HEAR YE THE ROD
© Daniel Valles 5/8   www. informedchristians.com

In Ezekiel chapter nine, we read about Ezekiel's vision of God's judgment on Judah because of their abominations.  In the previous chapter, God had shown Ezekiel different examples of how the people of Judah had turned their back on God.  Now, in the chapter nine vision, He commences and illustrates the judgment.  In the vision, God calls over six men, each carrying a weapon (9:2).  One of them has a writer's inkhorn with him.  Ezekiel 9:4-6 says, "And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.  And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary.  Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house." 

There are many things that can be drawn from this passage, but let us concentrate on just a few.  As Christians, we are held to a higher standard of responsibility than the lost and unbelieving.  In I Peter 4:17, it warns, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God..."  In Ezekiel's vision, God told the men, "begin at my sanctuary."  In the previous chapter, God showed Ezekiel the abominations of the people; and each time, He asked Ezekiel "Hast thou seen this, O son of man?"  God not only asked that of Ezekiel, but also of us.  Have we seen what evil abominations are taking place in our land today?  It blows my mind when people do not want to read current events about the state of our world and nation today.  Yes, it is depressing.  Yes, it is sad - but that is the point!  What we see in the world around us should drive us to action and compassion for lost souls, and also a sorrow for the sins of our land.  In verse four, God had the one man mark out all those who "sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof."  Too many Christians shy away from reading current events and seeing the signs of the times because they say, "it is too depressing."  Well, duh - that's the point!  God wants us to be uncomfortable with the world in which we live!  Too many Christians like to live in a marshmallow cocoon, thinking everything is mostly ok in the world.   They try to live apart from the realities that our nation is rushing headlong into judgment!  II Peter 2:7-8 tells about "...Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)"

What vexes you?  Romans 12:9 tells us that we should, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."  Does the rampant sin in our nation and world grieve you to the point where you sigh and cry over it?  Does it cause you to go to the throne room of God in prayer for your family and brethren, community and nation?  Malachi 3:16-18 tells us, "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." 

Judgment is coming to this land and world; but most notably to this nation.  Those that are used to beds of ease are not ready for the harsh realities of evil times.  Christian, the more we see this nation and world the way God sees it, the more we will understand how God is a God of judgment and mercy.  We will see that God is vindicated and just in all that He does - and that we have still not received what we deserve.  As God's judgment on our land reaches its fullness, we need to see it from God's perspective - not ours.

Micah 6:9 warns, "The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it."  When God judges a land, oftentimes, those that are ignorant of God and His ways, end up blaming God.  They blame God because they preferred not to be bothered with the sins of their land - they did not want to be bothered with depressing sermons and warnings about our world.  Note that the warning specifies that only the "man of wisdom" will see God's just hand in what He does.  It has been said that when God speaks to the ears through His Word and we will not listen, that then He must speak to our eyes - hence the rod.  When a nation and a people does not want to hearken to God's Word which He has provided, then He must get their attention some other way.

Most people, including Christians, do not see God's judgment on this country.  Yes, they may acknowledge that our country is on the downslide, but they will say that to the large extent, God still has His hand of protection around this country.  After all, they say, look at other countries.  There are earthquakes, famines, tsunamis, wars, etc. in other countries, but we have not had anything of those orders yet.  True, true.  But, at least if we had those, we could rebuild and carry on.  What we are being judged with is much more devastating than a tornado, earthquakes, disease, or even war.  We are being judged with what reaches into every home and every corner of our nation.  The irony of the rod that is chosen for our land is that it is our own money.  Our land has long turned to the almighty dollar rather than the Almighty God.  We put more stock in our retirement funds and bank accounts than we do in God's protection and provision.  We put more credence on the words of our head bankers than we do for the words of God.  False teachers have sold the truth for cheap merchandising - and the people love it.  Our churches readily accept tax bribe money to tone down the preaching of God's Word.  We have mega-churches that pride themselves on filling the pews and offering plates by announcing what they will not preach out of God's Word.  Money is a harsh rod.  Our nation was first judged by God giving us what we wanted.  We wanted God out of government, schools, church, and the home.  He gave us what we wanted.  Our government is a scandal-ridden, moral-less, self-serving puppets, who push every kind of perversion in our schools, reinforced, condoned, and permitted by the lack of truth in the churches, and our homes are running into the ground left and right.  Our nation is full of a bunch of apathetic, narcissistic, moral degenerates with each generation teaching the next how to be ten-fold more degenerate than they were.

In time past, our nation has gone through the hard times of the great Depression and the world wars.  We were a different people then.  Christian values were still largely a part of our nation.  People had strong work ethics and morals.  We had an industrial economy rather than a service economy.  Our money was actually worth something.  Today, we have none of those.  What is different about this rod versus what we commonly think of as judgments, is that this judgment will not be isolated to a few areas, morbidly watched on television by the rest - no, it will hit every single corner of our land.  There will be blood in the streets, lawlessness for a time, and many evil deeds done.  The land is ready, the people are ready, the rod is ready.  As it descends more visibly on our land, we must recognize that this rod is not just some freak financial cycle or even some engineered conspiracy - it is God who has appointed it.  In chapter eight of Ezekiel, the very first abomination in Judah that God showed Ezekiel was "the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy."  Exodus 34:14 warns, "...thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."  Most people do not like to think of God's name as Jealous - but it is.  When we as a nation give our time, devotion, and efforts to monetary pursuits over the things of God, He is provoked to jealousy.

Christian, do you fear and serve God?  Do you hate the things that He hates, and cherish what He sees as beautiful and valuable?  If we are not serving God the way He wants us to, then we are disobedient servants - wicked.  Do you strive to have God say of you, "well done"?  Do we ask and plead with God to help us see the lost world that way He sees it?  Do we have a readiness to serve God because time is short for our world?  C.T. Studd, the famous cricket player who left it all to become a missionary, once said, "My only joys therefore are that when God has given me a work to do, I have not refused it."  At the end of the chapter of Ezekiel's vision, it says (11), "...the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me."