Old Sandals

Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt; then they shall know that I am the Lord.   Ezekiel 30:19

Then they shall know…  Over and over this phrase is used.  This is the goal of creation, the reason for it all.

In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I  am  the Lord.   Ezekiel 29:21

Even as the great prophet Ezekiel, we too are called to be spokesmen for God, by our lives first of all, because actions do speak louder than words.  But we must find a way to speak, whether easy or not, whether convenient or not.  We are called to be faithful in everything.

You  were  the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God.  Every precious stone was  your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You  were  the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you…. therefore I cast you out.   Ezekiel 28:12-16

I guess we shouldn’t feel sorry for the Devil, but it is a terribly sad story.

They will…gird themselves with sackcloth and weep for you with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. In their wailing for you they will take up a lamentation, and lament for you: “What city is like Tyre, destroyed in the midst of the sea?”   Ezekiel 27:31-32

Of great value is the benediction pronounced at the end of our worship service.  We hear it and receive it as a blessing from the Lord Himself to His people.  He is for us, and we are for Him.

But to hear, as these men of Tyre heard from the mouth of the prophet, that the Lord is against them.  What a message of despair!  What a negative benediction for all those who would prove themselves the enemies of God.  He is against them.  They are against Him.

Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you?  Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment, and be astonished at you.’   Ezekiel 26:15-16

It is a trembling thing when the wicked are judged.  It is, in a dark way, a call to worship.

Because you [Ammonites] clapped  your  hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.  Ezekiel 25:6-7

It has ever been the Lord’s design to reveal Himself; that men may know Him to be the Lord of all.  But His revelation is not overpowering, as I often wish it were.  It is a still small voice.  It is a quiet gift which may be received with gratitude, or rejected as superfluous.

The Lord is the Lord.  He can be overpowering, as His words through His prophet reveal.  But you need eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see it.  When this prophecy was fulfilled against the blind Ammonites, doubtless they considered it fate, or just bad luck.

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded. And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these  things signify  to us, that you behave so?” Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Speak to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover  your  lips nor eat man’s bread  of sorrow.  Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I  am  the Lord God.'”  Ezekiel 24:18-24

The prophet’s life was like an open book before the people of Israel.  But how many of them regarded Ezekiel as a curiosity,  and nothing more?

For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.   Ezekiel 23:39

This is unthinkable.  Unrelatable. O Lord, what can I learn from this?

Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known  the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.   Ezekiel 22:26

It is not a legalistic approach the Lord is advocating.  All of life is holy.  Every moment is to be in some way a reverent one. How else do we pray without ceasing?

“You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike  your  hands together. The third time let the sword do double  damage.  It  is  the sword  that  slays, the sword that slays the great  men,  that enters their private chambers. I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that the heart may melt and many may stumble. Ah!  It is  made bright. It is  grasped for slaughter. Swords  at the ready! Thrust right! Set your blade! Thrust left wherever your edge is ordered! I also will beat My fists together, and I will cause My fury to rest. I, the Lord, have spoken.”  Ezekiel 21:14-17

Here the fury of the Lord is expressed in terrifying words.  Let all the earth keep silence.