Week 18: May 5^th, 2019

Topic: Who will stand in the gap? – Part 2

Bible Reading: Ezekiel 22:23-31

We shall continue our discussions by mentioning the commencement of the instruction of the Lord for someone to stand in the gap. In addition, we will talk about some people who have stood in the gap in the scripture.

The genesis and the people who have stood in the gap

In the beginning God met with Moses on Mount Horeb while he was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law. Moses was sanctified, ordained and anointed by the Lord God of Abraham Exodus 3:1-6. He was appointed to lead the children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt, which qualified him to be the person who stood in the gap for the Israelites. After God delivered the people of Israel from the Egyptians and brought them into the Land of Canaan (the promised land). When God descended on Mount Sinai, He instructed Moses to go down from Mount Sinai and bring Aaron back with him to the mountain in order to be sanctified but He forbid the priests and the people from crossing the boundary to come up to Him on the mountain Exodus 19:24. After the ordination of Aaron on Mount Sinai, he became the next person who is worthy to stand in the gap. The Bible testified to this fact, when God was instructing Moses concerning Aaron’s garment by saying “So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be acceptable before the Lord” Exodus 28:38. The significance of the decoration on Aaron’s forehead was to show that he will take on himself the guilt for any sin the people of Israel commit in offering their gifts to the Lord. God also extended the privilege of standing in the gap to Aaron’s children and the Levites according to the scripture which says “Then the Lord said to Aaron ‘You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood’” Numbers 18:1.

It means all the priests/pastors that are righteous and the workers in the vineyard of the Lord who are righteous can stand in the gap. The priests/pastors will be help responsible and they will suffer the consequences of service in the priesthood. Just like how two of Aaron’s children died (Nadab and Abihu) while serving in the presence of God and Moses reprimanded the two surviving sons for negligence of duty despite the demise of their brothers Leviticus 10:16-17. The Levites who are the workers in the Church are the only people permitted to serve in the Church and they will be held responsible for any offense against it. This is permanent law which must be observed from generation to generation Numbers 18:23. Since the priests and the workers of the Church will be accountable, are you ready to do what is right and acceptable? Do you think you are worthy to stand in the gap?

Ezekiel stood in the gap: Several of the prophets of the olden days stood in the gap so that the fury of the Lord will not come upon the people. Notable among the prophets who filled the spiritual gap was Ezekiel who lied on his left and right sides for days according to the Bible passage which says “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it according to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so, you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year” Ezekiel 4:4-6. Are you ready to suffer similar fate to fill the gap? Are you ready to make comparable sacrifice to turn away the anger of the Lord?

Jesus Christ the Savior and the supreme gap filler: Before virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, Zacharias the father of John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied that God has visited and redeemed His people by raising a horn of salvation (Jesus Christ) for them in the house of David who will give light to those who sit in the darkness and the shadow of death in order to guide their feet into the way of peace Luke 1:68-69, 79.

In addition, the testimony of the angel who appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Christ was: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” Luke 2:10-11. John the Baptist corroborated this fact when he saw Jesus by saying “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29. Prophet Isaiah described Jesus Christ as the Alpha and Omega of standing in the gap by his prophecy which says “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” Isaiah 53:4-5. You are bought at a price, Jesus Christ paid the price on the cross, therefore, glorify God in your body and spirit by becoming a person that is worthy to stand in the gap 1 Corinthians 6:20. Therefore, if you want to stand in the gap, you must deny yourself, carry your cross and follow Jesus. You cannot proclaim to be a disciple of Christ, unless you gave up your own way, take up your cross and follow Him Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23. For this reason, whoever does not carry his/her cross and follow Christ, can neither be His disciple nor stand in the gap Luke 14:27.

The perverse generations of the world

The present generations in the world are perverted, many people are unreasonable, troublesome and disobedient. Countless people are conducting themselves in manner that is contrary to the acceptable and moral standard. Numerous people are behaving in irrational and inappropriate way with no regard for the consequences. Most leaders of the nations of the world are acting in twisted, corrupt and abnormal ways which signifies that the end of age is at hand. So, is it possible for a perverse person to stand in the gap? No.

Wicked people are detestable to the Lord and the devious people are repulsive to the Lord. The Lord doesn’t like anyone who is dishonest, but He offers His friendship to the godly. As it is written, “For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, but His secret counsel is with the upright” Proverbs 3:32. The scripture stated that God detests people with crooked hearts and evil-minded people. Sneaky people and those with twisted minds are repulsive to the Lord, but He delights in those with integrity and blameless conducts Proverbs 11:20. Jesus Christ also described the generation of His time in this world as “Faithless and perverse generation” Luke 9:41, Matthew 17:17. Nowadays, the generations in the world are worse. For this reason, the nations of the world are unfaithful to the Lord and they have acted corruptly toward Him, even the Christians are unworthy to be His children because of their decadence, but they are crooked and perverse generation Deuteronomy 32:5. Since you know that God hates the perverse people and those with crooked minds, why not conduct yourself in sincerity so as to stand in the gap? How can we find somebody who is worthy to stand in the gap from the perverse generations in the world? Are we sure that someone or some people will abandon the pleasures of this world to stand in the gap? Ask your priests if they are ready to deny themselves the comfortabilities to fill the gap.

We need to realize that the only conditionality to be rescued from harm is to walk in integrity. Whoever walks blamelessly and uprightly will be saved, but anyone who is perverse in his/her ways will fall spiritually Proverbs 28:18. Since honesty will keep you safe but dishonesty will ruin you, then, it is better to be poor and live an honest life than to be rich and dishonest. Better is the poor who walks in integrity than to be on crooked paths and wealthy Proverbs 28:6. Make a resolution that henceforth every word that you will speak will be honest and none of it will be misleading or deceptive. Make sure that all the word of your mouth are righteous and nothing in them is twisted or crooked Proverbs 8:8. Those that the words of their mouths are false and their speeches are perverse; God will turn away from them and abandon them; He will then see what becomes of them because they are a twisted and perverse generation, children who are neither faithful nor trustworthy. As it is written “And He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be. For they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith’” Deuteronomy 32:20. If you don’t want God to hide His face from you, you must exhibit sincerity and loyalty. For God to consider you to stand in the gap, you must walk in integrity. Therefore, are you prepare to make sacrifices to pacify the anger of the Lord by standing in the gap?

Everyone will bear their transgression

Nowadays, numerous people are breaking the law of God without any sign of remorse. The inhabitants of the earth are entrenched in wrongdoings and evil. Mischief is so rampant among mankind, lawlessness and confrontation are occurring at an alarming rate.

Only God decides who will be punished: Though it is written that “Father shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin” Deuteronomy 24:16. The Bibles says “The soul who sine shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” Ezekiel 18:20. However, the Lord our God is a jealous God who does not tolerate rivals, He can punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him. But showing mercy, grace and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments Exodus 20:5-6, Deuteronomy 5:9-10. The explanation is simple: It is either you do what pleases the Lord, which will prompt Him to overlook the sins of your forefathers, and shower you with mercy, grace and love; or you do what displeases the Lord, which will prompt Him to visit the iniquity of your forefathers upon you. As it is written “Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities” Lamentations 5:7. Change, if you do not want to suffer the punishment that your ancestors deserved for their iniquities. If you do not want to pay for the sins of your forefathers, do things that will make you worthy to stand in the gap.

No excuse for breaking the law: People usually say that ‘when the sinners ae been punished, the righteous always share in their guilt.’ It is true, but only the righteous who fail to follow the instruction of the Lord according to the Book of Isaiah which says “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” Isaiah 58:1. Even if you are righteous, unless you speak out at the appropriate time, you will share out of the punishment and guilt of the sinners. On several occasions, people break the law of God and claim ignorance. Such people will not be absolved from the penalty of their sins. Just like how the judges/courts always say ‘ignorance is no defense in law’ so also will anyone who sins and does any of the things the Lord has forbidden, though the person was not aware of it, still he/she is guilty and he/she will bear the punishment Leviticus 5:17. Never forget that if you sin unintentionally by breaking any of the Lord’s commands, you are guilty and must pay the penalty.

Anyone who rejects the Lord by worshiping idols and falling into various sins, and then come to a prophet to ask for the Lord’s advice. God will turn against such person and make a terrible example of him/her, and eliminate the person from among His people. If the prophet gives message to such person instead of warning/rebuking, then the Lord will lift His fist against the prophet and cut him off from the community of Christianity. Both the prophet and the hypocrite who consult him will get the same punishment Ezekiel 14:7-10. Priests give honest advice, prophets deliver candid and genuine messages, else you will suffer the consequences.

The great sacrifice of Christ: We all know that salvation of mankind is paramount in the Lord’s mind and one of the best ways to be used for the salvation of humanity is to stand in the gap. Jesus Christ laid this example for us to follow through His death on the cross. It was this great sacrifice that made the scripture to say “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” Hebrew 9:28. Are you ready to follow the foot steps of Christ by standing in the gap? What is your preparedness for the second coming of Messiah?