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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “Neighbors Ready for Judgment”
Israel will rally against its hostile neighbors; this part highlights Ezekiel’s predictions that larger regional forces will mobilize against Israel in a climactic war that they will lose. (Ezekiel 25, 28, and 29)
Series: “Ezekiel and the MidEast “Piece” Process (2023)”
Dr. Jeffrey Seif, David, and Kirsten take viewers into one of the Bible’s most mysterious and fascinating books. Ezekiel prophesies Israel’s re-emergence as a nation-state at “day’s end,” and also warns that neighboring nation-states will marshal military resources as they seek to annihilate the fledgling state.

Caption transcript for Ezekiel and the MidEast ‘Piece’ Process (2023): “Neighbors Ready for Judgment” (5/8)

  • 00:01 David Hart: Shalom and hello again. In the future, nations rise up
  • 00:07 against Israel, so the Lord, through the prophet Ezekiel, calls them out by name.
  • 00:10 Stay tuned for "Our Jewish Roots" with Bible teaching
  • 00:13 by Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
  • 00:18 ♪♪♪
  • 00:23 [deep male voice speaking foreign language]
  • 00:26 male narrator: The Lord said unto Ezekiel,
  • 00:28 "Son of man, can these bones live?"
  • 00:33 [deep voice speaking foreign language]
  • 00:37 narrator: "Prophesy upon these bones and say unto them,
  • 00:41 'O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'"
  • 00:47 ♪♪♪
  • 00:57 ♪♪♪
  • 01:07 ♪♪♪
  • 01:13 narrator: "Ezekiel and the Mideast Piece Process."
  • 01:20 David: We are so glad you've joined us today.
  • 01:21 I am David Hart.
  • 01:23 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
  • 01:24 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I am Jeffrey Seif.
  • 01:26 Kirsten: We are in our series all about Ezekiel, and we've
  • 01:28 titled this series, "The Piece Process," little pieces of a
  • 01:31 puzzle coming together to make a big picture, and, today, we're
  • 01:35 talking about Israel's neighbors, and I have to say,
  • 01:38 a good neighbor is not easy to find, is it?
  • 01:42 David: Aha, that's true.
  • 01:44 Kirsten: We just put floors in into our condo, and our next
  • 01:46 door neighbor was not happy with us, so came over and told us so.
  • 01:50 So, sometimes, you're not always surrounded
  • 01:52 by the easiest neighbors.
  • 01:54 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: No, and the political situation comes and
  • 01:56 goes, sometimes harder than others, but to be sure, the
  • 02:01 literature is clear that, when Israel is reestablished
  • 02:04 miraculously as a nation-state, it riles up those round
  • 02:07 about, and that happened.
  • 02:09 That was predicted yesterday, and we do see it today.
  • 02:12 David: So this started--you started this
  • 02:14 program ten years ago.
  • 02:15 Have things kind of changed, or would you think
  • 02:17 it's still the same?
  • 02:18 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, the political situation changes
  • 02:20 a little bit here and a little there, but the dynamic
  • 02:22 is always the same.
  • 02:24 That's why you open up the Bible--it's timeless that what
  • 02:28 we see played out and predicted back then, we see it now.
  • 02:32 You know, the leader of the party isn't Yasser Arafat,
  • 02:35 it's this person.
  • 02:36 Parties come and go by name, and principals come and go, but the
  • 02:39 overarching issue, Israel's presence invokes ire,
  • 02:45 but nevertheless, it's part of God's plan.
  • 02:48 It's a major piece to the prophetic puzzle.
  • 02:52 David: Yup.
  • 02:54 Kirsten: It is, and can I just jump in and say, I think you
  • 02:56 look better today than you did even back then; look at that.
  • 02:58 You looked good then, but you look really good now.
  • 03:01 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You're kind to say it, thanks.
  • 03:03 I am 67 now, so--
  • 03:05 Kirsten: Looking good. David: Yup.
  • 03:07 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Thank you.
  • 03:08 David: Right now, we take you back to Ezekiel's story
  • 03:10 with Dr. Seif's teaching; let's go there now.
  • 03:13 narrator: In 586 B.C., the Lord spoke unto Ezekiel,
  • 03:18 "Set thy face against Pharaoh and prophesy against all Egypt.
  • 03:23 Say, 'Thus saith the Lord God, "Behold, I am against thee.
  • 03:29 All the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,
  • 03:33 because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
  • 03:37 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste in
  • 03:40 the midst of the countries that are desolate.
  • 03:43 Neither shall it be inhabited 40 years."'"
  • 03:50 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: We didn't create this picture
  • 03:52 you're seeing, we just walked into it, and what a sight it is.
  • 03:56 The prophet Ezekiel says, like this town here,
  • 03:59 that nation-states that border Israel are going to be
  • 04:03 devastated, and why is that?
  • 04:05 Because there is a judgment brought to bear for their
  • 04:08 sins against God, for their sins against Israel, and the
  • 04:11 Lord is not a happy camper.
  • 04:13 Eight chapters are invested in telling that story, and Ezekiel
  • 04:18 is not the only one who does it.
  • 04:20 Isaiah has eight chapters. Jeremiah has six.
  • 04:24 There's 22 chapters that describe what will come of
  • 04:29 the nations round about Israel in the day when God
  • 04:32 brings his judgment to bear.
  • 04:34 If you think of the New Testament, there's four gospels.
  • 04:37 There's more text talking about the judgment of the nations
  • 04:41 round about Israel than two of the gospels, and it's equivalent
  • 04:43 to the book of Revelation.
  • 04:45 There's a lot, and I wanna examine it with you
  • 04:48 as we consider the story.
  • 04:50 If you'll open your Bibles, please, to Ezekiel chapter 25,
  • 04:54 picking up in verse 1--
  • 04:57 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 05:00 "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying--"
  • 05:04 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 05:05 "Son of man--"
  • 05:06 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 05:10 "Set your face toward the children of Ammon."
  • 05:15 Now, he's gonna begin with the Ammonites just to the east.
  • 05:18 He's going to then go from there to the Moabites, going east
  • 05:25 of the Jordan, beginning with the Ammonites, the Moabites,
  • 05:29 to the Edomites.
  • 05:31 Then he's going to go around to the west to Philistia,
  • 05:36 where the modern Gaza area is, interestingly.
  • 05:40 He's going to loop around Israel and go north further
  • 05:42 into what would be modern Lebanon in prophesying
  • 05:47 against Tyre and Sidon.
  • 05:49 In conjunction with that, then, there'll be a lot of
  • 05:52 text invested against Egypt.
  • 05:55 What a story.
  • 05:57 Here, we're just beginning when he says, "Son of man,
  • 06:00 set your face toward the children of Ammon."
  • 06:03 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 06:06 "And prophesy against them."
  • 06:09 And what's the word in verse 3?
  • 06:12 Alas, "Because you said, 'Aha,' against my sanctuary, because
  • 06:17 you were hellbent on the people and the religion," so it is,
  • 06:21 God's not a happy camper.
  • 06:23 He's going to bring his force to bear.
  • 06:25 There will be a reckoning.
  • 06:27 In verse 7, he says, "Behold, I stretch out my hand upon thee,
  • 06:31 and will deliver thee for a spoil to the nations and cut
  • 06:35 thee off from the peoples."
  • 06:39 They molested God's people, and the net result is they'll
  • 06:43 be judged accordingly, and not just them.
  • 06:46 We move on to verses 8, and on.
  • 06:49 We leave Ammon, we go to Moab, particularly, and he says,
  • 06:54 "I will open the flank of Moab."
  • 06:57 They'll be opened up and destroyed, in verse 9.
  • 07:00 In verse 11, he says, "I will execute my
  • 07:03 judgments against Moab."
  • 07:05 In verse 12, then "Edom has dealt against the house of
  • 07:09 Judah, and so it is," he says in 13, "I'll stretch out
  • 07:12 my hand against Edom.
  • 07:15 I will lay vengeance upon Edom by the hand
  • 07:17 of my people Israel."
  • 07:19 There is a day of reckoning.
  • 07:21 What happens is, when Israel was reconstituted as a nation-state,
  • 07:25 the nations round about tried to prevent it, and then, unable to
  • 07:28 prevent it, then they mobilized energies to try and destroy it.
  • 07:33 There was succession of wars but to no avail.
  • 07:35 God gave Israel victory.
  • 07:37 Absent being able to then take to the field with conventional
  • 07:41 armies, we have all of this, you know, the war in the
  • 07:44 press and terrorism and people investing their
  • 07:47 angst against unarmed civilians.
  • 07:49 God is not a happy camper, and what happens is
  • 07:52 all this comes to an end.
  • 07:54 Speaking of coming to an end, before I bring this segment to
  • 07:57 an end, you'll find in verse 15, interestingly, where he says,
  • 08:01 "Because the Philistines have been given to revenge with
  • 08:05 disdain of soul to destroy because of an old hatred," he
  • 08:09 says, and lo and behold, that they will meet judgment as
  • 08:12 a result of their so doing.
  • 08:14 Now, those that occupy Philistia today, what would be Gaza,
  • 08:18 these aren't the actual Philistines of a bygone era.
  • 08:21 It's interesting, however, how the prophet sees trouble all
  • 08:24 around Israel, and this, strange as it might sound, is all part
  • 08:28 of "Ezekiel's Middle East Piece Process," as he looks at
  • 08:33 it one piece of judgment at a time.
  • 08:37 [Ezekiel speaking in Hebrew]
  • 08:39 narrator: "And the Lord spoke unto Ezekiel regarding the
  • 08:42 forthcoming judgment upon Jerusalem, 'Utter a parable
  • 08:47 unto the rebellious house, "Gather the good pieces of meat,
  • 08:52 and fill the pot with the choice bones and make it boil well."'"
  • 09:01 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Rarely do my eyes alight upon
  • 09:03 such nothingness, such barrenness.
  • 09:07 You wouldn't believe me, but the Bible says that, one day,
  • 09:11 this part of the world will become like Eden.
  • 09:15 It'll be lush, verdant, a place of life.
  • 09:19 Well, that belongs to days forward, not the present.
  • 09:25 And so much for the good news in this story.
  • 09:28 There's different word pictures that Ezekiel paints.
  • 09:31 In the 24th chapter, he sees a cauldron, and he sees pieces
  • 09:35 being put into the cauldron, and what does he mean by that?
  • 09:39 He sees God's wrath cooking, and he sees people
  • 09:43 as being part of the stew.
  • 09:46 A person here, a person there are thrown into that as
  • 09:49 his cup overflows, his cup of wrath, evidenced by that.
  • 09:56 In this segment, we're looking at God's judgment that's
  • 10:00 brought to bear on the nations round about Israel.
  • 10:04 His judgment was brought to bear because they didn't care.
  • 10:08 They didn't care to share.
  • 10:09 They were greedy, they were avaricious, and what happens
  • 10:12 is God had a day in court.
  • 10:15 We've looked briefly at Ammon.
  • 10:18 We've considered as well Moab, Edom, and briefly made mention
  • 10:22 of Philistia, where the Gaza Strip is today.
  • 10:26 Well, our prophet continues to go around Israel,
  • 10:30 and he considers Tyre.
  • 10:33 In chapter 26, 27, and 28, there is a fascinating story.
  • 10:40 A considerable amount of text is dedicated to telling the
  • 10:45 story of judgment that would befall that part of the
  • 10:48 world where we have Lebanon today.
  • 10:52 It's a fascinating story, not just because judgment is brought
  • 10:56 to bear but that, in the process of discussing the judgment, the
  • 11:02 Lord alights upon a figure of the devil, for my money,
  • 11:08 underscoring the demonic that seems to inform and inflame
  • 11:15 the world around this part of the world.
  • 11:18 Well, so much for talking about the text.
  • 11:20 Here, I want you to hear it if you'd open up to chapter 28,
  • 11:23 verse 1, in Ezekiel, as we consider "Ezekiel
  • 11:26 and the Mideast Piece Process."
  • 11:30 Judgment brought to bear here is one of the pieces to the puzzle.
  • 11:34 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 11:38 "And the word of the Lord came, saying, 'Son of man,'"
  • 11:44 speaking to the prince of Tyre, he says,
  • 11:48 "Because your heart is lifted up, and you say,
  • 11:52 'I am God, and I sit in the temple of God--"
  • 11:58 you might recall Rav Shaul, the apostle Paul, saying as much of
  • 12:03 the anti-Messiah, that he proclaims that he's God and he
  • 12:07 takes his seat in the temple of God.
  • 12:10 Well, according to Ezekiel, never mind this person taking
  • 12:13 his seat in a remanufactured house of God.
  • 12:18 This personality goes back to Eden, where it all went awry,
  • 12:23 and this is where we get the story of the devil, once a
  • 12:27 covering angel who's cast out of paradise.
  • 12:31 That's not just, you know, fanciful preaching.
  • 12:34 It's in the text.
  • 12:36 Well, he goes on, in verse 12, to describe this personality,
  • 12:41 this king of Tyre, who thinks he's perfect.
  • 12:43 In verse 13, Ezekiel says that he was in Eden, "the very garden
  • 12:49 of God," this made man, this personality that had everything,
  • 12:56 this person who was beautiful, but then he was corrupted
  • 13:00 because of his beauty, because of his splendor, and we're told
  • 13:05 in verse 16 that he sinned, and in verse 17, the word is "I will
  • 13:10 destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of
  • 13:15 fire, there amidst these glistening jewels."
  • 13:19 This personality comes to an inglorious end.
  • 13:22 Now, this is part of God's weighing in against the nations
  • 13:28 round about Israel, but it's not just that, for here in the
  • 13:33 text, evil is described, personified as demonic.
  • 13:41 The evil that goes back to the very beginning of time, it
  • 13:44 seems, is going to re-manifest at the edge of time, and this is
  • 13:49 part of the Bible story, and it's part of "Ezekiel and the
  • 13:54 Mideast Piece Process."
  • 14:03 male announcer: Our offer on this program, two
  • 14:05 "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem" bumper stickers.
  • 14:09 In Psalm 122, verse 6, David implores us to pray in such a
  • 14:13 manner that "they shall prosper that love thee."
  • 14:17 Now, more than ever, we need to pray that there would be peace
  • 14:20 within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces.
  • 14:24 This bumper sticker is a sure way to declare your support for
  • 14:27 Israel and Jewish people.
  • 14:29 When you call toll-free, simply ask for
  • 14:31 the pray bumper stickers.
  • 14:35 David: "Our Jewish Roots" is more than just
  • 14:36 a television program.
  • 14:38 See what you are missing on our social media outlets.
  • 14:41 Kirsten: On Facebook and Twitter, you'll find our
  • 14:44 "Daily Name of God" devotional, current news articles,
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  • 14:59 Kirsten: Or find everything on our website, levitt.com.
  • 15:03 David: We invite you to keep in touch and join us
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  • 15:09 Kirsten: I have to admit this: I'm a woman that likes a deal.
  • 15:13 So if I can get two-for-one or three-for-one or some samples
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  • 15:40 David: Ha-ha, you hear her say this weekly, and we mean it
  • 15:43 from the bottom of our hearts.
  • 15:44 We thank you for allowing us to do what we do every week,
  • 15:47 sending us to Israel, Dr. Seif to Israel.
  • 15:50 We could not do any of this without your financial support,
  • 15:53 so thank you so, so much.
  • 15:55 Right now, we go back to Israel for more of Ezekiel's story.
  • 16:01 narrator: The Lord spoke unto Ezekiel and told him to mark
  • 16:05 two roads for the approaching king of Babylon.
  • 16:08 One of the road signs would point to Ammon;
  • 16:11 the other, to Jerusalem.
  • 16:13 Nebuchadnezzar would, in fact, choose to march against
  • 16:16 Jerusalem, and God would condone it as judgment against
  • 16:20 Jerusalem's transgressions.
  • 16:22 In time, however, God's wrath would also be
  • 16:25 turned towards Ammon.
  • 16:32 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: In another life, as a police officer,
  • 16:34 I had ample opportunity to stand in an intersection and decide
  • 16:37 who goes and decide who comes, and I'd tell people,
  • 16:41 "Hurry up and make that turn."
  • 16:43 Well, in chapter 21 of Ezekiel, the prophet sees himself--or he
  • 16:47 sees an intersection where someone has to decide where
  • 16:50 they're going to go, but in that case, wherever they go, what's
  • 16:54 on the menu is to go and to rape, to kill, and to plunder,
  • 16:59 and why is that?
  • 17:00 Because the engines of war are turned on.
  • 17:03 God's judgment is brought to bear against Israel
  • 17:06 because of Israel's sins.
  • 17:08 God's judgment is brought to bear against the
  • 17:10 nations round about Israel.
  • 17:13 God is showing himself tough.
  • 17:15 What's interesting about Ezekiel isn't just that God shows
  • 17:18 himself tough, but the restoration motif; but I'm
  • 17:21 getting ahead of myself a little here.
  • 17:24 I want you to look in chapter 29 of Ezekiel with me.
  • 17:27 We're looking in verse 2, but going up to it.
  • 17:31 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:34 "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying--"
  • 17:36 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:38 "Son of man--"
  • 17:39 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:44 "Set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt--"
  • 17:50 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:51 "And prophesy against him--"
  • 17:54 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:56 "And against all Egypt and say, 'Thus saith the Lord--'"
  • 18:02 and what does he say?
  • 18:04 He says what we don't wanna hear.
  • 18:06 He says, quote, in verse 3, "Behold, I am against thee--"
  • 18:11 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 18:14 "I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt," and he says
  • 18:17 in verse 4, "I'm going to put a hook in your mouth
  • 18:21 and bring you up."
  • 18:23 What does he mean by that?
  • 18:25 He compares him in verse 3 to a "great dragon."
  • 18:30 Here, in the Jewish translation, better, "a crocodile."
  • 18:33 There's a croc in the Nile.
  • 18:35 And what happens, Lord says, "I'm gonna come and grab you,
  • 18:37 put a hook in you and bring you up, take you to the banks and
  • 18:41 throw you upon the dry ground."
  • 18:44 This is imagery here of Egypt taking a hit.
  • 18:49 What's interesting, in Ezekiel, all the nations round
  • 18:53 about Israel take a hit.
  • 18:56 They invoke God's ire, and they're judged
  • 18:58 because of it; why?
  • 19:00 Because they're hell-bent on molesting Israel,
  • 19:04 and there is a day of reckoning.
  • 19:05 There is a day in court.
  • 19:08 God says he's gonna show himself strong on behalf
  • 19:11 of his people at days' end.
  • 19:13 To quote then, in verse 6, why does he do it?
  • 19:16 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 19:21 "That all the inhabitants of Egypt might know
  • 19:25 that I am the Lord."
  • 19:28 I find it fascinating, personally, some 90 times in
  • 19:33 Ezekiel, God, who's showing himself tough, does so in order
  • 19:39 that the world might know him.
  • 19:42 Well, God shows himself tough.
  • 19:45 The miracle isn't as much in the toughness as much as it
  • 19:49 is in the way that God shows himself gracious in the
  • 19:54 wake of the great conflagration.
  • 19:58 When one looks at "Ezekiel and the Mideast Piece Process,"
  • 20:02 we see that, for Ezekiel, the pieces of the puzzle,
  • 20:05 when they line up, he sees war.
  • 20:08 It had applications in antiquity.
  • 20:10 It has applications in modernity as well.
  • 20:14 It seems that tensions in this part of the world, revolving
  • 20:17 around Israel, play themselves out, "Dor L'Dor," "from
  • 20:21 generation to generation," and not just in the
  • 20:25 Ezekiel text in a bygone era.
  • 20:28 If one looks at the Johannine revelation, written by John,
  • 20:33 John the Revelator, in visions that at days' end, there's a
  • 20:36 climactic war, and it culminates with a comparable image.
  • 20:40 He sees here the devil is a serpent, a scaled creature, and
  • 20:45 the Lord takes it by the throat and drags it and throws it
  • 20:48 in the pit--finished.
  • 20:51 And then there's a cessation of hostilities.
  • 20:53 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 20:57 There's the season, then, when nation will not lift up sword
  • 21:01 against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
  • 21:06 Well, when we look at "Ezekiel and the Middle East Piece
  • 21:09 Process," the steps toward the lasting peace
  • 21:14 entail disequilibrium as the engines of war turned up.
  • 21:19 So much for the bad news.
  • 21:21 As we follow this series, we'll consider the good news as God
  • 21:26 rejuvenates a world that's devastated by social unrest,
  • 21:31 political intrigue, and war.
  • 21:35 ♪♪♪
  • 21:45 ♪♪♪
  • 21:55 ♪♪♪
  • 22:05 ♪♪♪
  • 22:15 ♪♪♪
  • 22:22 David: I just wanna give a shout-out today to somebody
  • 22:24 at this table right now.
  • 22:26 Dr. Seif, thank you for your insight.
  • 22:29 So, we grew up in the church, Sunday school.
  • 22:31 We thought we knew all about Ezekiel from singin' that song,
  • 22:34 but so much more that we've learned right here with you.
  • 22:38 Thank you.
  • 22:40 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, you're kind, and I learn, too, to
  • 22:42 prepare for it, and I learn when I go through it,
  • 22:45 so we're all just students at the end of the day.
  • 22:48 Kirsten: Can I say something? Am I allowed to?
  • 22:50 Look at my fingers. They are tapping.
  • 22:52 We talked today about God's judgment on the neighboring
  • 22:57 countries, but didn't God use those countries to teach
  • 23:03 Israel a lesson, should I say?
  • 23:06 God's wrath was used through those countries, and now they
  • 23:09 get in trouble for doing what they're supposed to do?
  • 23:13 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I mean, it's a great question.
  • 23:14 God can use everything and anything.
  • 23:17 All things work for the good, and, you know, nothing
  • 23:21 escapes God's attention.
  • 23:22 So, yes, they do wrong, and they're punished, but even with
  • 23:26 bad motives, God can use people to accomplish his good purposes.
  • 23:31 That's why we survive at the end of the day.
  • 23:33 That's how we get through.
  • 23:35 There are individuals that are not kindly disposed toward us.
  • 23:39 They'll face their reckoning for what they've done, but God has a
  • 23:43 way of still guiding us into the future with all the ups and
  • 23:46 downs that go along with it.
  • 23:47 David: Sounds like the word might be "restoration,"
  • 23:49 hope for all of us?
  • 23:51 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I think that's an extremely important
  • 23:53 theme in Ezekiel, and that certainly manifests
  • 23:55 as we go through the book.
  • 23:57 I mean, it's one thing to restore a life, and that can be
  • 23:59 very challenging, and God is in the business of doing it.
  • 24:02 To restore a nation, a collective of lives and clans,
  • 24:06 is much more challenging, but the good Lord does it.
  • 24:09 Kirsten: And in the countries--I'm gonna jump back.
  • 24:12 So is it true that the countries fulfilled what God needed them
  • 24:16 to do, but they took more liberties with the Hebrew people
  • 24:21 than they should have?
  • 24:22 Were they rougher on them?
  • 24:24 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, I wouldn't say more or less.
  • 24:25 I wasn't there, but you do find the question is raised earlier
  • 24:27 in the Bible with Pharaoh.
  • 24:30 On the one hand, it says, the literature, that the Lord
  • 24:32 hardened Pharaoh's heart toward the Hebrews, and then he was
  • 24:37 punished later for the hardness of heart.
  • 24:39 It's the same kind of thing.
  • 24:40 Why does God do it on the one hand, then punish
  • 24:42 if he was involved in it?
  • 24:43 But the argument is, while it is true he hardened his heart,
  • 24:46 it was hardened in the shape that was already there,
  • 24:49 and Pharaoh was responsible for it.
  • 24:51 That is to say, whatever that man was, he was, and then he was
  • 24:57 punished as a result of it, but God still used it for his
  • 25:01 own good purposes, oddly enough.
  • 25:02 Kirsten: It's crazy, isn't it?
  • 25:04 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: It really is.
  • 25:05 Kirsten: His ways really are higher than our ways.
  • 25:06 We don't understand.
  • 25:08 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: And we all run into difficult people
  • 25:09 in life, and it's hurtful.
  • 25:11 And I should say as well that we all have friends as well.
  • 25:15 You know, if you're gettin' beat up a little bit, you just
  • 25:17 think of those that are your-- that seem to be
  • 25:19 unkindly disposed toward you.
  • 25:21 I wanna thank you for those that are kindly disposed toward us,
  • 25:24 and I say that because, you know, television really isn't
  • 25:27 cheap, and you may not really, really be rich.
  • 25:29 Neither are we, quite frankly, but we get along because you
  • 25:34 care to share, and I wanna thank you for that, and I wanna
  • 25:37 remind you, there's a blessing in that.
  • 25:39 If you're at a place where you do wanna sow some seed into
  • 25:43 gospel ministry if you find us worthy, please, before
  • 25:46 this program gets away from you, please, if the Lord's
  • 25:49 inspiring you to do so, pick up a pen, make out a check.
  • 25:53 Make a phone call. Give us a call.
  • 25:55 It costs a small fortune to get these programs on the air,
  • 25:58 never mind to produce 'em, and we wouldn't be here
  • 26:00 if you weren't there.
  • 26:02 Thanks for the teamwork and the friendship.
  • 26:04 Kirsten: I have to tie up.
  • 26:06 We're talkin' about--it's not an easy topic about God's judgment,
  • 26:09 but I keep going back to what he says many times, I believe, in
  • 26:13 Ezekiel, that "I am for you, not against you," to always remember
  • 26:19 he has our best plans laid out for us.
  • 26:22 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, and he wants to show himself strong,
  • 26:24 you know, around 90 or so times through what God does in the
  • 26:29 world, "that the world might know me."
  • 26:32 There's a sense in which he shows his power through
  • 26:34 his getting his purposes done in the world,
  • 26:38 difficulties notwithstanding.
  • 26:40 David: Next week's program, I would call it wild and crazy,
  • 26:44 all about the dry bones.
  • 26:45 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, next week's program's probably
  • 26:47 the best in the series.
  • 26:49 You don't wanna miss it.
  • 26:50 It's just a fantastic story.
  • 26:52 It's miracle all over it.
  • 26:54 Kirsten: Yay. David: Time to go.
  • 26:55 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: We have to wait till we get to it.
  • 26:57 It's time to go, like the man said, but as you go,
  • 26:59 Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim.
  • 27:01 David: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
  • 27:06 [singing in Hebrew]
  • 27:18 David: Join us right now for additional content that is
  • 27:20 only available on our social media sites, Facebook,
  • 27:23 YouTube, and Twitter.
  • 27:26 Visit our website, levitt.com, for the current and past
  • 27:29 programs, the television schedule, tour information, and
  • 27:32 our free monthly newsletter, which is full of insightful
  • 27:36 articles and news commentary.
  • 27:38 View it online, or we can ship it directly to
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  • 27:43 Also on our website is the online store.
  • 27:45 There, you can order this week's resource, or you can always give
  • 27:49 us a call at 1-800-WONDERS.
  • 27:52 Your donations to "Our Jewish Roots" help us to support
  • 27:55 these organizations as they bless Israel.
  • 27:59 Please remember, we depend on tax-deductible donations
  • 28:02 from viewers like you.
  • 28:04 CC by Aberdeen Captioning www.aberdeen.io 1-800-688-6621
  • 28:09 ♪♪♪
  • 28:18 ♪♪♪

Episodes in this series

  1. The God of Israel Strengthens
  2. Troubles then and now
  3. That You Might Know
  4. The Hope of Restoration
  5. Neighbors Ready for Judgment
  6. The Valley of Dry Bones
  7. Battle of Gog and Magog
  8. The Restored Temple

Guest organizations and links