Ezekiel 13:5 “Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.”
This verse is a predecessor to its more popular companion in Ezekiel 22:30. Here the man of God is rebuking the children of Israel for neglecting their duty. Later, after the hearers did not receive the message and learn from it, Ezekiel said he sought for those that would stand in the gap and make up the hedge, but found none.
The rebuke in both instances was due to the attitude of the Israelites. They had been conquered, led away captive, and living under the rule of a foreign regime. They saw no importance in raising defenses because they thought they had already lost the battle that counted.
Today, Christians feel as if they have lost many battles in society. The news outlets relentlessly push for more liberal lifestyles and the open acceptance of those things which used to be carried out in secret due to the lasciviousness of the actions. The world is doing away with right and wrong; taking away standards and basing everything off of how people feel.
I know that the news, politicians, and even local government make it sound as if these radical changes are already set in stone. However, God has blessed us to live in a land where governmental authority is derived from consent of the governed.
Children are headed back to school, parents are preparing to meet teachers and read school rule books, events are bound to take place that will prompt action by school boards. In addition, job places are constantly revising codes of conduct and employee character guidelines.
If you think that your voice doesn’t matter, you’ve abandoned the hedge and are leaving the gap undefended. Ezekiel questioned why no one cared if an enemy breached the walls. I question why Christians think that they’ve lost before the fight takes place?
Stand. Safeguard yourselves. Don’t be fooled into thinking that those in power will do what is right according to God. When has God ever let the wicked prevail over those that follow after Him and do not neglect their sixties as children of God?
By saying nothing, by accepting someone else’s opinions as fact, and by believing that you cannot win …. you’ve already given the Devil just what he wants. But my God is for His ways, and if God is for me no one can be against me. Don’t forfeit, don’t be browbeat into compliance. Stand in the gaps and make up the hedges.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
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