Author: John Tillman

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 21 Listen: (5:29)
Read: Colossians 4 Listen: (2:21)

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 21.3-6; 25-27

3 This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’ 6 “Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.

25 “ ‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, 26 this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’

From John: We look back today at this reflection from 2020. Many invoke apocalyptic passages to inspire or justify violence against “God’s enemies” as they define them. This is a misuse of scripture. It’s important to read apocalyptic passages introspectively and humbly. They are supposed to reveal something in us, not inspire violence against others. God’s sword of justice often falls on those who think themselves worthy of wielding God’s sword of justice. Take caution before you try to take it up.

Reflection: A Sword Unsheathed

By John Tillman

The slashing sword God unsheathes may seem shocking. Isn’t God going overboard here?

There are some things to remember about passages of judgment like this.

Like many apocalyptic passages, these are poetically exaggerated for emphasis. The sword did not cut down every single human in Jerusalem. Even though the Babylonians went farther in violence than God intended them to (which he later punished them for: Isaiah 13.17-22; Jeremiah 50.1-16) there was not complete eradication.

The destruction of Jerusalem was brought by the destruction they wrought. Jerusalem was characterized primarily by violence and was ended by violence. (Matthew 26.52) Few people feel bad for the destruction brought to Nazi Germany after a good look at the destruction they wrought. When we look more deeply into the sins of Jerusalem, we will see its destruction as the justice of God, not an overreaction. We may also see sins we are familiar with in our own countries. (We will look at this more deeply in tomorrow’s reflection on Ezekiel 22.2-12.)

Over and over the prophets’ voices cried out God’s concerns. Powerful and wealthy leaders who represented God profaned his name through their abuses. Widows and orphans, the poor and the foreigner suffered under violence and abuse. The blood of the poor ran in the streets.

Jerusalem’s leaders ignored God’s whistleblowers. The watchmen called out warnings but no one listened. (Ezekiel 33.1-7) The fire alarms went off but no one fought the fire.

The righteous, although they suffered, were sealed, loved, and cared for even in the midst of the destruction. In a different vision (Ezekiel 9.3-4), God set a seal on those who lamented the wickedness around them. This seal did not prevent all physical harm or suffering. Instead, God’s seal was a guarantee that evil would work out for their good. (Genesis 50.20)

God’s good purpose for them would come through the destruction, the exile, the return, and ultimately, through Jesus. God promised to remove the kingship and to restore it only when one worthy of it came. We are the selfish kings, uncrowned. The worthy king we now must serve is Jesus.

As whistles blow and alarms of judgment sound in our cities, may we be those who the Spirit finds filled with lament not contempt.

May we cry against violence not cry for it.
May we end the suffering of the poor not endorse it.
May his unsheathed sword mercifully cut us away from the false political kingdoms we have served, that we may learn to serve the kingdom of Heaven.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, not sat in the seats of the scornful!
Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and they meditate on his law day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper.
It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed. — Psalm 1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Scrupulosity of the Spirit

Do not give yourself excuses. But do not excuse yourself from God’s grace.
Humble yourself. But do not spiral into self-loathing.

Read more about The Thriving Tree

Our path to salvation and restoration follows the steps of the suffering, crucified servant, Jesus. It is only in the shade of Christ’s thriving tree, his cross, that we will thrive.

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 18 Listen: (5:26)

Read: Colossians 1 Listen: (4:18)

This Weekend’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 19 Listen: (2:12), Read: Colossians 2 Listen: (3:27)

Read: Ezekiel 20 Listen: (9:25), Read: Colossians 3 Listen: (3:09)

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 18.2-3, 19-23

2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

“‘The parents eat sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.

19 “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. 21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Reflection: Blame Less and be Blameless

By John Tillman

Ezekiel’s generation of exiles blamed the generations before. Haven’t we all? Generational finger-pointing is common.

Their complaint reminds me of the opening line of Mike + The Mechanics’ 1988 mega-hit, “The Living Years,” “Every generation blames the one before. And all of their frustrations come beating at your door.”

The exiles beat on God’s door, quoting an “old song”: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” This saying or “proverb” is in scripture twice but is not “scripture.” In both places it appears, in Ezekiel 18.1-3 and in Jeremiah 31.29-30, it is quoted to be refuted.

In refuting the proverb, God does not deny the grim realities and results of parents’ sins or how this affects children. God also rebuked those quoting the proverb. Ezekiel’s generation was deflecting blame and denying responsibility, and God was having none of it.

The quote has some truth to it. The old covenant explicitly stated that God would punish younger generations for their parents’ sins, but promised a longer generational blessing for righteousness than a curse for wickedness. (Exodus 20.4-6)

Parents can harm their children with what they do or what they believe. Generational curses were a common religious belief in the ancient Near East and many other cultures. Today we have a secular belief in generational curses such as poverty, violence, addictions, lack of education, and physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.

Instead of denying that one generation’s failures can harm another, God was and is saying, “My way will be different. This is not how I will deal with you.” God promises, and delivers, a new covenant in which every generational curse can be broken.

There is no generation completely free of blame. We benefit from and perpetuate the sins of our parents and pass on sins and errors to the next generation.  God says, “Stop blaming your parents and deal with me honestly.”

Don’t curse a generation before you for their failings or curse a generation following you with yours. The only son who ever rejected all the sins of the generations before, is Jesus, the sinless son. (Ezekiel 18.14-17) Each generation, and each individual, stands or falls by how we deal with Jesus.

Jesus, the blameless son, suffered the blame and sin of all generations to make us blameless and free us from sins’ curse. Blame less and rely on the blameless one, Jesus.

Read more about A Generational Lament

“Every generation blames the one before…” Old and young scoff at each other’s sufferings, separating into camps of division and bias.

Read more about Sinless Descendants

God’s description of the righteous son is not a case study of an actual person. Such a son, who rejects the sins of previous generations did not exist…

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 17 Listen: (4:26)
Read: Philippians 4 Listen: (3:20)

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 17.22-24

22 “ ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the forest will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.

“ ‘I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.’ ”

Reflection: The Thriving Tree

By John Tillman

Biblical authors don’t always explain their visions and parables. Thankfully, Ezekiel explains his visions of trees and eagles.

Nebuchadnezzar, the first eagle, took King Jehoiachin and others into captivity (2 Kings 24.15) and “planted” Zedekiah under Babylonian control. Pharaoh, the second eagle, is who Zedekiah, the “low vine,” entreats for help rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar. “Will it thrive?,” God asks. (Ezekiel 17.9)

Many kings, humbled and seeking God’s face, received miraculous deliverance from their enemies. This was not one of those times. Zedekiah was the opposite of humble.

Refusing to humble himself under the discipline of God, (2 Chronicles 36.12-13) Zedekiah would not accept a reduction in status. He wanted to be a mighty cedar, not a low vine. He wanted the “good old days” back.

Zedekiah didn’t make his bad decisions alone. A host of religious leaders and yes-men helped. Self-serving false prophets fed Zedekiah’s ego and pride with lies and predictions of great deliverance and salvation.

It doesn’t take too much conjecture to imagine what Zedekiah might have felt and thought. “I’m a descendant of David! God promised to have one of David’s descendants rule forever on this throne. It just can’t be God’s will for me,…I mean…us, to be humiliated like this!”

Don’t we often look at scripture and our experiences in the same way? “This can’t be what God wants for me! I won’t stand for this kind of treatment! I deserve better! God will vindicate me in this fight!”

Zedekiah’s selfish desires for salvation and a return to power would not be answered because God had already set in motion his long-term plan to save and empower his people. Part of God’s plan to save them was to purify their hearts through exile and suffering. Part of God’s plan to save them was to enact a second Exodus, calling the faithful of his people back from captivity once again.

But God’s ultimate plan was in the tree, the king, only he could plant. (Ezekiel 17.22-25, Jeremiah 23.5-6)

Zedekiah, the king planted by Nebuchadnezzar would fail. Even Nebuchadnezzar would fail in spectacular fashion. Jesus, the king planted by God upon Zion, is the tree that will thrive, bringing all the birds to his shade.

Our path to salvation and restoration follows the steps of the suffering, crucified servant, Jesus. It is only in the shade of Christ’s thriving tree, his cross, that we will thrive.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel. — Psalm 69.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Praise in the Midst of Trouble :: A Guided Prayer

Plant us, Lord. Cause us to grow to shelter many.
In the midst of our trouble, raise us up to shelter the troubled around us.

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezekiel 14 Listen: (4:09)

Read: Philippians 1 Listen: (4:03)

Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 14.1-5

1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’

Reflection: Scrupulosity of the Spirit

By John Tillman

The elders appeared before Ezekiel with something they thought was a secret—idols in their hearts and wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.

These exiled elders may not have had physical idols in the temple (as in Ezekiel’s previous vision) but they had them in their hearts.

Do we appear before God in this way? Do we trust God but keep our idols? Do we seek God’s truth or do we have “stumbling blocks” before our faces? Do we stumble trying to justify a policy, a position, a sin? Do we stumble looking for biblical backup for what we already worship?

Recently, Russell Moore discussed the term “moral scrupulosity” with Alan Noble. Moral scrupulosity describes a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder in our spiritual lives. A person suffering from OCD may compulsively wash their hands over and over, even when there is no sign of them becoming contaminated or dirty. A person with moral scrupulosity may compulsively obsess over whether they have really confessed and repented enough for God to forgive them even when there is no sign of sinful actions or thought patterns.

Having written recently about “secret idolatry” and “stumbling blocks” in our hearts, I want to be careful not to send anyone into a spiral of moral scrupulosity. Neither do I want to inspire people to use freedom to enable sin or to shrug and say, “God will forgive me,” while making no effort to obey.

God’s answer to those who seek him with idols and stumbling blocks sounds harsh but there is grace in it. The purpose of his harsh answer is to win back our hearts. He reveals our inner idols so that we can repent. He wants us to come back to him free of our idols. God wants more than to forgive us of sin. He wants to free us from its grip.

So examine yourself, inside and out, with sober judgment. Ask that your idols be revealed.  Trust the scrupulosity of the Holy Spirit, not your heart’s obsessions. Deal with what is revealed and joyfully return to the Lord.

Do not give yourself excuses. But do not excuse yourself from God’s grace.

Renounce prideful self-sufficiency. But do not embrace incapacitating self-doubt.

Humble yourself. But do not spiral into self-loathing.

Confess sin. But avoid obsessive self-flagellation.

God’s mercy should set us free, not bind us.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Small Verse

Open, Lord, my eyes that I may see.

Open, Lord, my ears that I may hear.

Open, Lord, my heart and my mind that I may understand.

So I shall turn to you and be healed.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Grabbed by the Hair
Embarrassment leading to purification is a blessing. Complacency that leads to destruction is a curse.

Read more about Idolatry as Parody
Don’t we make idols of the things culture tells us are important?…pay and sacrifice, expecting these things to protect us, guide us, lead us, teach us?