Outline
I
The "wandering stars" are those who are not solidly fixed in the unchanging truths of the heavenly revelation but are wandering about among God's starlike people; in order to be stable stars for God's testimony, we must beware of the seven kinds of people who are a damage to the church—Jude 12-13, 19; cf. 1 Cor. 3:17:
１
Ammon was happy when God's sanctuary (typifying the incarnated Christ tabernacling on earth as God's dwelling place—John 1:14) was desecrated, when the good land (signifying Christ with all His riches and grace given to God's people—Col. 1:12) was desolated, and when the house of Judah (signifying the church—Heb. 3:6) went off into exile; the Ammonites signify those who hate Christ, the grace of God, and the church—Ezek. 25:3.
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The Moabites were happy to see that the house of Judah was no longer separated from the nations; thus, they signify those who desire to bring the church into an association with the world and to make the church the same as the nations—v. 8; Rev. 2:12.
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The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, and thus the cousins of the sons of Israel (Gen. 36:1); Edom signifies the unregenerated old man, and Israel signifies the regenerated new man (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 6:16; Phil. 3:3); Edom was full of hatred toward Israel, continually seeking revenge and vengeance—Ezek. 25:12.
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The Philistines lived very close to the good land and even mingled with the Israelites; they typify the natural man of the religious people; the "Edomites" and the "Philistines" cause the most damage to the church life—v. 15; 1 Cor. 3:12, 16-17.
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Tyre typifies those who are seeking worldly wealth and do not care for God's interests—Ezek. 26:2; 28:12-15; cf. 1 Kings 7:13-14.
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Sidon was a pricking briar and a painful thorn to the house of Israel; Tyre and Sidon are considered a pair, indicating that if the believers love the world and care for worldly riches, they will become briars and thorns that damage the church life, frustrating the growth of life in the church as God's cultivated land—Ezek. 28:21, 24; Matt. 13:22; 1 Cor. 3:9; cf. Rev. 18:13.
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Egypt was a nation that depended not on God but on its own resources; the Egyptians represent persons who, independent of God, exercise their natural wisdom to develop their natural resources to be rich in supply and to be a source of supply for others—Ezek. 29:2-9; cf. Exo. 4:1-9.
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 3:12 But if anyone builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble.16-17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, and such are you.
A proper star has a certain position and fixed orbit. It continues in its course steadfastly. However, there are some stars with no fixed position or orbit; they are wandering stars…If you follow them, you will be misled; eventually, you will not know where to go…They have no ground; they have no standing; they have no certain way to go on with the Lord. Today they say one thing, and tomorrow they will say something different…We need to be careful. We cannot find Jesus by following a wandering star. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 1, “New Testament Service,” p. 292)
Today’s Reading
Ezekiel 25—32 speaks of seven nations that surrounded the nation of Israel…These seven nations are divided into three groups. The first four nations—Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia—form the first group; Tyre and Sidon make up the second group; and Egypt stands alone.The Ammonites…were happy about three things: the sanctuary being desecrated, the good land being desolated, and the house of Judah being carried away. This indicates that they hated the sanctuary, the Holy Land, and the house of Judah. According to typology…the sanctuary signifies Christ, the good land signifies all of God’s rich grace in Christ, and the house of Judah signifies the church. Today’s Ammonites hate these three things. They hate Christ, they hate the grace of God in Christ, and they hate the church.
The Moabites said, “Look, the house of Judah is just like all the other nations!” (25:8)…Thus, they signify those who desire to bring the church into an association with the world and to make the church the same as the nations.
Edom was the son of Esau, the brother of Jacob. Therefore, Edom and the sons of Israel were cousins. Edom signifies the old man; he signifies us as the old man. Our unregenerated old man is Edom, and our regenerated new man is Israel. We may say that, in a sense, our old man and our new man are “cousins,” for they are quite close to each other.
According to the record of Ezekiel, Edom was full of hatred toward Israel, continually seeking revenge and vengeance. This is the way we are in our old man. Our old man hates the church…Have you not discovered that you are two men? On the one hand, you are a real Israelite loving the church; on the other hand, you are also a real Edomite, hating the church. Sometimes you love the church and all the leading ones, but at other times you hate the church and all the elders.
Tyre typifies those who are seeking worldly wealth, those who desire to make a great deal of money and to be rich. They will sacrifice everything related to the Lord for the sake of their business. They do not care for the Lord’s interest but care only for their wealth, riches, and business.
[These] seven kinds of people…can damage the church life. Some are against the church, hating Christ, God’s salvation, and God’s grace. These are the “Ammonites.” Others creep into the church and try to bring the church into association with the world and to make the church the same as the world. These are the “Moabites.” Then there are the “Edomites,” the old man, and the “Philistines,” the natural man. The “Tyrians” seek the riches of the world, and the “Sidonians” become briers and thorns to the church due to the seeking of riches. Finally, there are the “Egyptians,” those who, independent of God, seek worldly riches by developing their own resources to be rich in supply and to be a source of supply for others. These are the different people who can be a damage to the church life. We all need to be on the alert that none of us would become these kinds of persons. (Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 164-168, 170)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ezekiel, msgs. 15—16