The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
Ezikiel 23:1-11
First and foremost, our prayers go out to the families of the victims and the injured who are fighting for their lives in Paris after Friday night’s attacks. We pray that they will turn their hearts to God for peace and healing.
Today’s passage from Ezekiel is an allegory of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. After the split, idol worship was quickly instituted in the capitol of the northern kingdom, Samaria, in an attempt to keep the residents from visiting the southern kingdom to worship in Jerusalem. But as we read in today’s passage, it didn’t take Judah long to follow in her footsteps.
Even when the people of the southern kingdom witnessed the horrific judgments being poured out on Israel and Samaria at the hands of the Assyrians, they refused to turn back to God and repent. Instead, Judah and Jerusalem became more corrupt and more of a whore than the northern kingdom of Israel. And, of course, students of history know that Jerusalem was eventually besieged, pummeled, looted and burned to the ground by Babylon.
Europe has taken a sort of big-sister lead into the trend of Postmodern Humanism which basically dissolved the need of any god, be they false or be they true. Once filled with devout Christians, the ornate cathedrals of Europe are now only monuments to a time gone by, when people sought the mercy, favor, and protection of a loving God.
Just as Aholibah couldn’t wait to follow in her sisters footsteps, so America is quickly chasing after Europe’s brand of anti-theism, as we evict God from our schools, laws, daily lives, and entertainment; except when we need a good curse word.
The Assyrians, to whom God delivered the northern kingdom, were geographically located in that same northern section of Iraq, where we find ISIS today. Friday night, we saw one of the larges cities in the “old country” or America’s older sister delivered into the hands of the same people.
Will we, as a country, learn the hard lesson from our older sister or will we be doomed to repeat it? Pray that America will learn the lesson the easy way. Pray that we will repent and turn back to God above all else. Then, pray that we will learn the hard lesson that if you leave your front door open all night, you should expect murderers to come in and do what they do best. Also pray that we learn the hard lesson of gun control. There are few places on the planet that have more strict gun control laws than Paris, yet the murderers don’t pay attention to gun control laws.
In the anticipation that, like Jerusalem, America isn’t likely to learn the easy way, pray about moving your family out of the city. If you have to be in a particular area for work, consider the trade off of living on the outskirts of town. While you’ll have a longer commute, you’ll probably get more yard and more space for your money, and your family will definitely be safer. You can’t put a price on that.
Come back every Sunday for a new Prepper Bible Study! The most important prep of all is knowing GOD. Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die.” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.
Have a blessed day and happy prepping!
Mark
