Israel was deep into idol worship. They had become more corrupt that even the pagan nations around them. God's message was that their iniquity had become ripe and their doom was coming.

The tongue is unique in that it is half hidden and half public. It is the organ by which the heart expresses itself. It has the ability either to cause great harm or to build healthy solid relationships. Learning to guard the tongue is of greatest importance, both for the individual and for the community.

Ezekiel performs an elaborate pantomime showing the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The iron griddle between his face and the model city shows God hardening Himself to their prayers. Chapter 5 also explains why God's attitude is just and necessary.

Law is the only lasting basis for liberty. The American Revolution was a reaction to the British Parliament changing laws without the consent of the American colonies. Without the stable rule of law, tyranny quickly follows.

The first part of Ezekiel takes place during the interval between the first and second Babylonian invasions of Israel. The prophecy begins with the appearance of God riding in a mysterious vehicle with four cherubs. It is here that Ezekiel is called to be a prophet.

The US is undergoing a 'Great Awokening' where secular culture is attacking Christian culture with religious fervor. The central fixture of this movement is a set of shifting standards of what is a 'sin'. This creates fear because one never knows what past or present behavior will be labeled a heresy and get one excommunicated. One point of the Torah being written in stone is that it does not change and is not subject to the whims of popular culture. What was sinful 3000 years ago is sinful today. On the flip side what was not sinful then is not so today either. Opposing 'cancel culture' requires a Christian revival - simple logic will not do it. The idea for this talk came from: https://bonifaceoption.substack.com/p/the-great-awokening.

In this final session Y'shua frees a woman whom Satan had bound for 18 years and heals a man of dropsy - both on the Sabbath. He then explains that the Kingdom social order will not be the same as the earthly order. Prominent people in Israel should not assume that they will also be honored in the kingdom.

As much as we try to order the events in our lives, often things happen that are beyond our control. That happened to Joseph. He was jumped by his brothers, sold as a slave and then framed for attempted rape by his master's wife and thrown into prison. He had every opportunity to become bitter and lapse into helpless victimhood. He did neither of those things because he was able discern a meaning for his circumstances and develop a sense of purpose. We have the same opportunity in our lives.

In Luke 15, Y'shua tells three parables about the determination of one who has lost something valuable to find it. The parables intensify from one sheep in a hundred to one coin in ten and finally to one son. The point of the parables is that just as people will work hard to recover what is lost, so too will the Father sacrifice greatly to recover what He has lost.

Fear has been used by every aspiring slave master from Satan on down to the present. Looking at the past year's events in the news from Covid to cancel culture it is evident that the goal is to keep people fearful, divided and uncertain. That is why God in Scripture tells us over and over not to be afraid - fear clouds your judgment and makes you easy to enslave.