Ezekiel 28:1-5 - You are a mere mortal and not a god

28:1,2

The prophecy against Tyre now gets more personal, with the words being against the king, though they can be applied more generally to the nation as well. The root of the sin is pride, as is true with Satan, and with the whole of humanity.  The king said in his heart “I am a god”. “But you are a mere mortal and not a god”. Why did the king think he was a god? He was fooled by all the things he could do, forgetting where these abilities came from. Again, this is true of so much of humanity. God created us in His image, He gave us many powers and abilities. Yet we then forgot where they came from, thinking they were something innate about ourselves. 

28:3-5

“Daniel” is probably not the Daniel of the Bible (also in Ezek 14). The Hebrew spelling here is “dnl” whereas the Hebrew for Daniel is “dnyl”. The king thought that his own “wisdom and understanding” had brought about his great wealth. His skill in trading and the wealth it brought had caused his heart to grow proud. God has given us many gifts. We should be grateful for this, and we should use them, but we should do so giving thanks to God, not puffing ourselves up.

James 4:15-17 - All such boasting is evil

4:15

“If it is the Lord’s will, we live and do this or that”. This is not a matter of never making plans, nor never believing that God will do something, but it is a matter of humility and realism. Mankind seeks to live as if he is the master of the universe. This is patently not true, as the events of the last year or so with covid have clearly demonstrated. We are creatures, we are not in control of the universe. We can do many things, but nothing like everything. We need to live our lives knowing that everything, including our very existence, is entirely dependent upon the Lord.

4:16,17

Men make arrogant boasts. We need to learn not to be intimidated by the arrogant boasts of others, for they mean nothing. We certainly must not seek to emulate them. Instead we are to walk humbly with our God, acting justly and loving mercy. That is what pleases God.

Ezekiel 27:10-36 - All are appalled at you

27:10-25a

The second part is described by Taylor’s commentary as “the trade directory”. It is a lost of all the nations that dealt with her, all aspects of trade were covered, including human trafficking for slavery (27:13). The nations included Israel and Judah, though by this time Israel would not have been doing much, following her being vanquished by Assyria many years earlier. Many nations fed off her success, just as many nations feed off the wealth of America, or of China today. Yet when the successful nation fails, as it will inevitably do one day, the effect is felt all around the world.

27:25b-36

The third and final part is the fall of Tyre. So we have had a description of the things she was admired for, then a list of all the nations which traded on that prowess, now comes the fall. The sailors who crewed her mighty ships would be helpless as the mighty storm arose against her. By the way, the storm here is allegorical. Since she was a seafaring nation the analogy of a storm is used to describe her downfall. The actual “storm” is the nations that besieged her. The sailors who once looked so competent, knowing exactly what they were doing, will now be at a total loss. They had “enriched the kings of the earth” (v33), but now she would be nothing at all. No longer would she be admired, but instead the nations would scoff at her.

James 4:12-14 - You do not even know what will happen tomorrow

4:12

“There is only one Lawgiver and judge”. We all do well to remember this. As individuals we like to imagine ourselves as lawgivers, though we won’t call it that, and judge when we think our opinions on matters and individuals are the ultimate authority. But we are all deeply flawed. And our societies imagine themselves as lawgivers and judges, they judge what is right. And all they do is make a right mess of things. Now this does not mean we never pass judgement or enact laws, but we seek to enact God’s ways. We seek to ensure things are done God’s way not seeking to get our will done. We need constant humility if we are to avoid the obvious traps. God alone is able to save and destroy. We are not.

4:13,14

This human pride, which is one of the key things that James is warning against throughout his letter, displays itself in numerous ways. It does so when we imagine that all the plans we have will be fulfilled, that we are in a position to determine and dictate the future. “We do not even know what is going to happen tomorrow. We need to have a proper view of ourselves, before we can begin to have a proper view of life or the world.

Ezekiel 27:1-9 - Take up a lament about Tyre

27:1-9

Ezekiel is instructed to “take up a lament concerning Tyre”. Why is he told to do this? Tyre had seemed to have it altogether. She was rich and successful, all based on her trading prowess. Yet she was now heading for an almighty fall. Riches are no source of security. When someone who is wealthy commits suicide, or just moans about life, we might think “what have they got to worry about with all that money”. But we need to think about what we are actually saying when we think like that. For the underlying presupposition is that money can provide security, and we know that that is not true. The chapter is in three parts. 27:1-9 talk about the high quality of her ships. Being a coastal city, sea trade was the foundation of her wealth. The ships were made of the highest quality materials, and put together by skilled craftsmen. There was much to be proud about, and much to respect about Tyre.

James 4:9-11 - Humble yourselves before the Lord

4:9,10

James is urging them to take things seriously. “Grieve, mourn and wail.” Their attitude and actions were very wrong and they needed to do something about it. They were acting in an arrogant or selfish way. Instead they should be humbling themselves before God, “and He will lift you up”. So again we see a combination of seriousness and mercy. It is imperative that we take sin seriously, but if we do we will receive much mercy from God.

4:11

People were slandering each other. In this social media day there is also a lot of slandering going on, a lot of taking against people. If we do this then we are putting ourself above the Law, we making ourself the judge. So instead of keeping the Law we are “sitting in judgement on it”. We are putting ourself in the position of judge. We should be those who keep judge, not those who are judges.

Ezekiel 26:7-21 - How you are destroyed, city of renown

26:7-14

Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned, though it actually says “Nebuchadrezzar”. He would besiege the place for thirteen to fifteen years. The description is one of complete destruction. Tyre was a proud nation, feeling secure because of her great wealth. She put her trust in this wealth, but wealth is never a source of true security, it only gives the illusion of security, or rather the delusion of security. God is the only one who gives real security.

26:15

Tyre felt so secure, but the coastlands would groan when slaughter took place within her. Societies can collapse very quickly, and somewhere that once looked so strong can quickly become nothing at all. The coastal cities would start to feel insecure as well because of what had happened to Tyre, realising that they were not as safe as they thought they might be. They would then sing a lament over Tyre, essentially saying “how the mighty are fallen”.

26:19-21

The city would be devastated, and the ocean depths would cover her, the ocean which had once been so vital for her prosperity. They would be brought down to the pit, the place of the dead. People would try and return “to the good old days”, but they would not succeed.

James 4:7,8 - Resist the devil, and he will flee!

4:7

We are to submit ourselves to God. This is the fundamental sin, we refused to submit to God. We said that we can manage without Him, and that we will decide for ourselves what is right and wrong. When we do this we are actually following the devil, submitting to him even. Instead we are to “resist the devil”. The devil does most of his work in mundane ways. “and he will flee”. The devil is to be taken seriously, but not in fear. If we submit to God and resist the devil, it is the devil who will flee. 

4:8

We are to resist the devil and to come near to God. So many people seem to want to resist God and come near to the devil! This is a foolish way to live. If we come near to God He will come near to us. How do we do this? We wash our hands and purify our hearts. I.e. we repent of our sins and turn to God’s ways. This is the fundamental question everyone needs to ask themselves, are we turning to God’s ways, or are we continuing to follow the devil’s ways. “You double minded”. James has his very direct way of speaking!

Ezekiel 26:1-6 - Against Tyre

26:1-6

The previous four nations had received a paragraph or so of judgement, Tyre gets three chapters worth! There are some who have suggested that Tyre represents Babylon, but that doesn’t make any sense of the text, so we will reject that notion. The argument for this silly suggestion is that Ezekiel didn’t want to name Babylon directly. As with other nations, Tyre is castigated for delighting in Jerusalems’ difficulties. Tyre was a great trading nation. Tyre itself was a rocky island off the coast of Lebanon. Judah was seen as a competitor, so the loss of a competitor was seen as good news, an opportunity to prosper even more. So God warns her that He will bring many nations against her. “Make her a bare rock”. Tyre was a rocky island, and that is where she gets her name from. “And her settlements” (NIV), this is an interpretation of the more literal translation “and her daughters on the mainland.” (ESV).

James 4:5,6 - God opposes the proud

4:5

The Old Testament is clear that “God is a jealous God” (Ex 20:5), and this is not just an Old Testament concept. God is our creator, He is our source of life, He is our saviour. He has every right to be jealous, to demand that we worship only Him. Moreover, it would be utterly stupid of us to worship anyone or anything else. Going along with the world makes no sense, as it leads only to trouble and destruction. “The spirit He has caused to dwell in us”. This could be taken in two ways. On the one hand it could refer to our status as beings created in the image of God. We are unique among all of creation in this sense. Or it could refer to the Holy Spirit. Either way we are completely dependent upon the Lord and should live in the light of this.

4:6

“But He gives us more grace”. God would have been quite within His rights to have obliterated us many years ago. He did not do this because of His grace. Now that some in the churches that James was writing to were going off the rails, they still had time to repent. “God opposes the proud, but shows favour to the humble”. The world, and our human natures, encourage us to be proud and not humble. But we need to humble ourselves before God. If we do so He is merciful towards us.

Ezekiel 25:12-17 - Against Edom and Philistia

25:12-14

Now it is Edom’s turn. Edom is the nation that came out of Esau, Jacob’s twin. We can read about the story between the two of them in Genesis 25 and following. They had sided with Babylon against Jerusalem, and there is some evidence that they occupied part of southern Judah during the exile. Ezek 25:12 describes them taking revenge against Judah, and so becoming guilty. So the Lord would act against them, “both man and beast”. They would fall by the sword, and the land would be wasted. And it would be Israel who would act against Edom.  So the people of Edom would know the Lord’s vengeance.

25:15-17

The Philistines had been turfed out of the Promised Land, with David claiming final victory over them. Like the Edomites, they “acted in vengeance”, and “with malice in their hearts” against Judah, seeking to destroy Judah. So God promises to destroy the people. Then they would know that the Lord is God.

James 4:3,4 - You adulterous people!

4:3

Among our many failings in prayer, we will look at two of them . One is not expecting God to do anything, seeing it as merely a pious religious exercise. This is a deeply unbiblical view. The consistent teaching of the Bible is that God answers prayer. The second is that because God answers prayer we think this means we should got whatever we ask for. This also belies a deep misunderstanding, and is one that James deals with here. We have not because we ask from wrong motives, our motives being self-seeking rather than God-seeking. The promises about prayer are for when we are walking in step with the Spirit.

4:4

“You adulterous people”. Remember that James is addressing believers. Perhaps we should use this as an introduction the next time we are preaching. Friendship with the world means enmity towards God. And the church so often fails at this point. If we choose to become a friend with the world we are choosing to become an enemy of God. This is not a wise move!

Ezekiel 25:1-11 - Against Ammon and Moab

25:1-7

Following twenty four chapters of what was effectively a diatribe against Judah, we now get a number oracles against other nations. This pattern is followed in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos. Judgement begins with the house of God, but does not remain there. The first nation to merit mention is Ammon. Ammon had been an enemy of Israel on several occasions (Judges 10,11; 1 Sam 11; 2 Sam 10). They had taken advantage of the northern kingdom’s defeat, and also of Judah’s problems with Babylon. Jer 40:14 indicates that they stirred up trouble in what was left of Judah. In short, they delighted in Judah’s discomfort, seeing it as an opportunity. So God would hand them over to the “people of the East”. The nation would be destroyed. Gloating over the fall of others, especially God’s people, is rarely a sensible thing to do.

25:8-11

Next up is Moab. Moab rejoiced that Judah had become like the other nations. Now Judah had indeed sought to become like the world, but she still belonged to God. Likewise, the world may rejoice when parts of the church decide that becoming like the world is the way to go. They should not. For Israel belongs to God, and the church belongs to Christ. God will take steps to bring back His possession. Moab, like Ammon, would be punished.

James 4:1,2 - What causes fights and quarrels?

4:1

James now gets to the root of the problem. Fights and quarrels happen, but why is this the case? Why cannot we “just get along” is a question we often ask, about personal situations, about national and international situations. They arise from the desires that battle within us. There is a conflict within, on the one hand the recognition of what is good and even a desire to do good. On the other hand selfish desires, self-centred desires.

4:2

We desire to have something that we do not have, and do not seem able to get. “So you kill”. James is probably using this as an extreme manner, remembering Jesus’ words that if we hate our brother we are like murderers. We want something that we cannot have, so we quarrel and fight, we kick up a fuss. We try to get things for ourselves, what we should do is ask God.

Ezekiel 24:19-27 - Your mouth will be opened

24:19-24

The people are frustrated, demanding that Ezekiel tells them what he is up to. So Ezekiel gives them the word of the Lord straight. God will shortly desecrate His sanctuary, the temple in Jerusalem. The people claimed to love the temple, yet, like Ezekiel, they would not mourn for the place. It is not clear why they would not mourn. One would like to think it was because they realised that the place had been desecrated by the sins of the people, but given their track-record, this seems somewhat unlikely.

24:25-27

The chapter closes with God speaking to Ezekiel. First He tells Ezekiel that on the day that Jerusalem collapses a fugitive from the city will come and tell him the news. Remember that much earlier in Ezekiel, God had strictly limited what he could speak, essentially only the words God gave him. On that day his mouth would be freed. The judgement had to come, deeply unpleasant and horrific as it was. In the same way Jesus had to die on the cross in order to open up the way to salvation. And it is only when we face up to the reality of our own sin that we can begin to find true freedom.

James 3:17,18 - Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness

3:17

Wisdom that is from heaven is very different from worldly wisdom. This is one reason why we should be very suspicious of worldly wisdom and trying to follow it. Wisdom from heaven is pure, worldly wisdom rarely is. Heavenly wisdom is untainted by envy and selfish ambition. Moreover, it is peace-loving, worldly wisdom will often stir up divisions and decensions. Rarely will it be submissive, but will seek to dominate. On this latter point see how LGBTQ activists seek to dominate the agenda, and BLM does the same. Heavenly wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit, it is impartial and sincere.

3:18

James places a great emphasis on peacemaking, and Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers”. Stuff that comes from the world seeks its own ends and advantage. Stuff from God seeks to glorify Christ and promotes love of neighbour.

Ezekiel 24:15-18 - Groan quietly

24:15-17

Hosea is a prophet who had a terrible experience with his wife. She became a prostitute. God did this in order for him to understand the true nature of the situation. Ezekiel also had to go through a terrible experience, the loss of his wife. God tells him that his wife is about to die suddenly. Moreover, God says “I am about to to take away ...” this is not a random occurrence, it is the act of God. Often we will try to make out that these things are not God’s will or action, we will try and excuse God. The Bible does not do this. Ezekiel is not to make a show of mourning the loss of his wife, he is only allowed to “groan quietly”. 

24:18

Ezekiel speaks to the people, and in the evening his wife dies. The people seem to realise that there is a prophetic message here. They would do this because of Ezekiel’s record, and the fact that he was not mourning his wife’s death. V15 makes it clear that he delighted in his wife. Ezekiel then explains the message. God is going to desecrate the temple and the city. This was the place that the people took delight in, but, like Ezekiel, they would not mourn over its loss. Instead they will waste away because of their sins. Ezekiel was a sign to them. The thought of this would be unbelievable to them, for the city and temple were so precious to them. Yet it would happen, then they would realise that God was the Sovereign Lord.

James 3:13-16 - Who is wise and understanding among you?

3:13

We think that wisdom is expressed by clever words. This is not so, not even by words that seem or are wise words. Wisdom is expressed by our lives. In Matt 11:19 Jesus said that wisdom is proved right by her deeds. And these are deeds done in humility. Moreover, wisdom springs from humility. For a key element of wisdom is recognising our true state, our limitations, our complete dependence upon the Lord, and our need for His mercy. Worldly wisdom so often involves us boasting about ourselves.

3:14-16

In these verse we get the opposite of godly wisdom. “Bitter envy” and “selfish ambition” lead to worldly wisdom. Now there are times when we will find these things in our own hearts. Instead of boasting about it, instead of living out of it, we need to recognise them for what they are and seek to resist them. For this “wisdom” is demonic. It is earthly, unspiritual and demonic. We might think that is a bit strong, but it isn’t. Most demonic stuff is terribly mundane, rather than spinnin heads and green gunge demonic! Envy and selfish ambition lead to disorder and evil practice, and we have all witnessed that. 

Ezekiel 24:6-14 - Woe to the city of bloodshed

24:6-8

“The pot now encrusted”. Food gets encrusted on the sides of pots, and if it is washed away and cleaned properly that’s ok, but with Jerusalem the city had become so encrusted with evil that it could not be cleaned. Taking the meat out piece by piece probably refers to the people going into exile. There would be no favouritism, whichever a person came they would be deported. “The blood she shed is in her midst”. The sin and the child sacrifice was so ingrained within her. God’s wrath will be poured out on her in the open.

24:9-14

The people had piled wood high when they made their pyres for the children to be sacrificed on. Now the Lord would pile the wood high, and the fire in the city would be kindled. This would be a very thorough job. Once empty, the pot would be put on the fire, so it would glow with the heat. Even so, the impurities would not be removed. God had given the people many chances. If it was possible for a man to change his ways, to save himself, then it would have happened. But man cannot save himself. The impurities were lewdness. Only the wrath of God could get rid of the deposit.  Verse 14 sums up the whole situation, the situation that the people were so loath to face up to, that all of us are so reluctant to face up to. We are guilty and there is nothing we can do about it.

James 3:7-12 - No human being can tame the tongue

3:7-9

James continues his description of the problem of the tongue. While we have managed to tame many types of animals and other creatures, we have not been able to tame the tongue! At one moment it can be praising the Lord, and then at the next cursing people. And these people are people made in the image of God. James highlights this latter fact to emphasise the importance of all people, and how terrible it is when we abuse them, whether verbally or physically

3:10-12

So blessing and cursing come from the same mouth (and I guess we all know that this is true!). But it should not be that way. That is not the way God created us, it is because of sin that things are the way they are. This is true of so many things. They can be good and can be evil. Indeed, in nature most things are one thing or the other. It is we human who demonstrate the double nature in so many ways. And it is sin that is the cause of this. We were created good, but sin has corrupted us.

Ezekiel 24:1-5 - Put on the cooking pot

24:1,2

We now come to the culmination of the words given from about chapter 12 onwards. These have all been addressing the belief of the people of Israel, in particular those in exile, that God would not allow His city, Jerusalem, and especially His temple to be overrun by the heathen hordes of Babylon. Ezekiel has been explaining that God will certainly do this, and is utterly determined to do this, that it is entirely just for Him to do this, and that the problem lies with the people of Jerusalem, namely their utter sinfulness. This verse gives a clear date, normally taken to be 588 BC. It is the date that Jerusalem fell.There are those who cannot see how Ezekiel in Babylon could possibly know this, but such people do not seem to think that God is capable of communicating with people!

24:3-5

Ezekiel is commanded to give another of his dramatic presentations. He is to put on a cooking pot and put pieces of meat into the pot, along with the water. This is to be the best meat and bones. Careful preparations are to be made. What God is saying is that the fall of Jerusalem was an event carefully planned by Him. It was not an accident, not something that took God by surprise. It was an event orchestrated by the Lord.

James 3:3-6 - The tongue is like a fire

3:3,4

James then uses a number of comparisons to illustrate how a small item can exert an enormous influence, and likens the tongue to these. A horse can be controlled by a bit in its mouth. So if God gains control of our tongues, then our whole lives will be in step with the Spirit. A ship’s course is controlled by the rudder, an entity that is much smaller than the ship itself, yet determines the course it will take through the water. These are both positive illustrations showing how if the key element is behaving properly, the whole person will go in the right direction.

3:5,6

The next illustration is a negative one. A single spark can set a whole forest ablaze. Similarly the tongue can cause an enormous amount of trouble. This is something we have all observed, and experienced ourselves. A wrong or hasty word can cause tremendous upset. James closes this wee section by stating the importance of the tongue, and how it is so often a cause of evil. So the tongue is a most vital part of our body, having an undue influence on our lives.

Ezekiel 23:40-49 - Then you will know that I am the Lord

23:40,41

The messengers were the envoys that were sent to other countries, seeking to enlist their help in resisting the invaders, or buying off the threats. They sought to make themselves attractive to these nations, showing no concern to whether or not they looked “attractive” to God! As churches we need to be very careful that in seeking to win the world we do not “prostitute” ourselves.

23:41-45

There was a party atmosphere. The nations flattered the nations of Samaria and Judah. “They slept with her”. This is referring to the nations taking what they wanted from Samaria and Jerusalem. The two sisters may have thought they were attractive, that they were winning the favours of these nations. They could not have been more wrong, and this is all part of the tragedy of the situation.

23:46-49

“You will suffer the penalty ... then you will know I am the Sovereign Lord”. This is what it is all about. Judah and Israel’s idolatry would get then nowhere good. “That all women may take warning”. “Women” here is used because of the nature of the allegorical tale, it should not be taken in a sexist way! The church would do well to learn these lessons whenever we are tempted to go along with the world.

James 3:1,2 - Not many of you should become teachers

3:1

It was noted earlier that speech is considered very important (James 1:26), as it is in Proverbs, and we now get a longer exposition on this topic. The first warning is that “not many of you should become teachers”. Now teaching is part of the five-fold ministry in Ephesians and is clearly very important. Indeed, elders should be able to teach. However, if we teach, then we do so as servants. There can be a desire to teach to show how clever we are. Such an attitude is not Christlike! Moreover, if we teach then we teach in order to influence the lives of others. Done rightly this is very important and very rewarding, but it is dangerous! If we teach rubbish then we will be judged most strictly. Those who feel free to go beyond and even against Scripture should take these words on board.

3:2

“We all stumble in many ways”. With a book like James we might at times think we might as well give up, for we all know our weaknesses. James was also fully aware of this, and we need to be careful how we read his words. We need to give them full weight, but ensure that we apply the correct weight. If we were never at fault in speech then we would have full control over all aspects of our lives. None of us are never at fault in speech and this has two consequences. The first is that we need to be humble and to have a realistic view of ourselves, not thinking too highly. The second is that we need to seek to gain better control of what we say.

Ezekiel 23:32-39 - You must bear the consequences of your lewdness

23:32-34

We now get a poetic section. The section does not add much in the way of factual content. I.e the nature and causes of the coming disaster remain the same. The difference is the way it is expressed, which never really comes over in the English translations. The whole point is to make Judah aware of what is coming, and to use a different means of communication, striking at the emotions as well as the mind. The general lesson for us, and this particularly applies to those of us of a reformed inclination, is that straightforward preaching is not the only means of communicating the word of God (though it must be one of them, and should be the primary one!).

23:35-39

The disaster that was coming was entirely a consequence of Judah’s unfaithfulness. Ezekiel is again invited to judge them, for they are worthy of judgement. They are to be confronted with their detestable practices. This is a repeat of Ezek 22:2. It makes explicit that child sacrifice was part of their practices. And on the same day they did this, they entered the house of the Lord, thus desecrating it.

James 2:25,26 - Faith without deeds is dead

2:25

There are parts of the Bible that shock us and we are quite sure how to handle. One such example is Rahab. She was a prostitute, but the Bible makes nothing of this, though it does condemn prostitution. In Joshua she is seen as a hero, Hebrews 11:31 cites her as an example of faith, and James here cites her as an example of living faith. Her actions demonstrated her faith.

2:26

This verse gives the conclusion of the matter, and it is one that Paul would have no trouble agreeing with. Faith without works is dead. The first part of the verse is also poignant. “The body without the spirit is dead”. We are not mere physical beings, but spiritual and physical, and the two work together and are united. Let me make a comment that might upset some of you! It is actually intended to make us think. The debate about evolution and creation sometimes centres around the existence of hominids prior to mankind. Evolutionists tend to place far too much emphasis on the physical aspect. Theistic evolutionists will often talk of God choosing two of the hominids and making his people out of them. I find this most unconvincing. On the other side, creationists, especially young earth creationists cannot see how our “descending” from previous species can possibly be consistent with God creating us as special creatures (which we undoubtedly are). However, another possibility is that we did have physical ancestors, but then God breathed life into two of them and they were the first humans. And the breathing of life into them had a far more profound effect than “God choosing” two of them seems to have in the theistic evolutionary tales. One might even claim this is consistent with Gen 2:7. Anyway, these just thoughts!

Ezekiel 23:22-31 - They will deal with you in hatred

23:22-27

The Lord now declares to Judah (Oholibah) what He will do. He will stir up her “lovers” (the nations she sought help from) against her. Many forces would come against Judah, and with many weapons. They would be punished. This was not an arbitrary action, but one that was due to their sin. However, the nations would punish Judah according to their standards. When we trust is something or someone other than the Lord at best the thing we trust in will let us down. At worst it will devour us, as happened to Judah. The purpose of all this was to put a stop to Judah’s idolatry, and to make her despise it.

23:28-31

Judah was going to suffer the same fate as Samaria. She may have considered herself better than Samaria, but in reality she was no better at all. She went down the same road as Samaria and suffered the same consequences. In the days of Jesus Israel still regarded the Samaritans with great suspicion and disdain. She had absolutely no cause to do so. When we turn away from God it will always ultimately end in disaster.

James 2:23,24 - Abraham believed God

2:23

James now quotes directly the verse, Gen 15:6, used by Paul to demonstrate that we are justified by faith, not works. James uses Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as the fulfillment of Gen 15:6. We should also note that Heb 11:19 says that Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. For in Gen 22:5 Abraham says that both he and Isaac would return. God counting us as righteous is not a mere legal fiction. The whole package includes us being forgiven, being counted righteous because of the blood of Jesus, and being sanctified through and through (1 Thess 5:23).

2:24

This verse does not mean we are saved by faith, but the notion that someone can be saved and there be no change is a concept which is totally alien to the Bible. The idea that “we are saved by faith alone” is completely Biblical. The idea that “we are saved by faith alone, and so it doesn’t matter what I do” is completely unbiblical. We were saved in order to become ever more Christlike, Rom 8:29.

Ezekiel 23:11-21 - She carried her prostitution still further

23:11-18

Judah had seen all that had happened to Samaria, yet she learned nothing. In fact, she was even more depraved, she too lusted after the Assyrians. She was impressed by the rulers and warriors of Assyria. Then she saw pictures on walls of the Babylonian (Chaldean) officers. Judah toyed with the Babylonians, seeking to make peace. This is expressed in terms of a prostitute being used for sexual pleasure by the Babylonians. The Lord turned away from her in disgust. Why is God using such an analogy here? The reason is that faith is the language by which we communicate with God, what we put our trust in is the most intimate thing that we can do. Instead of trusting in the God who could save her, Judah trusted in the Babylonians who would rape her.

23:19-21

We then come to the most lurid part of this lurid chapter. Speaking of donkey’s genitals and the emission from horses! This is speaking of the time when Judah broke off from Babylon and went to Egypt for salvation. This was the place where in her youth the nation of Israel had worshipped the idols of Egypt. She had never broken free from this. Judah needed a new heart, she needed to be born again. Israel still needs to be born again.

James 2:21,22 - His faith and his actions were working together

2:21

Was Abraham not “justified” by works? Now this is the statement that makes some say James and Paul have different views on justification. We have seen so far in working through this letter that James and Paul, and the whole Bible for that matter, are in agreement. Saying that this contradicts Paul is a rather silly approach to reading the text. See what the next verse says. Faith and works go together. This is something that Paul, and every other writer in the Bible, fully agrees with. Paul was often addressing the question of being saved by works, in particular circumcision. And the “works” that Paul was arguing against were largely ritual works. James is countering the argument that since we are saved by faith works (meaning here “good works”, such as helping the poor) don’t matter. So James and Paul are addressing different issues, and they are using “works” in a different manner. Abraham’s faith demonstrated itself in his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. His trust in God was complete, and this led to action.

2:22

“Faith was active along with works, and faith was completed by works”. So just in case anyone was thinking that James did not hold to justification by faith he now makes it clear that he knows full well that faith and works go together. The next verse will state even more explicitly that we are justified by faith. So anyone who takes 2:21 in isolation is a complete numpty, and any theological conclusions they may draw are utterly worthless. Faith and works are inseparable, and that it is the consistent teaching of Paul and of James.

“Faith was completed by works”. We could take this to mean that works shows that faith was complete, was valid. However, it is also the case that they work together. When we obey God out of faith, it also strengthens our faith. Faith and good works are not opposed to each other in the gospel, but work together in a virtuous circle.

Ezekiel 23:1-10 - They became prostitutes in Egypt

23:1-4

We now come to a chapter that isn’t often read out in church. If it was, some might have a fit! I did once preach on 23:20 as part of a sermon. I did seek permission beforehand! This is an allegory, and it is made clear that it is so, with its actual meaning made fairly obvious. So why do we have such lurid language and descriptions? It is because of the utter disgust with which sin should be regarded. The two sisters are Samaria, the Northern kingdom, and Jerusalem, the capital of Judah the southern kingdom. Both “became prostitutes in Egypt”. I wonder if this means that the roots of their prostitution goes right back to the time of captivity in Egypt. That is where they learnt to worship idols. The two sisters belonged to God and should have been devoted to Him.

23:5-10

Oholah, the elder sister, was the first to engage in prostitution. Assyria is mentioned as one of the “lovers” that she lusted after. Wall paintings have been found that match the descriptions given here. Samaria had sought accommodation with Assyria when Assyria was the dominant nation in the region, but the roots of her prostitution went back to Egypt. Samaria was seeking safety, but instead was handed over to the Assyrians. Again we have the fact that Samaria thought Assyria was her greatest threat, when in reality it was God who was the real threat to her, and the solution to that was to repent. So Samria was destroyed and the people spread among many nations.

James 2:19,20 - Faith without deeds is useless

2:19

James now goes on to say “faith” that is mere intellectual assent is meaningless. “I believe there is one God”. James reminds us that the demons also believe that, In fact the demons know that in a truer sense than the nominal believer does! For the demons shudder in fear at the fact of there being one God.

2:20

“You foolish person!” James considers the notion of faith without deeds as complete nonsense, which indeed it is, and which the whole Bible (Paul included!) considers complete nonsense. So now he will go on to show that Abraham is a prime example demonstrating that faith without deeds is useless. Some will see this as a contradiction between Paul, who used Abraham as his prime example of being justified by faith, and James. It is far more sensible to see it as complementary. This could be taken as evidence of a later date for James, as the objector might have been aware of Paul’s heavy use of Abraham. However, this is pure speculation on my part!

Ezekiel 22:27-31 - So I will pour out my wrath on them

22:27-29

The officials are like wolves, devouring the people, instead of serving them. Her prophets “whitewash these deeds”. Maybe Jesus had these (and similar) words of Ezekiel in mind when he castigated the teachers of the Law for being like whitewashed tombs (Matt 23:27). Again, there are far too many preachers today who do the same. Preachers, teachers and prophets are meant to speak the word of God, not the word of man. They claim to be speaking God’s truth when they are not. So far it is the leaders of various sorts who have been the target, but now we come to the “people of the land”. They were no better, doing the very same things that the leaders were doing.

22:30,31

“I looked for someone among them ...” This is reminiscent of Is 63:5. There was no one to build the wall, no one to stand in the gap, to speak and pray on behalf of the people. The nation was so corrupt. No one righteous could be found. Abraham prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah asking God if He would still destroy the place if there were ten righteous men. God could not find even one in Jerusalem. Therefore His wrath would be poured out upon the city, they would receive the consequences of their disobedience.

James 2:17,18 - Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead

2:17

So faith without actions is dead. The gospel calls us to put faith in Christ, that He died for our sins and rose again for to give us new life. The dying for our sins recognises that there was something seriously wrong with us, that we were guilty (literally guilty as sin). Anyone with an ounce of common sense cannot possibly want to stay in that condition. He paid the price of our sins and rose again so that we could have eternal life and could receive the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit works within us to make us ever more Christlike.

2:18

James then imagines an objector saying “You have faith, I have deeds”. Paul adopted a similar method in Romans. James has shown that faith without deeds is a nonsense, here he shows that deeds without faith is also a nonsense! This is entirely consistent with Paul! Faith and deeds go together, they are in separable as far as the Bible is concerned.

Ezekiel 22:17-26 - The people of Israel have become dross to me

22:17-22

We now come to the second oracle in this triplet, introduced by the words “the word of the Lord came to me”. God tells Ezekiel that the people of Israel had become dross to Him. They were utterly worthless. Jerusalem, far from being a place of safety, would become a furnace for them. They had received, and ignored, the words of various prophets, especially Jeremiah. The words of Jeremiah would be fulfilled and they would that it was indeed the Lord who was pouring out His wrath upon them.

22:23-26

We now come to the final oracle in this chapter. This is addressed to the land. The land suffers, it is a land that has not been cleansed or rained upon “in the day of wrath”. We live in a day where there is much concern for the environment. The Bible has a solution for the well being of the land, but it is not one that would find much favour today. The Biblical solution is for a people to obey the Lord. When we disobey the environment is adversely affected. Rom 8:19-21 tells of the creation waiting for the “children of God to be revealed”. The cause of the affliction on the land in Ezekiel’s day was, amongst other things, her priests doing violence. We may not associate priests with doing violence (though scandals in the Roman Catholic church are a counterexample to this), but in Jesus’ day the priests did violence. They also taught that there is no difference between clean and unclean, and God’s name was profaned. Sadly there are many “Christian” ministers today of whom the same could be said.

James 2:14-16 - Can such faith save them?

2:14

We now come to the well known passage on faith and actions, or faith and deeds. Sometimes this is presented as James having a different view to Paul on faith. Such ideas are utter nonsense. Nowhere in the Bible is the idea of faith without deeds entertained as having any relevance at all. Paul knows nothing of faith without actions, and he himself is a prime example. In this verse James is simply saying that faith that produces no actions is a pretty useless sort of faith! We are not saved by actions, but God’s salvation most certainly produces actions. People sometimes think that salvation is all about forgiveness. It isn’t! Forgiveness is essential, but it is only part of the package. The whole package involves us being born again, becoming a new creation, becoming like Christ.

2:15,16

James then gives very practical examples. The Jews were an extremely practical people with a practical religion. Christianity is more down to earth than any other religion. If someone starts spouting stuff that is clearly a load of esoteric nonsense then we can be pretty sure that it is not from God. So James cites the example of brother or sister without clothes or without food. Simply uttering nice sounding words actually does nothing if there is no action to go along with it. 

Ezekiel 22:10-16 - You extort unjust gain

22:10-12

But it was not just the rulers, not just the powerful. All sections of society were united in their rebellion. They violated their father’s bed. The things listed here broke the Law, and were all related to not treating marriage as holy. It is all too obvious how far along this destructive road our own society has gone. All sorts of sexual immorality were occuring. Sexual immorality is very destructive, harming many people’s lives. There was a whole variety of ways in which the poor were exploited and all sorts of other dishonesty and evil. All of this was a result of forgetting the Lord.

22:13-16

In all the condemnation of Judah we see various things mentioned. There is idol worship, bloodshed, exploitation of the poor, failure to protect the oppressed, sexual sins of various sorts, unjust gain. If we focus on one type of sin at the expense of others we are probably ignoring part of God’s word. Those who sinned may well have spoken with bravado, but on the day that God’s judgement comes their courage will melt away. They would be dispersed among the nations, and then they would be defiled in the eyes of the nations. Eventually they would come to realise that the Lord is God.

James 2:12,13 - Mercy triumphs over judgement

2:12

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom”. This is a wonderfully rich instruction. On the one hand we are to act knowing that we will be judged, that we will have to give an account to the Lord. This should have a sobering effect on how we live, and how we treat and judge others. On the other hand it is a law that gives freedom. The Law could only highlight our failings and sins. The law of the gospel can set us free, and set others free. So when we see someone else who is a believer, then we know that they are on exactly the same level as us, set free by the grace of God through Christ. This applies whether they are rich or poor. If we see someone who is not a believer, then even when we become aware of their sins, they can be forgiven and set free through faith in Christ.

2:13

Another wonderfully rich verse. So often our platitudes of the gospel will focus on either mercy or judgement, and platitudes without power is all that they are. In the Bible judgement and mercy are intertwined, and in a wonderful way. “Judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful”. This ties in very closely with the teaching of Jesus. There are the words from the Lord’s Prayer saying “forgive us our sins as we forgive others”, and the parable of the unmerciful servant. This is not a matter of earning forgiveness, but of being merciful as our Father in Heaven is merciful. The first part of this verse seems very severe, and we should indeed live in fear (in the right sense), but then we get “Mercy triumphs over judgement”. If we are merciful as He is merciful then we will see the kingdom advance. There is indeed judgement, our present age is in rebellion against God and heading down a destructive road. We do not pretend the judgement does not exist, instead we look to see mercy triumph over judgment.

Ezekiel 22:3-9 - You have become guilty

22:3-5

All the promised doom that was coming Jerusalem’s way was brought upon her by her own actions. Shedding blood and making idols are singled out. Indeed, the two can be closely linked, for much idol worship involved child sacrifice. “You have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made” (NIV). The shedding of blood were the actions that made her guilty, that she would be charged with (and found guilty). Worshipping idols defiled her, made her corrupt. It led to her committing heinous acts. So Jerusalem would become an object of scorn, and a laughing stock. Much of the church is in the same position! We never do ourselves, nor anyone else, any favours when we abandon the Lord’s ways. It is only when we walk in step with the Spirit that we will be exalted (we may well also have to endure much suffering). So Jerusalem was heading for mockery because of her disobedience.

22:6-9

The “princes”, the rulers of Judah, were meant to use their power to serve the people, to lead the nation in God’s ways. Instead they used their power to shed blood. They have treated “father and mother with contempt”. The same charge could be made against our own governments, with their diminution of the family. They had oppressed foreigners and ill-treated the widows and fatherless. Rulers are meant to look after the poor and oppressed. They had also despised God’s “holy things”. This probably refers to the sending of temple stuff to other nations in their diplomatic efforts. And they had “desecrated mt Sabbaths”. The Sabbath was a sign that the nation was dependent upon God, and was depending upon Him. A nation that denies God is heading for trouble.