13:2-3 - God tells Ezekiel to call judgment on the false prophets who claim to be speaking on behalf of God, but who are really only speaking their hearts desire. This has to happen in church leadership today...doesn't it? In our own lives? How do you know the difference between your own selfish desires and God's will for your life? It is easy to simply say that anything you want to do must be what God wants you to do, because He made you that way, but that is dangerous ground to be walking on. I don't want God looking at my life saying, "Woe to you, because you said that your plan was God's plan." WOE is not good...not good at all. So how do you know? I think you have to seek the heart and character of God in His word and compare your desires with what God's heart chases after...that will probably give you some indication. If what you think God wants for you is self-serving, oppressive, greedy, relationally corrosive...it isn't what God wants.
13:6 - Here is another verse that talks about the same thing: they want God to do their will! Do you get that...instead of seeking to do the will of God, they want God to do their will. I gotta say, I am a human and I have known a lot of humans...and we are in no position to being telling God how to run the universe. How often does this attitude creep into your life? What can you do to combat it?
13:10 - When Ezekiel says that the people have built a wall, this is not a good thing. See the people have put their hope and trust in human ingenuity, man-made things, material possessions, cleverness, etc. The people think that they can take care of themselves and that they don't need God...they have built of these walls around themselves thinking that they are safe, but the walls are flimsy. Instead of showing the people the error of their ways, their leaders are coming in and whitewashing the walls. They are falsely confirming to the people that their idols will be enough to take care of them. The leaders that are supposed to be helping people turn towards God are actually enabling idolatry instead. How often does this go on in churches in the United States?
14:3 - How do we expect to hear from God...expect for Him to listen to us, if we have idols in our hearts and minds. If we have rejected God for something else...if we are worshipping things or people that are not God - we are cutting ourselves off from the sustainer of the universe. Sometimes when we can't feel God or we think we can't hear God's voice speaking into the quiet places of our souls, it is because we have turned away from Him.
14:11 - Always there is an end goal in God's mind. Even though His people have turned away from Him and He is pouring out His judgment and wrath on them, He still plans on bringing them back in the end. God works through humans evil and a fallen world to bring about His will.
14:14 - God tells Ezekiel to tell the people that even three of the most faithful men in Jewish history (Noah, Daniel and Job) could not save the corrupt land of Israel. The country is so far gone...so rebellious against God, that even if these incredible leaders would happen to time travel to Ezekiel's time there would be nothing they could do to change the hearts of the people. Only their individual lives would be spared. The land will be destroyed so that a faithful remnant of people like Noah, Daniel and Job can rise from the ashes.
15:6 - The vines that wrap themselves around huge trees are useless for anything except firewood. You cannot make anything durable or meaningful from the vine wood...you can only use them as fuel for the fire. They are not strong enough to be useful. These vines are an object illustration that tells the story of the Israelites during Ezekiel's time. Their faith is not strong enough to be used for anything useful because they have rejected God...so they will be burned up by God's judgement.
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