Now, as for I&II Chronicles, and I&II Kings: Well, I Chronicles is almost completely historical documentary, and we’ll find no mention of way or ways. Lots of begats, though. I guess they were so busy begatting that they didn’t spend much time on the way. More than half of I Kings is the story of, mainly, the kingdom years of Solomon, his legacy, and his offspring, and then comes the decline of the kingdom. There are several mentions of the way and ways.
Most of I&II Kings and II Chronicles goes something like this: good king/good ways, bad king/bad ways, bad king/bad ways, bad king/bad ways, bad king/bad ways, pretty good king/left something out of his way, bad king/bad ways, very bad king/went out of his way to be bad, okay king/well, he didn’t make things any worse, bad king/bad ways, bad king/bad ways, warnings, and exile. There are a lot of way and ways mentioned, and as you can tell, most of them are not His way. It gets really confusing when you start considering the split of the kingdom, and that Judah has kings, and Israel has kings, and sometimes there are two bad kings, and sometimes there is one good king and one bad king, and rarely, if ever, two good kings. A bad king would “walk in the way of the kings of Israel” or worse. In Josiah’s case (II Kings 22), he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”
It is also during the time of “Kings and Chronicles” that God raises up the (multiple) prophets. These are the poor guys that were despised by everybody for telling the truth, and usually stood alone because they weren’t saying what everyone wanted to hear. For the sake of time, and your patience, and to not repeat myself, I’m going to use the records of the prophets to show God’s heart concerning the way during this period. And remember, the Prophets are concurrent with the kingdom and the exile and the post-exile periods, but they are speaking the Spirit of Yeshua ha Messiach.
But first, Solomon. Here’s a guy that God blessed more than (possibly) anyone who ever lived. He inherited a (almost) perfect kingdom from David. It was a type of what the Lord Yeshua’s kingdom will be when He returns. It was a God-centered theocratic monarchy, the only God-endorsed form of government (no, democratic republics are not endorsed by God. When the people rule {Rev. 3:14-22}, they only fall away from God of their own lusts and desires. That’s the meaning of Laodicea. “The people rule”).
Now, Solomon started out pretty well. When he prayed to God, he asked for wisdom, and God said, “OK. That pleases Me. Since you didn’t ask for wealth or stuff, I’ll not only make you wiser than anyone before you, I’ll also make you richer.” You see, a truly wise man would know what to do with riches, right? Welllll, Solomon sure knew a lot. But his head got a little too big for his shoulders. He got greedy, he misused the riches, and the glory, well, he took it for himself. As a result, all the things he warns us not to do in Proverbs (and possibly Ecclesiastes), he did. Now, this is conjecture, but it seems to me that at the end he may have learned his lesson, though too late for Israel. He may have turned back to God. But the first lines of Ecclesiastes are interesting. “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Hmmmm. Well, if it was Solomon, what did he learn? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man”, or, in other words, “Wisdom is only good to those who apply it. Just having it won’t be enough.”
Isaiah. Now let me put forth a quandary for you. If someone were to walk around in front of your church, naked, and start exclaiming warnings from God, what would your thoughts be, I mean, after those of you who are “packing” had shot him dead? Well, let me introduce you to the prophet of God. Not the most popular folks on the block, to be sure. What if one of your elders went downtown and picked up a crack-addict hooker, brought her to church on Sunday, and married her, and said that God told him to? What if at your next church barbecue, someone brought their offerings, and, before laying them on the grill, threw a bunch of fecal matter on top of the coals, and then started cooking? And then, what if He went to the sandbox and started forming a replica of your church surrounded by ramps and siege engines? “Hey, uh, pastor…” What if someone walked up and asked you if your god wasn’t answering you because he’s on the toilet? What if each day, you saw a neighbor carry suitcases outside, knock a hole in his fence, crawl through the hole (with his luggage), and return in the morning, only to repeat the procedure again that evening and every following evening? Well, you’d better get used to it. Because the prophets warned that in the end days, God was going to raise up “watchmen”, to sound the call and the warning cry of God. We are in the end days. And “there’s nothing new under the sun. What has happened before, will happen again.” (Paraphrase, Ecc. 1:8-11)
Everybody’s very careful these days about the words “prophet” or “prophecy”. There’s no quicker way to be labeled a heretic than to claim to be one or to have the other. Yes, there are plenty of people “teaching” about prophecy, and although many don’t outright claim to be a prophet, many of them infer it; after all, if they’re ever proven wrong, well, there goes their audience. If someone speaks prophetically, people will remark something like, “Well, isn’t that special. Thank you…” or, “That guy thinks he’s a prophet!” And then you may as well stop wearing deodorant, because people will treat you like you don’t anyway. But Paul says of prophesies that we should seek prophecy as one of the best gifts. He says do not despise prophesies; do not quench the Spirit. He says that the prophets of the ecclesia are there to exhort, to keep the ecclesia in line (exhort does not necessarily mean to make everybody feel warm and fuzzy). But if there’s anything a pastor despises, it’s a prophet in his group that doesn’t agree with him, and worse, one who calls him to account. “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
Prophets are given precedence in the ecclesia over everyone but apostles, including pastors and teachers (I Cor. 12:28), and in Eph. 3:5 it appears as if they’re given “equal ranking” with the Apostles concerning hearing from the Spirit. Kings would tremble at the very mention of their name. Many pastors and elders unfortunately get around this by claiming that the prophetic gifts “are not for today’s church” (see Acts 2:39 and I Cor. 13:9-10), or, by simply suggesting, “Don’t you think that guy is a bit strange?” or, “He’s critical. That’s not of the Lord!” (Psalm 101:5). The Word says they’ll be around until “that which is perfect has come.” Excuse me, did I miss something? Did the Kingdom come and no one told me about it? I’d better get to Jerusalem and apologize! I didn’t even notice the King arriving! What does happen? We’re told to stay in our seats and be quiet so we can hear the guy we’re paying to talk to us. No, that’s not my bitterness. That’s God’s Truth.
People now, as then, like things… well, just the way they like them. That’s how they pick their churches. Nice and comfy. Don’t rock the boat or draw attention to yourself. That’s just not “humble”. And never contradict Pastor! (Unless you’re an elder). Either the elders hire the pastor so he’s under their thumb, or the pastor sees to it that fellows likeminded with him get appointed as an elder. It’s no wonder the Spirit’s quenched! The very people that God created to exhort in the body aren’t allowed to speak (unless they make an appointment and run it by a committee first)! (Isaiah 30:9-11) Well, hang onto your pews (or folding chairs)! God’s getting ready to rock the boat. Look at what the Word tells us about it.
How did Paul and Peter and John know what was to happen in the end times? Well, some of it Yeshua told them before the Cross. Some of it He told them after the Cross. Some of it the Holy Spirit told them. And a lot of it came from the mouths of the Prophets in Scripture. “The more sure word of prophecy”. More sure than what they had seen with their own eyes! The prophets of God were, are, and will always be, 100% correct. They are a special breed. After they’re “prepared” by God, they’re no longer “respecters of persons”. If they’re “false prophets”, well, they’re in deep trouble, millstone style.
Some saw the future. Some exclaimed the Heart of God. Some did both. Some performed miracles. But you can bet one thing; if they’re saying, “Now, now, everything’s just fine”, they’re not likely to be from God. God raises up the prophets to shake things up. They are His personal watchdogs and whistle blowers (we know how much everybody likes a tattle-tale). But their purpose is most often mistaken by the “general populace”. They are shouting a warning! They are telling us what we need to know for our own good! They’re saying, “Watch out! You’re about to make an irreversible mistake! Stop and save yourself!” They’re weeping and praying and fasting and enduring ridicule and going without any kind of a “normal” life for us! Do you think they like it? And they’re rarely listened to, only shunned. Just like The Prophet, Yeshua. When was the last time you really searched what they suffered and died to say?
Think about that while you hear what they have to say to us today about the Way.
Isaiah. He begins in the first chapter explaining God’s Heart about Israel’s backslidden condition. His main complaint? They keep all their assemblies and “special feast days”, but they ignore the poor, the fatherless, and the widow. Therefore, He hates their “religious works”. They have despised the way.
The first mention of the way comes in Isaiah 3:12. “O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.” I know that a lot of pastors and teachers preach and teach that the prophets were usually only talking about their contemporaries in Israel. But it’s really eye-opening when I read through the Prophets and see the United States, and especially the churches in the United States, pictured so clearly. And we’re told in the Epistles that since we’ve been grafted in, God won’t treat us any more gently than He did the original tree when they were in disobedience to His Word.
8:11. “…I should not walk in the way of this people, …Do not say ‘A conspiracy…’” I go into some detail in the chapter called, “Conspiracy, Conspiracy”, concerning this particular “end days prophetic warning”. The main point is, though, that we should not pay as much attention to “the signs of the times” as we should to fearing the Lord and His wrath. We should be aware of the season, not distracted from the Words of Yeshua, the fear of the Lord, and the needs of others by current events.
In chapter 26, we see the future Kingdom come to Israel, and much happier times. In this chapter, we see the celebrations and the “calling out of the saints,” and the resurrection. Of course by this time, everyone who was not in the way has been taken out of the way. Verses 7-8 state, “The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just. Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you.” This verse is a clear indication that those who are in the Kingdom are those who have walked the path of the way, just as Jesus said it would be.
In chapter 28, it gets sad again. The priests and the prophets have erred, and are “out of the way” because of wine and intoxicating drink. Yes, there very well may have been intoxicating beverages involved. But normally, in prophetic remarks, this “wine and intoxicating drink” are more indicative of false religion (old wine and other gods) and greed (fleecing the sheep). (Have you ever noticed, in the sacrificial law, that the priests were not to fleece the sheep that were selected and offered to God?) The entire passage above is a cry by the Lord that He can’t find anyone to teach His true message. He says that they say, “For we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves (a false covering).”
In 30:21, the Lord says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way. Walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.” He is talking about when He rules in Zion. Verse 35:8: “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those (others): the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” It also says, in verse 9, “but the redeemed shall walk there.” In the text, it’s clear to see that wayfaring men who are unclean shall not be allowed on the way of holiness, but that it is the way for those who are holy.
Now, in chapter 40, we see the clarion call of John the Baptist, “The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” How do we prepare? John said, “Repent (die to yourselves) and be baptized (ritual cleansing in water symbolic of leaving our entire lives behind).” The real Baptism (of the Holy Spirit into the covenant of His Blood), in this case, comes later.
In 42:16, it talks of the Messiah by saying, “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known.” Nicodemus, one of the most scholarly of the leaders of the Jews, certainly hadn’t known it (“Are you a master of Israel, and know not these things?”)! And in 48:17, the Lord declares, “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teaches you to profit, which leads you by the way that you should go.” How did He lead? By example and by the Truth. It’s truly amazing how many christians believe that everything that Yeshua said before the Cross was either for the Jews or is dismissed for the gentile believer by “grace”.
I’d like to make a commentary at this time about the aspects of Isaiah 53:6 that, more than unfortunately, have been misinterpreted, contrived, conjectured, and twisted until they are no longer the Truth. “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” No doubt. The absolute Truth. But it has been twisted, by many men most of who were quite sincere, into something other than what actually transpired. It is the biggest deception, indeed, the biggest lie from Hell in the church and in the world today. It is that since He bought us grace with His Blood (which is true), we now have license and automatic forgiveness for present and future sin. This is simply not the truth. I’ve explained this in the chapter called, “The Sinner’s Prayer: Doctrines of Men and Demons”, but I’ll explain, briefly, the basis for this argument that was never intended to be an argument.
When we die to ourselves, and are made new creatures when we put on Yeshua and walk according to the Spirit, the idea is to heed the Spirit of the Word and not to sin (Rom. 6:7-11). We’ve put to death our flesh and the lusts thereof. And we’re not to consider the Blood of Yeshua a common thing. And yes, if we do sin, we have One to intercede for us; but we’ve given and taken much license with this in the church, which is licentiousness. Galatians 5 tells us that those who practice it will not inherit the Kingdom of God!
If we die to our old lives, and ourselves, we’re released from bondage (to the Law of sin and death) by the grace (leading, presence, indwelling) of the Holy Spirit, because of the Blood of Christ, and expected to walk in obedience (the Law of the Spirit of Life in ha Messiach Yeshua). We are “new men”, living with the Law written on our hearts, and not subject to the fear of death because we’ve already died. Its “sting” is gone! The problem is, the gospel that is taught today doesn’t teach to die completely to our old lives, as Yeshua and the apostles taught and did, and to continue in it, as they taught, encouraged, and expected the Saints to do. Anyone who didn’t (in The Way) was confronted in love, and if they didn’t truly repent, or die to their sin, they would be “turned over to Satan.” But in today’s church, that’s not considered “loving” (…“having a form of godliness”…). And they had turned from their worldly possessions (not a very “popular” message), or bondage. So, our churches have many who have not died to themselves and to the world, and it’s evident by the increase of apostasy that is taking place as well as the lack of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, God’s approval rating. The church may be growing exponentially, but so is the apostasy! If you would like to challenge me on this, (you who is spiritual and with an attitude to restore), read to the end of this document first, please, and then prayerfully consider your position in the Word. Thank you. (One note that may be helpful to readers: I have discovered that I learn more when I seek to prove myself wrong in the Scriptures than when I go looking for ways to defend my position.)
Moving on, what has been explained above is emphasized in Isaiah 55:7 (as well as in the totality of Scripture). “Let the wicked forsake his way (Luke 5:11, Luke 14:33), and the unrighteous man (forsake) his thoughts (Phil. 2:5); let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, and He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord.” All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, therefore all are wicked. We must all forsake our ways and our thoughts and follow His way. Not my opinion, but God’s Words.
There is a “little warning” to pastors and teachers in Isaiah 56:9-12 that I’ll leave you to view at your own discretion, and 57:10-21 is interesting and helpful for all of us to see. Also, read chapter 59, and concentrate on verse 8 as a “centerpiece”. “The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways. They have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace.” Basically, Yeshua came to teach us the good way, the straight path to peace with God, or, the gospel. The Good News. There is “A Way”. But we continue to make crooked paths for ourselves to this very day.
There is encouragement for those who follow the way in Isaiah 62:10. Keep in mind the Lord’s Words about the gate, the path, and the way as you read, “Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the peoples!” And an admonition for those who refuse to listen is found in 65:2 : “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts;” Picture in your mind, if you will, the thought of Him stretching out His hands all day long for us, and bring back the thought to your mind of Him saying, “I am the way. Forsake all, and follow (mimic, be like) Me! There is no other way!” (Luke 6:40,46, Luke 8:21, Matthew 10:25a, Luke 14:33)
Now for the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. Now, most people get very uncomfortable reading the prophets, but especially one like Jeremiah. So, many say, “Oh, they’re much too difficult to understand, and I’m not a bible scholar, so I’ll just listen to what others have to say about it. I don’t need the warnings, because I’m already saved.” Before you get upset with me, let me admit that what I stated above is what I used to think. I’m no bible scholar. I have a G.E.D. I, too, thought I was “saved” and that I didn’t need any “more” than that. But I was wrong. Finally, through a series of events, by the mercy of God, I took the advice of the Proverbs and I “got knowledge, and got understanding.” How? Again, by the grace of God (the conviction and leading of the Spirit), my eyes were opened and I prayed and dug for it. The Book of Jeremiah is a wake up call to get to know God, and to learn His ways, before it’s “too late”. “Seek the Lord while He may be found…”
Please remember that I’m not beating you up, here. I’m going through the Word of God and pointing out what He’s saying. OK, then. Let’s go!
Remember that, if you’re a true believer, you’ve been grafted in to the “main tree” of Israel. It’s very important to not say of Jeremiah, or of any other prophetic book, that it only speaks of the Jews. That thought is a lie of the enemy of God and His people, to hide from you the Truth. I’m going to ask you now to pause, and to get your bible (hopefully you already have), and to read the entirety of Jeremiah chapter 2. Pay particular attention to verses 17, 23, 33, and 36 when you get to them. In fact, and please be patient with me, read through it twice. It is the Lord crying out to you! “Return to the heart that you had in the wilderness!”
Now that you’ve (hopefully) read chapter 2, prayerfully, let’s move ahead to Jeremiah 3:21-23, and read and take note of those verses, and do the same with 4:14-22. These verses are not our Lord “beating up on us.” They represent the Lord crying out a warning to us to examine ourselves. Now, in 5:1-5, take note of verses 4 & 5. “Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. (So) I will go to the great men and speak to them, for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.”
Do you remember the parable that Yeshua told about the Master who had sent his servants with a message, but those in “control” of the vineyard refused to heed them, and so beat them and killed them? Jeremiah was such a man as those servants. It would be wise to heed his words. Remember that the “Master” later sent His Son with the same message. Jeremiah, in the remainder of chapter 5, goes on to explain that the leaders and the people have gone away from God. They (the leaders and the people) say (verse 12), “Neither will evil come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.” I suggest you prayerfully read through the remainder of chapter 5, as well, because both Jesus and the apostles said it would be the same with the church in the end days.
Now, a thorough study of the Book of Jeremiah will show the one whose heart is seeking Him that the warnings are for the church as well as “Israel”. And in chapter 6, we see the Holy Spirit “speaking” through Jeremiah a warning of what to do when we look around us and (finally) see what He has foretold. He definitely gives us “a way” out. Read Jeremiah 6:16-17 with me. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” Many of us today ask to see it, but even if we do see, we won’t walk in it. “Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the Trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’” Immediately after this, the tribulation period begins. Some teachers may tell you that this applies only to Israel in that day and time. That is simply not true. What these teachers are saying to you is, “Peace, peace”, when there is no peace! I invite you to prove this wrong, but first prove it to yourself in the Word!
The Lord repeats His warning to listen to His watchmen in Jeremiah 25:4-6.
Because the enemy has sent so many “false” prophets to our congregations in the past, or because we didn’t like what some had to say to us, our tendency is to disregard all who come proclaiming warnings to the ecclesia (which was and is the enemy’s purpose). But we should not do this. We should be aware of the signs of the times (“Watch, therefore, and pray…”), and carefully hear those who come to warn us, comparing what they say with the complete word of God. Do not heed the voice of your pastor or any other man (Psalm 118:8), including me, but take heed of the words, especially if they’re telling you what you don’t like to hear, and search the Word of God for the Truth of what they are saying. The best mark of a True Prophet of God is if they are saying things that you don’t want to listen to. The best mark of a false prophet or false teacher is if they are telling you what your itching ears want to hear. “Peace, peace; don’t doubt, everything is OK.”
We get encouraging news from Jeremiah in 31:9: They shall come with weeping, and with supplications (fervent prayers) I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble.” You’ll see, with study, that normally when a Prophet pronounces coming judgment, the Lord offers the way to escape (I Cor. 10:13). When someone “shouts imprecations” at you in the Name of the Lord, you can tell whether what they say is true if they then point at the way, and if they themselves are walking in it. They may not “look good (clean cut, nice clothes)” or “act normal (the same as everyone else)”, but what are they doing and saying as compared to the Word?
In Jeremiah 32:38-40, the message is to Jerusalem, but it applies to non-Hebrew believers as well, as can be seen in the “New Testament” (actually “New Covenant”). He says, “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so they will not depart from Me.” In 36:3 & 7, He exhorts every man to turn from his evil way. What is the sign of the covenant that He puts in our hearts? Fear. We know we are His true sons if He chastises us.
In chapter 42, verses 2 and 3, the people request of Jeremiah, “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (‘since we are left but a few of many, as you can see’), that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.” This entire chapter is a picture, or a “type”, of the “remnant church” that so many people talk about. They are all broken, and admitting that they have been in the wrong, and that they have recognized that Jeremiah was indeed listening to his God the entire time. Jeremiah then intercedes for them, and the rest of the chapter concerns God’s “conditions” for answering their prayer. As you read this entire chapter (as I encourage you to do and hope that you will), keep in mind that the “peace and safety” of their “Egypt” is also a type of the world and worldliness for those who claim to believe today. Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:28-33).
Now, read (please bear with me) Jeremiah chapter 50:1-7. Take note of “the way to Zion” and the “perpetual covenant”. There are promises for Israel, as well as the “gentile” believer (nations).
You’ll see a constant, recurrent theme as we journey through the words of the Prophets. They all proclaim that 1) God had given the people a way, 2) they had departed from it, 3) they are to return to the way, 4) if they do, God will bless them and keep them, and 5) if they don’t, they will perish. There are also many Promises that God Himself will eventually come and demonstrate the way for them. And that they will reject Him, and the way, except for a very few. These few (“many are called, few are chosen”) are “His sheep”, the remnant. Be very careful that it is really fruit you are seeing in those big churches with all their (self) pleasing amenities. If they are not forsaking all, then it is not a “good tree,” they’re just bearing a lot of “bad fruit”. Pretty harsh statement? I know, but compare it to the Word.
In the “traditional view”, the Book of Lamentations had Jeremiah as its “author”. The writer has a broken heart, both for what God has afflicted him with to “break (humble, prepare)” him, as well as for his people, who have turned from the way and have been almost completely destroyed for it. He admits that he deserved “His wrath”. The Lord has “blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.” He has also “turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate.” I can relate. That doesn’t sound like a very loving God, does it? But the Truth and True Love are inseparable. In chapter three, anyone who has ever been truly broken by God can surely empathize with the writer. But in the end, such a person is grateful to God, and does not hide from or shun further correction; in fact he fears and welcomes it, knowing the end result to be the breaking of his bonds to this world. It would be good for all of us to study chapter 3 of Lamentations. If we haven’t gone through something similar, we’re probably not “freed” of our bonds as of yet. Dying to self is painful. Sometimes we go through “partial” breakings (or depressions or anxiety), and after we go through them we think (mistakenly) that we’ve been “delivered”, and continue in our former lifestyle, with a few minor, though “spiritual”, changes. In Lamentations 3:40, he says, “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord.” Paul says to “examine yourself daily” to see if we’re in the faith (in the way). (I’ll explain that substitution later!)
Onward to Ezekiel!
Ezekiel can be viewed (in my opinion) as one of the most eccentric of the Prophets, which is to say he came across as quite eccentric. Most people know him as the “UFO” prophet (unfortunately, thanks to “could it be” Van Daniken!) (I highly recommend you don’t buy into his viewpoint!) But Ezekiel was quite descriptive in his portrayal of the visions that God presented to him, and despite seeming (to the world) to be a bit crazed, he was a righteous man of God.
So, in chapter 3, starting at verse 17, the Lord informs Ezekiel that He has made him a watchman for the house of Israel. Now, as you will be able to see, when God appoints a watchman, He usually says something like, “I’m going to give you a message to give to the people. But they’re not going to listen to you, in fact, they’ll despise you for what you’re telling them. They’ll tell you to go shear sheep or something. They’ll talk bad about you, and accuse you of anything they can think of to justify not listening to you. So after they’ve done that, you’re not allowed to go away and hide, or fall out of the way. Instead, I’ll give you some very demonstrative techniques with which to get their attention. But they still won’t listen, so you’ll just have to tell them they’ve had it if they don’t turn from their evil ways, and then I will carry out My judgment, and maybe then they’ll repent.”
Yes, popular men, the watchmen. It’s no different today. Again, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
In Ezekiel’s defense, I must include some other warnings God gave, for him. “Now, if I show you something, and you don’t tell them, their blood is on your soul.” God doesn’t give his Prophets any options, either. Remember Jonah?
Now, some modern “theologians” and “apologists” have conjectured that Prophets like Ezekial saw what they saw, and did what they did, because they were taking hallucinogenic drugs to enter into an “altered state” of consciousness. They must have been awful good drugs. Most people on drugs only want to do more drugs. They do not risk life and limb for people who could care less about them in the desire to be obedient to God. People who take hallucinogenic drugs do so to fulfill the desires of the flesh. And people who speak so against the Prophets of God call God a liar. They are on very dangerous ground. The world is not worthy of such men as Ezekiel (Hebrews 11:37-38). They, in obedience to God, judged by the same standards they themselves maintained in obedience to God’s Word.
In Ezekiel chapter 7, in verses 3,4,8, & 9, the Lord repeats Himself four times. I think He’s trying to make a point. He says, “I will repay you according to your ways.”
“But Jesus did it for us!”
“Did I say I was going to repay you according to My ways?”
“Well, no… not unless we’re in You and in your Way…”
“And how did I say to be in Me and in My Way?”
“Welll…by hearing Your Words and doing them, right?”
Chapter 18 of Ezekiel is a must-read. It’s full of “My way” and “your ways”. He (the Lord) lays down the “Law according to the way.” After this, the people cry, “But God, that’s not fair!” (Read it, you’ll see! They say exactly that!) God’s reply? “Turn and live”. This same concept repeats itself in Ez. 33:11-20 (also a must-read!).
The next example is one of those verses where the NKJV guys took quite a bit of “poetic license” and changed the meaning of the verse substantially (in my opinion). Again, I must suggest that you read the whole of Ezekiel chapter 22 in order to catch the intent in context. The “verse in question” is the last one, verse 31. In this instance, I’ll give you the whole verse from the KJV. “Therefore I have poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, says the Lord God.” Now, throughout the chapter, before this verse, God is giving the reasons why He is pouring out this wrath. I’ve come to some interesting, and frightening, conclusions about these reasons and what I perceive happening in today’s church. Take a look for yourself, and pray to the Lord for His conclusions.
Lastly, turn to Ezekiel chapter 36. This is an amazing chapter about end times prophecy, and filled with ways and hearts and judgments on Israel’s (current?) neighbors, and His forthcoming deliverance of His people, the True sons of Abraham, the True Israel.
Next, Daniel is one of my heroes. He was (from my limited observation) righteous, and he never flinched. He was in captivity almost his entire life in a world that was not his world, and yet he lived as if he were in His world. God, through Daniel, gained the worship of one of the most powerful, and one of the most “worldly”, of the kings of ancient times. Daniel never “slipped”, that I could see. He knew his reward wasn’t in this world, and acted accordingly. They tried, unsuccessfully, to “convert” Daniel to their way of life, even taking his name and giving him one of their own. He wouldn’t budge, but trusted God at His Word. Unlike many of the kings in Israel’s history, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon knew he could rely on Daniel for the Truth, and received his counsel before any other man’s. Daniel always gave the glory to God. Even when Daniel counseled Nebuchadnezzar that God was going to judge and diminish him, which happened, Nebuchadnezzar exalted and glorified God for it. From all accounts I can see Nebuchadnezzar is one of the Saints of the Old Testament, due to God’s mercy and Daniel’s faithfulness and obedience.
One of the mentions of God’s ways is made, by Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel 4:37, referring to His justice (righteousness in judgment). In 5:23, it says He “owns all your ways”, after Daniel has explained to Belshazzar (Nebuchadnezzar’a successor?) that God was going to overthrow Babylon for their sin. This is a good example of the “father’s” righteousness not counting for the “son”. Our ancestry, tradition, and heritage won’t deliver us when we’re in sin, no matter what our “position”.
The book of Hosea is, like most prophetic books, misunderstood in light of, and outside of, it’s more “known” passages and stories. We tend to keep the bathwater and throw out the “baby”. Any prophetic book in the Word should be studied and applied to our lives in its entirety. Instead, we keep and remember and repeat endlessly the “Daniel in the lion’s den”, the “Wheel within a wheel”, the “fiery furnace”, and the “Jonah’s whale” and the “still small voice”. Why? We want to be entertained. Please let me remind you; Yeshua didn’t suffer and die so that we could be entertained. He pointed to the prophets as much as the prophets pointed to Him. All His teachings can be found in the prophets in one form or another. And these men suffered and were humiliated in the same way Yeshua was. Again, like Yeshua, the world was not worthy of them.
Hosea, like his brethren, was a type of the Christ, inasmuch as he took an unworthy bride, then, after she was unfaithful and when she was worth nothing, he bought her back. Most people see, and teach, that this is the story of the Lord and His bride, Israel. I see it as the story of the Lord and myself. When I claimed to know him, I played the harlot with the world. I said I believed, and at times even “did the right things”, but in my motivations and in the world I was still a harlot. I did not honor my Lord. I still desired other things besides Him. I would “shut Him off” when I wanted to go “my way”. I was an unfaithful harlot, and in some ways, I still am. I’ve died “The Death”, and the lesser deaths occur daily, and by His mercy my prayer is that on that day, I’ll be “white as snow”. In the mean time, I work out my own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12, 3:7-14).
All but one of the “ways” in Hosea are not good ways. You can look in Hosea 2:6, 4:9, 6:9, 9:8, 10:12-14, 12:2, and 13:6-8, and they’re all bad. Why is this? Well, that’s what the Book of Hosea explains. Israel’s leaders, prophets, and priests have (about) all gone bad. They’re almost all in spiritual adultery. They’re going after what they want instead of what God wants. Temporary pleasures. False idols (you know, “idols” don’t necessarily have to be “little statues”!). Anything worldly that we covet and want to have and keep as our own for our own comfort is an idol. (I Tim. 6:6-10, Col. 3:5) Anything that keeps us from giving ourselves fully to God, heart, mind, and strength, is an idol. Anything that keeps us from following Yeshua in The Way is an idol. Anything.
The one “redeeming” mention of the way occurs in the very last verse of the Book. It says, “Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.”
The Book of Joel is one of the very few Books of the bible that doesn’t mention either way or ways, at least that I’ve found at the time of this writing. The only reason I can think of is that it is a Book of pronouncement. It is a Book of judgment (beginning in the house of God) and deliverance. It is not “instructional” in the way that other Books are, having only three “instructional” verses in 2:12-14 (and those appear to be “last chance” or “too late”). It appears to proclaim mainly the Day of the Lord’s arrival for His Bride on earth at the beginning of the tribulation period (“Let the bridegroom go out from His chamber, and the bride from her dressing room”). There’s a period of grief afterwards when the Lord pities Israel. Then it comes to the time when He will “restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten”, and a lot of judgment on Israel’s enemies. But, again, not much instruction. The Lord is mainly “wrapping things up”, in one way or another.
In Amos, the one mention of the way comes in Amos 2:7, where Israel has perverted “the way of the humble”. One should definitely read this whole Book, though, to get a perspective of God’s grief and His “game plan”. He also appears to vindicate His Prophets in Amos 3:7, where He says, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” There’s some very interesting things said about Israel (and I believe, about the church) in chapters 5 and 6, and in 7:12 is recorded the (typical) response of a leader to a prophet.
The Book of Obadiah is 21 verses of judgment on Edom (look out Yasser!). There are no way(s). But there is something very interesting for you students of redemption. In the 21st and final verse, it uses the term saviors, plural, that come to Mount Zion. I’ll leave the math to you! (Hint: the Approved will be made like Yeshua.)
In the Book of Jonah, the only times way is mentioned is in Jonah 3:8-10. One is “let every man turn from his evil way”, and the other is that “God saw their works, that they had turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” How does God tell whether or not we’ve repented of our evil ways? He looks at our works, at what we do, and the intent of our hearts and minds in doing them. Very important concept in those two verses!
Micah is a Book that, to me, reads very much like the gospels. In verse 4:2, in talking about the access we’ll have to the Lord when He sets up His Kingdom on earth, it says, “Many nations will say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’” It’s very interesting as one reads this verse in context, that the Kingdom will be ruled by the law and the Word. While you’re here, flip over to Micah 6:3 and read that as well. It doesn’t contain the word “way”, but it applies nonetheless.
In Nahum 1:3, the way is shown in the might of the Lord, for, “The Lord has His way in the whirlwind (Acts 2:2) and the storm (do you remember Yeshua quieting the storm on the sea of Galilee?), and the clouds are the dust of His feet (the ascension?).” Some good ol’ Job-type stuff, there! And His way was in the whirlwind that came and descended on the apostles and disciples on the day of Pentecost! (More on that soon…)
I’m not exactly sure why the Book of Habakkuk isn’t in the Psalms, but I kinda think it should be. It sure reads like the Psalms! Perhaps it’s because it’s a burden and a vision that came upon him. It pronounces judgment, and shows the might of God. It proclaims, “His ways are everlasting.” No “time limits”! It also is “to the Chief Musician.”
Zephaniah is also a Book of judgment and deliverance. I didn’t find any ways there, either. This seems to be a recurring theme!
In Haggai 1:3-9, the Lord says, “Consider you ways!” twice, emphatically. It’s certainly a good idea to read these verses. Any time that God says, “Listen!” we’d better listen!
In Zechariah, first read 1:4-6, and then turn to 3:7-10 (unless you want to keep on reading up to it!). In 3:7, the Lord says, “If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house (I Cor. 6:3, Psalm 149) and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk, among those who stand here.” Now that you’ve read that, read 3:1-6 about who was standing there! (And remember Job!) (Rev. 12:10) Next, in Zech. 10:2, the sheep are in trouble in their way, and it’s in the “time of the latter rain” (verse 1)! And God is angry with the shepherds because of it (verse 3).
Malachi chapter two speaks not only of Levi and the priesthood, but is also prophetic about Yeshua ha Messiach and the ecclesia. Look particularly, for this purpose, at 2:3-9. Read from 3 to 8, and then you’ll read, “But you have departed from the way,” and, “Therefore I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in the law.” In Malachi 3:1 is, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the Way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”
One thing to keep in mind; the Lord always sends messengers before Him, and never does anything without first telling His servants the prophets. For him who has an ear, let him hear.