Ezekiel 1-3: Who is on the Throne?
As I write this blog, there is a runoff election in Georgia and the United States senate is preparing to vote on the Electoral College for the President. I find this significant in the fact the most powerful position [in my estimation] will be decided and the aftermath will reflect either a positive or negative reaction.
During the past six months, Americans have been embroiled in the political debate for support of a candidate, the media has played its part, often moving from reporting to persuasion of people. Currently in the world, we are fighting a Pandemic, wars and rumors of wars, famine and cultural differences. So, how are we to deal with all this? In our reading, Ezekiel the priest is privileged to have a vision, a nightmare if you ask me. God through the Holy Spirit allows Ezekiel a very strange vision.
Before we go there, let us take a snapshot look at the setting. In the opening verses of Ezekiel one we have a very specific time and place description. Ezekiel writes during the Babylonian captivity of Judah and Benjamin. [Southern Kingdom] Daniel is in Babylon and Jeremiah has already pronounced doom of Judah.
So here is Ezekiel, a Hebrew priest, some forty years into captivity receiving a vision from God. Ezekiel sees four faces, and figures in a chariot. This reflects the Babylonian deities/gods. Each beast/deity stands for a season and a direction. If we look at this vision, the one on the throne is Nebuchadnezzar, not God. While the Jews were allowed to continue their religious rituals, they were still in captivity because of their stubbornness and rebellion. It would be very easy for the Jews to lament that God had left them. But nothing could be further from the truth. While we will leave God, God will never leave or forsake us.
When we look at the 2020, we could say “What in the world is going on?” Where is God in all this? Why is He allowing all this turmoil to happen? A quick answer would be that God has not left us, but He has let us wallow in our own rebellion and carnality. The problem is that believers think that culture and society is the problem. The truth is “As the Church goes, so does the nation.” If believers were the salt and light they were called to be – we [America] would not be in this condition/situation.
Believers this last year have faced great trials, but the trials and tribulations were not from “persecution for their testimony of Jesus.” Their trials and even anxiety are from being engulfed in the world scheme of things instead of focusing on the mission and task we are called to – You shall be My witnesses – preaching, teaching and baptizing the converted lost souls. Instead, we have played politics and engaged in societal arguments.
Why was Judah where they were? Because of their rebellion and hard-hardheartedness towards God. Many have asked me “is this the Last Days?” The answer is yes, but is it the cataclysmic last days? I do not know.
Ezekiel was allowed to see who was really on the throne – God, not man, not some deity of a lost nation – but God! This begs the question, who is on the throne of your heart? Have you and I embraced the gods of politics, government, and cultural arguments?
Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is my King, my Lord! We are passing through this world – our allegiance must be to the Eternal Father in Heaven and His Kingdom, not this earthly kingdom that will fade away.
So, does it matter who wins the Presidency – yes. But greater still is who is on your throne?
preachbetweenthelines 