“A riddle and a Parable” the Wayfarer 1/24/14

“A riddle and a Parable”

1/24/14

“And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;”

(Ezekiel 17:1&2)

I turn, once more, to the old prophets and the wisdom left us by one of them for today’s message.

I do so with the foreknowledge of all the critics who will continue to scoff at the pertinence to our current world and the situations in which we find ourselves entangled, both as nations, and as individuals, today.

My response continues to be the wisdom found in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun, and that unless we take the lessons already once learned and apply them, we are predestined to repeat the mistakes and failures of the past.

“And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle, with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it away into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.

And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches and shot forth sprigs.

There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bring forth fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God: shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? It shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof,

Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where  it grew.”

(Ezekiel 17: 3-10)

Ezekiel goes on to say that the Lord made clear to him the meaning of the riddle and parable given.

It was a warning to Israel who, once more, had turned from God, (that first eagle), and made covenants with Babylon, (the second eagle), and had gone whoring after the gods and sciences and knowledge purportedly given by them instead.

God then gives Ezekiel the “rest of the story” as to what to expect this betrayal to mean as it will not be tolerated.

Just as Israel departed from the intended glory invested in it by our God, and went after the allures and teachings of political powers of the time that divested it of all semblance of what was intended for them, so too, do I find my own society and the majority of the world chasing those same corrupt allures and promises that take us away from what God intended for us when we were first conceived.

The results of that departure must, as always result in that same judgment, that same withering, that same pulling up by the roots that is going on right now.

We are told that it does not require many to do so, and indeed the most vociferous among our society that cause change and departure are not a majority, but a small minority that would force the Majority to their corrupted way of thought if we allow it.

The devastation caused by that minority will spread and create havoc… for a long while, but Ezekiel also offered hope.

“Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:

In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.”

    (Ezekiel 17:22-24)

The verses between the given scripture, I leave for the reader to go to both for edification and warning to be taken.

God has indeed planted the mighty cedar that will stand the test of time, sheltering all willing to seek shelter.

Those rooted in the teachings and faith in that tree of life given us will continue to stand, and have hope both now and in the resurrection.

The tree I speak of is no less than Christ Jesus himself who also taught, warned and gave hope through parables and riddles.

He also referenced the growth, and withering of the branches of a vine:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

every branch that is in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”

(John 15:1-7)

Those who have the words taught by Christ written and abiding within their hearts cannot abide the false promises and abominations of those seeking to remove us from the vine, and would uproot that vine altogether if it were possible.

From which vine does your branch shoot forth?  Is it growing from the ideological teachings of socialism, communism, atheism, agnosticism, or any of the other isms that would separate you from the nourishment of the true vine?

Are you rooted and watered along with that true vine, or do your leaves show the discoloration from having absorbed the poisons of all those other isms, and more, false religions and gods, the need to belong to a society that promotes all other isms above and instead of what was taught by our Savior?

Does your faith and belief take precedence over the demands of all around you to participate in those isms, and recognize them as equally acceptable to all as the teachings and concepts left us by Jesus?

Do you recognize the demands for tolerance of abomination and equality of those committing abominations as a God given right and any reference to the true teachings of Jesus as a hate crime to be what they truly are, a tool used to separate us from the true vine, in hopes that vine withers so that the weed may grow in its place, or do you shyly remain silent as the sickles are brought out to remove your faith and belief instead of for the harvest as was intended.

The machetes are at work as well, chopping fervently at tender shoots that could grow in faith and strength, and removing even the heads of those refusing to succumb, and continuing to exhibit that faith and belief.

The time has come to decide wherein your branch lies, which eagle to whom you owe loyalty.

I state again for those who would call me a wild eyed prophet, I claim no gift of prophecy, only the ability to look at my surroundings and recognize the things previously prophesied that no one is paying attention to.

I claim no righteousness of my own, for I have none, except that which I shall be given when I stand before the throne to answer for my failures. Among those, I pray that failure to give the needed warning, will not be one.

I ask all who claim to be one of those branches bearing fruit to join me in the proclamation and practice of the simple message of redemption through repentance given by Jesus:

“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

I remain, nothing more nor less that an humble loving servant attempting to reach all like myself, simple sinners, but, I remain also His servant, one of those simple sinners, saved by His grace through faith in Him, still and yet the soldier I was called to be in His service, delivering that service to the best of my poor ability until I am able to give perfect service when the imperfections of this world are left behind.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer