Stemming The Tide

STEMMING THE TIDE-I—Ezekiel 22:23-31

Intervention/Confrontation/Stand against

Standing in the Gap

Attention:

(Memorial Day)Soldiers who have given their all—even their lives— for the sake of their country. Those soldiers of the WWII era we consider(per news anchor, journalist, & author Tom Brokaw) as ‘The Greatest Generation.’ Not because they were any better than anyone else of any generation, but because their generation recognized the prevailing trend of evil & the entire American nation(& others) was polarized & unified in seeking to stop that evil...Many giving their lives in the pursuit!(21 to 25 million[military dead], including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war.”—Wikipedia) Why did they do it?...Because it was the right thing to do.

Together they stemmed the tide of sin.

Need:

To be individual & thereby corporate world changers.

YaHWeH(the LORD) sought for a man who would be willing to stand for Him in the midst of apostasy.

YaHWeH is looking for a person to stem the tide of sin.

YaHWeH is looking for a person to stem/thwart/impede/obstruct the rampant onslaught of sin.

Who will stem the tide of sin?

Who will stand for the Lord against sin?

People who stem the tide of sin.

1—A person who stems the tide of sin, Addresses spiritual...

CLEANSING-CLEANLINESS(:23-24)

Explanation:(:23-24)

:23—“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezekiel prophesied from 593(?) BC, after(604BC(?)) the southern kingdom of Judah began to be deported into Babylonian exile.—NICOT 1997

The word of YaHWeH came to Ezekiel. We do not know the manner in which Ezekiel heard YaHWeH’s “word.” Regardless it was undeniably God’s word.

Knowing/Recognizing God’s word could possibly have been like John’s being in the Spirit & hearing a loud voice as a trumpet(Rev. 1:10), or a mere absolute conviction as in the Spirit’s direct communication to the heart(Mk. 13:11; Lk. 1:67; Jn. 5:28-29).

Rev. 1:10—“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, & I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,”

Mk. 13:11—“But when they arrest you & deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

Lk. 1:67—“Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, & prophesied, saying:”

Jn. 5:28-29—“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice[Jesus’] & come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, & those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

“Word”—rbd daw-baw'—Noun Masc.—1) Speech, word, speaking, thing—1a) Speech, 1b) Saying, utterance, 1c) Word, words, 1d) Business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner--by extension. Strong—from rbd[To arrange, speak, subdue]; A word; by implication--A matter(as spoken of) or thing; adverbially--A cause.

“LORD”(See :28)—hwhy Yeh-ho-vaw'—Noun Proper Deity—Jehovah = “the existing One”—1) The proper name of the one true God—1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of ynda Ad-o-noy’. Strong—from hyh[To exist, be, become, come to pass]; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.

“Came”—la ‘el(ale) (but only used in the shortened constructive form—la ‘el)—Prep.—1) To, toward, unto(of motion); 2) Into(limit is actually entered)—2a) In among; 3) Toward(of direction, not necessarily physical motion); 4) Against(motion or direction of a hostile character); 5) In addition to, to; 6) Concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of; 7) According to(rule or standard); 8) At, by, against(of one's presence); 9) In between, in within, to within, unto(idea of motion to). Strong—a primitive particle; properly--denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. Near, with or among; often in general--To.

“Saying”(See :24)—rma aw-mar’—Qal Infinitive—1) To say, speak, utter—1a) (Qal)-To say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend, 1b) (Niphal)-To be told, to be said, to be called, 1c) (Hithpael)--To boast, to act proudly, 1d) (Hiphil)--To avow, to avouch. Strong—a primitive root; To say(used with great latitude).

:24—“Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’”

Ezekiel is always(?) referred to as the “son of man.” It is a reminder to Ezekiel of his simultaneous weakness in flesh as well as his great potential in God’s grace & empowerment.

The “her” here is Israel(cf.-:18ff). Jerusalem being her capital city she too is culpable(cf.-:1-16).

The “land” of Israel is not made clean even in the time of God’s fury/wrath/“indignation” which has already been levied upon them by the hands of foreign pagan nations at God’s command. The land has been torn from[Prj] “cleansing.”

The “land” is targeted for God’s wrath due to their persistence in sin...in separating themselves from the graciousness of Almighty God. Therefore their “land” has not been “cleansed or rained on” during the wrath’s execution. The “land” of Israel is wholly given to sin & is thus undeserving of escape!