As believers, we live in a fallen world that has the potential for taking a spiritual toll on us
if we fail to exercise our senses to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).
Ezekiel chapter 9, begins with God's preparation for the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. "Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand" (v.1). Six men appear, each carrying a "battle-ax". "One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar" (v. 2). The man clothed in linen and with the writer's inkhorn at his side was instructed by the Lord, "and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it" (v. 4). Those who would be spared would be those who could distinguish between good and evil and were grieved with the state of God's people and the situation in Jerusalem to the point of tears.
The other five men were instructed to, "Go after him through the city and kill (no one was to be spared). . . but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary" (v. 5, 6). Ezekiel falls on his face and cries out to God, "Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?" (v. 8). God replied to Ezekiel by saying, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, 'The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!' . . .but I will recompense their deeds on their own head" (v. 9-10).
"Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim" (Ezekiel 10:18). Dr. Stanley writes, "Many in Israel thought Jerusalem could never be destroyed because the temple, God's dwelling place, stood there. They never imagined that He would abandon the temple, even though He had warned of precisely that (see I Kings 9: 6, 7)". These two scenarios leave me with two personal considerations. First, am I grieved over the abominations that are plentiful in my own town, state, and country? Can I discern good from evil? Does the bloodshed and perversity bring me to tears and cause me pain? Or, am I getting used to it and more accepting of it now? Do I feel like there is nothing I can do and find that I am compromising my values in order to fit in and be comfortable with my friends? Secondly, do I take to heart what God says--do I listen and understand that God can and will depart from us personally, as well as from our families, communities, and nation, leaving us without hope, and bringing judgment on us if we persist in abominable life styles that deny Him?
God is not dead and, yes, He does see what is going on in the world. As we have read in Ezekiel, God distinguishes between those who commit abominations and those who honor Him and remain faithful to Him. He knows who we are! God is aware of the situation in our personal lives as well as what goes on in our families, churches, and nations. "Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4). (Christ could have taken us out of the world, however He told His Father, "I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17: 15-16). And, in Philippians 2:15: "That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world".) The remaining verses of Psalm 121, fit in so well with those verses in the New Testament. "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. . .The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul" (v.5, 7). If the Lord is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)--even in the midst of an evil time?
Like high priests taken from among men, we are in a position because of our own ignorance and weakness to have compassion on those who are also ignorant and going astray (Hebrews 5:1). It's hard to explain something to someone who has grown "dull of hearing" (v. 11). The writer of Hebrews expressed doubt whether the readers could understand what he had to say about Christ, the Son of God and their/our High Priest. He admonished them that "solid food belongs to those who are of full age...those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (v. 14). Can we discern both good and evil and learn obedience to the point that we can live holy lives before God in the times in which we live? Are we crying out to God because of the bloodshed and perversion and on behalf of those who are in darkness and deny God? Are we shining as lights in the midst of the crooked and perverse nation in which we live? There is much for us to consider after reading today's Scripture passages.
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