MONDAY, JULY 1
Scripture: Ezekiel 13:1-8

The question that arises from Ezekiel 13 is, what line does a person or a nation cross that causes God to stand up against them? The key phrase of verse 8 is, “’I am indeed against you,’ says the Lord God.” If God is for us, no one can be against us. But when God is against us, it does not make any difference who is for us, because they suffer the same penalty. What did the prophets do that brought God against them? The answer is, they prophesied peace and a vision of their own heart. They prophesied what they personally wanted instead of what God was saying. Also, while they were prophesying only good things, they should have been stepping into the breach that was created by the sin in the land. But they refused to risk the wrath of man by confronting sin. Verse 5 says, “You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord.” “The gaps…” comes from the Hebrew word peh-rets and means, ‘A breach in a wall created by sin or failure.’ The prophets were called to go stand in the gaps in intercession to bridge the breach and pray that God’s people would be able to stand in a visitation of God’s judgment. Instead of speaking costly truth, they spoke what people wanted to hear. When we do what is right, God is for us. When we rebel and do what is wrong, He will stand against us.