Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Sep 25 2019 - Ezekiel 3:12-4:8 – Jerusalem's coming judgment

Having commissioned Ezekiel to be his prophet, the glory of the Lord left him with the rumbling of wheels and wings. Ezekiel is left feeling bitter and angry as he considers the task he has been given and the opposition he will face. The Spirit transported him back to the river Kebar, returning him to the company of the exiles and to the place where he was to begin his ministry. There, like Job's comforters, Ezekiel sat silently among the exiles for seven days, deeply depressed.

Although we are not told of Ezekiel being transported away from the Kebar River to receive his vision, something like that must have happened – unless the transportation was spiritual rather than physical. We should also note that the "Tel Aviv" (meaning "mound of the flood"), mentioned here was by the River Kebar and should not to be confused with the Tel Aviv in Israel.

After seven days Ezekiel received a new word from the Lord; he is to act as a watchman over the people of Israel. When he sees someone who is living in disobedience to the Lord he is to warn them that they will die in their sins. If they turn from their sinful ways, the Lord will pardon them and they will live. But if Ezekiel sees people living in open rebellion against God and says nothing, they will still die in their sins but the Lord will hold Ezekiel accountable for their blood (v. 18).

A similar charge is given concerning those who are currently obedient to the Lord. Ezekiel is to warn them of the danger of turning away from the Lord. If Ezekiel fails to speak and they become rebellious, they also will die in their sins but Ezekiel will be held accountable for their blood.

We mentioned that Ezekiel had been taken into exile after the first Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, when King Jehoiachin, the royal family and prominent people of the land were taken off to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar appointed a puppet king, Zedekiah, in Jehoiachin's place. King Zedekiah's rebellion against the king of Babylon some nine years later would lead to a more serious siege of the city lasting two years with the destruction of both the city and the temple. Ezekiel chapters 4-24 are chiefly concerned with the judgment which God is about to execute against his rebellious city.

In the first eight verses of chapter 4 we see that Ezekiel is called to act out God's judgment against Jerusalem. First he makes a model of the city from clay and then lays siege to it. His model includes the devices that ancient armies used to capture walled cities: ramps built up against the walls to allow soldiers to stream in over the top; battering rams to force their way through the locked and barred gates. Israelites passing by would see what God planned to do to the city.

Ezekiel is told to lie on his left side for 390 days and then his right for 40 days, acting the part of one trapped in the sieged city. This drama, which must have attracted much attention, is to end with him prophesying against the city.

What are we to make of this passage? We are powerfully reminded here of the reality of God's judgment against his rebellious people. Our obedience towards God is not to be motivated primarily by fear but is to be the response of love towards the one who first loved us. Nevertheless, we should also be moved by a due regard for the holiness of our God and by a concern to live every part of our lives in glad submission to him.

But this passage also challenges us to consider our responsibility towards others. If we see people living in rebellion against God and say nothing to them, will we not have their blood on our hands? How can we speak to others of their need to repent and believe in ways that will win their attention and concern rather than immediate rejection?

Holy Father, make us like the Lord Jesus who spoke of your judgment against sin but also showed and told of your great love for sinners. Equip us by your Spirit to draw others to the Saviour that they might find life in him. Help us to break our silence in the face of a rebellious and dying world.

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Sep 25 2020 - Matthew 24:1-28 – The destruction of the Temple

Jesus' disciples were country folk from Galilee. The newly built Temple in Jerusalem filled them with a sense of awe. But as they spoke to Jesus of its splendour, he told them that it would be utterly destroyed. In their minds, such a cataclysmic event must amount to the end of the world, at least, the world as they knew it. So they ask Jesus, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). The rest of Matthew 24 records Jesus' answer to their question. And what a perplexing answer it is. Certainly it has challenged and divided Christian understanding down the centuries and, I suspect, will continue to do so until the Lord returns.

Part of the confusion arises perhaps from the way in which the New Testament seems to bind together things that we think of as quite separate events. Firstly, it links the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple with the final judgment of God. The destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple is an act of God’s judgment on a rebellious people that anticipates the greater judgment to come. Those who had rejected Christ – who had refused the shelter of his wings – will not escape the day of God’s judgment. Before many years have passed, Jerusalem will be destroyed by the power of the Roman Empire and the Temple will be torn down. Nor will they be safe in the final day of God's judgment. The destruction of Jerusalem foreshadows the greater and more cosmic day of God’s visitation. But Jesus’ followers, having been warned by his words, fled from Jerusalem before the judgment fell.

But the New Testament equally links the death of the Lord Jesus Christ both with the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple and the greater judgment to come. Caiaphas thought it good that Jesus would die on behalf of the people (John 11:50). Caiaphas was thinking only of threats from the Roman Empire and that Jesus' death would save the Jewish nation from destruction. But his vision was too small. As the Suffering Servant, Jesus endured the judgment of God on behalf of a rebellious people. God's judgment day has already come.

In the death and resurrection of Jesus, the end of history has broken into the middle of history. The "end of the age" has come; the age to come has arrived. The "making of all things new" which will mark the age to come has broken into a world grown old. A greater Temple has already come, one which, though destroyed by the hands of men, was recreated in three days by the power of God.  The crucified Christ is the place of perfect sacrifice which tears down the curtain that separates a sinful people from a holy God. It is in Jesus that God has come to dwell with us and in Jesus, raised from the dead, that he displays his glory.

None of this promises an easy life to those who follow Jesus – read Matthew 24:9-14. But it does promise us a secure future, safe under the shadow of his wings. It is also a call to be busy about the work of the kingdom; "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (24:14). We are the bridgehead through which the kingdom is invading and conquering the kingdom of this world – through which the age to come floods into this present age. We inhabit the time between the ages.

Heavenly Father, thank you that Jesus, through his atoning death and victorious resurrection, saves us from the wrath to come – there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Thank you that, in your grace, you have brought me into the kingdom of your dear Son. Help me both to proclaim the good news of your kingdom and to work tirelessly for its coming. Spirit of the risen Saviour, flood the nations with your saving grace and transforming compassion.

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Peter Misselbrook