Ezekiel 22:30 – What does it mean – Intercessor or Jesus?

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.

This has been traditionally interpreted as seeking for someone to intercede on behalf of the nation and to turn away the wrath of Yahweh. Hence this is used to encourage people to pray for their nation, and the impact one person can have on the history of a nation.

However, in the time of Ezekiel’s prophecy and of the judgement of Judah by Babylon, Jeremiah and his colleague Baruch, and they were weeping and interceding for Judah. So, if Ezekiel 22:30 refers to the absence of intercessors, it would not be true. But if it refers to Jesus, it would be true. By turning away to idols Judah had lost the protective covering of Jesus and so the judgement of God came upon the nation. Jesus is the only Intercessor and Mediator between a nation and God.

Since we have been sent like Jesus, we can intercede also in the name of Jesus, but the nation cannot afford to refuse the protection of Jesus by turning to other gods of this world.

Understanding 1 Peter 3:19

1 Peter 3:18-4:6 has been a difficult passage to understand. I would like to recommend one line of interpretation that is not heard of much.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

The key to understanding this passage seems to lie in the concept of baptism as a dying to self and a resurrection to live for God. This concept is seen in Romans 6:1-6 and Galatians 2:20.

So, verse 18 begins with the thought that on the cross Jesus suffered for our sins and rose again by the Spirit which becomes a type for the antitype of baptism.

Verse 19-20 taken together says, that “by whom”, i.e. the Spirit, Jesus preached to those who sinned in the time of Noah. Only those came through the flood was saved – eight souls. This is best seen as the Spirit preaching through Noah to his generation.

The confusion comes by the term ‘preached to the spirits in prison’. That gives rise to interpretations that Jesus went and preached to them sometime in His ministry. Many see this as between the death and the resurrection as said in the Nicene creed – he descended in to hell. But the expression could mean, those spirits who were condemned and sent to hell. In the present when Peter is writing they are in prison, but when the word was preached to them they were one earth. If you look at the passage carefully, you will find that nowhere it says when this word was preached to them. Peter did not explain probably because he was clear in his mind as to what he was saying.

In verse 21 he now links this to baptism, which is not seen as a washing away of sins, but a regeneration and a new person. Just as Noah and his family were saved coming through the judgement on the world, we also are saved by coming through the judgement of the cross with Jesus.

1 Peter 4:1 has another difficult statement based on the same idea, ‘he who has suffered does not sin.’ This is same thought in Romans 6:1-6. He who has died in baptism does not sin or commit himself to sin. Suffering here is death continuing the thought of 1 Peter 3:18, and not physical suffering as such.

We see this idea of judging the flesh also in 1 Peter 4:6 where the gospel is preached to the spiritually dead so that in baptism they can die and live by the Spirit. This is the purpose of preaching.

What is the Old Covenant and what is the New?

Jeremiah 31 speaks of the new covenant God will make with Israel. But what is the old covenant that is being replaced. Most Christians tend to think that the old covenant is salvation by works and the new covenant salvation by faith. But that this erroneous is apparent from Paul’s argument in Romans 2 to 4 and 9. The old covenant was also salvation by faith!!

What is the old covenant? The old covenant grows out of God’s covenant with Abraham. So let us look at these covenants with Abraham and Moses.

The first covenant with Abraham is Genesis 12:1-3 where no works are demanded except to get out of his father’s house and to go to the promised land. If he went to the Promised Land God would bless him and make him a blessing.

The second covenant with Abraham is in Genesis 15:1-11 where an unconditional promise is given to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. In this covenant, the Exodus event is indicated in verses 13-14 as a part of the covenant with Abraham. This passage also contains the well-known verse 15:6, “Abraham believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness”. It is important here to note that the word righteousness carries within it the meaning of salvation.

The third covenant with Abraham is in Genesis 17:1-14. Here God begins in verse 4 saying that God’s covenant is with Abraham, to make him the father of many nations. Verse 7 says that this would be an everlasting covenant with his descendants and God would give these descendants the promised land. No conditions are given. The sign of this covenant, that they were chosen by God, was circumcision (vs 10). To remain in this covenant relationship, they needed to carry on them the sign of the covenant, otherwise they were cast off (vs 14).

We now come to the covenant with Moses in Exodus. The Exodus event begins with the Passover celebration. Again here no conditions are put. God has rescued them and they were to put the blood of the Passover lamb on their houses so the judgment would not come on them. No works were required, only an expression of their faith in Yahweh and the Passover sacrifice.

In Exodus 19:4-6

 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Verse 5 “if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me “ is seen as a verse expressing salvation by works. But is that true? Verse 4 says that God has, with no conditions, brought them out of Egypt to HIMSELF.  Now if they lived by obedience to Yahweh, God would make them a nation of priests, or they would fulfill God’s purpose for them.

The succeeding verses then spells how they could make themselves into a nation of priests.

The book of Deuteronomy often speaks of the Old Testament. These need to be studied carefully. You should note that the disobedience that leads to separation from God is worshiping other gods and not breaking one of the commands.

Deuteronomy 4:3-4 makes this very clear. Those who left Yahweh died and those who stayed with Yahweh lived. Verse 5 and 6 says that if they lived by the Law they would be a testimony to the nations around them. This is the covenant referred to in verse 13 and the Laws are spelt out in the succeeding verses.

Deuteronomy 4:23 says that forgetting the covenant was to worship other gods. Similarly, if you read Deuteronomy 9-12 carefully, you will see that these chapters speak of God’s unconditional love for Israel and how if Israel obeyed the commands they would fulfill God’s purpose for them.

This is essentially the same relationship we have with God in the New Covenant. He saved us in Jesus, and if we are loyal to Him and avoid other gods, we have salvation. The more we live by the teachings of Jesus the more we fulfill His purpose for us.

Then what is the difference between the Old Covenant and the New?

Primarily two.

One is obvious, which is the finished work of Jesus, so that we know how secure our future with God is. But what Jeremiah refers to is the writing of the Law in our hearts (Jer 31:33) and we do not need anyone to teach us (Jer 31:34). Compare this with 1 John 2:27. Here it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes this a reality. So the difference between the Old Covenant and the New is not Works and Grace, but the out pouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh as prophesied in Joel. In the Old I had to fulfil God’s purpose on my own, in the New I fulfil with the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, let us leave the Old and move on to the New.