“And begin
at my sanctuary.”[1]
When God says, “And
begin at my sanctuary,” he means that the work of judging the wicked would
begin with the priests, with those who served God in the temple. There were priests
who had become so accustomed to the evils of the day that they paid no mind to
the condition of the worshippers, or the sacrifices they brought in their rote
expressions of worship. They did not “sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed
in it.”[2]
The bottom line was that the wickedness God had come to
deal with included people from every part of Jerusalem. There was no class, or
distinction of people, that were free of the cancer of sin destroying their
relationship with God.
Not only that, this statement confirms the consistent
message of Scripture that those “who
teach will be judged with greater strictness.”[3]If there is such a level of sin in the land as
requires this intensity of judgment from God, and the people as a whole had
rejected the words of the prophets, then the leaders were the first to blame,
for they did not lead the people to listen to God or do his will.
Which brings me to this terrifying reality: the men of the
sanctuary ought to be the first line of defense for the church. The fathers of
the nation, the elders of the people, the priests who serve God day and night,
the leaders and shepherds of the people, ought to be the ones who stand on
guard for the people of God, watching for signs of evil and wickedness creeping
in to the congregation.
This is the picture of the watchmen on the wall.[4] The leaders were to be watchmen, standing on the
wall of the city, seeking to have a city that was pure on the inside no matter
how wicked their enemies on the outside. The picture of an evil empire coming
to destroy Jerusalem should have been met by a horrified response from the
priests, the servants in the sanctuary, who would petition the God of heaven to
grant them blessing, and protection, and success in vindicating the great name
of Israel.
Because God teaches that those who take on leadership in
the Church will be judged with greater strictness than others, he begins his
judgment at the sanctuary because the leaders should be standing as watchmen,
ready to defend the people. If they were truly watchmen, they would see what God
was doing, they would hear what the prophets were saying, and they would sound
the alarm to the city, calling everyone to return to Jesus, to repent of their
sin, to renounce all that is wicked and defiled.
However, Ezekiel was not welcomed as a herald of good news.
He was not welcomed as one warning of impending doom and disaster, who was sent
to give the people time to repent and restore their relationship with God.
Ezekiel was not welcomed by the children of God the way Jonah was welcomed by
the wicked Gentiles of Nineveh.
In fact, this was the very thing God told Ezekiel.
4 And he said to me, “Son
of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For
you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the
house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign
speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if
I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 But
the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not
willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard
forehead and a stubborn heart. (Ezekiel 3)
God was telling his servant that he
was not going to a Gentile nation that would listen to him, but to the people
of God who were stubborn and hard-hearted. Ezekiel’s message was so full of the
grace of God that if he went to a nation that could not understand his Hebrew
language, they would still listen.
They would be like a man I met the
first Sunday of my first pastorate. From my perspective as the new pastor, looking
out over this congregation of people I didn’t know, I thought he was the most
attentive listener. I remember a distinctive smile on his face that gave the
appearance that he was thoroughly enjoying the ministry of the word, and that
it was speaking to his heart in some meaningful way.
Afterwards, I discovered that he was
new to Canada, had just arrived from Switzerland, his native tongue was German,
and he was just beginning to learn English. It was some time later, when he was
trying to tell me about that first visit to our church, that he informed he
hadn’t understood a word I was saying.
However, he understood the heart he
saw in my preaching. He had grown up with the national church of Switzerland
that was dead and dry. If he went to church, he would understand every word the
preachers were preaching. He was so familiar with meaningless messages, and the
lifeless look on the faces of the preachers as they preached, that my
countenance in sharing the wonderful truths of God’s word spoke to his heart
even though he didn’t understand the words I was speaking. It was wonderful
encouragement to a wet-behind-the-ears preacher.
God used this contrast of a foreign
people of different language who would listen to what Ezekiel had to say as a
way to emphasize the necessity of the coming judgment. God warned his prophet
that he would have a ministry characterized by the people of God not listening to
him. This would be such an obstinacy of heart that God would appoint
executioners to come and put his wicked, rebellious, hard-headed and stubborn-hearted
people to death for their sin. It would not be undeserved judgment, but the due
sentence for their persistency in sin, and rebellion against the prophets who
called them to return to the Lord.
And it would all begin in the
sanctuary. The shepherds of God’s people would not listen to Ezekiel’s
prophecy. They would not stand as watchmen for the people and accept the
messenger’s warning. They would not prepare the people for the coming judgment.
They would not call the nation to repentance so that sins would be forgiven and
judgment averted. So God would send his executioners there first.
I am still on the theme of God sealing
the 144,000 before letting his angels release harm upon the earth. Ezekiel was
told that the righteous people of the city would receive a mark that would save
them from the judgment that was coming to the nation. It is a wonderful message
of Scripture that God knows who are his, and secures them for the blessings of
eternal paradise.
However, it is sobering to think of God’s
indictment against leaders who make so light of sin that people do not realize
the necessity of getting right with God. The leaders tell them they are already
okay. The leaders tell people not to listen to the prophetic message that warns
of judgment against sin. Every sin. They are assured that those who teach will
be judged with greater strictness for their failure to warn the people of
judgment, and proclaim the glorious gospel of deliverance from sin, and from
the wrath of God against sin.
It is interesting that this picture of
God sealing the 144,000 from the coming harm is right after showing us what it
will feel like for the wicked when Jesus Christ returns. Those sealed by God
are assured of entering into the joy of their Master forever. However, for the
rest, it is described like this:
Then
the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the
powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among
the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and
hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”[5]
The sealing of the 144,000, the marking of
those who sighed and groaned over the abominations committed in Jerusalem, and
Malachi’s description of God writing down the names of those who honored him
and met together to talk about him,[6] give wonderful hope to those
who walk with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. God spares those who
are his.
At the same time, the end will not
come until the gospel of the kingdom of heaven is proclaimed throughout the
whole earth.[7] Until the elect are gathered
to be with the Lord forever, we are the conquering church that proclaims the
goodness of salvation in Jesus Christ. There is yet time to save people from
the coming wrath of God. If the sin in this world bothers us, and it should,
let’s respond by praying for those still under the condemnation of their sin,
and making the most of every opportunity to bring people into the kingdom of
heaven.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
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