Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Sep 5th, 2024 It’s a Little Late

Today’s Passage – Ezekiel 20 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Galatians 4 – 6; Psalms 21 – 25; Proverbs 5)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read the “0905 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Conviction”

“1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. 4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:” (Ezekiel 20:1-4)

In chapter 20, some of the leaders of Israel come to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord, but the Lord is not at all happy that they came. He implies that it is a little late for them to be concerned about what God has to say, considering they had been ignoring him for centuries. In vs. 5 – 17, God reminds Israel through the prophesy of Ezekiel that He brought them out of Egypt through the wilderness and brought them into Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. He had to do a work in them in the wilderness to prepare them for life in their new land. He told them to get rid of the Egyptian idols (v. 7), and He gave them His statutes (v. 11) so that they could prosper in their new home. He also gave them sabbaths (v. 12) for their own benefit and a sign that they were set apart from all other people. Unfortunately, Israel continuously disobeyed God with their idolatry and violation of God’s statutes and sabbaths, and it was because of Israel’s refusal to listen to God that they were in the trouble that they were in at this time. It was a little late for them to want to get advice from God.

In vs. 33 – 44, God tells them of a time when He will once again gather them together and confront them in a wilderness (vs. 34 – 35), and He will remove from among them those who are still in rebellion to Him. He will purge out their idolatry and will bring them back into the land. I believe the period referred to here is the future Tribulation. Israel will go through the most difficult time of testing in their history, but God will get their attention in the midst of it. They will realize at this time that they were wrong about the Lord Jesus Christ and they will turn to Him in repentance and faith. The nation will be saved, but only after those who are still in rejection are removed (v. 38). 

“25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:” (Romans 11:25-26)

In v. 43, it says they will loathe themselves when they remember their past evil ways. This will include the realization that they had rejected and “pierced” their Messiah. 

“9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:9-10)

Let’s apply the truth of this passage now for us. As we read through chapter 20, we saw that God repeatedly warned Israel; He gave them many opportunities to get right, but they continuously wandered away from God. Don’t we do the same thing. We read our Bibles and listen to God speak through repeated sermons preached at church, yet we also continuously wander away from the will of God. One day, God may have to allow a tragedy to come into our lives as well, and then we will want to inquire of God like these elders did from Israel, but it will be a little late for us as well. We could have avoided the tragedy and heartache that comes with it, it we would have just obeyed God in the first place.