The Gospel According to Ezekiel, Chapter 13 (Part 1 of 2)

The Essentialness of Knowing God

Last week, we initiated a concept from chapter 13: the same theme continues surrounding the principles and ideas of these false prophets that God is specifically condemning. In his condemnation, we see over and over the significance of the statement, "You will know that I am the Lord your God." Chapter 13 is one of the few chapters in Ezekiel that contains this statement the most times—four to five times.

As God expresses repeatedly that you will know he is the Lord God, there is a meaningful quality of life directly tied to the degree a person knows or acknowledges God. There is an essentialness to knowing God. The life we live as Christians, as individuals, either has the presence of a quality of life or the absence of it. What determines the presence of that quality of life is the degree to which we acknowledge that God is the Lord of our lives.

This requires so much of us: bowing the knee to God in obedience to the great and sovereign I AM, acknowledging him as the sovereign, supreme, self-existing being over each of our lives. Therefore, his desires for us, his will for us, become our greatest desire. When you want what God wants, you get what you want every single time without exception. That's the reality of delighting yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. The more you enjoy your relationship with God, the more he conforms your heart's desires to his will. He is a God who never says no when that happens.

Listening to the Right Sources

Tonight, keeping in mind these concepts—that a meaningful quality of life is directly tied to acknowledging God and the essentialness of knowing God—we must also listen to the right sources to derive that quality of life. This is a prevalent problem not just in Ezekiel's day but today, especially with computers and televisions importing sources live-streamed right to your couch.

In examining prophets who are lying to the people of Israel, there is an incredible need for discernment among God's people. There is an incredible need to listen to the right source. Chapter 13 presents much that will help determine what the right source is.

Ezekiel 13:1-2
Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, 'Listen to the word of the Lord!'"

To reference our commentary on Ezekiel 12 and 13:

2 Peter 1:20-21
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The term "moved" means men carried away by God, pushed by God into the moment of interpretation to speak from God. It is the absolute captivatingness of God, where he completely takes control out of any human capacity of will or desire to cause them to speak. Remember, Ezekiel's mouth is shut unless God speaks; his tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth unless God speaks.

No prophecy of Scripture, nothing as a source of revelation or counsel worth listening to for your quality of life, originates from a person. It's not "I feel this is right." That's how you spot a mystic: "I feel this is good; this is what I feel is supposed to happen."

This "search your feelings" theology permeates our culture today, like in Star Wars: "Search your feelings, and you will know it to be true." We hear it in ideas like "God's gonna love me for who I am" or "come just as you are"—without being changed into Jesus Christ. "God understands my situation and will conform to my will." These problems exist in every age.

This is the heart of Sola Scriptura, a Protestant Reformation doctrine: the Bible alone is our sole infallible rule of faith and practice. Not ignoring everything outside the Bible, but the Bible is its own best interpreter. God tells you what he means, what he says, what he expects. Nothing in Scripture came from human will, interpretation, or inspiration from their own heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks—and that's the origin of all sorts of evil. You're never ill-equipped to do evil; you possess that capacity inside your heart. Nothing from there can be the source for the highest quality of life.

God brings judgment against those who counsel God's people from inside themselves—lies that originate from the person, while truth originates from God.

Colossians 2:18
Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize... delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.

You are missing out on what you could experience by deriving your prize or quality of life from what is not God—not even secular religion. Your prize is the reality of Jesus Christ and the enjoyment of his salvation. Don't let someone be the umpire of your life, imposing man-made rules or twisting God's rules.

Woe to the Foolish Prophets

Ezekiel 13:3-5
Thus says the Lord God, "Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing! Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord."

Foxes among ruins dig holes, making a mess where walls should be built. Listening to sources that are not God is like living in a ruined city amongst foxes—your life in ruins. Instead of counsel from God to build walls and establish true functioning, you're vulnerable.

False prophets do the opposite of true prophets. True prophets say, "Build the walls; repair the breaches; build defenses against sin."

Ezekiel 13:6-7
They see falsehood and lying divination, who say, 'The Lord declares,' when the Lord has not sent, yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, 'The Lord declares,' but it is not I who have spoken?

One of the worst places is justifying yourself from things God never said, claiming it's from him—like saying "The Holy Spirit is okay with my divorce" or "God understands what I'm doing." People giving false prophecies today, like predicting dates that never happen, put themselves in danger.

Ezekiel 13:8-9
Therefore, thus says the Lord God, "Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, behold, I am against you," declares the Lord God. "So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord God."

The Whitewashed Wall

Ezekiel 13:10
It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace. When anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash.

God will bring flooding rain, hailstones, and violent wind to tear down the whitewashed wall—like Jesus' teaching on whitewashed tombs. The outside looks good, but it's not structurally sound. When reality hits, it's indefensible.

Ezekiel 13:15-16
Thus I will spend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, 'The wall is gone and its plasterers are gone,' along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace," declares the Lord God.

Against the Prophetesses

Ezekiel 13:17-19
Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their own inspiration. Prophesy against them and say, 'Thus says the Lord God, "Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to hunt lives! Will you hunt the lives of My people, but preserve the lives of others for yourselves? Likewise you have wronged My people for handfuls of barley and fragments of bread to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies."'"

Ezekiel 13:20-23
Therefore, thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you hunt lives there as birds and I will tear them off your arms; and I will let go the lives whom you hunt as birds. I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am the Lord. Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief, and you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way and preserve his life."

Therefore you women will no longer see false visions or practice divination, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.

Among these things—the whitewashed outsides and women spreading witchcraft—the idea is deception: saying there's peace when there is no peace, everything is fine when there's turmoil. It's like saying today, "Just a little sin is fine; don't worry." People in sin or with unconfessed sin need this deception to continue. It disheartens the righteous—God didn't cause that grief—and encourages the wicked not to turn, preserving their life in wickedness. False prophets want to keep you imprisoned, perhaps to justify their own sin or exploit God's people.

Legalism is whitewashed walls: outside looks good, inside in disarray.

Examining Sources of Counsel

The problem of false teachers is they give communications and counsel from unexpected sources: radio, music, shows, unsaved friends, psychology, secular counsel—all whitewashed. We are prone to listen to counsel; it's creaturely. The most popular sources never appear unreliable on the surface.

Examine the interior, not the whitewashed walls. Even examine a Wednesday night teacher or Sunday pastor: determine if it's a good source.

Recall Adam and Eve: they didn't stop listening to God's word; it was still in her mind. But she incorporated other advice: "Did God really say...?" Satan introduced doubt into the death God promised—not mere physical death, but judgment. "You won't die; your quality of life will improve; you'll be like God, knowing good and evil."

Satan came as a serpent but disguises as an angel of light. The counsel looked legit. Result: chaos. From walking freely in paradise with God—rulers in sinless dominion, enjoying God's presence—they fell, hiding in the paradise they once roamed.

Deliverance from False Sources

Notice verse 23 again:

therefore you women will no longer see false visions or practice divination and I will deliver my people out of your hand thus you will know that I am the Lord

With all the different sources of false teaching we've examined, recognize that multiple veins of false teaching will destroy us and bring our quality of life down. It is vital to hold one singular principle in mind to avoid this lower quality of life: trust God to do what He says here.

So much in our lives decreases our quality of life due to a lack of continual, ongoing trust in God. When grieving the loss of a loved one, enduring workplace difficulties, or facing disappointment because something or someone has let you down, the immediate response is often to turn to readily available sources—quick helps, self-help, three-step programs, ten-step programs, twelve-step programs—for pragmatic fixes that seem to work immediately but not permanently.

It might be easy to turn to alcohol to drown out grief, to sexual sin or temptation, to anger as a quick but unrighteous means of dealing with issues, or to deception and lies to escape problems. That's the counsel of the world. Though we don't have prophets living among us like Ezekiel, we do have his prophecies in our Bibles. That's the key: to recognize false teaching, compare it against what God has already said.

The greatest source for the highest quality of life is what God has already said. We've seen this throughout Israel's history. Jeremiah cried out for over 40 years, but what God had said was not heeded. The prince judged by God listened to wrong sources. God's people faced problems because they listened to wrong sources. God is the number one source for true, credible quality of life.

It takes work, time, diligence, and consistency. God never intended His word to be come-and-go as you please, but the very bread you live on daily—not physical bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Trust God that what He has said, He will do: He will deliver you from these sources. Consistently go to the word of God and feed on it. Don't just read it—take bites, chew on it, digest it, swallow it. Learn from it, read to understand, and apply it. That consistent lifestyle produces the greatest quality of life.