like a forrest fire, consuming all in its way, from south to north, the judgement of God his wrath. This is a fearful thing the Lord was bringing his judgement, so that all flesh would know that he is the Lord.


The word of the Lord the came through Ezekiel was declaring the judgment that would come upon all because of the wicked and it would surely take place (7). Ezekiel set his face against Jerusalem declaring the judgement that was coming. Jesus in Luke 9:51 set his face to Jerusalem, his face was turned to Jerusalem. The judgment that was coming was not upon Jerusalem but he would take himself the judgment for the righteous in Ezekiels day and who have believed in the coming Christ before and ever since. Jesus turned his face to Jerusalem to take upon himself the sins of all who would repent and believe to begin the new Exodus. Before that would  here though the Lord was setting his face against not his son but his people, not because of their obedience like his son who died so that we might live, but because of the rebellion of the people and were receiving what they deserved. All of us will face judgment, what matters is whether Christ has taken the judgment that we deserve or not.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q106 What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we pray, that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.
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