Category: New Testament

The Marked Ones – Part 1

~ Sowmya Gali

Ezekiel 9: 3-6

3. Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case.

4. The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.

5. But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.

6. “Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders before the temple.

God knows who are His own. From time immemorial, God always knew who remained steadfast in their faith despite the circumstances. During the time of Moses, when the Israelites were in bondage, God heard them groan under the burdensome and cruel hand of the Pharoah. God sent Moses to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and led them into the Promised Land.

In the passage above, the Israelites were in exile in Babylon under the tyrannical rule of Nebuchadnezzar. While in captivity, Ezekiel was taken in spirit to Jerusalem to see the abominations that were being committed in the temple and in the city. A Holy God, enraged after witnessing the evil in the temple, moved out to the threshold of the temple. They had defiled the temple with all kinds of abominations. Filled with wrath, God summoned a few executioners, six of them with a destroying weapon in their hand.

However, among them there was one executioner clothed in linen with a writing case about his waist. God Almighty, gave him a special task: to place a mark on the foreheads of those who sighed and groaned over all the abominations occurring amongst them. We do not know if they prayed to God but they had groaned in their spirits over the evil which was in their midst. That was all which was required for God to send out His angels to rescue them. In the times that we are living, with evil abounding, and our hearts overwhelmed about the evil in our midst, if our hearts groan or sigh for God’s righteousness to return, then God is faithful to rescue us. He is also faithful in bringing about peace and justice to the oppressed.

The other five executioners were commanded to slay anyone who didn’t have the mark. They were not to pity anyone but to slay them ruthlessly. Those five executioners followed the one with the writing case and slew those who did not have the mark of God on their foreheads. Ezekiel fell on his face and cried out to the Lord if God was going to slaughter the entire remnant of Israel from the land. God argued that the sins of Israel and Judah were so great that He cannot have any pity. Such was evil in the land of Israel!

God did spare the remnant that was marked. It is interesting to notice that God knew who groaned and longed for His righteousness and He rescued them from His wrath. There could have been a handful or many who sought after God. In this instance, God rescued these faithful few by coming to them. God placed the mark on them. He separated and spared them from His wrath.  Imagine the ghastly sight these people who were spared saw all around them – people falling dead around them. Imagine the screams emanating from the temple and in the streets of Jerusalem. Imagine the frenzy and chaos all around. These marked people probably neither saw the executioners nor the angel with the writing case, marking the faithful.

Our Faithful God did send the ultimate Savior to rescue us from sin – Lord Jesus Christ. The Good Shepherd calls His own and His sheep hear Him. If only we believe in the name of our Lord Jesus and commit our lives and hearts to Him, we are marked for all eternity, sanctified for all eternity and preserved for all eternity. If we are marked by Him, then we can escape His wrath.

Breaches In The Wall

~ Sowmya Gali

Nehemiah 2: 13, 17

So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.

Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.

Nehemiah, an exile in Babylon was serving King Artaxerxes when he heard the heartbreaking news about his beloved city, Jerusalem, lying in ruins. When he approached the king with a saddened face with a cup of wine in his hand, the king noticed it. He enquired the reason for his sadness. When Nehemiah explained how his hometown Jerusalem was lying in ruins, the king had compassion and asked what he could do to help him. Nehemiah, after praying to God, boldly asked the king to send him back to his homeland. He requested letters of free passage and supply of materials for the temple to various governors of the provinces between Babylon and Jerusalem, so he could rebuild the temple and the city. With God’s favor on his side, Nehemiah was soon on his way back to the Holy land of his fathers.

After reaching Jerusalem, Nehemiah inspected the city, the walls and the temple during the night. He observed how the gates were burned down, walls were broken down and the city was in ruins. Seeing the desolation with his own eyes, Nehemiah resolved to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He gathered together a remnant that was left behind by King Nebuchadnezzar. He inspired them by informing that God’s favorable hand was with him. The officials who were overseeing the remnant in Judah weren’t very happy about the new development and they confronted Nehemiah. However, with boldness, he declared that God was on his side and He will give him success (Nehemiah 2: 20)

Therefore, Nehemiah and the men who were with him started closing the breaches in the wall and hanging up the gates. One by one, each breach in the wall was being closed and each gate being repaired and hung up. The Samaritans and the Ammonites in the region were mocking Nehemiah and company (Nehemiah 4: 1-4). Despite the opposition, Nehemiah and the men had a mind to work and finish the wall (Nehemiah 4: 6). Soon enough, the wall has been joined together and the Israelites were able to build the wall up to half of its original height.

Seeing the progress, Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and Ashdodites conspired to fight against Nehemiah and company (Nehemiah 4: 7). With such opposition against them, Nehemiah cried out to the Lord for help. They set up guard day and night to protect themselves and the wall. The enemies of Israel also thought of infiltrating the builders, so they could kill them and disrupt the building of the wall. Knowing their plans, Nehemiah encouraged the workers and guards that God is on their side and they have every right to fight for the land as well as their families.

Now armed with a sword in one hand, and a tool in the other, they continued to rebuild the wall. During day time they labored to build the wall and during night, they stood guard. In 52 days, the wall was rebuilt, all the breaches in the wall closed and all the gates were hung.

Nehemiah 6: 15-16

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

United States of America, a nation built on the solid foundation of Judeo-Christian principles, and with a solid wall called Constitution had been a beacon of light and hope to the rest of the world. People from all over the world throng to this land where there is freedom, exercise God-given rights, pursue happiness and enterprise. Lately, however, the foundation has been shaken, the wall has been breached with enslaving ideologies, and the freedom to practice our faith, pursue happiness, and exercise our rights has been threatened. The Judeo-Christian foundation is being mocked and thrown out. The Constitution wall has been breached with ridiculous lies, idolatry, greed, pride and power-grab. We have strayed too far from the truth to the point where this truth has been portrayed as a lie. We have come to a point where we started declaring good as evil and evil as good.

The Lord Almighty, in His mercy and grace towards this blessed land, preserved a remnant of faithful believers to return to the ancient path, to once again solidify our foundation and close the breaches in the wall. It is about time that we start with ourselves first: confess our sins and return to our first love. Let us rebuild our families on the solid Rock of Christ, and rebuild the wall of sound moral and ethical values firstly around our families, our communities, our towns and cities and lastly, our country.  If the breaches in the wall aren’t closed, then the enemy will lose no time to sneak in and destroy us from within. Just like in the days of Nehemiah, the enemy will try its best to demoralize, doubt, and finally infiltrate so we could implode from within. If the foundation is secure and the breaches in the wall closed, there will be no room for the evil one to enter. God has equipped us with the Word. Let us take up the Word as a sword in one hand and with the skills God gave us in the other, let us rebuild the wall once again. Knowing and seeing the progress we make; the enemy has to give up and flee. Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord!