Day 242 (Ezekiel 13-15) - Year 8

**Tara-Leigh Cobble** (0:01)
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara-Leigh Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.
Today, God has a seqil launch out with prophecies against other prophets, prophets specifically. He says they prophesy about things they've dreamed up in their own minds, or just have a feeling about in their spirits. The text says they see visions and lying visions, and it's unclear whether that means they're lying about what they see, or if the enemy is faking these visions and the prophets just think they're from God. But probably the former. The prophets also believe they have the power to speak things into existence as long as they attach God's name to it, because then God's hands will be tied and he'll be forced to comply with whatever they've spoken. If you look at their beliefs and actions carefully, you might see that some of the popular ideas and practices in the world today and even in Christendom, aren't too far off from this.
But God makes it clear that he is not the one informing these prophets, and he will not bend to their will. Not only are his hands not tied, but his hands will be used against them.
God compares their prophecies to a wall they've built and painted white. It may look nice and fresh and clean, but he will crush it and it will fall on them. God is using a metaphor here. He's probably not going to smash them with an actual wall. He could, but more likely, the walls are their prophecies, which will ultimately be turned back on them, just like we talked about with the people's sins. Then God turns his attention to the magicians or sorcerers. He talks about people who sew magic bands on people's wrists. And if you go to Jerusalem today, you'll see a similar practice where some stores try to sell you little red string bracelets or pendants or home decor that's supposed to protect you from evil. How deceptive is the enemy? He uses the fear of evil to entice people into evil. And that's what these sorcerers are majoring in. They promise protection to people God is going to kill and promise death to people who will be among the remnant. And God says that their efforts and lies will be thwarted because they're not all-powerful. He is. They aren't the creator who can speak things into existence. He is. In Chapter 14, some of the elders come to Ezekiel as they're all in exile together. And since God knows what's happening in their hearts, God tips him off. He says they've taken idols into their hearts and that they fixed their eyes on idols. Then God asks Ezekiel a rhetorical question. He says, they're here to ask you for guidance, but based on the status of their hearts, should I give you any guidance to give to them?
And surprisingly, the answer is yes. Yes, God still welcomes these idolaters to seek his guidance. He wants them to come to him, not their idols. God will even respond to them directly, he says. And here's what he says he'll say.
I'm not going to answer any of your questions as long as you're worshiping idols. I'm not going to tell you what to do in whatever scenario you're coming to me about. I will only deal with the problem of your idols until that changes, because that is the primary problem. I have a friend who had a similar story, but let me offer up this caveat before I tell you the story. I'm not comparing her particular struggle to idolatry, so if you see yourself in her story, please don't hear any judgment from me. I just think her experience highlights some of the same aspects of God's character that we see in this situation with Judah.
My friend had been trying to quit smoking for years. She asked me to pray about it for years. Then one day she quit and never looked back. When I asked her what it was that made things so different this time, she said, I wanted to hear God say something new. Every time I would go to church or read my Bible or go to D-Group, no matter what the topic was, all I could hear God say was, quit smoking. And I was just ready to hear God say something new. So I knew that meant being obedient to what he had already said to me.
I think of my friend every time I read this passage. She has a track record of obedience. It doesn't always happen immediately, but God is persistent. He shows us where to go. Then he patiently walks us there step by step. We don't go alone. Whatever our sins may be, we can go to him. And whatever our sins may be, he is persistent in addressing them, not out of condemnation, but because he loves us and he wants us to walk in freedom from whatever is obstructing our path forward.