In Ezekiel 22:30, we read of God saying “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Here we have a picture of an individual standing in the gap of a broken-down wall to prevent the invader from entering and destroying the city.
The dictionary defines “stand in the gap” as exposing oneself for the protection of something; to take the place of a fallen defender or supporter.
In the above Scripture, the Lord says He looked for someone among the people to build up the wall and stand in the gap on behalf of the land so that He would not have to destroy it, but that He found no one who would do it. In Biblical times, a wall could have protected from unwanted intruders. Any breach of the wall could have allowed the enemy to enter and bring about great devastation.
If you read the entire chapter (Ezekiel 22), you will discover that most gaps are caused by the sins of the shepherds and the people, and God will not tolerate such insults forever. He didn’t want to destroy Israel, but they sinned against Him again and again. In time, they ceased to be a nation and were scattered throughout the world.
Surely anyone with their eyes wide open can see that this nation we love has many places where our walls have been broken down. Our founding Fathers developed a constitution built on Biblical principles and when followed, we have been blessed.
But today, in many ways, our constitution is being ignored. Our nation today is being guided by the wisdom of the world and man, rather than the wisdom of God.
In Ezekiel 33:7-11 we read “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore, you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked man, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from His way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Therefore, O son of man, say to the house of Israel, “Thus you shall say, ‘If your transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel.’”
Are you a born-again believer by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Then I believe God wants you and me to see ourselves as watchmen, appointed to stand in the broken places in our walls and to rebuild those walls; all the while defending our homes and families, our churches, our cities, states, and nations.
How do we do this – we need to take a stand for God against specific sins that are spelled out in the Scriptures all the while remembering that the LORD is with us and on our side. Are we on His side? Are we standing for what is right and honoring Him?
Edmund Burke is credited with saying “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I wonder if he was reading what Ezekiel wrote when he penned those words?
Sometimes I hear Christians say “You shouldn’t mix politics with religion.” Have you read your Bible? God raised up men and women from the very beginning who would put their lives on the line against the evils of their day, to stand in the gap for Him. Jesus personally confronted the culture of His day. The difference was that these people, whom God raised up, and Jesus likewise, went to the core of the problem — the heart of man. In Matthew 15:19-20 Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
That is a pretty ugly list of things that originate in the heart. We tend to focus on the symptoms rather than the real culprit – the heart. Until people’s hearts are changed, these kinds of evil will continue to escalate.
What can we do in the meantime? We need to individually and collectively take a stand against these evils …murder, adultery, racism, injustice, divorce, child abuse, and the list go on and on. One of the ways we can do this is to be sure and vote for men and women of principle and integrity, who really love our country. In a few months, the mid-term elections will be taking place. This may be the most important mid-terms in our history. PLEASE VOTE! Your vote counts. Your faith counts even more. Jesus challenged us to be SALT and LIGHT. We are to be a preservative in our world. We are to let our light – our faith shine in this dark world.
So, will you stand in the gap, the broken-down places in our walls? Will you help rebuild the walls, all the time serving as a guard and watchman for the safety of our nation?
Did you know that usually only 1 in 3 Christians vote? At that rate, that would mean about 25 million. We can make a difference!
Someone recently said, “We must remember that we cannot be a land of the free if we are not the home of the brave. I believe in the people of Jubilee. You are already making a difference in our community and nations. Let’s turn up the heat and make an even greater impact for the glory of God.
In His name,
Pastor Leonard
