BIBLE CHALLENGE
August 12, 2021
"Now you, human being, take a sharp sword; and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then weigh the hair on a balance-scale and divide it up."
Ezekiel 5
“Now you, human being, take a sharp sword; and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then weigh the hair on a balance-scale and divide it up. A third of it you are to burn in the city when the days of the siege are over. Take another third, and hit it with your sword all around the city. Scatter the last third to the wind, and I will pursue them with drawn sword. Also take a few hairs and tie them up in the folds of your garment. Again of these take some; throw them in the fire, and burn them up; from there a fire will come out against the entire house of Israel. Here is what the Lord says: ‘This is Jerusalem! I have placed her in the middle of the nations; countries can be found all around her. But she has rebelled against My rulings and committed wickedness more than the nations, against My laws more than the countries around her; because they have rejected My rulings and have not lived according to My laws.’” Ezekiel 5:5-6
Those of us who get weary of what God asks us to do should remember what He asked the prophets to do in His name. Then, we should consider, closely, the words of Paul:
“Pursue love! However, keep on eagerly seeking spiritual gifts, and especially seek to be able to prophesy.” 1 Corinthians 1:14
To imagine doing Ezekiel’s job for even a few days is difficult, but Ezekiel’s faithfulness shines in his willingness to do the same task every day for over a year! We might be called upon to perform many tasks that may be regarded as humdrum, and others, which might attract ridicule from an unbelieving world. But God calls us to be faithful, even if that means becoming fools on behalf of the Gospel.
“For Messiah’s sake we are fools, but united with Messiah, you are wise!” 1 Corinthians 4:10
God hates sin. And how had His people sinned? They turned their backs on God and His covenant – a covenant in which the warnings that those who disobeyed it would incur its curses. (Deuteronomy 27, 28) Those who serve other gods are guilty of violating the purpose for which they were created. At the time of today’s chapter, Jerusalem’s destruction was only five years away, and it was the direct result of the people’s sin. In light of that harsh truth, we can appreciate God’s love for us and Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on our behalf.
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us.” Romans 5:8
As sure as the destruction of Jerusalem was prophesied and fulfilled with complete accuracy, so too, will the prophecies of the Day of the Lord, in the Book of the Revelation, come to pass. Will you choose to be a rebel or participate in the Remnant?