Ezekiel 14A. Sometimes that s true. But usually, leaders are greatly influential in shaping the thoughts and behaviors of those under their charge

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1 Bill Clintn nce remarked that running a cuntry was a lt like running a cemetery yu ve gt a lt f peple under yu and nbdy s listening Leaders will lament t ne anther that they can t mtivate their peple t fllw rders r fllw their example Smetimes that s true But usually, leaders are greatly influential in shaping the thughts and behavirs f thse under their charge Smetimes they influence their peple fr the better, and smetimes fr the wrse Knwing this, gd leaders will take persnal respnsibility fr any failures while giving credit t their peple fr any successes Fr example, Harry Truman kept a sign n his presidential desk that said The Buck Stps Here. It was a reference t that ld saying f passing the buck which means passing ff blame t smene else Truman said he wuldn t pass the blame t smene else fr his mistakes The buck (meaning the blame) stpped with him But nt all leaders are s curageus and respnsible Sme pass the buck quite regularly, quickly finding smene else t carry the blame fr their failures Leaders like this, wh are crrupt r incmpetent r unaccuntable, usually fster the same attitudes in thse under them Their peple will learn t blame thers and pass the buck t This hld true nt nly in business but als in spiritual cmmunities The kind f men wh lead Gd s peple can have a dramatic impact n the cmmunity s spiritual maturity and gdliness 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 12 Tday in chapter 14 f Ezekiel, we will see this principle at wrk clearly This tendency t pass the buck lies at the heart f Israel s furth excuse We re in the middle f studying the eight excuses Israel ffered t Gd fr why they need nt give attentin t Ezekiel s warnings and exhrtatins These eight excuses are fund in chapters Tday we reach the furth excuse in chapter 14 Israel s excuse Harry Truman s philsphy The peple f Israel said the buck shuld stp with their leaders They said Gd shuld blame nly Israel s leaders fr their idlatry and disbedience t the cvenant They expected t be excused in their wn disbedience because they were nly fllwing the elder s example Let s see hw the Lrd respnds t this excuse (and I bet yu can guess hw) Ezek. 14:1 Then sme elders f Israel came t me and sat dwn befre me. Ezek. 14:2 And the wrd f the Lrd came t me, saying, Ezek. 14:3 Sn f man, these men have set up their idls in their hearts and have put right befre their faces the stumbling blck f their iniquity. Shuld I be cnsulted by them at all? Ezek. 14:4 Therefre speak t them and tell them, Thus says the Lrd Gd, Any man f the huse f Israel wh sets up his idls in his heart, puts right befre his face the stumbling blck f his iniquity, and then cmes t the prphet, I the Lrd will be brught t give him an answer in the matter in view f the multitude f his idls, Ezek. 14:5 in rder t lay hld f the hearts f the huse f Israel wh are estranged frm Me thrugh all their idls. Ezek. 14:6 Therefre say t the huse f Israel, Thus says the Lrd Gd, Repent and turn away frm yur idls and turn yur faces away frm all yur abminatins. Ezek. 14:7 Fr anyne f the huse f Israel r f the immigrants wh stay in Israel wh separates himself frm Me, sets up his idls in his heart, puts right befre his face the stumbling blck f his iniquity, and then cmes t the prphet t inquire f Me fr himself, I the Lrd will be brught t answer him in My wn persn. Ezek. 14:8 I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a prverb, and I will cut him ff frm amng My peple. S yu will knw that I am the Lrd Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 12 Chapter 14 is still set in the same time ging back t chapter 8 And fr at least the secnd time in this perid, the elders ver the Jews in exile cme t sit dwn befre Ezekiel By this pint, these men must have thught Ezekiel was a first class agitatr, a real Debbie-dwner He s gt nthing but bad news t share with the exiles, r s it prbably seemed (thugh it s nt true) And if s, it was because Israel had dne nthing but bad things We ve learned a little abut Israel s elders in prir chapters They were steering the peple f Israel int idlatry and away frm the Law They were crrupt and gdless, setting up abminatins in the temple, telling Israel t pray t false gds They had deceived generatins f Israel Which explains their present circumstances: Judah under cnquest and Israel in exile S nw these crrupt leaders sit befre Ezekiel, maybe t ask fr his cunsel r perhaps t ask him t tne it dwn a bit Befre the cnversatin gets ging, the Lrd begins t speak t Ezekiel In v.3 the Lrd says these men have set up idls in their hearts And then put them right befre their eyes t becme stumbling blcks f iniquity S the He asks Ezekiel shuld the Lrd receive cunsel frm such men? It s rhetrical, because bviusly these men have nthing t ffer Gd r anyne wh seeks gdliness Take a clser lk at hw the Lrd describes hw these men became crrupted First, they began wrship an idl in their heart Secndly, they prduced an image f that idl and set it in frnt f themselves t reflect what was in their heart 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 12 And that physical bject became a way f fcusing their idlatrus gaze Gd says it was right befre their faces meaning it filled their field f view, it bscured everything else including the truth And as a result, with their visin bscured, these men stumbled ver their idl, spiritually-speaking This is the frmula fr all idlatry, fr everything that leads us away frm true wrship and bedience t the Lrd It always begins because we fix ur heart n smene r smething that captivates us That idl culd be a false deity r belief system Or it can be a physical pleasure r a harmful relatinship r a greedy pursuit Whatever frm it takes in ur hearts, we ll eventually set that desire befre urselves in physical frm We ll create images f ur deity r beliefs We ll satisfy that physical craving, we ll pursue that unhealthy relatinship, we ll fill ur shpping carts with stuff And we set these things in frnt f ur faces, s that we can t see anything else at least fr a time Idls are cruel masters That idl will bscure ur visin t became a stumbling blck Our gaze is s fixed n ur idl that n matter which way we step, we re bund t trip, t fall Like smene reading their iphne while walking dwn the street talk abut an idl! They ll demand mre and mre f ur adratin They are jealus and can t tlerate it when we lk away James describes this slippery slpe this way: 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 12 James 1:13 Let n ne say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by Gd ; fr Gd cannt be tempted by evil, and He Himself des nt tempt anyne. James 1:14 But each ne is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his wn lust. James 1:15 Then when lust has cnceived, it gives birth t sin; and when sin is accmplished, it brings frth death. James 1:16 D nt be deceived, my belved brethren. James says Gd never sets these temptatins befre the child f Gd, because we re plenty capable f ding it urselves James says it begins in ur heart, when ur wn lusts tempt us He s speaking f the idls that we manufacturer in ur heart Eventually, thse lust are cnceived, which means they emerge frm us as smething physical that we set befre ur wn eyes And then we begin t serve them leading us int sin But we ught nt be deceived in this way, James says The slutin t eliminating an idl begins with remving thse stumbling blcks, thse physical things we re fcused n Eliminate that physical representatins f the idl, and we begin t break its spell Like the ld saying: ut f sight, ut f mind That s why time after time the Lrd called the gd kings f Israel t destry the high places f idl wrship Israel s idlatry began in their heart, but thse carved wd and stne representatins fcus their evil desires and made them seem real S Gd tk away that distractin, prving these things were pwerless and empty Which gave pprtunity fr deceived hearts t return t the Lrd S these elders men with their idlatrus hearts, sit dwn t cnverse with Ezekiel, and the Lrd gives Ezekiel a message fr these men But it s nt the message we might have expected 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 12 In v.4 the Lrd says t Ezekiel say t any man in Israel wh sets up an idl in his heart that he will hear frm Gd The prphet, Ezekiel, will give such a man a respnse frm the living Gd, the very Gd that this man rejected The man wh has devted himself t serving false gds will receive an answer frm the true living Gd The Lrd says He will give an answer t such a man cncerning the matter the man inquires abut because f his idlatry Ntice at the end f the verse the Lrd in view f the multitude f his idls S He s talking abut that Jew wh has devted his heart t idls and likely set up an altar in his hme He prays t these mute and deaf blcks f wd and rck expecting they will hear him and speak in respnse His heart is captivated by lust and his gaze is fixed n dead things and he s turned his back n Gd Yet when this man finally cmes seeking advice frm the true prphet, the Lrd says He will answer him And the Lrd des s in rder that He might break the spell f these idls n this man s heart Ntice in v.5 the Lrd seeks t lay hld f the hearts f thse in Israel wh are estranged frm Him by their idls Gd is acting in mercy this is grace A Gd Wh has been rejected by His cvenant peple, set aside fr the sake f wd r stne, ignred and blasphemed That Gd still allws Himself t be sught and t be heard because He still desires t free their hearts frm this slavery Dn t let anyne tell yu that the Gd f the Old Testament is different than the Gd f the New Testament This is Old Testament grace, the same grace the Church receives frm the Lrd tday The Lrd extends this same grace t yu and me tday 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 12 We ve all harbred idls in ur hearts frm time t time And perhaps we ve even taken the next step f setting that idl right in frnt f ur face, s t speak We made it a stumbling blck and it caused us t sin But then perhaps ne day, as we experience the weight f that sin, as we feel the cnsequences and pain and lss it brught, maybe we begin t seek fr the Lrd again When that day cmes, yu can be sure He will answer yu t Cme back t Him, seek His mercy, ask fr rescue And the Lrd will speak t yu as he did these men and He ll d it fr the same reasn He did then He wants t lay hld f yur estranged heart, t bring it back t Himself As He des, just knw He s ging t say the same thing He said t Israel in v.6 Repent, turn away frm yur idls, and turn yur face away frm the abminatins yu ve set up befre yurself Ntice that rder again first, break free frm the physical things bscuring yur visin If it s a bad relatinship, break it ff If it s a greedy desire, cut up the credit card If it s a fear r anxiety r addictin r bsessin, change yur envirnment, erect fences f prtectin, seek gdly cunsel D whatever is necessary t regain clear visin, t turn yu attentin away frm what has captured yu Once the idl has been smashed and yu see sme daylight, take advantage f that pening t run back t the Lrd in repentance Seek the Lrd again in the wrd, in the cmpany f gdly peple, in the cmfrt f prayer Invest the energy yu squandered n that idl int pursuing the disciplines f the faith that prmte meaningful spiritual grwth 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 12 Watch the Lrd wrk t purge thse unhealthy desires, evicting that idl frm its hme in yur heart It s like a see-saw, that as yu invest in strengthening yur spirit, the attractin f thse idls will begin t fade And if yu think that sunds t easy, then try it sincerely prayerfully Test t see if the wrd f Gd can be trusted Weaker peple than yu have brken free with the Lrd s help Nw let s lk back at v.4 fr a mment ntice the Lrd didn t distinguish between the elders and the rest f Israel In fact, the Lrd says quite specifically that His ffer applies t any man f Israel The leaders were at frefrnt f leading the peple int idlatry Nevertheless the Lrd is treating everyne equally Bth the elder and rdinary Jew are equally guilty But nt may receive mercy if they repent This is ur intrductin int the furth excuse the peple saying their leaders were the nly nes t blame Why were the peple s sure that Gd wuld nly judge the leaders fr idlatry? It ges back t the histry f Jerusalem s capture by the Babylnians Babyln s first attack against the city in 605 BC led t the king f Judah being depsed by Nebuchadnezzar Babyln als tk the nbles and leaders f the peple int exile A few year later, the new king als rebelled against Babyln S Nebuchadnezzar respnded with a secnd attack f the city, And he again depsed that king and tk yet mre f the elite int exile 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 12 S the peple f Israel cncluded that Gd directs His anger nly against Israel s leaders It became an excuse fr them t dismiss the warnings f the prphet and t live withut cncern fr Gd s judgment But like the previus excuses, the peple cnveniently verlk the real facts Yes, the leadership were a fcus f Gd s judgment, but they weren t the nly nes t g int captivity Many regular Jews had been caught up in slavery t r killed in the prcess And sn enugh, the rest were ging int exile t S in vs.7-8 the Lrd declares that anyne in the city wh des nt repent f idlatry will experience judgment In v.7 He says this will apply t anyne f the huse f Israel, bth elders and cmmn man It even applies the immigrants, the Gentiles wh have set up a hme in Israel Gd will nt be a respecter f persns but will deal justly in all cases When such a persn cmes befre the prphet again, having failed t repent, then that persn will receive a wrd f judgment frm the Lrd And specifically, they will receive Gd s answer frm Gd persnally in in My wn persn Then in v.8 the Lrd says He will make an example f such a persn, r a prverb as the Lrd says The persn will be cut ff, killed, s that Gd s peple will see that the Lrd is truly the nly Gd Thrughut these tw verses, the Lrd stresses ver and ver again the persnal respnsibility f each man fr his wn sin befre the Lrd The peple can t rest n the assumptin that Gd will nly judge the leaders 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 12 Each persn s sin is befre the Lrd and each persn must repent t survive the cming judgment against the city Mre than that, the peple culdn t claim ignrance, fr the Lrd has spken t them thrugh the prphet Ezek. 14:9 But if the prphet is prevailed upn t speak a wrd, it is I, the Lrd, wh have prevailed upn that prphet, and I will stretch ut My hand against him and destry him frm amng My peple Israel. Ezek. 14:10 They will bear the punishment f their iniquity; as the iniquity f the inquirer is, s the iniquity f the prphet will be, Ezek. 14:11 in rder that the huse f Israel may n lnger stray frm Me and n lnger defile themselves with all their transgressins. Thus they will be My peple, and I shall be their Gd, declares the Lrd Gd. When these sinful elders have sat befre the prphet seeking his cunsel withut repenting f their idlatry, the prphet will speak t them But the Lrd says these leaders and all the peple need t recgnize that what the prphet says is cming frm Gd Thugh the leaders asked the prphet t speak, nnetheless the Lrd is respnding This reminds me f what Gd did thrugh Balaam in Numbers 22 The prphet desired wealth, s he hired himself t the king f Mab wh asked the prphet t curse Israel The Lrd permitted the prphet t g t the camp f Israel, but here s what the Lrd tld the prphet Num. 22:20 Gd came t Balaam at night and said t him, If the men have cme t call yu, rise up and g with them; but nly the wrd which I speak t yu shall yu d. When Balaam went befre the camp f Israel t prnunce a curse, the Lrd nly allwed blessings t emerge frm the prphet s muth It didn t matter what he had been asked t say, the Lrd still ensured the prphet spke Gd s wrd That s what He s saying t Israel again here it didn t matter what they came t hear r what they asked the prphet t say 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 12! In the end, they shuld knw they are hearing frm the Lrd He s saying yu can t blame yur leaders and yu can t blame the messenger Yu heard the truth straight frm the Lrd, s yu can t say yu didn t knw r that the prphet culdn t be trusted In fact, the Lrd says in v.10 that shuld a prphet speak falsely, he t will be under judgment And if a prphet were t sin in that way, they t wuld receive judgment The Lrd is hlding everyne accuntable and He s preventing excuses And He s ding all this, He says in v.11, t ensure that the peple f Israel n lnger stray and defile themselves Remember, I said in an earlier lessn that the exile f Judah int Babyln put an end t idlatry in the land f Israel Even after the peple returned 70 years later, the never again returned t idlatry The natin remained steadfast in fllwing the Law and refusing t wrship idls The memry f the exile stuck just as Gd said it wuld Christians ften qute Rmans 8:28 that says Rm. 8:28 And we knw that Gd causes all things t wrk tgether fr gd t thse wh lve Gd, t thse wh are called accrding t His purpse. It s a beautiful verse, ne that has given hpe t cuntless believers living under difficult circumstances But smetimes we verlk what this verse is really saying The Lrd causes all things t wrk tgether fr gd Things that are nt gd can be harnesses t prduce a gd utcme 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 12 It means that Gd brings bad things smetimes, things we see as bad, but yet Gd sees them as necessary And they re necessary because they are the best way t prduce smething gd in ur lives The Lrd s desire was t break the strnghld f idlatry in the hearts f His peple, t bring them back t Himself As He says, that they will be My peple and I shall be their Gd If that required that Israel shuld endure generatins f captivity in Babyln, then s be it The utcme was wrth it He wrked these terrible circumstances t gd fr the sake f His peple If we re spiritually mature, we ll cme t understand the same thing abut ur circumstances When things are ging prly, when ur life seems t be mving frm bad t wrse, remember that Gd is at wrk He s wrking t bring gd But He s determined that the gd He wants t accmplish is nly pssible thrugh these difficult circumstances Trust Him, be patient, seek an understanding and knw that He hasn t frgtten yu And when the dust settles, and the gd things have cme, yu ll understand Smetimes the best lessns can nly be learned the hard way 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.