What I learned from Robert’s class this week on Ezekiel 13
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In the end, this is all that matters –
Do you KNOW that he is the LORD?
Not just know about him, but know him?
“Know that I am the LORD” is used over 60 times in the book of Ezekiel. Obviously God was telling them something important.
And not saying something else. Here’s what you won’t hear him saying over 60 times in Ezekiel, “Then they will know that you are my people.” His people were not representing him well, to put it mildly. They listened to false prophets who claimed to speak for the Lord, but whose false visions and lies predicted peace where there was no peace (Ezekiel 13:6 ff).
What about us?
Are we also too easily drawn to preachers of peace? Do we skip over the hard parts (denial of self; submission to God; submission to others) in our eagerness for a pleasant “everybody is okay” theology? Do messages of positive thinking gain our attention more readily than messages of truth?
Do we whitewash our walls to conceal major holes? Those weak walls won’t hold up to torrents of rain, and storms of hailstones, and the sweeping in of hurricanes (Ezekiel 13:10-14). Then, as the walls collapse, we will surely know that the LORD is God.
I’d rather know it now.
How? Robert gave us three passages to note.
(1) Psalm 46
When I know that the Lord is God, I know he is my safe hiding place. Even in earthquakes and trembling mountains and roaring oceans, he will protect me.
But I need to be still to know him (Psalm 46:10). I need to stop my distracting activity to understand how God is exalted above all.
(2) 1 Kings 19:9-18
Elijah needed to know. So the Lord took him to a mountain and passed by. But God wasn’t in the great wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire. He was in the quiet whisper. And Elijah knew him. Then continued doing God’s will.
(3) Habakkuk 2:18-20
Where can we know God? Not in sculpted gods of metal images by teachers of lies. Not in human words of deceived minds by spinners of fairy tales. But in listening; disabling the noise; eliminating the distractions. There we find him in his holy temple. “Quiet everyone--a holy silence. Listen!” (Habakkuk 2:20, The Message).
Who will know?
Eventually, everyone (Philippians 2:9-11).
Know now, or know later.
I want to know now.
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NEXT WEEK: Babylon, Calling the Righteous
More Ezekiel notes
Class outline
2 comments:
I'm glad you posted these notes... looks like I missed a good class last Wednesday. I had this thought as I read what you wrote, that even as our 'walls collapse" and we are again reminded that He is the Lord, He's not shouting it at us with some kind of angry insistance. Instead, he's wrapping His arms around us to protect us and lift us up and then gently whispering in our ear, helping us with where to go next. :)
I hate to miss this next class week's on Babylon. I've been learning a lot about that in this Daniel study and would love to hear what Robert has to say about it in Ezekiel. Guess I'll wait for your recap again. :)
Kay,
Yes, it was a good class. I can never do it justice with my notes, but at least you can get the general idea of what we talked about. Minus all the witty jokes. ;-)
I like your thoughts about the Lord protecting us even as the walls around us are collapsing. I have to often check my heart to know that God is ENOUGH, even as the walls fall, versus having no God and false security with supposedly stable walls.
Of course my preference is having God AND stable walls at the same time. :-) But I have to leave that up to him...
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