Ezekiel Part 6

We're gonna pray and then we're gonna get into our text again Lord Jesus as we open your word.

We ask through your Holy Spirit to help us to rightly understand what you were revealed revealed there so that we may believe

Correctly in sound doctrine and also through the power of the Holy Spirit Bear fruit in keeping with

repentance in our life with love towards others.

We ask in Jesus name.

Amen.

All right.

We've been working our way through the book of Ezekiel last week.

I did a little bit of an excursus that began the previous week where we looked at the curses clauses

of the Mosaic Covenant in the book of Deuteronomy and all of that was to basically

note that God here in Ezekiel 5 in him threatening of Punishments and judgment

against Jerusalem is in fact invoking the same curses clauses from Deuteronomy that

you know that were written just specifically for that purpose and We also noted then when you

put the curses clauses back into the historical context and the fact that

Israel had lost its own ability to be its own nation yet again just before

really the the the incarnation of Christ that invoked one of the the

clauses of the Mosaic Covenant's curses Related to the the nation from far

away like an eagle who would swoop down a nation who would not Spare young or old and things like this so

when the New Testament opens a proper understanding is that the

the Israel had yet again Sinned against God and God had then put them under the

control of a different nation to punish them for their idolatry but in this particular case, it wasn't

the idolatry of Worship of me of Molech or of all

or a Shira instead.

It was the idolatry of the counterfeit Chameleon like religion

of the Pharisees, which is not Biblical Judaism and so it follows that

pattern that we see not only in Deuteronomy In 28 with the invoking of the curse

clauses of the Mosaic Covenant.

It also follows the same pattern of the book of Judges that they sinned God sold them into

slavery to a different nation and then God sends a Savior so you'll note that that pattern then is in play

with the birth of Christ because Christ is The Savior the one who God sends

to redeem Israel in this particular case though Genetic Israel only a remnant are going to

believe in Christ as the Messiah and then the rest have their hearts hardened for their unbelief

and then God eventually executes the final curse clauses of the Mosaic Covenant and Scrapes

them out of the land of Israel.

Legitimately just brings them completely out altogether, which is exactly what he threatened to do.

I think I should probably look at those last bits of the curse clauses of Deuteronomy

just so that we're we're 100 clear as to what our context here is.

As we're getting to this portion of Ezekiel 5.

So again, Deuteronomy 28 36 Yahweh will bring it you and your

king whom you set over you To a nation that neither, you know, your fathers have known this is taking place

at the time of Ezekiel.

This is the the Babylonian captivity and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.

And you should become a whore a proverb a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away.

You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little the locusts shall consume it.

You shall plant vineyards and dress them.

But you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes for the worm shall eat them.

You shall have all of trees throughout all your territory.

But you shall not anoint yourself with the oil for your olive shall drop off.

You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours for they shall go into captivity.

The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground.

The sojourner who is among you Shall rise higher and higher above you and you shall come down lower and lower.

He shall lend to you and you shall not lend to him.

He shall be the head and you shall be the tail.

All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and Overtake you until you are destroyed

because you did not obey the voice of Yahweh your God To keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.

They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring.

Forever a little bit of a note here when you look at the cross references to first Corinthians

14.

Where.

The gift of tongues is most explained in all of Scripture.

There's no other passage of Scripture then at first Corinthians 14 that explains tongues in its proper use.

We learned from the cross References there that Paul is invoking that in the book of Isaiah the gift of

tongues was one of these signs also, that was a sign and wonder against unbelieving Israel and

This is why it says in first Corinthians 14 that tongues are not a sign for believers but

for unbelievers and Specifically unbelieving Jews the whole purpose of tongues was

basically through the Prophet Isaiah God had said to unbelieving stiff -necked Israel that that

that he was going to have the gospel spoken to them by people of Strange tongues and even then they would

not believe and so that was the actual purpose of tongues.

It was a negative sign against unbelieving Jews that of that God was going to

basically judge them for their unbelief and So, you know that if that's the purpose of tongues and it is

it was never really intended to be a gift for the edifying Of the church instead of sign against unbelievers

that you can see why the Apostle Paul says that if you somebody speaks in a tongue in Church,

they're one or at the most, you know.

Two or three at the most and they're one at a time and somebody has to interpret.

Otherwise, there's no point of tongue speaking because nobody's being edified and its primary purpose to begin with was the

purpose of God.

Having it as a sign of judgment because of all the nations and all the peoples and races on planet Earth.

Back in the ancient world The Jews were the only ones who would have rightly understood where

languages came from in the first place.

And I do know this is kind of a fascinating thing and that is is that?

Scientists today who believe in evolutionary theory.

They're at a loss to explain why we have language at all or how it came

to be that we have.

Literally in human history all of these different languages basically coming coming into

fruition Full bloom all at the same time in human history.

It's kind of a fascinating thing.

They don't have any explanation for it at all and you read your Bible and go.

Well, I know where language came from.

God was upset because human beings were being disobedient.

So they wouldn't they wouldn't scatter.

So God Forced them to scatter by making it impossible for them to Understand each other, right?

We know where this all came from but back in the day the Jews would have been the only ones with the correct information on that and so when you see

an Undoing of the of God's punishment of top of the Tower of Babel.

Then you know, the Jews would see that as a sign and indeed it was but Isaiah 28 gives us that so

here You're gonna note that the difficulties that they are going through that are threatened in the Mosaic Covenant.

These then are a sign in a wonder against you and your offspring forever.

Because you did not serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart.

Because the abundance of all things therefore you shall serve your enemies.

Whom Yahweh will send against you in hunger and in thirst and nakedness and lacking Everything

and he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you and I would note this.

Have you noticed throughout human history?

The Jews have just never seemed to get a break.

It's kind of an interesting thing and a lot of Americans do not actually know this fact about

European history.

That until the mid.

1800s.

Jews were actually separated from from European society.

They lived in ghettos and they were not permitted to participate in government and so there was actual

reforms that took place in the middle part of the 1800s which then

permitted Jews to actually participate fully in society in Europe.

And so the best way to think about it.

If you go back in American history to our segregation laws that we had prior

to the civil rights movement that the way we treated African Americans was the way

that Europeans for centuries and I mean long long time.

How they how they kept themselves separated from the Jews.

It's a fascinating study when you actually look at the history behind that.

Yes.

That's not biblical.

Okay.

Yeah, so you're gonna note that God God makes it clear that all of the

difficulties that they go through.

It's not because the devil said they're the ones that are the Messiah is coming through.

No, all the difficult said they went they were going through because they're stiff -necked refusal to obey God's

commands and so that's the reason why they.

They had all these troubles and I hate to say this.

But in the nation of Israel and you look in the history in the scripture.

You kind of have both blessing and curses when you look at the the history of the kings of Israel.

Some were bad and some were good.

Right, and you'll note that in each case where the king was following

Following the footsteps of his father David and that he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh.

That even if they experienced hardship God always would like miraculously come through to rescue them but

when they went full whole hog into idolatry all of that protection was

gone and and the hardships that came upon them were for the purpose of

demonstrating the temporal consequences of sin and You'll note that we actually have a

biblical text that even spells that out for us in the New Testament.

I think it's 2nd Corinthians 5, but I may be wrong.

Hannah says maybe three.

Hang on.

I.

Yeah, hang on a second.

Let me find this text to do to do to home.

I Hate the fact that my photographic memory is now getting faded.

It is a terrible thing getting old.

It is just awful.

Um, hang on a second here.

I gotta find this.

Hang on a second here.

Example, I know what I'm looking for.

Example.

I'm looking for the word example, and I'm looking for it in the epistles and I'm gonna find it.

Here we go.

First Corinthians 10.

Okay, so man one a core 10 watch what this says.

I do not want you to be unaware brothers that our fathers were all Under the cloud now

fascinating thing that Paul is writing here because who's he which church is he writing to?

Church Corinth.

Okay, which is a church that is ethnically mixed.

Okay of Jews and Gentiles.

How do we know this because in the same letter?

We learned that the rich people are keeping the poor people from having the Lord's Supper.

So, you know so you got a mix you got Jews and Gentiles both in this thing and yet Paul speaking to all

Christians says that you are I do not want you to be unaware that our fathers so as Christians we

look in the Old Testament and that History then this is the history of our fathers.

Even if it's not genetically our history.

It is our history in the faith.

Our fathers were all under the cloud all passed through the sea all were baptized into Moses.

That's right.

The Red Sea crossing is a type in shadow of baptism and In the cloud and in the sea and all ate the same spiritual

food all drank from the same spiritual rock.

For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was Christ and I would know we all eat spiritual food.

We had some today and we all drink from the same spiritual drink and we drink from the rock.

That's Christ, right?

Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire

evil as they did.

Do not be idolaters as some of them were as it is written.

The people set up to eat and drink and rose up to play.

That was the very first Burning Man, by the way we must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did

and 23 ,000 fell in a single day we must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were

destroyed by serpents nor grumble as some of them did.

And were destroyed by the destroyer.

Why did I not use this verse on my kids when they were younger?

Anyway, now these things happen to them as an example.

But they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come.

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.

But with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure.

So you'll note Corrie the question that you asked and you know.

You've been told in previous churches that the reason why?

Hardship came upon them is because the devil was trying to punish them because he knew the Messiah was coming through them.

That's a nice story, but it's not a narrative that's found in Scripture.

So the the Jews stand then as an example of both blessing and curses of

those who are blessed by faith and then the obedience that follows faith as Opposed to those who

are cursed because they're unbelief and the disobedience that follows unbelief.

Notice I'm not talking about obedience and a disobedience in in like stark

naked terms.

This is how Nazarene's talk you do the right things.

God will bless you belogna.

Okay without faith.

It's impossible to please God.

And so we always talk about the obedience that comes from faith that is the natural fruit

of faith as opposed to just talking about raw obedience and then.

Disobedience is the direct fruit of unbelief.

Does that make sense?

And so the children of Israel stand then as an example to us and note then.

That's to us Christians.

Yeah, I would think that Andy Stanley might want to pay attention to this especially on the track that he's I've been on lately.

He's been all over the news for all the wrong reasons this past like week and a half.

Yeah, he's putting on a conference that basically is gay affirming, you know, and no one's shocked by the you know, by

the move, but Surprise surprise.

Yeah the Gomer pile.

Yeah, I haven't heard that guy in forever.

Okay, boy that takes a bit take me back but all that being said let's come back then to the text that we were looking.

At.

And this hang on a second.

I mean, I'm in Ezekiel.

Let me go back to Deuteronomy.

Okay, so Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far away from the end of the earth swooping down like the eagle.

This is the promise of the Roman Empire coming and taking over.

The the nation of Israel a nation whose language you do not understand.

A little bit of a note here.

If you remember one of Israel's and I mean Jacob the guy whose name was changed Israel one of his

prophecies regarding The Messiah would be that that the scepter would not

leave Israel until the Messiah comes.

Okay.

Fascinating to note this that even after the Babylonian captivity That

the Jews although they were a puppet state of the of the birds and the Medes and the Persians They

still had the self -governance and then even under Alexander the Great and after his empire broke into

four parts they still had some self -governance and.

And then.

Even in the early part of the Roman occupation they did but when Herod takes over

Herod the Tetrarch Herod isn't a Jew.

He's an Ed you mean and So he's the first King or governor

of Israel that isn't Jewish and The church fathers saw that as a

fulfillment of the prophecy given by Israel.

I think it was it.

What is it.

48 50 some somewhere in there like 50 51 where where he legitimately says that the scepter would not leave

Until the until the Messiah and that that's the Roseboro paraphrase of the text.

But it's in the book of Genesis and so the fulfillment of it is said the Ed you mean is now over

Israel and They they don't have any self -governance at all at this point

and and they're totally under the rule.

And of course what's funny about?

Herod the Great is that he didn't want people to know that he wasn't a Jew.

It's a fascinating bit.

He kind of tried to keep that under wraps, but he was not a Jew.

He was an edge of me and something completely different.

But the church father saw that as a fulfillment of the prophecy given by Israel.

So coming back.

Yes.

Yeah, we're talking about Herod the Great the guy who killed his own family members and the one who wanted to put Jesus

to death.

That guy completely looney tunes.

Okay, and he died of intestinal worms.

So it's a horrifying death to just absolutely awful.

All right, I Don't want to know about that.

Okay, thanks, thanks for not sharing, okay.

Continuing a hard -faced nation who shall not respect the older that our show mercy to the young.

It shall eat the offspring of your cattle the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed.

It also shall not leave you grain wine or oil.

The increase of your herds or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish.

They shall besiege you in all of your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trust and come down throughout all your

land they Shall besiege you in all of your towns throughout your land, which Yahweh your God has

given you and You shall eat the fruit of your womb.

This is the most horrifying bit of all of this so

This is fulfilled in the Roman siege of Jerusalem and if you've read

Josephus or if you have read Eusebius That his ecclesiastical history.

He quotes extensively from Josephus's Jewish wars to the point where

it's so Horrifying, but if you want to do the historical research, there are several

accounts of what legitimately happened During the siege and it's horrifying.

They're the best way I can put it Absolutely horrifying details of like

women eating their infants kind of stuff.

That's how bad this is.

And so no that's also a sign against them.

This is Mosaic Covenant kind of stuff.

And.

So you shall eat the fruit of your womb the flesh of your sons and daughters whom Yahweh your God has given you in the Siege and in

the duress with which your enemies shall distress you.

The man who is the most tender and refined among you Will begrudge food to his brother the wife he

embraces and to the to the last of the children whom he has left.

So that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating.

Because he has nothing left else left in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you

in your towns.

The most tender and refined woman among you who would not venture to set the soul of her foot on the ground because

she is So delicate and tender will begrudge to her husband she embraces to her son and to her daughter her

afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears.

Because Lacking everything she will eat them secretly in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy

shall distress you in your towns.

And.

The these are the accounts that you find in Josephus's Jewish wars and in the Ecclesiastical history.

Important to note that the ancient church Documented the fulfillment of

Deuteronomy 18 and saw it not only as a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18 but also of

Jesus's all of that discourse in Matthew 24 when he is Talking

about the siege of Jerusalem and he says alas for women who are pregnant in those days.

That's an invocation of this Portion of Scripture and Christ is lamenting what

is coming because of their unbelief and their obstinance.

So he says if you are not careful to do all the words of this law that you that are written in this book That you may

fear hit this glorious and awesome name Yahweh your God then Yahweh will bring on you and your

offspring extraordinary afflictions afflictions severe and

lasting and Sicknesses grievous and lasting.

And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid and they Shall cling

to you.

You ever been out among briars and stuff like this and you come out you got all these birds like stuck in your socks.

And it's annoying to get that stuff out.

That's kind of the picture here the diseases of Egypt will stick to you like that.

Every sickness also in every affliction that is not recorded in the book of the law of this law Yahweh will bring upon you

until you are destroyed whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven.

You shall be left few in number because you did not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.

It's not because Satan was trying to destroy the Messiah.

It's because they didn't obey and as Yahweh took the light in doing you good and multiplying

you.

So Yahweh will take the light in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you and you shall be plucked off the land that you

are entering to take possession of it and Yahweh will scatter you among all the peoples from one

end of the earth to the other and there you shall serve other gods of Wood and stone which neither you nor your fathers

have known and among these nations you shall find no Respite and

there shall be no resting place for the soul of your foot.

But Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul.

Let me ask you this.

Is there any place on planet earth where the descendants of Abraham today have

any respite.

Not even in Israel.

That's you know, if you don't believe me just look at the news today and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I mean, it's absolutely fascinating to me that God has a hundred -percent

fulfilled this and Continues to fill it fulfill it, you know

if you've ever been to Israel and I haven't but I've seen a lot of photographs and video coming out of Israel that

Here in the United States certain states are considered to be a little bit kind of crazy if they allow people to open carry

firearms in Israel that's standard practice and it's

not just open carry of pistols.

They we're talking open carry of AR -15s and you know.

Really high powered weapons and stuff like this.

It is not uncommon to see somebody going to pray at the wailing wall while slinging in

an AR -15 behind their back.

That's common practice.

Why.

Because no one's leaving them alone.

Why?

It's a fulfillment of this.

So the thing is is that you can legitimately say that the history that we've seen play out.

Not only before our lives, but now during our lives.

It's still a fulfillment of this passage.

Why these people are in abject?

Rebellion still against God and have not relented of their idolatry

and their hatred for Christ.

Okay.

We continue find no respite there shall be no resting place for the soul of your foot.

But Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart failing eyes languishing soul.

Your life shall hang in doubt before you.

Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of life.

In the morning you shall say if only it were evening and at evening.

You should say if only it were morning because of the dread.

That your heart shall feel and the sights that your eyes shall see in Yahweh Will bring you back in

ships to Egypt a journey that I promised that you should never make again.

And there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no

buyer.

Now you listen today's dispensational guys and they'll basically say we can't oppose

The nation of Israel and I'm not saying to oppose them.

They're one of our allies.

I've been a good ally at that.

But I would note here.

Have you noticed the trouble that they continue to go through wherever they are and

Now, you know why?

It's because God keeps his word and Their

troubles Legitimately stand as a sign not only against their unbelief

But as a sign to us that God means what he says.

I can't think of another group of human beings on planet earth who have been more troubled more

persecuted.

More trodden underfoot than the Jews and of course Christians that's but that's that's it's not a nation.

Okay as an identifiable people group and all of this is in fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28.

Don't sit there and tell me that the Jews today in Israel.

They're the blessed of God.

They're not they are opposing Christ to this day and

And continuing to persist in the religion that the Pharisees invented.

Okay.

Now, hang on a second here.

I'm gonna check questions because I know that some of the stuff I'm saying it's just gonna it's gonna be well I have never

seen this before.

I know.

Okay.

Okay, I get it.

Okay, our homemade kefir a substitute for heaven.

You can agree and don't think about that.

Okay, it's great.

We take for granted that we that we ever get well from a cold or gross stuff from seed

and actually grows and produces or anything that is a success or even has.

Have rest.

God is in charge of every bit of everything.

Bless the Lord.

Oh my soul exactly Jodi.

That's the thing and So when you know your Bible you have a way of interpreting

certain aspects of even current events.

But you're gonna note.

You know, I am I am loathing this week the reason I am loathing this week is because the

Expectation is is that I'm going to get on to my youtube channel and talk about how the war in Israel is a

sign of Christ's imminent return.

I'm not only am I not gonna do that.

I'm not gonna even address it in a long -form video.

I'll do it in a short and say this has nothing to do with the return of Christ.

This has everything to do with Deuteronomy 28.

Read the passage and you'll get it.

No, it's not.

It is not gonna go over.

Well.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Cancel cancel cancel, you know, I can just see it.

Okay, I'm gonna really upset a bunch of people basically just say read Deuteronomy 28 the last half of it and

Interpret what's happening there and the entire history of what's happened to?

You know genetic Israel, you know in over the past two millennia and now you understand what's

going on.

This is not a sign of Christ's imminent return is a sign of God's judgment.

It's a fulfillment of his very words that you will never have any rest or even assurance of

your own life.

That's the right interpretation of what's going on here and I defy anybody to Pat quote a

passage to the contrary because there are none and Again, what has happened to them is so

insanely Extraordinary that it stands out in human history it

legitimately does.

Now I am NOT saying that if you show kindness to people who are Jews, it's that somehow wrong.

No, in fact as Christians we must.

We must treat them with kindness love with mercy with respect.

And pray for them, right?

But pray primarily that God would grant them repentance the same way He's granted us repentance because are you any

better than anybody?

No, I'm not.

Right.

So all of that is like again bonus material, but kind of cogent in what we're studying here.

So you're gonna note then in Ezekiel 5 and let me back up into the context again

because you know, it's.

It's.

Important to keep the context.

So I sometimes reread the same text over and over again.

Ezekiel 5 1 you Oh son of man.

Take a sharp sword use it as a barber's razor pass it over your head and your beard.

Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair.

A third part.

You shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are completed.

A third part You shall take and strike with the sword all around the city and a third part of it you shall scatter to the

wind and I will unsheathe the sword after them and you shall take from these a Small number and

bind them in the skirts of the robe of your robe and these again.

You shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire.

Burn them in the fire from there.

A fire will come out into all of the house of Israel.

So thus says the Lord Yahweh This is Jerusalem.

I've set her in the center of the nations with countries all around her and She has rebelled against my

rules by doing wickedness More than the nation's and against my statutes more than the country's all around her

for they have Rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh because you are more turbulent than the nations

that are all around you and have not Walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules and have not even

acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh behold, I even I am against you and I

will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations and Because of all

your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done and the like of which I will

never do again.

Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst and sons shall eat their fathers.

I will execute judgments on you and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the

winds.

That finds its fulfillment not in the lifetime of Ezekiel, but after Christ's death

burial resurrection and ascension.

Okay.

Therefore as I live declares the Lord Yahweh Surely because you have defiled my sanctuary with all of your

detestable things and with all of your abominations therefore I will withdraw my eye.

My eye will not spare and I will have no pity.

A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst a third

part shall fall by the sword all Around you and a third part. I will scatter to all the winds with

an unsheathed And we'll unsheathe the sword after them.

So no, not only does he scatter them, but he's chasing him with an unsheathed sword.

Thus shall my anger spend itself and I will vent my fury upon them and Satisfy

myself.

And they shall know that I am Yahweh that I have spoken in my jealousy when I spend my fury upon them.

Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you

and in the sight of all who pass by future tents here spoken to

Jews in exile, I Will make you a desolation an object of

reproach among the nations.

Tell me this hasn't been fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled for the last 2 ,000 years all the way up to today.

Right.

You shall be a reproach and a taunt a warning a horror to the nations all around you when I

execute Judgments on you in anger and in fury with furious rebukes.

I am Yahweh.

I have spoken when I send against you the deadly arrows of famine arrows for destruction Which I will

send to destroy you and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your supply of bread

I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will rob you of your children.

Pestilence and blood shall pass through you and I will bring the sword upon you.

I am Yahweh.

I have spoken.

Woof, right.

You sit there and go.

Ah, that's how to explain history.

They are an object lesson.

For us.

To teach us to Say, oh I repent and I want to do

God's commandments.

That's the point.

They are a living object lesson.

God has made them that.

Horrifying to consider yet.

I cannot come up with a Biblical text that says anything to the contrary.

It's the only bit that makes sense of what happened to them and what continues to happen to them to this

day.

Why do so many people hate these people?

Why are they so mistreated?

Right.

Ezekiel 6 Judgment against idolatry.

The word of Yahweh came to me son of man set your face toward the mountains of Israel and

prophesy against them and Say you mountains of Israel here the word of

the Lord Yahweh.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and the hills to the ravines and to the valleys.

I would note that if God were having me prophesy here.

There's nothing to prophesy to.

I.

Prophesied to the empty flatness, right?

I Just had to put that in there, yeah, you know, I Recently made a

short trip to Canada to pick some people up from the airport and bring them back.

And you know what the bat the vast flatness it goes straight north all the way up into, Canada.

And it just keeps on.

You know, there's like nothing to look at all the way up to Winnipeg.

It's like what is going on out here, you know.

What was that?

Mm -hmm.

I'm aware.

We are by the way, Grand Forks as coldest city in all of the United States.

Lower 48, okay.

No, we do.

Grand Forks holds it.

You look it up and and there's all in.

In Alaska, there's only a couple of cities that are more cold than we are.

So so when you're feeling the bitterness of February and down in your bones and in your sinuses and stuff

like this.

Note that we also stand as an example of God's judgment.

And if you misbehave God will send you to American Siberia the way he did Roseboro.

So I just had to throw that in there.

All right, so he's having him prophesy to the mountains to the valleys.

And so here so.

Behold I even I will bring a sword upon you.

I will destroy your high places.

Your altars shall become desolate your incense altars shall be broken.

I will cast down your slain before your idols.

I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols.

I will scatter your bones around your altars.

Terrifying when you think about the reason why he's prophesying against these mountains is because on every Single little one of these hills and

mountains they set up high places to these false deities, right?

Now they just make mega churches, but that's a different story.

Okay.

Let's see, I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols I will scatter your bones around your altars when

wherever you dwell the cities shall be waste and the high places Ruined so that your

altars will be waste and ruined your idols broken and destroyed your incense altars cut down

Your works wiped out and the slain shall fall in your midst and you shall know that I

am Yahweh.

Kind of like too late.

Wait, this hall is destruction.

That means that God Yahweh's God.

Right.

And you're dead.

Okay.

Now, let me check questions real quick before I get too far here.

God's Covenant with Israel is forever and Unchangeable I would note here Jacob

in Malawi, so The Mosaic Covenant is is is no

longer in play.

Okay.

And so the there is there is nobody who is keeping the Mosaic Covenant today.

So the people who are genetic descendants of Abraham who are living in the nation of Israel.

They're not under any Covenant with God at all I think you know at least not the

Mosaic Covenant and maybe you can invoke the Abrahamic Covenant to some degree.

But here's the issue.

They don't have the same faith as Abraham.

So they're actually out of covenant and as a result of it are not under his blessing.

And they they stand in defiance of the truth.

So the church then is Israel and that's really the

whole point of Romans chapters 9 10 and 11 is.

That.

True Israel are those who have the same faith as Abraham and then we

we European Gentiles and Jacob in Malawi.

You're you're an African Gentile.

You you you are not descended from Abraham genetically neither am I.

But we are grafted into Israel by faith in Christ, so we are counted as

children of the promise.

Because of our faith and in fact I can give you a text that kind of bears this out more

succinctly if we go to like Galatians 4.

Let me see if I can find the actual passage.

Here we go.

So it's a Galatians 4.

Tell me you who desire to be under the law the Mosaic Covenant.

Do you not listen to the law.

It is written that Abraham had two sons one by the slave and one by the free.

But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh while the son of the free woman was born through promise.

Now this may be interpreted allegorically.

These women are two covenants.

One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery and that's the irony here.

I want you to just think of what Paul's saying and like notice how he's Absolutely inverting certain

categories.

When Israel got to Mount Sinai were they in slavery.

No, they had just been set free from slavery and Yet Paul says

that the Mount Sinai is the place where people are born for slavery.

Because the law doesn't actually set us free.

The law condemns us.

So she is Hagar that Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia.

She corresponds to the present Jerusalem for she is in slavery with her children.

But the Jerusalem above is free.

So note here is Earthly Jerusalem a place of freedom.

No.

The it's the heavenly Jerusalem.

That is the place of freedom.

The Jerusalem above is free.

She is our mother for it is written rejoice.

Oh barren one who does not bear.

Break forth and cry aloud.

You who are not in labor.

For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.

Now you brothers like Isaac are children of promise.

Note Galatians 428.

You you Gentile Europeans.

You Gentile Africans.

You Gentile Gentiles, right.

Y 'all.

Our children of the promise.

Just like Isaac.

Isaac wasn't born Naturally because his mom couldn't bear.

Because she was well past the age she was pruning up like a raisin and had gone through menopause

long before that and.

And now she's bearing a child, right?

That's because God Promised that would be the case in the same way.

We are all children of the promise, too.

But what's the promise that we would be descendants of Abraham by faith?

Okay.

So just as at the same time he was born according to the flesh Persecuted him was born according

to the Spirit.

So also it is now.

But what does the scripture say cast out the slave woman and her son?

For the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.

So brothers we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

So the idea then is is that a right understanding of what takes place in Genesis regarding Ishmael

and Isaac and Hagar and Sarah.

That proper theological interpretation isn't given in the Old Testament it's given in the new.

And If you read and you sit there and go well, it's the genetic descendants of Abraham that are the blessed ones.

I Would remind you it was the genetic descendants of Abraham who were Worshiping Baal.

And who were the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel who were opposing?

Elijah.

And it was the descendants of Abraham who were the ones killing the prophets.

Right.

DNA has nothing its faith.

Period so that that's the point.

Okay.

So aren't we the church Israel now, so.

Jody here's the thing the church doesn't replace Israel.

Okay, and here's the reason why Christ says I am the vine you are the

branches.

Jesus is Israel squished down to one human being we are grafted into

Christ which means we are grafted into Israel.

So here's the idea We Gentiles are a bunch of wild olive branches that have

been grafted in a grafted into the Cultivated vine of Israel.

So the church never replaces Israel.

Instead the church is grafted into Israel.

Okay, so if you've ever heard somebody say the church replaces Israel, no, that's not how this works again read

Romans 9 10 11.

You'll see we are grafted into Israel.

We Gentiles are branches that have been put in.

So there's only if you were to kind of think of it through all of human history then there's only one

tree of note and that's the olive tree of Israel and We were born outside of that

tree and grafted into it.

Okay, so mazel tov.

Yeah.

All right, I have to go.

If I go any longer, I'm gonna be late.

So we'll have to end here.

All right, peace to you brothers and sisters Lord willing.

We'll see you next time.