failure to obey

Holiness Is Non-Optional

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1 “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 3 And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. 4 And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

5 “Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes.” – Ezekiel 5:1-6 ESV

Can Ezekiel’s assignment get any stranger? He has already been commanded to spend the next 430 days lying in the street next to a miniature model of the city of Jerusalem. Each of those days, he has to act out the siege of Jerusalem while subsisting on a diet of nothing but bread and water. As the months go by, his body will begin to waste away from lack of food, and he will endure the ridicule and rejection of the very people for whom his message was intended.

But God was not done. He added another bizarre twist to this parable-in-a-play, commanding Ezekiel to remove his hair and beard using a sword. God’s choice of a sharp sword as Ezekiel’s shaving instrument was intentional and designed to illustrate the military nature of the siege. The residents of Jerusalem would be armed for battle because their city was under attack by the Babylonians. But the long duration of the siege and the resulting famine inside the city walls would leave its inhabitants hungry and demoralized. And the imagery of Ezekiel’s shaved head and beard was intended to reflect the severe state of mourning that will take place within the walls of Jerusalem.

The Mosaic Law prohibited God’s people from practicing the mourning rituals of the pagan nations around them.

“Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.” – Deuteronomy 14:1-2 NLT

The Torah interpreted these verses to be a prohibition on tonsuring, the pulling out or cutting of hair to express sorrow. This was a common practice among the pagan nations living in the land of Canaan. But God commanded His chosen people to abstain from such practices.

Yet, God commanded His prophet, Ezekiel, to shave his head and beard in order to demonstrate the severity of the siege and the humiliation the people would suffer for their rebellion against him. What made this command even more difficult for Ezekiel to obey was that it violated God’s laws concerning the priesthood of Israel.

“The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.” – Leviticus 21:5-6 NLT

The people who witnessed this shocking display of self-degradation by Ezekiel would have understood its significance. By shaving his head and beard, this young priest would have willingly violated God’s law, rendering himself defiled and unholy. But what they might not have understood was that his action was a demonstration of their own spiritual state before God. They were defiled and unholy as well. Because of their stubborn refusal to repent, they were no longer considered holy or set apart as God’s chosen people.

And God had another bizarre element to add to Ezekiel’s performance. He was to take the hair and weigh it on a scale, dividing it into three equal parts.

“Place a third of it at the center of your map of Jerusalem. After acting out the siege, burn it there. Scatter another third across your map and chop it with a sword. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will scatter my people with the sword.” – Ezekiel 5:2 NLT

It is important to remember that every phase of God’s instructions to Ezekiel was to be acted out in public. He was required to carry out God’s commands so that his fellow exiles could witness it with their own eyes. This message was for them.

So, God commanded that upon completion of his 430-day demonstration, Ezekiel was to burn one-third of the hair in the center of the model he had built. This was intended to represent all those who would be slaughtered within the city when the Babylonians broke through the walls.

Then God commanded Ezekiel to take another third of the hair and use his sword to chop it up outside the walls of his miniature model of Jerusalem. This action was intended to represent the wholesale massacre of all those who attempted to flee the city. And Ezekiel was commanded to take the final third of the hair and scatter it to the wind, illustrating all those who would end up “blown” by God’s will to the four corners of the earth. Some would escape and relocate to foreign lands, while a large number of the people would end up as captives in Babylon just like Ezekiel and his fellow exiles.

The book of 2 Chronicles records the devastating details surrounding the eventual siege and destruction of Jerusalem.

So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. – 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 NLT

Everything that God commanded Ezekiel to act out would eventually become a painful reality for those still living within the walls of Jerusalem. God was using His young prophet to provide an eerily accurate portrayal of the fall of Jerusalem. He wanted the Jews living as exiles in Babylon to understand that His anger was not yet assuaged. There were some among them in Babylon who were suggesting that their days of suffering were almost over and they would soon be returning home. Others had become comfortable in their new surroundings in Babylon and had long ago given up hope or interest in returning to their homeland.

Even back in Jerusalem, there were those who were propagating the idea that the Babylonian siege would be shortlived and unsuccessful. The civil and religious leaders were trying to convince the people that God was going to rescue them from their predicament. But God had given His prophet, Jeremiah, a dramatically different message to deliver to the people.

“From the least to the greatest,
    their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
    they are all frauds.
They offer superficial treatments
    for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
    when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 6:13-14 NLT

Rather than confess their sins and return to the Lord in humility, these people were declaring themselves to be innocent and worthy of God’s rescue. Even Jeremiah would attempt to inform God about the deceptive rhetoric of the other self-appointed prophets of Judah.

Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’” – Ezekiel 14:13 NLT

He was fighting a one-man battle against disinformation and false news. But Jeremiah wasn’t telling God anything He didn’t already know. In fact, God assured Jeremiah that these false prophets would pay dearly for their lies.

Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine!” – Ezekiel 14:14-15 NLT

Meanwhile, back in Babylon, Ezekiel was putting on a show for the exiles, attempting to drive home the severity of God’s anger with His people. Their very presence in Babylon was proof that God was serious about sin and was more than willing to punish it severely. And He was far from done. Their fellow Jews back in Jerusalem were continuing to live in disobedience to God’s will and refusing to answer His call to repentance, and their actions had not escaped the eyes of the Almighty.

“…she has rebelled against my regulations and decrees and has been even more wicked than the surrounding nations. She has refused to obey the regulations and decrees I gave her to follow.” – Ezekiel 5:6 NLT

Ezekiel’s lengthy dramatic performance was meant to remind the unrepentant Jews in Babylon that God expects obedience from His chosen people, no matter where they live. And their failure to live holy lives and reflect the glory of God would eventually have devastating consequences.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Plumb Line of the Lord

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1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

“O Lord God, please forgive!
    How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!”
3 The Lord relented concerning this:
    “It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord God, please cease!
    How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!”
6 The Lord relented concerning this:
    “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line
    in the midst of my people Israel;
    I will never again pass by them;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
    and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
    and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” – Amos 7:1-9 ESV

After calling out the well-to-do and powerful upper class of Israel for their injustice, pride, and arrogance, God provides Amos with three disturbing visions. Each is designed to illustrate the devastating nature of His coming judgment. His anger against His covenant people will manifest itself in tangible ways that impact every level of Israelite society – from the richest dignitary to the poorest peasant. They all stand before Him equally condemned and worthy of His righteous indignation because they have all proven themselves to be unfaithful and unwilling to repent.

Amos opens this section by referring to God as Yᵊhōvâ ‘ăḏōnāy, or the “Lord God.”  Adonai, which means, “Lord” is more a title than a name.  Yᵊhōvâ, sometimes translated as Jehovah or Yahweh, is one of the many names for God found in the Old Testament scriptures. When the two words are used together, it is meant to refer to God’s sovereign power over the entire universe. In fact, the NET Bible translates the opening line of verse 1 as follows: “The Sovereign Lord showed me this….”

Amos appears to be stressing the fact that Yahweh is Lord over all. He is the Lord and Master over the people of Israel, but also over all of creation. He controls the natural elements as well as all the creatures of the earth. He is sovereign over the nations, including the ten tribes who comprise the northern kingdom of Israel.

But this sovereign, all-powerful God has turned His focus and the full force of His fury on His covenant people. He provides Amos with a vision of coming destruction that will take the form of a plague of locusts.

I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. – Amos 7:1-2 NLT

According to Amos, the timing of this devastating pestilence could not have been worse. It seems to have come between the first and second harvests, and because the locusts ate everything in sight, the results were a devastating famine in the land. Just when the king’s crops were beginning to sprout and grow, the locusts showed up and eliminated any hope of a second and much-needed harvest. The locusts were equal-opportunity destroyers, consuming the crops of the powerful and the poor. Even the fields, orchards, and vineyards of King Jeroboam II were not spared. Everyone suffered.

When Amos saw the destruction caused by this divine judgment, he called out to God.

“O Lord God, please forgive!
    How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!” – Amos 7:2 ESV

Amos purposefully uses the name “Jacob” when referring to Israel. Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. As a representative of the third generation, he was the recipient of the covenant promise God had made to Abraham.

“The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”  – Genesis 28:13-15 NLT

Not long after making this promise to Jacob, God changed his name to Israel, which means “God prevails.” Jacob had lived a life marked by deception, dishonesty, and disobedience to God. Yet God had not left nor forsaken him. The God who had promised to make of Abraham a great nation, had reiterated that promise to his grandson, confirming that His will would prevail.

And yet, rather than calling the ten northern tribes by their proper name, Amos chooses to refer to them by their patriarch’s former name: Jacob. In doing so, he seems to be stressing their affinity with Jacob’s former lifestyle of deception and deceit. Amos begs God to forgive “Jacob” for their disobedience because they are small and helpless. This seems to contradict the successful expansionist efforts of Jeroboam II. He had greatly expanded Israel’s borders and the wealthy saw their newfound territory as a symbol of their growing strength. But Amos seems to know that they are actually helpless in the face of God’s pending judgment. They are no match for the wrath of God. And, surprisingly, God listens to Amos’ plea and spares His wicked people.

But the first vision is followed by a second and equally devastating one.

Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. – Amos 7:4 NLT

This time, rather than locusts, God sends a great fire. This vision may be meant to represent a severe drought that plunged the nation into a severe famine. Under the intense heat of the sun, the available water sources dried up and the land was left dry and totally unproductive. With no water, no crops could grow, and every Israelite would suffer equally, regardless of their social or financial status.

But, once again, Amos begs God to show mercy and relent from His judgment, and God agrees. Despite Israel’s ongoing rebellion and refusal to repent, He agrees to spare them.

Then God shows Amos a third and distinctively different vision.

I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. – Amos 7:7 NLT

This time, Amos sees God Almighty standing next to a wall, holding a plumb line in His hand. In Amos’ day, a plumb line was a common construction tool used to establish a vertical axis that was perpendicular to the ground. It consisted of a metal or wooden “bob” tied to a string. By holding the end of the string and allowing gravity to pull on the weighted bob, a builder could establish a true vertical plane for constructing a wall.  When held alongside a wall that was under construction, it was easy to determine whether it was “plumb” or straight. A plumb line, when used correctly, would ensure that a wall was in line and free from structural deviations. In other words, the wall was not leaning.

So, Amos is given a vision of God holding a plumb line in His hand. But Jehovah makes it clear that He is not assessing the vertical axis of a wall, He is measuring the spiritual integrity of His people.

“I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins.” – Amos 7:8 NLT

The point of this vision is clear. The people of Israel were out of alignment. They did not measure up to God’s righteous expectations. He had given them His law, but they had failed to keep it. And their disobedience had left them “leaning” in the wrong direction. They were like a wall that was out of plumb, and now they were about to fall. The people of God were guilty of the very thing the apostle Paul pointed out to the believers in Rome.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. – Romans 3:23 NLT

God was holding His divine plumb line next to the wall of Israel and it revealed that His people were leaning dangerously in the wrong direction. Centuries of rebellion had resulted in a poorly constructed wall that was out of line and in danger of collapse. So, God reveals that He will bring it all to an abrupt but necessary end.

“The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.” – Amos 7:9 NLT

The plumb line was His law. The wall represented the results of their sinful behavior, conducted in direct violation of His clear guidelines. They had disobeyed and were found to be out of line with His will for them. They had turned out just as Moses had feared they would.

He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
    Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
    how just and upright he is!

“But they have acted corruptly toward him;
    when they act so perversely,
are they really his children?
    They are a deceitful and twisted generation.” – Deuteronomy 32:4-5 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Futility of Fighting God’s Plans.

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Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’ Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. This shall be the sign to you, declares the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.” – Jeremiah 44:24-30 ESV

The people have said, “We will not listen to your messages from the Lord! We will do whatever we want” (Jeremiah 44:16-17 NLT). They have dug their feet in and refused to budge. They were not going to repent or return to the Lord. They were not going to stop making sacrifices to their false gods. And they made their intentions very clear to Jeremiah.

“We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like—just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 454:17 NLT

No remorse. No fear of God. So, Jeremiah was left no other option but to give them the bad news regarding their poor choice. And to fully understand what Jeremiah tells them in these verses, you have to take a look back at an earlier statement they had received from God, back when they were still in the land of Judah and before the nation had fallen to the Babylonians.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

God spoke these words to the people concerning their upcoming fall to King Nebuchadnezzar’s forces, and their subsequent 70-year captivity in Babylon. God had let them know that it was all part of His divine plan for them. And that plan included a return to the land of promise when the 70 years was up. God had made a promise to the people of Judah.

“I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” – Jeremiah 29:14 NLT

Compare those words of promise to the ones Jeremiah delivers to the people of Judah who have stubbornly refused to return to Judah or to God.

“For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.” – Jeremiah 44:27 NLT

Instead of plans for welfare and hope, God’s plans had turned to disaster and not good. Rather than freedom from captivity and restoration of their fortunes, God was going to bring war, famine and death. Quite a dramatic difference. But why? Because the people who were living in Egypt were those who had refused to listen to God and had decided not to surrender to the Babylonians as He had commanded. God had clearly told them that their only viable option was surrender.

“Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!” – Jeremiah38:2 NLT

And while it appears that some heeded the warning and did as God commanded, the majority of the people had not. And when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem, thousands were slaughtered and others were taken captive. Only the poor were left behind.

“Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles to Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had defected to him, and everyone else who remained. But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in the land of Judah, and he assigned them to care for the vineyards and fields.” – Jeremiah 39:9-10 NLT

Along with those who had been left behind, there must be added the ones who had fled to the hills and hidden from the coming disaster. They had refused to surrender, but had also refused to take the punishment that God had decreed. And many of these people were the very ones who had fled to Egypt, against the expressed wishes of God. He had told them exactly what He wanted them to do.

“Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’” – Jeremiah 42:10-12 NLT

But as we know, they had rejected God’s counsel. Even though He had made it perfectly clear what would happen if they did.

“If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.” – Jeremiah 42:15-17 NLT

And now, the consequences of their choice were about to happen. And just in case the people don’t believe Him, God determines to give them tangible proof. He declares that the Pharaoh of Egypt would fall to his enemies, just as King Zedekiah had done. Their new homeland and place of refuge was about to get extremely unsettled and dangerous. Their self-selected promised land was going to lose its luster and prove to be no safer than the land of Judah had been.

The bottom line was that the people were going to fine out who was the real one in charge. Was it going to be them or God? Would they prove to be the ones who had the right god and the right solution to their problem? Or was God going to come out of this on top and in perfect control of any all circumstances in Egypt as well as Judah? God shared His opinion:

“Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true—mine or theirs!” – Jeremiah 44:28 NLT

When the dust settled, it was going to be perfectly clear who was in charge. His way always proves best in the long run. His will always gets accomplished. We can fight it and refuse to submit to it, but our stubbornness doesn’t make a dent in the sovereign will of God. We can choose to do things our own way, but the only only one who suffers any harm will be us. God’s will remains unchanged and undamaged.

They could have repented of their unfaithfulness to God, but they had refused to do so.

They could have surrendered to the Babylonians as God had commanded, but they had refused to do so.

They could have remained in Judah as God had told them to, but they had refused to do so.

They could have submitted themselves to the all-knowing, gracious, and loving will of God Almighty, but they had refused to do so. But their repeated refusals didn’t change God’s will, it simply exposed them to another aspect of it. Rather than blessings, they would experience the curses that came from disobedience. Rather than plans for welfare, a future and hope; they would experience disaster, war, famine and death. Either way, God’s will would be done.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson