36 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Ezekiel 13:1–16"
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date = "2023-04-01"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel13.1-16)
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Now that the Lord has established that He will be fulfilling the visions He
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sends to His true prophets, like Ezekiel, He proceeds to condemn the false
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prophets who have led Israel astray. The charges are ascribing their own
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made-up prophecies to the Lord to give them an air of authenticity. He
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describes them as jackals in the ruins and faithless soldiers who do not defend
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the city's walls or try to repair the holes made in it by invading forces. This
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phrase about going up to the breaches is interesting because Moses is described
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this way when he interceded on Israel's behalf when they made the golden image
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while he received the Law from God. (_Psalm 106:23_) Naturally, this image of a
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man standing in the gap in order to turn away God's wrath points us to its
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ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
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Rather than protecting the people from the tides of judgement, these false
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prophets have been smearing whitewash, or plaster, over the walls that the
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people have built. While it may look good, it is a surface-level treatment that
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only papers over the unsoundness of their lives. Because of their lives, the
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false prophets will not be returning to the land, nor will they be counted
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among the census of Israel. The Lord is bringing about a deluge of rain and
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hail to batter down the walls they have built. Even though the whitewash is
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clearly a metaphor for the "word from the Lord" that these charlatans gave to
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the people, there is an ironic literalness going on too. The walls of Jerusalem
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did indeed get torn down when the Babylonians invaded, and they did so because
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the false prophets were not warning the people to repent of their sins before
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judgement came.
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* * *
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We are humbled, Jesus, that You would bear the wrath of God for our sin so that
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we might live within Your city.
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