SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 4
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel. [Ezekiel 4:4-5]
Never let it be said that the bible is boring – talk about drama.
Not sure that I would want Ezekiel’s job, 430 days of play-acting in public.
To be a sign to the people of Israel.
Lying in the dirt, eating food cooked over manure, shamed and humbled before a watching world, and all to bear the sin of the people.
Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” [Luke 18:31-33]
Jesus describes His own shaming and humbling to bear the sin of the people, as a fulfillment to what was said (and acted) by the prophets.
In both stories, we see a dramatic depiction of how messed up this world has become.
From the moment that we were formed from the dust of the ground and the breath of God’s Spirit [Genesis 2:7], we have been part of the dirt of this world.
This is not a bad thing, its real and part of who we are.
But we are the ones that have become base, corrupt, below our created dignity.
God created us a little lower than the angels, but we choose to live as nothing more than animals.
And so God steps into this dirty, messy world and gets dirty – and then rises again, bringing us out with Him!
He lies down, humbles Himself, to bear the sin and shame and guilt of humanity.
Yes it’s messy, we would not certainly not want this kind of business going on in our nice and clean sanctuaries.
But that is exactly the point – God is not interested in hiding away in fancy sanctuaries.
Our God lives and eats and sleeps in the streets, He is where the mess is, He endures it Himself in order to help those trapped there.
Does our christianity resemble the gritty, dirty messiness of incarnating ourselves where the people are, sacrificing ourselves and even enduring shame for the sake of the poor, the needy, the trapped?
Or would we refuse Ezekiel or Jesus to come into our sanctuaries, because they might mess up the carpet?
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for lying down with me in the muck and mess of my sin, so that I might be saved. Show me where I can join You in this, meeting people in their mess so that they can find Your help.
A prophet proclaims the Word of the Lord. And yet when I read this portion of Scripture, the people must of thought ‘What is this fellow doing? Playing games? You got to be kidding!’
Once again the people had followed their own ways and left His Way. 430 years for the two nations. And the prophet was to bear the sin of the people in this disgusting way, even cooking his food over manure. Ugh! And the food would be scarce and the people will waste away for their sin.
And Christ came near, doing what the prophet showed the people. And did the people listen to the Word of the Lord then? The people during Ezekiel’s time did not see the sign. Many turned hard hearted during Christ’s time and did not se the sign. And Christ is here today in this messed up world of His and do we His people see His sign?
Open our eyes Lord and our ears so that we Your people may do Your will each day in Your Kingdom. Christ came near and is here in this messed up world. Help us all to be all for Jesus by Your Spirit. Turn our hearts, my heart ‘home’ to serve Him always.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.