Ezekiel 20:4-12 - Confront them with their detestable practices

20:4-8

This refusal of God to let them inquire of Him was not a capricious act, and He will now tell them why. The upshot of all this was that the elders needed to listen to God’s word and to obey it. So God tells Ezekiel to confront them with their “detestable practices”. There are times when people need to be confronted with their sin. The beginning is that God chose Israel. Jesus reminded His disciples that He chose them, they did not choose Him (John 15:16). We need to have a right view of things, a right view is always a God-centred view, not a man-centred one. When God chose them He declared that He would bring them out of captivity in Egypt and take them to a land “flowing with milk and honey”. We all know that, but then see what God also said to them. He commanded them to get rid of their vile images, which they had set their eyes on. Israel was involved in idol worship in Egypt. Indeed, she was infected with idol worship. She needed to be purified. Salvation is not just a matter of being taken out of a situation, or of being forgiven. It involves being purified, and that is the consistent teaching of the Bible, Old and New Testament.

20:9-12

We learn more about the exodus here. The Israelites came out of Egypt, but had not got rid of their idols. They even hankered after the idols of Egypt. We need a change of heart, not just a change of circumstances. This change of heart is something that we will hear much more of later on in Ezekiel. So God would pour out His wrath on them. We then read why He still brought them out of Egypt, it was for the sake of His Name. Again, we will hear more of this later in Ezekiel. God did not want His name to be profaned in the eyes of the world. For He had revealed Himself to Israel in the sight of the world. Likewise, God has created the church in the sight of the world. So the church should be very wary whenever it rebels against God. So God led them into the wilderness and gave them His Law. The giving of the Law was an act of grace on God’s part. He showed them how to live, and gave them His Sabbaths. The Sabbaths were a sign that the people were holy, a people set apart for God.

James 1:3-5 - Let perseverance finish its work

1:3,4

So why are trials and testing such a wonderful thing, given that all of us hate going through them? The hard fact is that they are one of the primary means that God uses to change our character, to make us more Christlike. Isn’t there an easier way? No. We do not realise, or do not want to admit, how deep rooted sin is in our lives. How utterly corrupted our soul is by sin. In the first of the five points of the Calvinist tulip, our total depravity. One of the most important Christian characteristics is perseverance. Conversely, lack of perseverance is one of the most common failings of most people. As it says here, we need to “let perseverance finish its work so that we will be mature and complete, not lacking anything”.

1:5

James then moves on to wisdom. His letter can be viewed as a collection of sayings, somewhat like Proverbs, and to seek connections between all parts of it may not always be justified. Unlike Paul’s letters where there is a clear train of thought to be followed. However, when we go through trials we need wisdom! We often don’t know how to react or respond to the situation. So James urges us to ask of God. Also when we are in the midst of trials we feel very vulnerable and are usually aware of all our sins, weaknesses and failings. James reassures us that God gives generously without finding fault. We fear that God will not answer because we don’t deserve an answer. This is true, but God will give generously.

Ezekiel 20:1-3 - I will not let you enquire of me

20:1

We now return to prose, and get a grande overview of Israel’s history. This occurs a number of times in the Bible, including the New Testament (Acts 7). We get one of Ezekiel’s precise dates here as well, placing this in 591 BC. Some of the elders had come to inquire of the Lord, seeking to do this through Ezekiel. So they expected Ezekiel to be able to tell them what God was saying.

20:2,3

However, The Lord was not amenable to them inquiring of Him! We can not be presumptuous with God. Often we think God has a duty to listen to us, or to treat us in a certain way. We forget that we are the subjects, He is the king. There are examples of God rejecting Israel’s worship (Amos 5:21-23). So God tells them that He would not let them inquire of Him.

James 1:1,2 - Consider it pure joy

1:1

The opening of the letter is fairly similar to other New Testament letters, though the “greetings” does not contain Paul’s “grace and peace”. However, like Paul, he describes himself as a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember that James was the brother of Jesus, but he makes nothing of this, for he recognises that Jesus is the Son of God, the Lord of All. The letter is addressed to the “twelve tribes scattered among the nations”. This is probably addressed to the Jewish believers who were scattered around the Roman Empire. 

1:2

James then dives straight into his teaching. There is no personal content to this letter, unlike in Paul’s letters. This is a very general purpose letter, not dealing with a particular circumstance, other than that of living the Christian life in the real world! James starts off by saying “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds”. This teaching was common to all of the New Testament. Becoming a follower of Jesus was virtually guaranteed to make your life more difficult in many ways, including threats of imprisonment or death.  Much is true today for believers in many parts of the world, and it is likely to become increasingly true in the West. For a long time we have lived in abnormal circumstances, where being a Christian was sometimes even an advantage, though that has not been true for some time now. 

Ezekiel 19:5-14 - This is a lament

19:5-9

Jehoahaz was succeeded by Jehoiakim, but Ezekiel moves straight on to Jehoiachin. The names all seem pretty similar to us, reminds me of North Korea and all its Kims! Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years, and, of course, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He also excelled in taxing the people in order to pay tribute to Egypt (2 Kings 23:36,37). Having served Egypt, he then served Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1). Anyway, he was followed by Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:8,9). He also refined for a mere three months, Jehoiakim managed eleven years of misrule, but also managed to evil in the sight of the Lord. He also inherited the fruit of Jehoiakim's misrule. He was exiled to Babylon in 597 BC.

19:10-14

The final section relates to Zedekiah. The surrounding sections in Ezekiel indicate a date of 591 or 592 BC. This is before Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, so this section is prophetic in the foretelling of the future sense. There some who seem to consider God incapable of foretelling the future, so see this as a later addition to the text. Also, while the section does relate to Zedekiah, it also applies to Israel in general. Indeed, this seems the more appropriate application. Israel had a good foundation, she was blessed by the Lord, but because of her disobedience it was “plucked up in fury” and “cast down to the ground”. So it was planted in the wilderness and had no strength left.

James - Introduction

Introduction

This book was written by James the brother of Jesus (Matt 13:55). From the gospels we know that Jesus’ family were not exactly onboard with what He was doing (John 7:2-5), yet James came to believe and one of the features of the book is that James sees Jesus as his Lord. This James was also probably the leader of the Jerusalem council of Acts 15. James was one of the witnesses to the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:7). Paul met with him on his various visits to Jerusalem, both at the beginning (Gal 1:19) and at the end (Acts 21:18).

We are unsure of the date of the letter. Some date it as being written in the early AD 60’s. However, there are indications in the letter that it could even be the earliest of the New Testament epistles. It is very Jewish in nature, there is no reference to controversies like those surrounding circumcision (though that could be because it was written to a largely Jewish audience). The term synagogue is used to designate the meeting place of the church.

The opening of the letter says it was written to the “twelve tribes”. While this could be a way of referring to the church as a whole, drawing a parallel of the church with the tribes of Israel, it is more likely that it indicates it was written to largely Jewish Christians.

Martin Luther infamously called this a “right strawy epistle” and there are some who see its teaching as opposed to that of Paul. Such ideas are nothing more than idle notions. One cannot read Paul’s letters without seeing that Paul is utterly convinced that faith and works go together. This book is “down to earth” and intensely practical, with a directness that stands for no nonsense.

Ezekiel 19:1-4 - What a lioness was your mother

19:1-4

We have a poetic section here, which is written in the style of a dirge or lament. The “princes” of Israel are the kings of Judah. In Gen 49:9 Judah is described as being “a lion’s cub”. And the various sections of this lament refer to various kings. The first section Jehoahaz. He was the son of Josiah (a good king) and was taken captive by Egypt in 609 BC. He reigned for only three months, but managed to do evil in that time (2 Kings 23:31-35). Why is Ezekiel giving this dirge? Maybe to remind Israel of the pretty disastrous series of kings that they had had.

Titus 3:10-15 - Grace be with you all

3:10,11
There are some people who are naturally divisive, who seem to love stirring things up. Such people are not led by the Holy Spirit. Such people are to be warned once, and then warned again if they do not change their ways. Such people will often present themselves as super-spiritual and act all hurt when confronted, but as Paul says here “such people are warped and sinful, they are self-condemned”. As is usually the case with Paul, there is no beating about the bush!

3:12-15
Paul then brings his letter to a close. Paul was going to send some helpers to Titus, then Titus could leave Crete and come to Paul at Nicopolis. Verse 14 sums up the essence of Paul’s teaching in this letter: “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives”. There were practical needs that had to be met. Also see that proper theological understanding leads to practical outworking.

The letter closes with a fairly typical Pauline blessing.

Ezekiel 18:25-32 - Repent and live!

18:25-29

“The Lord is not just”, “Is it not your ways that are not just?”. Men will often complain that the Lord is not just, when the real problem lies with us. It is we who need to change, not the Lord! The Lord then states a simple rule: if a righteous man turns from righteousness to commit sin he will pay the price. Conversely, if a wicked person turns from evil and does what is right he will live. We will always look to blame someone else, even God. In this chapter we have read of them first of all blaming their ancestors, and then blaming God. Things are not that much different today! Instead of seeking to blame others we should look to ourselves.

18:30-32

“I will judge each of you according to your own ways”. This is the fundamental truth, and the one that the Israelties were trying to avoid at all costs. But there is no escape from the command “Repent!” That is the only way to avoid sin being our downfall.  Then in v31 we have the instruction to “get a new heart and a new spirit”. But how can we do this? For when we try to change our hearts we always end up failing. We need a new heart. Later chapters in Ezekiel will talk a lot more about our getting a new heart and spirit. As Jesus said, we need to be born again if we are to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

The chapter closes with a repeat of the God saying He does not delight in the death of anyone. That is why He says “Repent and live!” 

Titus 3:8,9 - Avoid foolish controversies

3:8

The “trustworthy saying” seems to refer back to what has just been said. So often people do not understand the nature of the gospel. It is about much more than forgiveness, and certainly more than forgiveness in the sense of being “let off”. It is far deeper than that. It is about who we are meant to be, it is about our true identity, which we only find in Christ. And Christ being Lord of our lives is absolutely central to that. While we are saved purely by grace, this does not mean that we are passive. Paul here talks about devoting ourselves to doing what is good. “These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

3:9

So Titus is to make sure that the people receive sound teaching. However, in our desire to teach the truth there is always a danger that we will get sidetracked into “foolish controversies”, Far from being “excellent and profitable”, these things are “unprofitable and useless”. We do need to be careful, for the attraction of foolish arguments is that they tempt us into thinking that we are clever!

Ezekiel 18:19-24 - Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked?

18:19-24

God really wants to ram home the message that “the who sins is the one who will die”. There are two further key points here. The first is in v22 where it is made clear that it is always worth repenting! There are two dangers. One is that a “sinner” might think it is hopeless. Since he has already sinned there is nothing he can do about it, all is lost. Not so! It is always worth repenting! The other danger is that someone thinks they have done so much good that a little sin won’t matter. Again, not so! So we need to continue living righteously. The final lesson is in v23 “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” God only punishes because He has to, He would far rather we did not sin in the first place, and if we do sin that we repented.

Titus 3:4-7 - Renewal by the Holy Spirit

3:4,5

We have a deep rooted tendency to look within ourselves for some reason that God chose to save us. There is none! It is the “kindness and love of God our saviour” that appeared. And He saved us not because of any righteous things that we have done, but purely because of His mercy. We are saved by grace and grace alone. We were saved “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”. If we look at what Paul says there are two key elements. We are saved by grace alone, we absolutely did not deserve to be saved. We come just as we are, but we absolutely do not stay as we are. We are born again, we become a new creation, and we are renewed by the Holy Spirit, so we are changed to become ever more Christlike. This is an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

3:6,7

God poured out the Holy Spirit on us generously. The Holy Spirit was not given grudgingly, but generously. Why did He do this? “So that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life”. The Holy Spirit speaks life to us, and leads us in the ways of life. Becoming a Christian means dedicating ourselves to becoming Christlike, submitting to Christ’s authority over our lives. Subjecting ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit, who will be working to transform us from one degree of glory to the next. The idea of being a Christian and staying as we are is a notion that the Bible knows nothing of, and that Christ knows nothing of.

Ezekiel 18:4-18 - Everyone belongs to me

18:4

This verse is amazing. “All souls are mine”. This is a fundamental truth. God does look at societies and nations, but He also regards each individual. We matter to God as individuals, not just as members of a particular group. This also means we have responsibility. See how easily society and pressure groups will seek to deny personal responsibility. Even if we are badly mistreated, an essential step towards progress is to take responsibility for ourselves. Any group that denies this is actually denying full humanity to its members, and is ensuring that they will continue to be “victims”.

18:5-18

The section is a little repetitive, but the message is clear. The lists of the various things the person does not does not do are from the Law. The righteousness of the father is not imparted to the son. Likewise, the unrighteousness of the son is not imparted to his son. So the clear message is that each will live or die for their own sin. This raises the question of how does Ex 20:5 fit in with this? First, ESV is the better translation when it says “visiting the iniquity of the fathers”, rather than NIV “punishing the children”. So how do the two fit together? Well, the effects of the sins of one generation are felt by subsequent generations. We can see that this is empirically true. In the USA the effects of past racism are still felt today, having a destructive effect. However, the subsequent generations are not guilty, unless they commit similar sins themselves. So the talk of “whiteness” by critical race theory (CRT) advocates is deeply unbiblical, and is extremely unhelpful. So we need to take responsibility for our own actions, but we also need to recognise that we will need to deal with the “mess” of previous generations. It is also worth remembering that future generations will have to deal with results of our own failings. 

Titus 3:1-3 - At one time we too were foolish

3:1,2

Instructions such as these can be taken in an unhelpfully legalistic manner. Paul did not always obey the authorities if it involved compromising the gospel. However, we need to look at the heart of the matter. Our excuses for rebelling are usually fleshly, rather than spiritual. Our starting point should be that we obey the authorities, and do not have a rebellious spirit. Notice that Paul says “to be ready to do whatever is good”, and then goes on to command us to be gentle, peaceable and considerate. A key question to ask ourselves is am I serving God or myself? Am I seeking to benefit myself or others?

3:3

We have seen earlier that Paul did not consider the Cretans to be a particularly honourable lot. A godless society produces godless people, and people with the characteristics described in this verse. We were once like them, we were “foolish, disobedient and deceived, enslaved by all kinds of passions. We were saved not because of any intrinsic merit within us, but by the grace of God. This old way led to us living in “malice and envy, hating and being hated”. Jesus saved us in order to change us.

Ezekiel 18:1-3 - The one who sins is the one who will die

18:1-3

A large part of this chapter is dealing with a common saying and misconception that was going around, namely:

“The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

Jeremiah (Jer 31:29) dealt with a similar saying. So it does seem to have been fairly common at the time. The passage, at first, does address this idea, though in a somewhat laboured fashion. However, there are key elements of revelation sprinkled in the chapter as well, elements which are essential to a proper understanding of the Lord.

The key lesson is “the one who sins is the one who will die”. The passage teaches personal responsibility. It is human nature to seek someone else to blame. Indeed, this characteristic even gets institutionalised. Claiming victim status is a common approach of many pressure groups. It is not a fruitful approach. This is not to deny that individuals and groups of people get mistreated, sometimes horrendously so, and as individuals and as a society we should seek to ensure we act with justice and mercy (Mic 6:8). However, we must never make victim status a goal! In Christ we are not victims, we have been redeemed, we are adopted into God’s families, and we have a glorious future. Now, we are also promised suffering, but we must not view ourselves as victims.

Titus 2:13-15 - Encourage and rebuke with all authority

2:13

It might seem unrealistic to live good lives in the present age when so much of the present age is working directly against godliness. Surely we need to compromise, or to go along with the flow? But this age will not last forever, its time is strictly limited. We “wait for the blessed hope”, which is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ”. The return of Christ is fundamental to the gospel, and is a fact that should greatly influence how we live now, and how we feel now.

2:14

Jesus gave Himself for us, and He did this with a purpose. “Jesus loves you” is a hopelessly inadequate and misleading statement. Yes, Jesus loves us, more than we can ever imagine, but He loves us with a purpose and for a purpose. He gave Himself for us in order to redeem us from all wickedness, and to purify us for Himself. He gave Himself up for us in order to create a people “that are His very own, eager to do what is good”.

2:15

These were the things that Titus was to teach the people. He was to “encourage and rebuke with all authority”. We are to do both. We do not just encourage, that is to miss out half of the gospel. We do not just rebuke, that will only discourage people, and is only half the gospel. And he was to do this with “all authority”. When we faithfully preach and teach the gospel some will try to despise us, even people within the church, and definitely people in the world. We are not to take this despising on board, and are not to let it influence how we live.

Ezekiel 17:22-24 - I the Lord have spoken

17:22-24

So all of Zedekiah’s scheming would prove to be utterly futile. His attempts to restore Judah would fail. Yet Judah would be restored, but this would be achieved by the Lord. The only way to true freedom is to turn to the Lord. And God’s plan would be truly amazing. He would take a “shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it”. This refers to Jesus, though Ezekiel would not know this at the time. It will be planted on a “high and lofty mountain”, higher than any other mountain.  It would produce branches, and rather than becoming a lowly vine, it would be a splendid cedar. God’s plans are always better than man’s plans. “Birds of every kind will nest in it”. Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32) makes an obvious allusion to this. Under Zedekiah’s plans Judah would be a vassal of other nations, but under God’s plans other nations would come to Judah. We should note that it is God’s plan that the world learns from His people, not the other way around. We need to appreciate this. The church is not to learn from the world, rather the world is to learn from the church. Now God’s plans for Israel can only be fulfilled when Israel is faithful to God, and this includes acknowledging Christ as Lord and Saviour. And God’s plans for the church can only be fulfilled when the church is faithful to the Lord. 

“I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall”. It is God who determines who reigns, and it is Christ whom He has placed above every power and authority. And God intends that the whole world will see this and acknowledge this. 

“I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it”. This is true today!

Titus 2:11,12 - It teaches us to say "no" to worldly passions

2:11

Why should slaves obey their masters and seek to live lives worthy of respect? Indeed, why should any of us do that? A twofold reason is given. First of all the grace of God offers salvation to all, that includes slaves and it includes masters. We do not need to seek a worldly “salvation”. We see people seeking a “worldly salvation” in all sorts of areas, but especially peoples who are oppressed or downtrodden in some way, or view themselves as so. LGBT people demand rights, even that they are celebrated. Others look to the BLM approach as a relief from racism. In cases such as these there almost certainly has been serious mistreatment and oppression, but their method of seeking salvation is delusional. All it does is swap the oppression round. In Scotland there are many who see the English as the problem and so support independence. Independence may or may not be a good thing, but to see it as a source of salvation is also delusional. In the words of the Who (the rock group, not the health organisation), “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”.

2:12

The second reason is vitally important, and one that is so often missed out when people think of God loving us. The grace of God “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”. God’s salvation is first of all saving us from ourselves. We are all sinners. We need to become different, we need to act and live differently, and the grace of God enables us to do this. This is true empowerment.

Ezekiel 17:11-21 - Do you know what these things mean?

17:11-21

Having given the message in parable form, God now tells them explicitly what it means. He is under no illusions as to the nature of the people He is speaking to, they are a “rebellious people”. So the first part is the King of Babylon carrying off the nobles and king, taking them to Babylon. He took a member of the royal family, this being Zedekiah. Zedekiah was a mere vassal, a puppet king in Jerusalem, who had to govern under Babylon’s terms. Zedekiah was put under oath. Babylon’s purpose was the permanent subjugation of Israel, never to rise again. They would exist only under the terms set by Babylon. This is a bit like the Soviet Union’s subjugation of eastern Europe under the Warsaw Pact.  However, Zedekiah rebelled by sending envoys to Egypt. 

One of the key lessons from this, probably the key lesson, is that God expected Zedekiah to honour the treaty he had made, the oath he had sworn. There was only one way out of the treaty, and that was not rebellion! The only way out was to repent and turn to the Lord. Since Zedekiah did rebel he would die in Babylon. Egypt may have looked powerful, but her power would be of no help to Judah. Zedekiah’s breaking of the covenant with Babylon was regarded as a very serious matter by the Lord. So Zedekiah, and therefore Jerusalem, would pay the price for their treachery. 

Titus 2:6-10 - Encourage young men to be self-controlled

2:6-8

Young men are to be self-controlled, something which also applied to younger women (2:5). Society encourages young men and women to be out of control, to be rebellious. This is not a Biblical principle. Titus is to encourage them not just by teaching, but also by example.  Titus’ teaching is to show “integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech”. We are not to be like the world. We are to lives lives that are above reproach. So that we “cannot be condemned”. They may still try to slander us, but we should ensure that they have no grounds for any attacks on us.

2:9,10

Slaves are to serve their masters with respect. Slavery was an endemic part of society in those days, and was “normal employment” for many. We should note that it is clear that the gospel attracted many slaves, for they are mentioned in a number of Paul’s letters. So the fools who criticise the Bible for “promoting slavery” (it doesn’t) need to explain why, if the gospel was so evil, it proved to be attractive to slaves. The worldly message might be “they are mistreating you, therefore it is OK to steal from them, get a little of your own back”. The gospel was more concerned with our earning self-respect, demonstrating that we are of good character. The aim is to “make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive”.

Ezekiel 17:1-10 - Will it thrive?

17:1-10

What we have in this chapter is an allegory of the relationship between Zedekiah and Babylon. It was Zedekiah’s duplicitousness that ultimately led to the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. God tells Ezekiel “set forth an allegory” to the people of Israel. So we first of all have the story told in picture form (17:1-10), this is followed by an explanation (17:11-21) and finally an amazing promise of blessing (17:22-24).

So why does God start with an allegory, or a parable? Maybe it is to get the people’s attention. It can sound more interesting than a straightforward giving of a message, and it can cause people to think.

The story begins with a great eagle coming to Lebanon. The great eagle represents Babylon, and an eagle was often used to signify military power. Cedar trees were highly thought of, see mentions of “cedars of Lebanon” in the Bible. The eagle takes off the top of the cedar tree and takes it away to a land of merchants. This is the taking into exile of the nobility of Judah.

A seedling is then planted by the eagle, and this grows into a fruitful spreading vine, and one that is well watered. This is Zedekiah being installed as a vassal king by Babylon. There are two key features. He is “well watered”, i.e. he is supplied with all he needs, and he is under the thumb of Babylon. Under these conditions he was doing quite well. 

Then another great eagle came.  This too was powerful and represents Egypt, the other great power of the time. Even though the vine was well provided for, it sent out roots to Egypt. Judah sent envoys to Egypt. God then says that the result of this will be that the vine is uprooted and it will be easy prey after this. It had been planted in good soil, even though the Babylonian conquest was God’s judgement upon Judah, when she was a vassal state she was still looked after and was in a relatively favourable position, but Judah rebelled against even this. And so the consequences became even worse.

Titus 2:3-5 - Teach older women to be reverent

2:3

Next Paul turns to older women. Once again, their lives are to be an example. There can be a tendency to think that once we get older we can do what we like! This is not so. We are to live as children of God and servants of Christ. So women are to live reverent lives.  It seems that women in Crete were prone to being slanderers and addicted to wine. There are various vices that are common in any society. We need to be careful that we do not follow the sinful ways of the society that we live in. Instead the women were to learn what was good. 

2:4,5

The older women were to teach the younger women how to live godly lives. This included loving their husbands and children.  They were to be self-controlled. Self-control is a quality that crops up a lot in the epistles. Sin leads to a loss of self-control, the Spirit gives us self-control to live godly lives. Sin leads to us wasting our lives. In contrast, a godly woman looks after her household. “To be subject to their husbands”. Some will rile at this command! We should remember that in the kingdom when someone is under authority they actually gain more freedom and more authority. If we are the one with authority we are to use it to enhance the lives of those we have authority over. We should also remember the precious wife of Proverbs 31. She did look after her household, but that was not all that she did! She was an enterprising woman.

Ezekiel 16:53-63 - You will know that I am the Lord

16:53-58

There will be severe judgement, but there will also be restoration. And the restoration applies to “Sodom and her daughters'', and to “Samaria and her daughters” and Judah. So sin is universal, salvation is also universal ( but not universalism!), But then note that one of the purposes of this is so that they will be ashamed of their sin. Part of God’s purpose is that we realise the true nature of sin, of our sin. We also see that Judah was to bear the consequences of her sin, of her lewdness, as it is put here. 

16:59-63

Judah had broken the covenant with the Lord. In doing so they “despised the oath” that the Lord had made. God had promised to bless and protect them, but the people of Judah did not believe God’s promise, they did not consider it a firm foundation on which to build. We do the same when we do not trust God and run to something else instead. We are saying, in effect, that the Lord is not trustworthy. The people might be unfaithful, but God is never unfaithful and He would remember His covenant (2 Tim 2:13). So God would make an everlasting covenant with them, and He would “make atonement” for them their sins.

Titus 2:1,2 - Teach older men to be temperate

2:1

Paul has warned Titus about various sorts of “bad people”, and the type of behaviour they indulge in. Now he tells Titus how he should behave. We need to recognise the bad, but we also need to demonstrate the good. So we must teach “what is appropriate to sound doctrine”. Doctrine matters. It affects lives and affects behaviour. In the West society as a whole has rejected the idea that we are created beings owing a duty to our Creator, and this has contributed to all sorts of bad behaviour. 

2:2

Paul now turns to various age groups. Periodically there are debates in the Christian media about whether or not we should have special meetings for various age groups, with the emphasis being on the desirability of youth groups or ministries. There are valid points in some of the criticisms, but at the same time different age groups do need to be treated differently to some extent. Starting with older men, they are to be taught to be “temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance”. We are to be examples to the flock, demonstrations that “faith works”, and what a life of faith is all about.

Ezekiel 16:43-52 - Be ashamed and bear your disgrace

16:43-48

The diatribe against Jerusalem continues, with her being castigated for not remembering the days of her youth. She only needed to look back at her history to realise that she was utterly dependent upon the Lord for her existence. 

Now God reminds of her of her human ancestry, her mother was a Hittite, and her father an Amorite. She descended from nations that she despised. The northern kingdom was Samaria, which had been defeated and scattered by Assyria a good number of years earlier. Judah despised Samaria (something that continued up until Jesus’ day), but God tells her that she is no better, she is a “true sister”, ie just like her sister. Indeed she was far worse, and is worse even than Sodom!

16:49-52

Now this verse needs to be treated carefully. There are those who delight in this verse, thinking “look, Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed for their homosexual behaviour but for their arrogance and lack of concern for the poor”. This is a most foolish reading of the text. Sin never comes alone, several sins usually travel together. Lying will almost always accompany whatever sin someone commits. Violence is another frequent bedfellow, and mistreatment, abuse and exploitation of the poor will often be there as well. To say homosexuality is not the only sin is certainly true, and something we must bear in mind, but there is nothing here to say that homosexual acts are not sinful! We should also note that here the emphasis is on Judah and Jerusalem being far worse than Samaria.  She needed to realise how sinful she was, she needed to be ashamed of her sin, instead of being proud and haughty.

Titus 1:15,16 - To the pure, all things are pure

1:15

The state of our souls or minds heavily influences how we view things. If we are pure in heart then we will tend to see things as pure. Conversely, if we are corrupt in heart then we will view all things from a corrupted view point. We will always see the worst in people, always suspect the worst. This is the opposite of how Paul described love in 1 Corinthians 13.

1:16

Such corrupt people might claim to know God, but their actions show this not to be true.  They act detestably, and they are “detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good”. These might seem to be harsh words from Paul. But we all know people who fit this description. They make a show of being Christian, but the reality of their lives and character says otherwise. Paul is not being harsh, he is being realistic.

Ezekiel 16:23-34 - I am filled with fury against you

16:23-29

Israel’s unfaithfulness was not just done in private, she made shrines in every public place, she boasted of her infidelity.  Verse 25 and 26 express things in a manner we would consider to be somewhat crude, speaking of Israel opening her legs and Egyptians with large genitals! But her infidelity was crude. So often we try to dress up sin as something less than it really is. Her promiscuity was increasing. When sin takes a hold it gets a life of its own and we lose control.  Egypt, Assyria and Babylon are also named as her partners. She offered herself to all these nations, and this would often include taking on board the gods of these nations.

16:30-34

“I am filled with fury against you”. God’s wrath is judicial, but it is not only judicial, it is also passionate. The Lord was horrified at what Israel was doing. She wasn’t even acting like a proper prostitute, for a prostitute offers herself for money, Israel was just giving herself away.  “You prefer strangers to your own husband”. Israel was totally wrong in the way she acted, and it would lead only to her own destruction. When sin gets a hold of someone it makes that person act in a totally irrational manner. And Israel ran after others to offer herself. She looked and acted in an utterly ridiculous manner. Sin makes fools of us.

Titus 1:13,14 - Sound in faith

1:13

So Titus is to rebuke the Cretans sharply “so that they will be sound in faith”. Faith is not just a matter of doctrinal belief, it is a matter of behaviour as well. Our behaviour affects our faith and faith affects our behaviour. Id we behave badly we will not want to believe the gospel, and our minds will try to find ways to say that the gospel is not true. For the gospel commands us to repent and to make Christ Lord of our lives.

1:14

Jewish myths and “merely human commands” are to be rejected as well. Some Jews added various bits and pieces to the gospel, and to their Old Testament faith. Gentiles would be keen to add “human commands” to the gospel. We want to add something because the gospel itself stresses our complete dependence upon the Lord, and our human nature doesn’t like that. We want to add something, then it gives us a certain degree of control.

Ezekiel 6:15-22 - Was your prostitution not enough?

16:15-19

In Deut 6:10-12, and elsewhere, Israel was warned that once she had taken possession of the land she must not assume that she had achieved this because of her own goodness or merit. Yet this is precisely what she did, and it is a risk we are all prone to. The roots of this lie in the fundamental sin of thinking that we do not need God, when the truth is that we are completely dependent upon the Lord. So in the analogy tale here she used the very things that God had given to her as gifts to engage in prostitution. We can maybe see a similar thing with education. Education is one of the great gifts of Christianity, and which has greatly benefited societies in which Christianity is influential. Yet now it is so often used to promote wrong thinking. So Israel became a prostitute. Israel totally misused the gifts that the Lord had given her, note the phrases like “my oil and incense”, “my gold and silver”. 

16:20-22

The worst thing was that she also sacrificed their sons and daughters. We sometimes look on ancient religions as being quaint, this is not the case. They are utterly evil, involving child-sacrifice. We are little better today, with millions being sacrificed on the altar of abortion. We so easily regard children as dispensable.  Again, notice the phraseology, “son and daughters whom you bore to me”. We belong to God, all that we have belongs to Him. We so easily think that we are the source of any skills or goodness that we have. This is not true. We have responsibility to use and nurture our skills, but ultimately they come from God. We must never forget from whence we came.

Titus 1:10-12 - There are many rebellious people

1:10

Paul had no illusions about the reality of life, even life in the church. “For there are many rebellious people.” He particularly names the circumcision group. They said it was essential to be circumcised and observe other aspects of the ritual Law. They feature heavily in Galatians and the issue of circumcision crops up in other letters, including Romans. Now circumcision was important in the Old Testament, so it required a proper understanding of the gospel to appreciate why it was not necessary for Gentile believers.

1:11,12

These disruptors were not to be tolerated, but silenced. Why? Because they were dangerous, they caused much harm in households. Wrong teaching is poisonous. They taught their rubbish for dishonest gain. Money or immoral behaviour will often be found to go together with wrong teaching. The Cretans seemed to have had a particularly bad reputation, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons”!

Ezekiel 16:8-14 - And your fame spread

16:8-14

At this point the Lord entered into a covenant with Israel, this being like marriage. This is almost certainly pointing to Sinai and the giving of the Law. Israel belongs to the Lord. This is a concept found in the New Testament. In 1 Cor 6:20 and 7:23 Paul says we were bought at a price, as does 2 Pet 2:1. Now if we react against this idea then it is an indication that we are still in rebellion. We are not our own, we belong to the Lord. This is a fundamental concept for living that we need to get a hold of. Without it we will never understand life, nor what the Lord is doing with us. “You are not your own” (1 Cor 6:19,20).

Earlier we read in the analogy that the baby had been abandoned, unwashed. Now we read of the Lord washing and dressing Israel. Further, she was adorned with jewelry. She was dressed and with the finest of clothes, bedecked with the finest of jewels, and given the finest of food. So she became beautiful and rose to be a queen. Her beauty was recognised by the nations. We see this most clearly when the Queen of Sheba came to see King Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-13). This fame came about because of the splendour that the Lord had given to her.

In the same way sometimes churches, or individual Christians, become famous even in the world. When this happens for good reasons it is purely because of the splendour that the Lord has given to us.

Titus 1:8,9 - Encourage others by sound doctrine

1:8

We now return to positive characteristics. He must be hospitable. A good elder as well as knowing and understanding the truth has to be able to interact with people. He is not to be some sort of aloof person. Welcoming people is important. If we look at Jesus we see that one of His characteristics is that He likes people! The elder must love what is good and needs to be self-controlled. He needs to be holy. This is not a “holier than thou” attitude, but a dedication to the Lord. Living his life for God is the dominant motive in his life.

1:9

We now come to the doctrinal bit. He needs to hold firmly to the gospel, there can be no flakiness. The church is founded on the truth of the gospel. We have no foundation other than Christ. “As it has been taught”. The gospel does not develop. Our understanding of it may develop, but the message remains the same. The reason an elder needs to hold firmly to the gospel is so he can encourage others. And how do we encourage others? By sound doctrine. Doctrine matters, it affects lives. Bad doctrine corrupts and destroys lives, so an elder needs to be able to refute false teaching.

Ezekiel 16:1-7 - I said to you: "Live!"

16:1-7

Having had the vine analogy in the previous chapter, we now come to another analogy of Israel’s failure. This time Jerusalem (though it can apply to Israel as a whole) is likened to an adulterous wife. The adultery analogy is often used in the Old Testament to describe Israel’s relationship with the Lord, Hosea is perhaps the supreme example. He had to marry an adulterous wife. The analogy is used to describe the whole of Israel’s history up to this point in time, and it isn’t pretty! Indeed, we might be reluctant to read some parts out in church, though we shouldn’t be. Israel’s unfaithfulness is shocking, as is the unfaithfulness of individuals or of churches. In reading this we should remember that the focus is Israel and her history, the analogy is used to summarise that history and to bring it home to the people. 

Ezekiel is to “confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices”. There are times when churches or people need to be confronted with what we are. Israel tended to consider herself as superior to other nations, but there was no justification at all for this. So God starts by reminding them of their ancestry. Their origins came from the land of Canaan and their father was an Amorite, and their mother a Hittite. They came from the nations that they despised. 

The reference to the cord not being cut and not being washed in salt refer to birth practices in those days. There was nothing in her origins to commend Israel, she was despised and abandoned. The only reason she is anything was that the Lord saw her and proclaimed to her “live!”. God is our only source of life. So she grew and matured until she reached womanhood.

Titus 1:5-7 - An elder must be blameless

1:5,6

Paul’s purpose in establishing churches was not to create some sort of empire that he ruled over, but to set up churches that could be self-governing under Christ. He had left Titus in Crete so that he could appoint elders to lead the church there. We then get a description of the qualities of an elder, and these are similar to those found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. The primary ones are related to the way that he runs his own household. The fruit of our faith will show itself in our lives and in our families.

1:7

We then get a series of “must nots”. He must not be overbearing. Elders are there to lead, not dominate. They are not to be quick tempered, and not given to drunkenness. The latter might seem obvious, but given the state of some parts of society it might need to be stated explicitly. Not violent and not given to dishonest gain. Again, we might think these things obvious, but the gospel was reaching into rotten parts of society, or into rotten societies. This is what the gospel is meant to do, so when it is working as it should these sort of things will need to be dealt with.

Ezekiel 15:1-8 - I will set my face against them

15:1-8

This is a rather short chapter, but begins a series of denunciations of Israel (not that the preceding chapters have exactly been complimentary!). This chapter begins with God asking Ezekiel a question: “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest?” Natural analogies are often used in the Bible. Since the world was created by God, it is hardly surprising that many features of God’s purposes can be found in creation. We do, of course, make a serious mistake if we then start worshipping creation itself! However, there is much that can be learnt from creation.

The vine was utterly useless as a structural material, it being far too weak to be up to much. But why is God talking about Israel as a vine in terms of being a structure (or for making things)? That’s not what they were meant to be. Indeed, it is a silly and ridiculous thing to do. And that is the whole point. Israel was forever wanting to be like the other nations, but they were never meant to be like the other nations. They were meant to live like the people of God! If they had tried to live like the people of God they would indeed have been useful, they would have been what they were meant to be. But when they tried to be like the nations they were utterly useless. 

The same applies to the church. We are the body of Christ, we are meant to live as Christ’s disciples, His servants here on earth. When we do this we fulfill our God given purpose and destiny. But when the church tries to be like the world, when it makes the world its guide it just looks ridiculous. Moreover, it is then utterly pointless. We are here to present the gospel to the world to present God’s word to the world. Not to present the world’s word to itself!

The passage also tells Ezekiel what is going to happen to Jerusalem. It will be burnt up and become completely useless. So the land of Israel will become utterly desolate. This will happen because the Lord is going to do it. And why is the Lord going to do this? It is because of Israel’s unfaithfulness.

The church is forever wondering if it will decline, or what to do about its decline. All too often the line taken by the church is that it will try and become more like the world. This is the height of stupidity. If we are unfaithful to the Lord, and persist in being so, then at some point the Lord will cast us off. Conversely, if we are faithful to the Lord then He will build us up, and we will fulfill the purpose for which He saved us, and for which He created the church.

Titus 1:3,4 - Through the preaching entrusted to me

1:3

God has revealed what the promises are and how they are going to be fulfilled, and He has done this through the apostles, and all evangelists and preachers who came after them. We are part of God’s revelation if we faithfully live and present the gospel. Paul preached at the command of “God our saviour”. We do not preach what we want to preach, not the latest idea we have dreamed up. We preach the word of God. It is His revelation that we make known.

1:4

The introduction to this letter has been a little longer than was normal in Paul’s letters. Now he eventually comes to the recipient of the letter, Titus. He refers to Titus as “my true son in our common faith”. So there is a close bond between them. Paul considers him as a son in the faith, and that faith is common to them. They are part of the same enterprise. As in his other letters, Paul bestows a blessing of “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour”. Grace and peace are our heritage in the gospel. Notice that hear he refers to “Christ Jesus our Saviour”, at the end of v3 he said “God our Saviour”. 

Ezekiel 14:17-23 - I have done nothing without cause

14:17-20

We now get two further examples. First is God saying that if he sends the sword, then these three righteous men would do nothing to save the city, not even their own sons and daughters. Only the righteous men themselves would be saved. The last example is of God sending a plague, with the same message, though this time the men’s names are given again. But Jerusalem refused to believe the Lord, they refused to acknowledge their sin and their need to repent. Today we are no better. We will do anything to avoid facing up to the fact that God is a God of judgement, and that our sin merits judgement. The real tragedy is that if we did repent then we would receive eternal life.

14:21-23

The four judgements, sword, famine, wild beasts and plagues, would kill the people and the animals. This would be terrible, but even so, there would be some survivors. Some sons and daughters would be brought out of the destruction. Even in judgement God is merciful. But note the majority did not survive, just in case someone is tempted to see justification for a universalist approach. And then see the reason why God was going to spare some! It was so that the exiles would see that God’s judgement was just, it was not done without cause. I have said this many times before, and will say it again. The “problem of hell” is not a problem at all. At the final judgement everyone will see that God’s judgements are true and perfectly just. The only sensible answer to the “problem of hell” is to repent!