Ask Him!!

I just want to repeat something I think is pretty profound!  God wants to interact with us more than we do with Him.  [When I make a comment like this, I am preaching it to myself.]  Listen to this verse one more time:  "This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them." (Ezekiel 36:37)   He could have just done it.  But how much more intertwined it is if they ask and then receive.  It's communication and relationship with the Ultimate Supplier.  I love that!  I need reminding...daily!

"Flocks of Men"

"...so the waste cities be filled with flocks of men." (Ezekiel 36:37-38)   This news would definitely be wonderful to a people who have been ravaged with enemies, famine, death and destruction. The whole chapter is beautiful, passionate and reveals the amazing, personal character of our God and His unconditional love for His people.  He has revealed to Ezekiel what His intention is for His people, a people who have been anything but faithful and are reaping bad consequences of that unfaithfulness.

"Filled with flocks of men":  I love the imagery of the strength, comfort and protection this represents.  First, God provides them.  That's enough right there.  But then He says, "filled with flocks of men".  Why? Again, His answer that has become the central theme of this book: "Then they will know that I am the LORD."  He will reenergize this devastated people with divine, supernatural power.  Men represent authority, strength, resolve.  And especially men provided by God!

And here's a very interesting part to this verse: "This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them..."  He provides the information but waits for them to ask!!  Interesting!  John MacArthur says, "This prophecy was to stir up the people's prayers."  Let us be stirred up by this passage.  God is ready and able.  Are we being faithful to ask Him to do for us?  We all have "waste cities" in our lives.  We must trust His ability and His timing.  And we cannot give up.   Trust and timing!   Chapter 37 reveals more wonders for the people of Israel written over 2000 years ago; many promises of that chapter have yet to be realized.  Still waiting!  Still trusting!  Perseverance is hard but it's part of the beauty of a believer!  And it's a supernatural gift of the Almighty God Who will be glorified by it!!

"Flocks of men" for the "waste cities" provided by the God of creation who knows our needs and waits for us to acknowledge His power in provision.  "Then you will know that He is the LORD."

Then

In the book of Ezekiel, time and again, God says, as He tells Ezekiel what to say, “then they shall know that I am the LORD.”  (In the post, “Jots and Tittles”,  I gave an estimate of 34 times.)  The word “then” is a time word.  And many times the way it is used in Ezekiel is as warning.  God tells Ezekiel to say “such and such” and when “such and such” happens, “then they shall know…”.  So, it’s a warning about an event in the future that is past and how they are going to feel.  (I hope I said that correctly.)  In other words, you better heed the Word of the Lord through Ezekiel (and get on your faces and repent) or this bad thing going to happen and “then you’ll know”.

Ok, all that said, as you read chapter 33:30-33, you get a clear picture of what Ezekiel was up against with these fellow Israelites.  They talked about Ezekiel, knew he was getting messages from the Lord, wanted to go and hear the message, went and sat before him as people of God, heard the message and did not do what it said.  And listen to what God tells Ezekiel, “you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument.”  WOW!  That’s a mouthful!  I wonder how many godly pastors who preach the truth with passion feel the pressure of that reaction from a congregation.  And I wonder how many of us as a congregation are doing just that: listening, leaving, and lethargic!  It would truly be a heavy burden for a pastor to bear.  

And here’s what God says at the end of that chapter: “So when it comes to pass—as it will—then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.” Now, we have “when” which denotes certainty and “then” used this time to encourage the prophet Ezekiel. Your work in the Lord, Ezekiel, is not in vain.  ( Cor. 15:58)

"Rise and Pray"

The disciples, one after another, blundered through the whole process of the arrest, conviction, death and burial of Jesus.  Maybe we look at them and shake our heads, but some of us are not really that different.  And I believe it's because we "do not have because we do not ask God." (James 4:2)  We blunder through many trials in life without asking God for the strength and power to honor Him in those trials.

John MacArthur says in the footnote from Luke 22:46 that "rise and pray" was a "tender appeal to the disciples, who in their weakness were disobeying Him at a critical moment.  He may have been summoning them to a standing posture, to help overcome their drowsiness."  We must do whatever it takes to pray.  That must be our first priority.  Because it's is not by our own strength that we can ever accomplish anything for the glory of God.  And that is what the Christian life is all about.

"Why are you sleeping?  Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."  Luke 22:46 ESV