It takes a particularly dense clod of clay between the ears, to read the prophets in the Bible and not think that God, through them, speaks to us today.
Take, for instance, Chapter 13 of Ezekiel. “Thus saith the Lord God, Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?” [Ezekiel 13:18]
We can’t be sure exactly what Ezekiel was talking about, because he was describing something that would have been well-known to his audience, the people of Jerusalem, circa 600 B.C. Pillows? Kerchiefs? But it’s obvious that he’s referring to superstitious practices that were the equivalent of a lot of our own New Age mumbo-jumbo. He could just as well be writing about crystals, animal spirit guides, and ouija boards.
And the Lord goes on to say that He will tear away the kerchiefs and the pillows, and punish the false prophetesses who sell them to a foolish and credulous public, “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life…” [v.22]
I don’t know about you, but that sounds awfully familiar to me. Lies that demoralize the good? Yeah, I think we might run across a few hundred dozen of those every day, issued authoritatively by our glorious leaders, the nooze media, the UN, and the rest of the usual suspects. Lies that convince the wicked that they’re doing just fine, no need to change, just keep on goin’ as they’re goin’? Gee, I guess if I really put my mind to it, I can probably think of a few behaviors that were sins for thousands and thousands of years, but of course aren’t anymore because our leaders and Hollywood and our hip, seeker-friendly churchmen say so.
Meanwhile, false prophets and charlatans promise us salvation, which usually we can achieve by forking over money to them for some sure-fire magic gizmo or self-help scheme. Pillows and kerchiefs. The narrative: lies told in a good cause, like to Save the Planet.
We really are in trouble.
