STAND ALONE, OR FALL WITH THE CROWD
If I were to ask you all
why you come to church every week, what would you say?
One reason we gather
together each week should be to receive from God the strength we need to stand
alone in the midst of a fallen & wicked world. I would like to introduce
you to some friends I met who can help us to do just that:
Ezekiel 48:11
It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified,
who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went
astray, as the Levites went astray.
The Book of Ezekiel is a
very unique book, with its strange visions into the heavenly relm, the unusual
requests God makes upon his prophet, its fire and brimstone proclamations
against entire nations ...(Ezekiel would not be very popular in many churches
if he were around today, nevertheless his words are true and the church is
supposed to be the pillar and ground of the truth regardless of popularity or
persecution).
(Keep in mind that the
entire Old Testament was preserved by God for us: Romans 15:4
For whatever things were
written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. )
Ez 48:11 is not the first
place in this book where the sons of Zadok are mentioned, but as I was reading
in my daily devotions, I began to ask myself why the sons of Zadok were singled
out from the preists. Why did God mention these guys and what does it really
have to do with me today? Let's see if
we can't find out!
Now our verse begins
with "It shall be.." The "It shall be" is a very special
place that was to be set apart for the sons of Zadok. This place is called in
verse 10 "The Holy District". You see Ezekiel was given a vision of a
brand new temple (Solomon's being destroyed) and along with the temple vision
he also reassigned the land to the different tribes. We also see from the text
that God viewed the sons of Zadok as sanctified & faithful:
who have kept My charge,
who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites
went astray.
Imagine what it was like
for these men. They were completely surrounded by apostacy, wickedness and
corruption. Even the other Levites had fallen away from serving the One True
Living God! I believe that this is our situation today.
Ezekiel 44:10-16
"And the Levites who
went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their
idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11Yet they shall be
ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of
the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people,
and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12Because
they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to
fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against
them," says the Lord God, "that they shall bear their iniquity. 13And
they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of
My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their
shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14Nevertheless
I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that
has to be done in it.
15"But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who
kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me,
they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to
offer to Me the fat and the blood," says the Lord God. 16They
shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me,
and they shall keep My charge.
Notice the Grace of God
revealed in verse 14. Even though the Levites had went astray, God allows them
to continue to serve him. BUT the sons of Zadok,
these were the men that God allowed to come near to Him. It seems to me that if
we really want to get close to Almighty God, we need to be willing to stand
alone in the midst of a wicked world and a worldly church!
tsadaq, tsaw-dak'; a
primitive root; to be (causative make) right (in a moral
or forensic sense) :- cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just (-ice, -ify, -ify
self), (be, turn to) righteous (-ness).
Another question I ask
myself is: Just how in the world were these men able to stand firm, to resist
the peer pressure, the temptations and allurements to evil and idolatry? How
did these men end up with the strength of character to remain faithful to God
when everyone around them fell away?
Now the Old Testament has
many other examples of men of character. Noah for instance, was one of the few
(8) that were saved from the flood. Joseph, Daniel etc. It seems that God
really honors and blesses those who are willing to stand alone, to remain
faithful to Him no matter what. Now the sons of Zadok seem to have inherited
their character from their father. Zadok was the high preist during the reign
of David, but he wasn't the only high preist, Abiathar was the other one. They
apparently served side by side until Abiathar committed treason in supporting
Adonijah rather than Solomon as the next King of Israel.
The important thing for
us to know is that the character of the
father has a profound influence on the sons. What kind of a heritage are we as
fathers leaving our children? The best inheritance is that of a Godly example.
Our attitudes actions words and deeds will impact generations to come either
positively or negatively.
Back in chapter 44, after
God allows the Sons of Zadok to come near to Him, He gives them a job to do.
Ezekiel 44:23-24
And they shall teach My
people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to
discern between the unclean and the clean. 24In controversy they
shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They
shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall
hallow My Sabbaths.
It is the responsibility of
every preist to understand the difference between holy and unholy, good and
evil, right and wrong, spiritual truth and spiritual error. This responsibility
to discern extends to every single believer today. Did you that that if you
belong to Christ, if you have been genuinely converted and born anew by the
Holy Spirit of God, that YOU are a preist?
1 Peter 2:5-12
you also, as living stones,
are being built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6Therefore it is also
contained in the Scripture,
"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
7Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but
to those who are disobedient,
"The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,"
8and
"A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense."
They stumble, being disobedient
to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9But
you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light; 10who once were not a people but are now the
people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
11Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims,
abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12having
your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as
evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God
in the day of visitation.
Now I would ask you just
exactly what kind of a preist have you been?
A Levite that has gone astray, or a son of Zadok, keeping the charge of
God, honoring Him above all else no matter what the consequenses?
As pilgrims and sojourners
we only have a very short time until we meet the one we claim to know and
worship.
Not only that but during
our pilgrimage to the celestial city, if we a to remain close to God, we must
be willing to adjust our lives accordingly. The Sons of Zadok were called near
to God because they remained faithful to Him. They overcame the fears, trials,
temptations that pulled all the other Levites away from God. If we desire
closeness and intimacy with Christ we must maintain a stuborn bullheaded
tunnelvision with our spiritual eyes. As we walk through the "Vanity
Fair" of the world there are many things that would pull us away from
Christ ans the pursuit of a Holy life.
(READ ROBERT BOLTON)
The legacy of Zadok doesn't
stop in the book of Ezekiel though:
Matthew 1:14-17
Azor begot Zadok, Zadok
begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15Eliud begot Eleazar,
Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16And
Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called
Christ. 17So all the generations from Abraham to David are
fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are
fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are
fourteen generations.
Don't think for a minute
that God forgets your faithfulness! He will remember and reward those who are
fully committed to Him.
As Jim Elliott martyr to
the Auca Indians in the 50s said:
"He is no fool who
gives up what he can never keep, to gain what he can never lose.
Lets Pray.
Stand for Benediction:
2 Cor. 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be
with you all. Amen.