EZEKIEL 8-9 VISION OF ABOMINATIONS2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 8-9 Vision Of Abominations

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010.

We're in Ezekiel chapter 8 as we continue through the study of Ezekiel. We've been going through Ezekiel now for a few weeks. We spent a great deal of time in Jeremiah and they're, you know, very close as far as their themes. It's a lot of, you know, God is pronouncing judgment because the problem was that his people...

had been in rebellion against him, and although he'd sent messengers like Jeremiah, like Ezekiel, he'd sent prophets to them to bring them back to repentance, the people were stubborn and they decided, no, we're not going to follow God. And so all of the judgment that we're reading about is what the people brought upon themselves by insisting on living in disobedience.

And so God was doing a work in them, but they refused. They didn't want it to be done in them. They didn't want to allow God to accomplish His purposes. They wanted to continue in their own ways. And primarily the thing that they were involved in was idolatry. They were worshipping false gods, worshipping other gods. And they continued to go to the temple.

We would think of it this way, you know, they continued to go to church, but then they would go out and they would worship all of these other gods. And as we will see here in Ezekiel chapter 8, they even took all those other gods and then brought them to church. And then they would worship these false gods as they were.

at the temple or at church. And so they were just insisting on rebellion. And so it's sometimes a little bit difficult for us to read, you know, judgment upon judgment upon judgment. But I often remind you that it's important that we look at these things because this is the product of sin. This is what happens when we rebel against God.

Their judgment that God is pronouncing is merited, it's warranted, it's what they deserve because God has given them plenty of opportunities. Opportunity after opportunity. We saw in Jeremiah, even to the very end, the final destruction of Babylon, God was giving them chances to turn and to get right. He was calling them to repentance.

And you know, God doesn't require that you have to make these insane sacrifices. Well, if you want to follow me, you're going to have to slaughter 4,000 lambs. What He requires is that they turn and repent and turn away from those things that God declares are sin and are harmful to them.

And so as we look at these things, I want you to remember and keep that in mind as we look once again at God's pronouncement of judgment, that this is the result of sin. And still today, the results of sin, the wages of sin are death.

I forget how you say that. But when you sin, you die. That's the point. And that's what sin produces in our lives. And so we need to be careful that we don't get caught up and that we don't get complacent and that we don't become hardened and comfortable in a sinful lifestyle. And really, that's what the book of Ezekiel is for us, a reminder of what the product of sin is in our lives so that we don't continue in that path.

Well, we pick it up in chapter 8, verse 1, which says, Verse 2.

Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire, from the appearance of his waist and downward, fire, and from his waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my hair, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem."

Verse 4, Verse 5,

Here as we look at chapter 8, Ezekiel now is receiving another vision from God. God is speaking to him. God is showing him things and he's about to show him some things that are taking place back in the nation of Judah. If you remember, Ezekiel is captive. He's one of the Jewish captives that are in Babylon. And so he's in Babylon ministering to the rest of the captives. But he's not in the nation of Judah.

But God's going to take him back to and show him what is going on in the city of Jerusalem in the nation of Judah. And he's going to be talking about Ezekiel some things and it got me thinking about things that bug us. Do you know what kind of things really bug you? Do you know what kind of things really irritate you?

Richard's nodding his head. He must be thinking of something that really bugs him. You know, it just kind of gets under your skin. You know, maybe if someone puts the toilet paper the wrong way, you know, it really bugs you and you come outside. It's supposed to be the other way. Everybody knows, you know, it goes the other way. Or maybe it bugs you because somebody, you know, left the toilet seat up. Or maybe it bugs you that you have to pay taxes. Maybe it bugs you that gas prices are what they are. Maybe...

the traffic throughout the day bugs you, maybe the haircut of the person in front of you bugs you. There's different things that... Man, that was some truth there, I think.

There's different things that bother us, that really kind of bug us and irritate us a little bit. And then there's those things that really get our fire going, that really get us angry and upset. And as God is talking to Ezekiel, He's sharing with Ezekiel, He's showing Ezekiel, look Ezekiel, this is what really bugs me.

He says, Ezekiel, look, this is really what is making me angry. This is really what is going on. What bugs God? What is it that God gets so angry about? What is it that really bothers Him?

Well, as we look at this portion, we understand that God is pointing out to Ezekiel that the thing that really bothers him about the nation of Judah, about his people, is that they are continuing to persist in idolatry. They're continuing to worship false gods. Idolatry bugs God. Does idolatry bug you? Does it bother you that...

People don't worship God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength? Does it bother you when you don't worship God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Does it bother you when other things creep in and people focus on those things and get caught up in those things and take away the attention from God? It really bothers God.

Bother is probably not a strong enough term, as we'll see as we continue on through the chapter. It really bothers God, though, when His children are ripped off by false gods, by worshipping and giving attention and time and resources to these false gods that cannot satisfy. It really bothers God that

His children miss out on the fullness of relationship with Him that He offers to them. It really bothers God when people do not worship Him as God. When He does not have the rightful place in their life. The place where He belongs. The place of preeminence. The place of priority. Where He is most important. And all decisions are based upon Him.

And he has sought for counsel. And it's his will that is obeyed and is kept as the priority. That's the position that God deserves. That's the position that God demands. And it bothers him.

When that is not the case. And so he takes Ezekiel, he appears to him in a vision and it gives us this description of a man who came to him or someone like a man. And this is perhaps an angel or perhaps an appearance of Jesus Christ here in the Old Testament. And so he's taken to Jerusalem in this vision.

He's taken to Jerusalem. He says, he brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the north gate of the inner court. And so there was the inner court where the people would come to worship God. And God brought him to that gate to head into the temple courtyard. And there, right at the gate, right at the entrance, as you would be going in to worship God, there was the image of jealousy.

The image of jealousy. He doesn't tell us specifically what image this is or what kind of image this is, if it was an image to a particular God, but it was an image that God says provokes to jealousy. Our God is a jealous God.

And that doesn't mean that God is sinful. Often we think of jealousy and we think of it in sinful terms. But jealousy in and of itself is not necessarily wrong. Just as a husband is jealous of his wife in that he wants no one else to be with her, God is jealous of his people in that he does not want his people worshipping false gods and being involved in the things that cannot satisfy. And so he is a jealous God.

Because it's His right. It's His right for us to be His. You know, in some ways, it's not okay for us to be jealous of another human being because they are not ours. They don't belong to us. But in the case of God and us, we are God's. We belong to Him. We are His creation. He has every right

to be jealous over us. He has every right to be upset and jealous when something else captures our passion and our devotion. He has every right. He is a jealous God. Exodus 34, verse 14 says,

tells us, God gives the command, you shall worship no other God for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God. He is jealous for you. He is passionate for you. He wants the best for you. He wants the incredible plans that He has in store for you fulfilled in your life and He gets upset. He gets jealous. It really bothers Him.

When we devote our attention elsewhere and miss out on the fullness of what He has for us. When we miss out. Because, you know, relationship with God is what's best for us. That's really what satisfies us. That's really what we need. That's really what we're thirsting for. But so often we try to quench that thirst even as Christians.

We try to quench the thirst that we have with other things. Where Jesus said, hey, if anyone's thirsty, come to me and drink. Oftentimes, instead of going to Jesus when we're thirsty in the middle of the night, we turn on the television or we go to this resource or we go to that internet site and we try to quench our thirst. We allow many times other things to captivate us.

And we're trying, we're pursuing, we're seeking to fill that need that we have. Where Jesus says, come to me and drink. Oftentimes we don't, and that bothers God. And so he comes to, or brings Ezekiel to the gate of the court of the Lord. And he says, look, there's this image here. It's provoking me to jealousy. This image is raising my anger. Provoking me to anger, he'll go on to say.

Because they insist, they continue, no matter how much I tell them to worship these false gods.

He tells us in verse 4 that the glory of the Lord was there. The glory of the Lord as he described it in chapter 1 of Ezekiel. You remember the vision with the four living creatures and the wheels and the eyes and then the throne above and the great expanse above that. The brilliant scene there that we saw in Ezekiel chapter 1 where the glory of God was manifest. And so here in Ezekiel,

here at the temple, the glory of the Lord was manifest. And in chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11, we won't cover all of that tonight, but it's all together. It's all one part or one vision that God gave to him. And it's a vision of the glory of the Lord departing from the temple. And this again speaks to me of just the amazing grace of God because it's then manifested

such a long time that God's people have been in rebellion against Him and He's been calling them back to repentance. He's been inflicting them and bringing judgment upon them. He's about to bring the final destruction of Jerusalem and that judgment upon them. But the glory of the Lord is at the temple. And the glory of the Lord is going to be departing from the temple as part of this vision. But up to this point, God has just been patient.

He's just shown just endless mercy and grace in waiting and giving them opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to turn and get right with God. And so even again in the midst of judgment, in the midst of the wrath of God, we see His patience and His mercy is long-suffering in dealing with us and calling us to repentance and calling us to get right with Him.

God demands, expects, and deserves full devotion from us. And He's patient. He's waiting for us to finally surrender, to finally turn, and to give those things over to Him.

Warren Wiersbe puts it this way. He says, He says, He says, What are we devoted to?

He says an idol is anything that commands our will. What is it that tells us, that dictates what we do and how we live? What is it that makes or helps us make the decisions that we make?

What are those things that take the place of the true and living God in our lives? And so Ezekiel here is shown in this vision, this image, the image of jealousy. God shows him, look, this is the problem, Ezekiel. But that's not the end of it. He goes on to tell us in verse 6. He says, Furthermore, he said to me, son of man, do you see what they are doing? The great abominations that the house of Israel commits here?

to make me go far away from my sanctuary? Now turn again and you will see greater abominations. So he brought me to the door of the court and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, Son of man, dig into the wall. And when I dug into the wall, there was a door. He said to me, Go in and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.

Here, as God continues to give him this tour of what's going on in Jerusalem, he takes him to the temple wall. He takes him and he says, look, there's a hole in the wall. Dig through it. He digs through the wall a little bit. He sees there's a door and God tells him to go inside. And specifically, he's being shown, God is revealing to him the abominations that are taking place. He talks about in verse 6, the great abominations.

He tells him, hey, you think that idol of jealousy, that image of jealousy at the gate is bad? Well, turn around. There's going to be greater abominations. You're going to see even worse taking place, Ezekiel, before this vision is through. And then when he digs through and he finds the door, God tells him, go in and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there. God is revealing to Ezekiel the abominations of the nation of Judah.

It's Judah's abominations that are pushing God away. He says, they make me go far away from my sanctuary. The abominations that they're committing are pushing God out of the sanctuary, out of the temple, out of their lives. And they're about to experience the consequences of that with the judgment of Babylon.

But as we look at these things, and as I was preparing for this, I really started to think about the word abomination. When's the last time you heard the word abomination in a normal context? When's the last time that we really thought of something as an abomination?

What does it really mean for something to be an abomination? The word literally means something that is disgusting, something that is an abhorrence. It's the idea of something that is the most offensive you can be.

Now, I don't want to get into some graphic details or anything like that, but just consider, just for you, for perhaps your own house, what would be the most offensive thing that someone could do to you?

Or the most offensive thing that someone could do in your house? What is it that would just be the abhorrence, just the most disgusting, the most offensive, something that just would be just beyond really comprehension, beyond belief? That's the idea of abomination. Abomination.

It's the idea that what they're doing is not just, you know, oh, they're just kind of dabbling in a little bit of sin or it's just, you know, not that big of a deal. They stumble a little bit here and there. But what God is revealing to Ezekiel is the reality of what sin is like to him and what idolatry looks like to him. To God, idolatry is

is an abomination. It's something that is just, there's not words to describe how disgusting it is and how offensive it is. It's something that is incredibly serious. As we consider this, again, asking the question, what is it that bugs you? Does sin bug you?

This is how God sees idolatry. This is how God sees disobedience. But how do we see disobedience? You know, as I'm reading through these things and studying for this evening, my prayer over and over again is, God, give us a disgust for sin.

Give us a disgust for idolatry. Help us to see these things the same way that you do so that we look upon them not with complacency, not with just kind of overlooking, you know, many times in looking at our own lives and our own hearts, we just kind of, you know, disregard idolatry.

and we disregard our sin and those things that we practice. And, you know, we say things about the grace of God or we say things about, you know, the weakness of our flesh. And, oh yeah, the spirit's willing but the flesh is weak. And so I just continue in this way. But we're demonstrating, we're reflecting an attitude of, well, it's just not that big of a deal. But as we understand what the scriptures teach about how God views idolatry and sin...

we understand that to God it is a big deal. And as we walk in a sinful lifestyle, as we practice those things, it's offensive. It's the most offensive thing we can do to God, to walk in disobedience, to continue rebelling against Him. Now, as we talk about sin, of course, we all sin. We all fall short.

I'm not talking about those times that we stumble. When we do stumble, we are able, because of the grace of God, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we are able to come to Him, to repent, to confess our sin. He's faithful and just to cleanse us. And He doesn't look upon us with disgust. He, in fact, embraces us because of what Jesus did for us upon the cross. But if we continue in a sinful lifestyle, that's a whole different thing.

If we continue to practice sin, we need to understand that God hates sin. He doesn't just dislike it a little bit. It's not like if the temperature in the room is just a little bit too cold, you're a little bit uncomfortable. That's not how sin affects God. God hates sin. It's an abomination. It's the most disgusting, the most offensive that can be done to Him. So again, I pray, God, give us this kind of disgust for sin.

Going on verse 10, he gets to see what is going on behind that door, the wicked abominations that God was declaring that he would see. In verse 10 he says, So I went in and saw, and there every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed all around on the walls."

And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel. And in their midst stood Jazaniah, the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the room of his idols. For they say, The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land."

Here is Ezekiel goes in to this inner chamber. What he finds, I bet it's hard for him to believe. Here is 70 of the elders of Judah, the leaders of the nation of Judah. And they're in this room, they're burning incense. And all across the walls, they have these images portrayed, these paintings of Judah.

They're inside the temple, inside one of the chambers of the temple. And they're worshipping these false gods. Collectively, together, these 70 elders are practicing idolatry in the very house of the Lord. Again, God says, this is an abomination. This is intensely offensive to God. And as he says,

shows Ezekiel these things, he gives them some insight into what's going on in their hearts. He says, hey, have you seen what's going on there? Here's why they do it. He says, they say, the Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land. The motivation or what's going on in their hearts is they're practicing these things and they're thinking, God doesn't see us. He doesn't see what we're doing. He doesn't see what's going on. They're thinking,

You know, God's not right here. He's departed from this land. That's why we're in this mess. So we're just going to continue in these practices. We're going to continue to live this way because, hey, God doesn't see us. You know, the things that we do in secret are the things that we think God does not see. The things that we do in secret are the things that we think, hey, God doesn't see those things. You know, those things that you have to keep hidden. Those things that you, you know, your family's gone. They're out of the room.

They're away or you're off on your own and you think nobody's going to notice. Nobody's going to pay attention. And so you engage in some kind of activity. You engage in some kind of practice. Those things that we practice that we make sure we don't get caught or we make sure nobody else around us knows or the people who are around us are involved in the same kind of things but we make sure that

These other people don't know. Oh, make sure nobody from the church sees me. Make sure nobody from my mom's side finds me doing these things. We make sure there are certain people. I don't want to get caught doing these things. We're worried about all these other people catching us. We're worried about all the other people seeing us. But what we're really saying is we don't believe that God sees us.

We think we're doing it in secret. We think that we can get away with it. We think that God's not paying attention. We think that we're not going to have to give an account and stand before God. Those things that we do in secret are the things that we think that God doesn't see them. And so they're deceived. These people, these elders of the nation are delusional. Thinking that they can practice idolatry in the very house of God

And, you know, God doesn't see. He's forsaken us. He's not around. So He's not going to notice. He's not paying attention. It's an abomination. It's disgusting to God. But it gets worse. Verse 13. And He said to me, Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing. So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house. And to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

Here Ezekiel is dismayed. He says, to my dismay. God shows him now. He says, turn around again. I'll show you even worse abominations. You think that's disgusting, Ezekiel? You think that's offensive to me? Wait till you see what's next. And so he takes him now outside to the gate. And here is this group of women and they're weeping for Tammuz.

And Ezekiel says it's to his dismay that he sees this taking place. On the inside, you have the elders kind of doing it in secret, but here out in the open are these women weeping for Tammuz. Now, weeping for Tammuz was a pagan ceremony. It was a pagan ritual. It was a pagan practice. It involved some incredibly...

immoral activities that involved disgusting practices that we won't get into. In fact, as I was reading through and preparing for, it's really hard to find anyone who will deal with some of the practices because they're so disgusting. And so usually all of the commentators just say, and connected with it is all kinds of disgusting things that we're not going to get into.

And so it kind of gives you an idea of what it is. Nobody wants to talk about it because, well, it was a very vile practice. It was...

It was the worship of a fertility god that they were practicing. And the fertility god, according to what they believed, died. And because the fertility god died, that's why winter came upon. In the fall season, that was when the god is dying or had died. And then winter comes in and that god is completely dead. But then in the springtime, that god is resurrected again.

And that's why things start to become alive again. So they're worshipping this fertility God and practicing these vile things and focusing on the things of creation and not the Creator.

I began to consider this and wonder, you know, is this really any different than those today who worship the prosperity God, you know, who are just weeping whenever there's, you know, the downturn and then, you know, excited and rejoicing and praising whenever the economy picks up again. You know, it's that same kind of cycle. And so there's this...

practices going on. This just disgusting things to God. And here are these women out in the open. But again, that's not the worst of it. In verse 15 he says, Then he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again. You will see greater abominations than these.

So he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house. And there at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east. And they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here?

Over and over, God keeps asking Ezekiel, Hey Ezekiel, have you seen this? Did you see that? God is expressing His shock, His

at their disobedience. Not that he's surprised and shocked like he didn't know that they were doing it. But again, because it's an abomination to him, because it's most offensive to him, he's turning to Ezekiel and he says, Ezekiel, can you believe what's happening here? Do you see what they're doing? Do you see how they're in just full rebellion against me and they continue to practice these things that are insulting to me, that are disgusting to me. Ezekiel, have you seen this?

And so he tells them, hey, turn around from these ladies and I'm going to show you something even worse, greater abominations than what these women are practicing. And he shows them here right in front of the temple, right at the entrance to the temple was this group of men, 25 men. And their backs are toward the temple and they're worshiping the sun. Again, they're worshiping all of these other gods.

But they're doing it in the place that God said, that's where I'm going to put my name. That's where I'm going to be glorified. And so God is offended. He is disgusted by their practices. Out there in the open, out there before the temple, just doing these things that God has forbidden, like right in His face, just right in front of Him, on the place that He called holy, that He set apart.

where his people could come to meet with him. And he says, look, Ezekiel, have you seen this there in verse 17? He says, is it a trivial thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed? Is it trivial for them? Is it a trivial thing to commit abominations? They're just doing it like nothing, like no big deal, like there's going to be no consequences, like, oh well, what else are we going to do? Is it trivial to them, Ezekiel?

Is it trivial to us? Again, are we complacent and comfortable in just continuing on in sin and it just doesn't really bother us that much? We need to be reminded. That's why these kinds of chapters and these books are important for us. That we be reminded of how sin affects God.

That it's not just merely a little bit of discomfort for him, but it's absolutely offensive and disgusting to him. So that we don't follow in the footsteps of the nation of Judah. Because the wages of sin is death. This is what it produces. It brings judgment.

And so God says in verse 18, therefore I also will act in fury. My eye is not going to spare. I'm not going to show them pity. I'm going to deal with them. I'm going to deal with their sin. I'm going to bring judgment upon them. He's been patient. He's shown mercy and long-suffering and given them multiple upon multiple opportunities to repent. But they have refused. And so now God says, I'm going to bring the consequences. I'm going to bring the judgment.

He says, they do all of these things and then they return to provoke me to anger.

Again, God's issue with them is that not only are they worshipping all of these false gods, that would be bad enough, but then they're also returning to God. And so they're trying to include the worship of God with their worship of all these other gods. And so they're worshipping all these other gods there in the temple area where God designated for, that was the place he was to meet with his people and his people were to meet with him.

And so they're including all of these idolatrous practices and so they're worshipping all these gods. But then they're turning around and saying, Oh Lord, we love you and we worship you and we serve you and we obey you and here's some sacrifices because we want to be obedient to you. And so they're being just complete hypocrites and they're just trying to give God a little piece of their life.

God's not satisfied with that. That's an abomination to Him. For Him to have one piece of many parts of our life. He must consume us. There must be no other gods. Because God is a jealous God. And so to try to worship all of these other gods and then come back to the true and living God and say, okay Lord, here's the time that I'm giving to you. What God desires is

is for us to fully surrender. To not limit Him in our lives. To not limit our devotion to Him. To not limit our obedience to Him. To not give Him a certain slice of time and that's the time, you know. Wednesday evening, Lord, from 7 to 8.30, that's the time. If you're going to speak to me, that's the time you've got to speak to me. If you want me to do something, that's when you can tell me. What God desires is for us to completely give our lives over to Him. And anything else, anything else is an abomination.

He says, they're provoking me to anger because they're doing all these things and then they return to me. And they come back and they try to include me as part of the worship of all their gods that they worship. So he says, therefore, I'm going to bring judgment upon them. Chapter 9, verse 1 says...

Then he called out in my hearing with a loud voice saying,

Here the vision continues.

God is kind of giving him a tour. He's showing him these different abominations that are taking place and greater and greater as he goes along. And now he comes to the point where he calls out with a loud voice. He says, Hey, let those who have charge over the city draw near. And these men come forward. Now, it's...

it's most likely that these are angels who appear to Ezekiel as men. They have charge of the city. They're angelic beings, spiritual forces, and they come near. God is calling a meeting. He's saying, hey guys, we need to take care of some things, so come on out. And it tells us also that the glory of the Lord...

has moved before it was where the cherub were. Now, if you remember the tabernacle or the temple layout, you had the sanctuary, the holy place where there was the table with the showbread, there was the lamb stand, there was the altar of incense.

But then beyond the curtain or beyond the doors was the Holy of Holies, the place where the presence of God dwelt. There on the Ark of the Covenant, between the wings of the cherubim, that's where the presence of God dwelt. That's where the glory of the Lord was. And now we begin to see the departure. We'll continue to see it in chapters 10 and 11 as we go forward in the coming weeks. But

but the glory of the Lord is now moved from the cherubim, from the most holy place, from the Ark of the Covenant, and is now at the threshold of the temple as God addresses those who have charge of the city, the angelic beings that He's calling out.

And so they come out with weapons, a battle axe in their hands. They're coming to do some business. There's some serious things that are going to take place here. But also among them is another guy who has an ink horn. He has a pen basically with him. And he is dressed like a scribe. He has the tools of a scribe. And God speaks to him and says, Hey, here's what I want you to do, scribe. Go throughout the city and put a mark on...

on those who see the abominations that are going on and they weep and they cry over those abominations.

They're not, you know, happy about them. They don't just turn the other way and ignore them. They're not just, you know, comfortable letting those people do, you know, whatever they want to do. But seeing the abomination, seeing the wickedness that's going on, it tears them up inside and they weep and they cry and they sorrow. These are people, God's calling this angel to mark the people that really see idolatry and sin the way that God does.

He's calling him to mark those who look upon those things and they recognize this is an abomination. This is disgusting. This is offensive. And so they weep and they sigh, they cry over the things that are going on. And so God is here marking those who cry over the abominations.

Yesterday, as Kim and I were doing some shopping, she kind of made a comment that continued to stick with me. And as she's been reading through the psalm, she was sharing about how it was interesting how David was really disturbed by the wickedness of the wicked. That over and over, it was the content of the things that he wrote, it was something that bothered him as the people around him were practicing wickedness.

It really bothered him. And we were talking about how many times do we see wickedness around us and it just doesn't really bother us. It's like, okay, well, let you guys do whatever you want to do. Go have your fun, whatever. Here's the truth. But it just doesn't really bother us. It doesn't afflict us. We're not disturbed. We don't write songs about how it distresses us that there's wickedness going on around us.

But David had a heart that he was distressed. He wept. It was something that troubled him. And that's the kind of people that were there in the city that God is calling this angel to mark.

We also recognize that this is what happened with Lot in 2 Peter 2. Peter gives us some insight about Lot and how it says that Lot tormented his righteous soul from day to day seeing and hearing their lawless deeds as he was in Sodom and Gomorrah. It tormented him. We read about the things that were going on and they were disgusting. They were totally offensive. They were an abomination.

And it distressed Lot. It tormented him day by day as he saw and he heard their lawless deeds. And so this is the state of Lot. It's the condition of David. It's the condition of those that God is calling to mark out. And it makes me ask, it makes me wonder, am I that kind of person? Are you that kind of person? That we see sin, we see idolatry the way that God sees it. So that...

when those around us are practicing those things, that it really does affect us. That we're not just, you know, okay, well, whatever, they're lost, you know, what else can we expect? But that it would afflict us, that it would be something that we sigh and cry over, something that we are distressed about because it's an abomination, because it's disgusting, because it's the most offensive that anything can be. Verse 5 says,

To the others, He said in my hearing, Go after him through the city and kill. Do not let your eyes spare nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women. But do not come near anyone on whom is the mark. And begin at My sanctuary."

So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Then he said to them, Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out. And they went out and killed in the city.

And so now you see the purpose for why God was marking those who saw the abominations and wept over them. Because those were the ones who were going to be safe in the trouble that was to come. Not that they wouldn't experience trouble. Not that they wouldn't experience heartache. Not that they wouldn't be suffering from hunger in the midst of the siege and those types of things.

but they wouldn't be afflicted with the judgment of God. And so the rest of the angels go behind this one scribe and they're putting them to death. They're making the slain fall before the Lord. They're filling the courts of the Lord with the slain. As they're in the courts of the Lord, worshipping these false gods, they're going to be slain. And this is actually...

physically this is carried out by the nation of Babylon who comes in and conquers Jerusalem. And so there are those who are led away captive. Now, kind of putting two and two together, we can kind of assume that the majority of those who were led away captive, those who survived the siege, were those who were distressed over the abomination. And so they suffered affliction. They were taken captive.

But they survived. God spared their lives. And the rest were, well, they experienced the immediate judgment of God and being put to death by the sword as the nation of Babylon, the soldiers of Babylon, came in and conquered and slaughtered those who were in the city. He tells them not to come near anyone who has the mark, but he also says to begin at the sanctuary there in verse 6. To begin at the sanctuary. And that's something really, I think it's important to consider.

2 Peter 2 tells us that God knows how to save the righteous and at the same time judge the wicked. But also God tells us in 1 Peter 4 that judgment begins, it's time for judgment to begin at the house of the Lord.

It begins with us first. And so God is dealing with those who were... Well, they were appointed. They were called by God to represent Him. The priests, the elders, those who were serving within the tabernacle. God begins the judgment there. And I think it's a particularly important thing for us to consider. Those who are involved in ministry. Those who are involved in serving the Lord. Those who are involved. Now...

as we often return to this subject, we've all been given the task to make disciples. And so, every one of us has a portion of authority. Every one of us has a portion of influence. Every one of us is called to be an example. And so, as we look at these things, we need to understand that God is going to deal with us first.

He is going to deal with us first. Judgment begins at the house of the Lord. And so we need to understand and be prepared that we would look at the things of sin and idolatry the way that God does so that we would not experience the judgment of God. So that we wouldn't experience the consequences of sin. So that we wouldn't experience the effects of worshipping false gods. Because God's not going to just say, okay, well, you know,

you were involved in this and you lived in this lifestyle, but hey, you were a part of my house, so no big deal, we'll just forget about it. No, judgment begins with us, begins with the house of the Lord. We have been given much and so much more is required, the Bible teaches. And so you and I, as believers, as those who know the Word of God, the world around us, they'll be dealt with. God's going to deal with the sin and the rebellion, but He's also going to deal with those who know the truth.

with those who know His Word, with those who had the privilege and the honor of having His Word and having His instruction, of having the opportunity to serve and to represent Him, He's going to deal with us. And if we are living a sinful lifestyle, it's going to begin with us. And so we need to not think, you know, hey, the Lord doesn't see you, or it doesn't matter, it's not that big of a deal. We need to take sin seriously. Verse 8,

So it was that while they were killing them, I was left alone and I fell on my face and cried out and said, Ah, Lord God, will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out your fury on Jerusalem? Then he said to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of perversity. For they say the Lord has forsaken the land and the Lord does not see.

And as for me also, my eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head. Just then the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, I have done as you have commanded me.

And so these angels go out. They're out to bring in the slaughter, to slay those who are wicked and performing those abominations before God. And as Ezekiel is left there, he cries out to the Lord. He says, Lord, are you going to wipe them all out? Is there not going to be a remnant? He's weeping now over his people.

Now God will answer this part of Ezekiel's cry in chapter 11, which we'll get to in the coming weeks. But in chapter 11, you can look at verses 15 through 17, and God says he's going to preserve a remnant. There are those who are faithful to him. He's going to preserve them. He's going to

take care of them in the places where they've been scattered, and then he's going to bring them back and establish them in the land. And so he's saying, look, it's not over for the people of God. It's not over for the Jewish people, the nation of Judah. He's going to bring them back and restore them. But they go out,

And God explains that they're going out because their sin and what they've done, the iniquity, is exceedingly great. They're full of bloodshed and perversity. And again, they say, hey, the Lord's left. He doesn't see what's going on. He's not with us. And so we're just going to live however we want. So God says, look, I'm not going to spare. I'm sorry, Ezekiel. I know it's tough. I can imagine God saying, you know, Ezekiel, this hurts me more than it hurts you.

like our parents often told us when discipline was being applied. But he says, I will recompense their deeds upon their own head. I'm not judging them unfairly. I'm not giving them consequences for someone else's sin. I'm recompensing their own deeds upon their own head. They're getting exactly what they deserve. They had an opportunity to be forgiven. They refused to take it multiple times. And so now they are getting what they deserve.

That's how God works. He gives us opportunity to repent. He gives us opportunity. He speaks to us. And when we refuse, He says, okay, well, there's nothing left but to give you what you deserve. God will be glorified one way or the other. In your life, in my life, God will be glorified. He will either be glorified by the way that we live,

And that we are surrendered to Him and that He is our Lord and we are fully submitted to Him and living our lives for His glory. He will be glorified one way or the other. Glorified by the way that we live because we live to give Him glory or He will be glorified by how He judges us for our refusal to submit to Him and follow Him. He's going to be glorified either way. Either way, He's going to be exalted. He's going to be lifted up. But He gives us the opportunity

To escape the judgment that is due to us. And to glorify Him instead by the way that we live. Because the sin that is recompensed upon their own heads, their own deeds that are paid back to them, as we talked about last week, for those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, for those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, those deeds have been recompensed, but not upon our own heads.

but upon the head of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He received it for us. He received the penalty. These things that we're reading about, Jesus received the penalty for our abominations. Those things that we've done that are just absolutely disgusting and incredibly offensive to God. Jesus received the penalty for those things. And so our role, our call now, is to live our lives to glorify God.

Let Him be glorified by how we live. The worship team is going to come up and lead us in a song. I want to ask as we spend this time in worship that you, just by yourself, between you and the Lord, would ask God to give us this disgust for sin. Ask God to help us see sin the way that He does. And if there's things that you know you're not living right, there's things in your life that you need to get right with God, take this opportunity. Repent.

Let it be an abomination to you. And you know what that looks like in your life? Repentance. Turn from it. Confess it to God. Stop living in that way and live your life to glorify God. Maybe there's not something specific on your heart. Maybe, you know, you could sit there and think, and yeah, we all fall short, but there's not something that you know God's speaking to you about this. And I would also ask, as we worship the Lord together, that you would pray, God, give us a disgust for sin.

Lord, that we would be afflicted by the abominations that are committed around us. That we would be afflicted and distressed by the sin of the world. That we wouldn't be just comfortable with it and just kind of shrug it off and no big deal. Lord, that we would really see it as the Lord sees it. That we would see it for what it is. That it would afflict our hearts. And that it would motivate us. That it would encourage us. That it would require that we pray.

for the world around us and that we reach out to the lost. And so let's worship the Lord together and ask God to help us to have clarity in regard to sin, idolatry, the worship of these false gods. That we wouldn't be comfortable with them. That we wouldn't just kind of think, ah, no big deal. That we would really be afflicted the same way that God is. Let's worship the Lord together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.