Psalm 89:1-18; Ezek. 4:1-17; Heb. 6:1-12; Luke 9:51-62
So God has the prophet playing army while lying on the bed for over a year? During this time he is to eat about half a pound of bread per day and drink only about 2 pints of water and is initially told to cook the food over a fire fueled by human excrement but God changed this to allow Ezekiel to use cow dung for fuel. What is going on here and why? The Lord often had His prophets act out the prophecy in their own lives so that the people could know how very serious He was and also so that the prophets were not proud. It is easy for a prophet to develop a sense of separation from the people to whom he/she is sent to prophesy woe, so God has them suffer personally so that they might empathize with the people but they do so in obedience to God in contrast to the disobedience of the people. In this case, the siege will be extended, their exile long and the conditions difficult, so Ezekiel suffers these things as a sign.
As Jesus is headed to Jerusalem for the festival, the Samaritans turn Him and the disciples away from their town. The Samaritans considered Jerusalem to be an abomination, a city that served a false god. They believed that the city of God was in Shiloh, where it was first established and served until the time of David. When Jewish pilgrims went to Jerusalem, it was the Samaritans belief that they were participating in idolatry and something other than true worship so they did not welcome these travelers. James and John take great offense and at least believe that they have some supernatural powers to command fire from heaven, a bit presumptuous I would say. As they travel, several come to offer themselves, two unbidden, one called by Jesus, to become disciples of Jesus. Jesus always reminds them that the road is difficult, it is not the way of the world to follow Him. When He sets the price they all take a pass.
Does this passage have to do with “backsliding”? Yes, in a way, it does but not in the sense we often speak of backsliding. The writer is speaking of those who have gone back to Judaism either in part or in whole. The entire message of the book of Hebrews is based on the superiority of Jesus to anything Judaism has to offer. He is said to be greater than the angels, greater than Moses, the greatest High Priest, the fulfillment of all the Scriptures have promised. To go back to these things is to re-crucify Jesus and hold Him up to contempt as a pretender. Instead, we are urged from the beginning of the book to recognize Him as the one through whom God created all things, the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, who upholds the universe by the word of his power. We are urged to continue to follow Him, not turn back when the end is delayed, to understand that His life, like Ezekiel’s, is a prophetic word for us, that we will be rejected by men and that if we persevere we will receive life.
Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes, nor questions how;
Though the cloud from sight received Him when the forty days were o’er
Shall our hearts forget His promise, “I am with you evermore”?
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