Thurs.’s Devo - The Mark of God

Read: Ezekiel 7:1-9:11; Hebrews 5:1-14; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 26:28 Ezekiel prophesied their destruction. There was no hope left. God’s fury was going to be released and none of the proud and wicked would survive. All their wealth and power would be swept away and none of them would recover. On the sixth month of the sixth year (of Jehoiachin’s exile) and the fifth day, Ezekiel was at his own house and the elders of Judah sat before him. Ezekiel was taken by the spirit and suspended between heaven and earth and shown evil done in secret by the elders of the nation. Toward the north, Ezekiel was shown the grove where Astarte was worshiped. It was set up by Manasseh as a rival to Jehovah in his temple. It was the Syrian version of Venus which was worshipped with all types of sexual acts. She was called the “queen of heaven” and wife of Baal. What Ezekiel saw could have been scenes of the successive portions of the festival that honored Tammuz but were definite proof of their idolatry. Ezekiel was taken from the north gate beside the entrance to the gate near the altar, then to the door of the Temple courtyard where he was shown a hidden doorway and told to go in. He was shown what the 70 priests were doing in a secret room. They were offering incense to a foreign god. He was taken back to the north gate of God’s Temple and shown women weeping for Tammuz. He was led into the inner courtyard of God’s Temple and at the entrance to the sanctuary there were about 25 men facing east bowing to the ground worshiping the sun. They had turned their backs to the sanctuary just as they had turned their hearts from God. God then summoned the six men he had appointed to punish the city. They were to bring their weapons and appear at the upper gate that faced north. A man dressed in linen who carried a writer’s case was with them. He went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar. The Presence of the Lord that resided in the Ark between the angels moved to the entrance of the Temple. We are witnessing the Spirit of God leaving the Temple. God told the man in linen to walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who wept and sighed because of the sins being committed in their city. He told the six armed men to follow the man in linen and kill everyone who was not marked on the forehead and to show no mercy. He was to kill all of them no matter their age or gender. They began with the seventy leaders. Ezekiel fell on his face crying out to the Lord for the people. God explained how the land was full of murder and the city filled with injustice. They had bragged that God didn’t see them, but this was God’s response. The man in linen returned to say that the job was finished. Hebrews explains the job of the high priest. He is to have compassion and atone for the sins of the people because he is a sinner also and understands their fight against sin. He must offer sacrifices for his own sins first, then the sins of the people. A high priest must be called by God like Aaron and like Jesus. When Jesus was on earth he prayed with earnest for the people of the world. As a man, he learned to obey through the things he suffered. This qualified him as a perfect High Priest and the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. God designated him the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. There was so much more he wanted to teach them but the people were still babies in their faith and hadn’t trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Lord, may we be discerning and mature. May we worship you alone. We acknowledge the sin of our nation. We have murdered the innocent and slandered justice. We pray for forgiveness and your cleansing to wash away our sins. May your Spirit prevail in America. Thank you for your mark of salvation that is upon our foreheads and on our hearts.