Doom, Gloom, and Hope

Introduction

A. When does hope die? Does hope die when you are sitting beside the bed of a loved one watching them slowly but surely leave this life behind? Does hope die when one that you have trusted for so long tells you that they no longer love you? Does hope die when the company decides that your position must be downsized to increase the bottom line? And when hope dies what takes its place? Despair, hopelessness, gloom, an overwhelming sense of uncertainty.

B. Ezekiel finds himself being commissioned to tell his fellow exiles that their beloved city, Jerusalem and their beloved building, the temple, will be destroyed. Such a message brings despair and hopelessness. What the exiles had believed about God is now questioned. Why didn’t God stop the destruction? Why didn’t God save his people? Why would God allow his dwelling place to be destroyed? Lots of questions and no answers and when there are no answers hope disappears and despair takes its place.

C. As we look at Ezekiel 6 today, we may find that there is no hope in the words of the prophet, but the opposite is true. This text is filled with hope. We will learn some practical ways to approach situations in which despair reigns and how we can maintain hope when all seems hopeless. We will focus on the one who wants our undivided allegiance---God who is Lord of all.

God’s Opposition

A. Chapter 6 is part of the message Ezekiel is to give to the exiles. This message comes after two demonstrations of God’s displeasure in chapters 4 and 5. In chapter 4, Ezekiel constructed a model of the city of Jerusalem and builds a siege work around it to symbolize the Babylonian army. He is to lie first on his left side and then his right side for a specified period of time to symbolize God’s disfavor. During this demonstration he is to heat his food using cow manure which symbolizes Jerusalem’s despair and anxiety during the seige.

B. In chapter 5, Ezekiel shaves his hair and beard and carefully weighs them out. A third of the hair ends up inside the model to be destroyed by fire. A third is placed outside the model and is struck with the sword. Then a third is thrown to the wind. The point is clear---the people will be destroyed in various ways but destruction is going to be the end result.

C. Then we come to chapter 6 and God wants the exiles to know the complete destruction which is coming. God tells them that he is going to destroy their altars and idols. In fact, those who worship at these altars will killed as well. The city of Jerusalem is to be destroyed along with the temple. Hopelessness and despair reign.

Finding Hope

A. Have you ever lost hope? Have you ever had that overwhelming sense of despair? Some seem to have hope in spite of reality. Perhaps you have heard of the twin boys. One was always pessimistic and the other was always optimistic. ILL. Optimism: Realistic. Some have tried to achieve hope by turning to things which alter their minds---drugs, alcohol, even prescriptions designed to temporarily take away the despair. Some have turned to politics, education, or social issues to alleviate the despair but the result is the same. Temporary but not long lasting.

B. The people in exile placed their faith in idols; a temple; a city; a belief; but the one place they could find hope was in the activity of God. Notice verse 8, “I will spare some.” God is the one who will spare some. They will not escape by their own wits but by the will of God.

1.  We place our faith and trust in so many things. Our wealth meaning that we can pay our bills; our health which allows us to get up in the morning and go to work so we can pay our bills; relationships which make us feel good about ourselves; our education which allows us to work and pay our bills. But all these things are meaningless when compared to the activity of God. So how do we find hope when despair seems to reign? Let me suggest a couple of practical things we can do.

C. First, we need to spend time thinking about things are good, pure, right, honest, true, and lovely. We can talk ourselves into despair. Some see only the bleak side of life. No matter what good thing happens it is just a matter of time before something bad will happen. What we need to do is thank God for our blessings regularly and consistently.

D. Second, we need to spend as much time with God in prayer and Bible study as we do reading the newspaper and watching the news on television. Five minutes of Bible study versus one hour of CNN will eventually erode our hope and make us think in despairing ways.

E. Finally, we need to look at things the way God does. The word for “idol” in this text is a unique word found rarely in the Old Testament outside of Ezekiel. It is a word which expresses God’s disposition toward the idols. In other words, it is a word which not only describes the idol but God’s attitude toward them as well. Daniel Block in his commentary on Ezekiel says that the root word comes from the Hebrew which means “to roll” and is used to describe the natural pelletlike shape and size of sheep feces.

1.  "Modern sensitivities prevent translators from rendering this expression as Ezekiel intended it to be heard, but had he been preaching today, he would probably have identified these idols with a four-letter word for excrement. A more caustic comment on idolatry can scarcely be imagined."

2.  This is what God thought about Israel's idols. I doubt if he thinks any differently about ours. God expects to be all or nothing. God tried to reach Pharaoh in a ten lesson display but he wouldn't believe. Israel had been taught that only God mattered and their faith wasn't consistent. Is God all or nothing in your life? God doesn't tolerate other gods and he certainly doesn't give them any substance. They mean nothing to him.

3.  God said a long time ago, "you shall have no other gods before me." Jesus reiterated that when he said "no one comes to the father except through me." God wants our full and exclusive allegiance and faith. He is all or nothing at all. Let there be no doubt about who we know our God to be. Invitation.

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