(Caveat: Some of this blog is based on the book “The Harbinger” by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn. While it does appear that Cahn stretches things periodically to make them substantiate his interpretations, this does not in itself negate the overall message he is trying to convey. In writing this blog, I chose to rely on the message he wanted to impart, and to not quibble over his method to convey that message. Each quote attributed to any person was verified by consulting the original source of the quote.)
In studying Ezekiel, I became stuck at Ezekiel 9: 4-6. The Babylonians had besieged Jerusalem and carried away most of the inhabitants to Babylon, leaving only a small fraction of the Jews there. Those who remained there were being led by priests who had defiled the temple by bringing in the worship of idols, and by governors who refused to heed the words of the prophets. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others all prophesied to those remaining in Jerusalem, telling them to leave and surrender themselves to the Babylonians for their own good. In the midst of their abominations and their refusal to hear the words of the prophets, God determined to send judgment against them in order that they “shall know that I am the Lord”.
In Ezekiel 9: 4-6 God was speaking to the angels who were charged with carrying this judgment to Jerusalem:
“And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”
God would not let me move past that passage of scripture. He wanted me to examine my own heart. Given the general condition of the “church” today, if this judgment were sent against us now, would I be among those who were “marked” because I mourned for the condition of the “church”, or would I be among those who continued living as if nothing were wrong?
After a period of mourning (which needs to continue), God let me move on in Ezekiel, but again He brought me to a standstill in Ezekiel 11. In chapter 10 one of the angels from chapter 9 was charged to “fill thine hand with coals of fire…, and scatter them over the city”. Chapter 11 reveals the response of the priests and governors remaining in Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 11: 2-4 “Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.”
I struggled and struggled with trying to understand this passage of Scripture. Contemplation didn’t seem to help. Commentaries didn’t seem to help as they each had their own interpretation of its meaning. As I continued the search for understanding God led me to read “The Harbinger” by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn. Finally, a breakthrough.
In essence, they were saying that nothing could harm them because they resided in Jerusalem and they would always be protected there. They advised the people that no attack of the enemy was near, no judgment from God was near, and they should continue living life as usual. “It intimates that they were the more secure because Jerusalem was the holy city, and they thought themselves a holy people in it, not to be meddled with.” (Matthew Henry Commentary on Ezekiel 11).
God’s response to them came through the prophet in Ezekiel 11: 9-10:
“And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the borders of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord”.
They ignored the signs. They ignored the warnings. They ignored the prophets. They ignored their history. They ignored the written word of God. And so, this prophecy was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar slew all the nobles of Judah at Riblah on the utmost border of Canaan.
This event was “a late-stage warning, allowed to take place only when nothing else would wake them up… limited…restrained… the sound of an alarm for the purpose of averting a much greater calamity. It never could have happened had Israel remained inside the will of God… But outside the will of God, any notion of national security or invincibility was an illusion… Apart from returning to God, there was no wall strong enough to protect them. It was their wake-up call.” (Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger, pp. 27- 28).
For the Jews, “most would see the tragedy as a matter of defense, national security, or foreign policy. They committed themselves to making sure it would never happen again. They fortified their defenses, strengthened their walls, and formed strategic alliances. Few of them pondered the possibility that there could be any deeper significance behind it. And yet the voices of their prophets, the words of their Scriptures, and an uneasy stirring in their hearts were all warning them that something was wrong. The nation had departed from God. But apart from the prophets, few realized the critical line they had crossed and the new and dangerous era they had entered. No political or military power would be strong enough to ensure their safety; only a return to God. The attack was a warning and a harbinger of judgment.” (Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger, p. 28).
So, what does this have to do with us? Today? In America?
In ignoring their history, the Jews forgot about what ensued after the Assyrian attack on Israel. Isaiah 9: 8-12 records:
“The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart ,
The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones:
the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth.”
“This is Israel’s response to that first invasion, the first calamity. These are the words that sum up the nation’s spirit – a spirit of pride, defiance, and arrogance in the face of calamity… We’ll beat it back. We’ll rebuild. We’ll undo the damage as it if never happened. Not only will we not change our course – we’ll pursue it now with even more zeal. We’ll come out of this calamity stronger than ever and rise to even greater heights than before…
“In the wake of the calamity, the nation responds without repentance, humility, or reflection, but with pride and defiance. Their leaders vow, ‘We will rebuild’. They pledge to rebuild bigger, better, taller, and stronger than before. The rebuilding takes place on the ground of destruction. The construction is intended to be a symbol of national resurgence. It is set to rise up from the ruins of that which had fallen and to surpass it… In the wake of their calamity, the leaders of ancient Israel proclaimed, ‘We will rebuild’ – the first sign of defiance.” (Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger, pp. 46-47, 61).
So, what was America’s response after the attack on 9/11?
On September 11, 2001, Mayor Rudy Giuliani promised: “We will rebuild. We’re going to come out of this stronger than before… The skyline will be made whole again.” (http://www.twintowersalliance.com/petition/save-the-wtc).
New York Senator Chuck Schumer was quoted: “We will rebuild.” (Press Release, Sept. 14, 2001).
Governor George Pataki was quoted in a press release on August 8, 2006: “Five years ago, the best of mankind stood up to the worst of mankind, fueled by our reverence for freedom and in defense of humanity, civilization, and liberty. We will remember, we will rebuild, and we will move forward with the full confidence of a free people.” (http://www.renewnyc.com/displaynews.aspx?newsid=43aefabe-5e5b-409a-98c6-0777598873b4).
In the text of the inaugural speech of newly-elected Mayor Michael Bloomberg on January 1, 2002, he is reported to say, “We will rebuild, renew, and remain the capital (sic) of the free world”. (http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/02/nyregion/mayoral-transition-mayor-s-speech-rebuild-renew-remain-capital-free-world.html).
In President George W. Bush’s address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001 he made many promises:
“Tonight, we face new and sudden national challenges. We will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of air marshals on domestic flights, and take new measures to prevent hijacking. We will come together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying, with direct assistance during this emergency.
“We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to track down terror here at home. We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act, and find them before they strike.
“We will come together to take active steps that strengthen America’s economy, and put our people back to work.
“Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom — the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time — now depends on us. Our nation — this generation — will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.” (https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html).
President Barack Obama likewise addressed a joint session of Congress on February 24, 2009 stating,
“We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.” (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-barack-obama-address-joint-session-congress).
Countless other national leaders repeated the same three words, “we will rebuild”, but none realized the significance of their proclamations. The emphasis here is not so much on rebuilding, but on “we”.
Everything revolves around what “we” will do to become mightier, higher, stronger. Will “we” ignore the signs? Will “we” ignore the warnings? Will “we” ignore the prophets? Will “we” ignore history? Will “we” ignore the Word of God?
It appeared so, as our nation’s leaders proclaimed even more declarative promises and used the Word of God to do so. On September 12, 2001 Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle spoke on Capitol Hill,
“I know there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation. But there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that I think speaks to all of us at times such as this:
The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.
That is what we will do. We will rebuild and we will recover.” (https://www.congress.gov/crec/2001/09/12/CREC-2001-09-12-pt1-PgS9284.pdf)
Sounds good, doesn’t it? But what he forgot was the context in which Isaiah made record of this word. Daschle quoted Isaiah 9: 10, but ignored what came before,
Isaiah 9: 9 “The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel;
and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:”
and what came after,
Isaiah 9: 11 “Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;”.
These were words of pride and arrogance, not words to be claimed as comfort and promise from the Lord. Again, the emphasis is on what “we” will do, what “we” will rebuild, and what “we” will recover.
So, what can be done to keep history from repeating itself?
There is a ray of hope given in the last part of Isaiah 9: 12
“…For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”
After everything: the pride, the arrogance, the turning away from God, the worship of idols, the false prophets… after everything, God’s hand was still reaching out for his people.
Just as pride and arrogance were embodied in a single word, “we”, the answer to the question lies in a single word, “if”.
II Chronicles 7: 14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Scriptures beginning with the word “if” are always followed by conditions which, if met, will be followed by a promise from the Lord.
Followers of Christ are not called to be the “we” spoken of by politicians, but instead are called to be the “we” of “my people, which are called by my name”. Being the people referred to in II Chronicles places on us the burden to meet the conditions required to claim the promise.
• Condition 1 – Humble yourselves
The definition of humble is: not proud or haughty, nor arrogant or assertive. To humble oneself means to destroy the power, independence, or prestige of. It means to be brought low. We do that by not being so self-absorbed that we are loathe to cry, to mourn, to wail, to throw ourselves prostrate before the throne of God.
• Condition 2 – Pray
Petition God for his mercy for yourself, for the church, and for our nation; and through prayer reach for his outstretched hand.
• Condition 3 – Seek my face
The definition of the word humble contains the word “independence”. We must relinquish our independent nature, fall on the mercy of God, and so seek to be as much a part of him as He is in us. We must yearn to become so close to God, that we can see His face.
• Condition 4 – Turn from your wicked ways
Repent before God for any personal shortcomings. Repent for the abominations which abound in the church today. And repent for the sins of America. Yes, we, as individual believers hold the power to repent for the church and the nation, a truth that is overlooked by many of us.
If and when “we”, the church, fulfill the four conditions listed in II Chronicles, THEN God will fulfill His promise to forgive the sin and heal the land.
Is there any hope?
Yes and amen! On June 24, 2022 the nation’s Supreme Court, in the overturning of Roe v Wade, lit a light at the end of a long dark tunnel. It is the first beacon of light to shine that portends a possibility of the return of America to the heart of God.
We must, therefore, continue in our dedication to fulfilling the conditions required of us, and believe that the promise of God to heal our land is not only possible, but is beginning.