11/09/13

Men of God cover your nakedness

Ezekiel 37:8 - And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.


Continuing with yesterday's message we read about the vision of Ezekiel wherein he is been commanded by the Lord to speak to the bones to come to life. If we look carefully as Ezekiel obeys the Lord even before the flesh comes in the bones we read the Lord put sinews on the bones. The Hebrew word translated as sinews means small undergarments used to cover the nakedness of man.

When God instructed Moses to make a ramp to access the altar of the Tabernacle, He clearly instructed them not to make it as steps but as a slope, the reason being the nakedness of the priests is not seen. Was it really God who did not want to see their nakedness?

When Adam and Eve covered themselves after they sinned did they really cover their nakedness from God? We see later God Himself killed animals and covered them with the skin of that sacrifice [for they ate these animals for the first time before that they were pure vegetarians].

God is Spirit and He can see even the thoughts of man, even before man thinks them, nothing is hidden from Him. Adam and Eve were hiding their nakedness not from God but from each other and from their own selves.

We all are naked inside and no man can say he or she is not, God knows us as we are, for He even knows the count of ever hair on us. When God says nakedness it does not mean just the physical body but emphasizes more on the carnal nakedness of man.

A sinful man is a carnal being, a being full of desires that are worldly and foolish. The flesh is just a means for him to gratify these desires. A Man of God is a man who walks in Truth and not in foolishness; he is a person who overcomes the vanity of foolish carnal desires. It is not that a Man of God is free totally of carnal desires. Men of God too get these desires but he has control on them for the Truth is in him.

Yesterday the message was for the leaders of the Church and today the Lord is telling them to cover their nakedness. God is telling them that people are able to see their carnal desires, their nakedness. Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness with leaves and twigs but God showed them how to cover their nakedness. He killed an animal - made a sacrifice and with the skin of the sacrifice covered them.

We cannot overcome our nakedness by any other way but by covering ourselves with the righteousness of the perfect sacrifice - the Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we do not make the Lord's ways as our ways we will never be able to overcome our nakedness. That is why we need to imitate the Lord everyday of our lives and since we do not know God, Jesus as man became His face for us, so let us imitate Jesus in our lives. Jesus was naked on the cross but his nakedness was covered by His righteousness. It covered not only Him but now also covers us all who walk in His ways.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, your Word says the early Christians were called People of The Way because they lived their lives unlike others of this world. During those times your Church grew because You were pleased with them and thus added people unto them. Today Lord, people are compromising your ways with the ways of the world. They give excuses of reaching out to the lost but are bringing people by manipulations and not by getting them to repent and be born again. Lord, we pray a revival amongst the leaders first. We pray they relearn your Kingdom your way and not in the ways the worldly man has taught them. That they cover their nakedness by your righteousness...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference ]
Ezekiel 37:5-12
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel [Princes of God / Sons of God]: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel [Heaven].

Exodus 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.

Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:6-11, 21
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
21 And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.


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