The Days Are At Hand

The Days Are At Hand
EZEKIEL 12

It has been several weeks since we opened the book of Ezekiel and continued our journey through this prophet's vision.
In our last study from Ezekiel we saw that Israel was warned that they were not safe as many of them had assumed.
God was coming with judgment.
This reoccurring theme of coming judgment is addressed in this chapter as well.
It seems God has promised judgment for a long time and in this chapter we find His patience is running thin.
Let us read the last verses of our text first and see the primary emphasis of God's message to His people.

READ TEXT Vs.21-28
PRAY

It is clear from this portion of our text that God's primary message for the chapter is, "The day are at hand."
There will be no more waiting.
This is the last chance to obey.

The tone reminds me of dealing with my own children whom I love dearly and hate to punish.
When they are consistently disobedient, and I have repeatedly warned them that they will be punished if they do not stop, there comes a time when I must hold to all my warnings, and punish them as I have said.
It is not because I do not love them that I finally pull out the "rod of correction" which may be my belt or a wooden spoon.
It is because I do love them.
The Bible is replete with encouragement to parents to follow through with corporal punishment if they love their children.
Here are just a few of the Scriptures on the subject:

Pr 13:24 ¶ He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Pr 19:18 ¶ Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Pr 22:15 ¶ Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Pr 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Pr 29:15 ¶ The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Pr 29:17 ¶ Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.

All of these verses show the great benefit to the child upon receiving proper punishment,
But we as parents hate to punish our children and put it off till that last because we care so much for them.
But it is that love for them that finally breaks down our patience and forces us to correct our children in a biblical way.

I point out this common Biblical truth, because God, the best Father a child could ever have, shows Himself as such in our text.
He has warned and He has pleaded.
He has threatened and he has waited.
Finally, God says, my waiting is over.
You are receiving the wrong message from my mercy and my longsuffering with you.

In verse 22 we saw that the Lord mentioned a proverb that was common among the people that showed their attitude about the judgment that God had been promising.
The people had begun to say that they had plenty of time to obey, and God's promises of judgment were empty.

This attitude could not be allowed by a loving Father.
God was forced to act out of love for His children and finally bring the judgment He had promised.

From this last portion of our text we can see the imperative of the entire chapter:

EVERY PERSON MUST OBEY THE LORD'S VOICE.

This command is clear and it is powerful.
No one is exempt from this mandate.
You are sitting here in church this morning, and God has been working in your heart to give up some sin or to forgive a person.
Maybe He has been speaking to your heart above accepting His Son as your personal Saviour.
You have heard His repeated warnings.
You have felt His constant prodding.
Let me warn you this morning, God will not always be in this mode of pleading and prodding.

In a former time before the worldwide flood, God told Noah:
Ge 6:3 ¶ And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Then God did finally bring the judgment He had promised.
When it started raining and the waters of the deep began to rise, surely people began to call upon the Lord, but it was too late.
Pr 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

Please take this final warning from Ezekiel, The Days are at Hand.

We must Obey His voice today.

There is plenty of motivation in our text to respond to the voice of the Lord.
We can go back to the first verses in the chapter and see these.
The first motivation I can see is:

Every person must obey the Lord's voice:
1.) Because God has shown us the price of disobedience.

Let us read the beginning of our text and see the creative way in which God conveys His message of coming doom to His people.
READ VERSES 1-7

Eze 12:1 ¶ The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.
4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.

Ezekiel is given direction by God to carry out an elaborate charade before the people.
In this acting out of God's message, Ezekiel shows Israel the price of disobedience.
So often, when people fall into sin, whether it be the sin of bitterness or the sin of alcoholism, or even some sexual deviancy, they come to a place where God brings judgment and they seem shocked by the price of disobedience.
It is not for lack of warning but for lack of listening. (SEE VERSE 2)

God has shown us the price of disobedience.
Concerning the price of disobedience God reveals several things:
> Disobedience results in great loss.
Ezekiel was told to illustrate this great loss by packing up all his stuff and taking it away just as would happen when the Chaldeans would come and remove them from their land.
> Disobedience tears down walls of protection and safety.
Ezekiel was told to dig from the inside out to show how their disobedience had torn down the protection between them and the enemy.
> Disobedience results in great shame. Verses 8-16
Ezekiel was told to illustrate the shame of the prince being taken from the palace and shoved into a lineup of slaves.

Eze 12:8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.
11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.
13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.
14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

In Verse 16 we see that part of the shame of disobedience is that they would serve as a lesson to the Heathen that God means what He says, for He is a God that keeps His word.

Lastly we see the final aspect of the price of disobedience.
> Disobedience always costs more than you expected.
Ezekiel is given one last act to show the shock and the astonishment of the disobedient after judgment begins.

Eze 12:17 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;
19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Sin will take you further than you want to go; cost you more than you want to pay; and keep you longer than you wanted to stay.

Although God has clearly shown the price of disobedience, if you do not turn now, when the time comes for payment, you will be shocked and astonished at the price-tag.

We have seen the primary motivation that God gives for obeying His voice.
It is the price of disobedience.
Disobedience results in great loss.
Disobedience tears down walls of protection and safety.
Disobedience results in great shame.
Disobedience always costs more than you expected.

Now it is time to deal with the practical steps toward obeying God's voice.

These steps are merely implied in our text, and they are simple.

1.) Consider His command. Verse 3b
Many will not consider what God has to say because they are already sure that they are right.
Do not be one of these.
Consider what God is telling you to do.
It is not much in comparison to the price of disobedience.

If you are lost, as we all are without Christ, He is simply asking you to repent of your sin and take Jesus as your Saviour.
If you are bitter, He is simply asking you let go of that burning cancer and embrace the love of Christ.
If you are addicted, He is simply asking you to avail yourself of the freedom and liberty that He offers.
If you are rebellious, He is simply asking you to surrender to God's ordained authority in your life.

Consider this, it is not that hard to obey.

The second practical step is clear:

2.) Do it now. Verse 28
Delayed obedience is disobedience.
God may not give you another chance.
He may not give you another moment.
The judgment He has promised is coming.

Heb 3:7 ¶ Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Heb 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

God is here, in this instant pleading one more time with you.

Will you obey?