Who is Israel-17

Sorry for being late, but I have been struggling with a terrible intestinal infection that has been very painful. I haven’t really eaten in 5 days. Finally at around 8pm yesterday, the worse seemed to be over.

Most of the world don’t seem to even give God a second thought. Satan has so deceived the world with all the false religions, that the fear of God has basically been removed from society. People want a friendly, more sympathetic, or even less demanding God. We all know that we cannot make God into a benign being that fully understands our issues and looks the other way. That was Israel’s problem for most of its life before God sent them all into captivity. His revelations to Ezekiel are very alarming.

Ezekiel 8:1  It came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell on me there. 

8:2  Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. 8:3  He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. 

8:4  And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain. 8:5  Then He said to me, "Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north." So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol of jealousy at the entrance. 8:6  And He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations." 

Ezekiel was a very important prophet and God revealed a lot to him and demanded a lot from him. Not many prophets actually witnessed the glory of the God of Israel. But, Israel has once again left the God of Israel to worship idols. This seems incredulous, but it is true. It also helps in a small way understand the same thing happening today with the ‘church’.

8:7  Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8:8  He said to me, "Son of man, now dig through the wall." So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. 8:9  And He said to me, "Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here." 

False teachers, prophets, and pastors feel safe in their walled enclaves or churches. They don’t even think God can see them or is aware of what they are doing!

8:10  So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. 8:11  Standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. 8:12  Then He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, 'The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.'" 

This is the very height of deceit! The bible is full of warnings from God about what He knows, what He sees, and what His warnings really mean! These men are not high priests from Assyria or Babylon or Egypt, they are the elders of Israel!!!

8:13  And He said to me, "Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing." 8:14  Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 

8:15  He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these." 8:16  Then He brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. 

8:17  He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose. 

8:18  "Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them." 

They are practicing these abominations in God’s Temple! Have they completely forgotten everything God has told them and done for them and to them? Can they be so utterly deceived that they can worship the sun? This is the posture of the followers of Islam, whose symbol is a crest of the moon. Being devoted and reverent to an idol only worsens your eternal punishment.

Paul spoke of this worship of the created instead of the creator.

Romans 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 1:19  because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 1:20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 

1:21  For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 1:22  Professing to be wise, they became fools, 1:23  and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 

1:24  Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 1:25  For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

1:26  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions

1:32  and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

This problem is more evident today than it was then. The true Israel is not deceived and does not participate in this gross idolatry. It is a terrible thing to be fully abandoned by God and allowed to fall deeper and deeper into sin.

God tells them that they are without excuse!

God tells them that He is abandoning them!

God tells them that they know it leads to their eternal death in Hell.

They all know this, but still persist in denying God the honor, praise, and worship for which He alone is worthy!

More next Saturday.