Audio Download

Ezekiel 8:1-18  The Desecration of our Temple

[Study Aired March 11, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study is about the Lord showing Ezekiel the sins, or abominations, we have committed in the temple of the Lord which is our bodies and have therefore incurred the Lord’s wrath. Our sins include the setting up of the image of jealousy at the gate of the altar, the elders of Israel worshiping all manner of images in a secret chamber and the women weeping for Tammuz, with the men worshiping the sun. The Lord showing Ezekiel these sins is a way of justifying the need for us to be judged so that we learn righteousness. 

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

The Coming of the Lord into Our Lives

Eze 8:1  And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

The number six represents mankind. It shows mankind in his fleshly state. The vision that Ezekiel had came in the sixth year, in the sixth month and on the fifth day of the month. We are therefore being told of the state that Ezekiel was in since the Lord came to Him. That is to say, Ezekiel was dominated by the flesh before the Lord came to him. This is the story of all the Lord’s elect. We were doing our own thing in our fleshly capacity before the Lord came to us. The fifth day of the month signifies that it is grace through faith (the meaning of the number five), that our Lord Jesus Christ came to us to pick us out of the miry clay (fleshly state) and to set our feet upon the rock, that is, establish us in Christ. 

Psa 40:2  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 
Psa 40:3  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

When the Lord came to Ezekiel, he was sitting in his own house together with the elders of Judah. Our house is our body which is the temple of the Lord. Ezekiel sitting in his own house means the man of sin or the beast within us sitting in the temple of God, which is our bodies. In simple terms, we were dominated by the flesh when the Lord came to us. The fact that Ezekiel was there together with the elders of Judah means that all of the Lord’s elect (signified by the elders of Judah) were first dominated by the flesh before Jesus came to us!! 

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

It is in this state that the Lord came to us with the fire of His words to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, and to let us know that our judgment is at hand, as shown in the next verse:

Eze 8:2  Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

Ezekiel seeing the appearance of the Lord as the appearance of fire and the appearance of brightness is to show us that the Lord’s coming to us is to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear His fiery words, and this is accompanied by the judgment of our old man or the beast within each of us. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

The fact that this appearance of fire is Christ is not in doubt, as the appearance of fire and the color of amber have been used to describe the Lord’s appearance in the word of the Lord.

Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

The color amber is translated in many versions of the Bible to mean polished or glowing metal. 

Eze 1:27  From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, (CEV)

What the polished or glowing metal of the Lord’s appearance from His loins upward and downwards in the midst of the fire signifies is that when Christ comes to us, He comes to initiate our fiery trials to remove all that contaminates our walk with Him so that we can be presented blameless before God. 

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

The brightness of the Lord’s coming is the fire of His words, or His judgment, as indicated in the following verse:

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Eze 8:3  And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. 

It is insightful to note that the Lord took Ezekiel by the lock of his head to lift him up between the earth and heaven. The lock of his head is an indication of a Nazarite vow. As we have indicated in the studies of Numbers, the Nazarite vow shows us the Lord’s intent for the elect to be wholly separated for His purpose but does not express spiritual maturity. When we think we have a will to decide to become separated for Christ, then it means that we are spiritually immature, since we do not contribute anything to our salvation. When we were in Babylon, we thought that we could exercise our will to be wholly devoted to Christ, just like the Israelites who think they can choose to become Nazarites. Our lives therefore in Babylon were the same as the Israelites who go for a Nazarite vow. In other words, we were all Nazarites at a certain period of our lives when we were in Babylon until Christ came to us.

Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Therefore, our life in Babylon is the life of a Nazarite. Thus, the Lord lifting Ezekiel with a lock of his head shows us how the Lord takes us out of Babylon. Our supposed self-will of being wholly devoted to Christ is what the Lord takes advantage of to cause our exit from Babylon. Our exit from Babylon is our separation from the earth as Ezekiel was lifted up from the earth. As we know from the word of the Lord, the earth represents the Lord’s people who have gone astray and are not prepared to hear what the Lord has to say to them. The earth therefore signifies Babylon or the physical churches of this world. Heaven, on the other hand, represents the Lord’s elect or the church of the firstborn in this case. Being lifted up between the earth and Heaven signifies the beginning of our journey after our exit from Babylon to become part of the Lord’s elect. 

It is after our exit from Babylon that the Lord opens our eyes and ears to see and to hear visions of the deplorable state of Jerusalem. It is when the Lord comes to us that we come to see the seat of the images of jealousy which has given the Lord the occasion to come and judge us, as signified by the fact that the inner gate is towards the north. As we have learned, the north represents judgment.

Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Num 2:25 The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan [shall be] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

The question is, “What is this seat of the images of jealousy shown to Ezekiel?” The images of jealousy refer to the worship of strange gods, which the Lord hates. 

Deu 32:16  They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

Psa 78:58  For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

In our lives in Babylon, we worshiped another Jesus which is the same as worshiping strange gods. 

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Eze 8:4  And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

We need to know what the glory of the Lord signifies in order to understand Ezekiel beholding the glory of the Lord. The following verses show us what the glory of the Lord means:

Num 14:10  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. 
Num 14:11  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? 

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

We can see from these verses that any time the glory of the Lord appears, we see the Lord speaking. In Deuteronomy 5:24, additional information is given to qualify the glory of the Lord, and that is fire. Seeing His glory therefore means hearing the Lord’s voice out of the midst of the fire. This conclusion is affirmed in Exodus 24:16-17, where the sight of the glory of the Lord was likened to a devouring fire on the top of the Mount.

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 
Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

What these verses tell us is that in this age, those who are privileged to see the glory of the Lord are those who are hearing His words in the midst of the furnace of their affliction. I will therefore take this opportunity to tell our brothers and sisters scattered all over the world who are going through fiery trials that they should rejoice because it is through suffering that they can see the glory of the Lord!! When we are going through suffering, it is hard to rejoice, but afterwards it will yield the benefit of seeing the glory of the Lord!! 

In Exodus 24:16, this glory of the Lord was covered by the cloud for six days. The number six represents mankind. What this means is that, in this age (six days), you can only see the glory of the Lord through the elect. The seventh day is when we shall be called by the Lord to reign with Him as we rest from our labors.

Eze 8:5  Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. 
Eze 8:6  He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

As indicated earlier, the Lord telling Ezekiel to lift up his eyes towards the north means the elect, represented here by Ezekiel, must see the work the Lord is doing in our lives through His judgment, signified by the north. Right at the gate of the altar is this image of jealousy. In other words, at the very beginning of our walk with the Lord, when we entered Babylon was characterized by the worship of another Jesus. As a result, the Lord was far away from us, His sanctuary. The Lord being far away from His sanctuary implies that He did not hear us or save us when we cried to him during the period that we have set up this image of jealousy in our hearts and minds.

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 
Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 
Isa 59:3  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

Under these conditions, we become worse off, just like pigs who go back to wallow in the mire after they have been washed. 

2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 

It is this picture of our deplorable state that the Lord wanted to show Ezekiel as follows:

Eze 8:7  And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 
Eze 8:8  Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. 
Eze 8:9  And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. 
Eze 8:10  So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.

The question is “why did the Lord not just show Ezekiel the creeping things and the abomination immediately but asked him to dig in the wall before he could see the wicked abomination?” It is because the Lord wants to train us to know the truth of His words from the falsehood or the false doctrines that we were accustomed to while we were in Babylon. In the ancient times, walls were made from the earth which represents man’s wisdom and traditions. This wall that prevents Ezekiel from seeing the wicked abomination of his people therefore represents man’s wisdom and traditions, and it is only when we dig out, that is, see these false doctrines we were used to, that we come to see our deplorable state in Babylon. This scenario is the same as what happened to Isaac when he started digging out the earth from the wells of his father Abraham which the inhabitants of the land destroyed by filling them with earth. It is when we dug out the earth that we encountered springing water which represents the truth of the Lord’s words. It is this truth that makes us aware of our appalling situation in Babylon.

Gen 26:15  For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
Gen 26:16  And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. 
Gen 26:17  And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 
Gen 26:18  And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
Gen 26:19  And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

It is when we make a hole in the wall of the false doctrines of human wisdom and tradition that we come to see the creeping things and the abominable beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed in a wall. Creeping things are creatures that move based on their belly. In other words, they creep upon the earth.

Lev 11:42  Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination

The question is, “What do these creeping things signify?”  We can see that creeping things depend on their belly and because of that they are always in touch with the earth. This is how Paul defines those who depend on their belly:

Rom 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 
Rom 16:18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

What this means is that the creeping things represent those men of God that we worshiped in Babylon who serve their belly. The worship of our leaders in Babylon is an abomination to the Lord. These creeping things, abominable beasts and all kinds of idols were engraved in the walls of the temple and were being worshiped. As we are aware, the abominable beasts represent  man without Christ as we are all beasts before the Lord comes to us.  Our idols are our false doctrines which we cherish more than the truth of the word of the Lord. The fact that the creeping things, the abominable beasts and all kinds of idols are engraved on the wall of the temple, which was made of earth, means that all that we worshiped in our time in Babylon are of the earth or earthy, that is, the false doctrines based on man’s wisdom and tradition. Fortunately, these must come first before we taste of the goodness of the truth of the Lord’s words as we are made to understand spiritual reality.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Eze 8:11  And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. 
Eze 8:12  Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. 

The ancients mentioned in verses 11 and 12 refer to the priests, Levites and the heads of the families. In other words, they represent the leaders of the people in Babylon. 

Ezr 3:12  But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 

The seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel signify the sons of the devil whom we served in our time in Babylon. One of the seventy with the name Jaazaniah was singled out as participating in the worship of the abominable beasts, creeping things and idols. Jaazaniah means ‘God hears.’ What we are being told is that we say that we are the Lord’s as He hears us. However, we are actually children of the devil as we do the lust of our father the devil while we were in Babylon.

2Ki 10:1  And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying,

2Ki 10:6  Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Incense, on a positive note, denotes the prayers of the saints. However, in this case, it refers to our prayers to the devil. As indicated earlier, the Lord told Ezekiel that because of our iniquity, He will go far from His sanctuary within us (verse 6). As a result, we do not hear from the Lord. However, instead of humbling ourselves before Him so that He hears us, we rather think that the Lord has forsaken us and therefore does not hear us. As a result, we indulge more in wickedness.

Eze 8:13  He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
Eze 8:14  Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

What we need to understand is that all of these abominations described in Ezekiel chapter 8 were happening in the temple, which is our bodies. In verse 14, we are shown women weeping for Tammuz. According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica, Tammuz is described as a god of fertility embodying the power for new life in nature. This “nature god” was associated with two yearly festivals – one celebrating his marriage and the other lamenting his death. The initial of Tammuz was the sign of the cross which later became the letter “T”.

There are therefore similarities between the worship of Tammuz and what we were doing in Babylon. In Babylon, we celebrate the birth of Christ (Christmas) and then his death on the cross (Easter). We were also using the sign of the cross to represent the suffering of Christ. During the “Good Friday” of the Easter celebration, do we not mourn the death of Christ just as the women mourned Tammuz when we were in Babylon? The women who were mourning Tammuz represent the various denominations of Babylon who mourn the death of Christ during Easter. In verse 13, the Lord told Ezekiel that He was going to show him greater abominations, and the first one that He showed Ezekiel was these women mourning Tammuz. Our celebration of Christ’s birth and death in Babylon therefore are an abomination to the Lord as it signifies worshiping another Jesus.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Eze 8:15  Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 
Eze 8:16  And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

The inner court of the Lord’s house is where the Levites were permitted to worship. These Levites represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon who do the work of the Lord but are not permitted to enter the Holy Place of the temple. This is confirmed in verse 16 by the number of men (25) who worshiped with their backs toward the temple and facing east. It is when one is twenty-five years old that one can serve in the house of the Lord as a Levite.

Num 8:24  This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:

The East is where the sun rises, and the sun here represents Christ. What this implies is that these men in Babylon only focus on the beginning of our walk in Christ when we leave the world and are not given to continue in Him to mature. Turning their backs to the temple signifies our rejection to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord. That is why when we were in Babylon, we were carnal because we were not given to mature. We were only introduced to the rudiments about Christ, and even this basic knowledge of Christ is tainted with false doctrines. To leave the world because of Christ and to become complacent and not persevere to reach for the mark of His higher calling is an abomination to the Lord as indicated here in verse 15.

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Incidentally, those of the Muslim religion always pray facing east where the sun rises. Thus, when we speak of Babylon, it encompasses all religions of this world.

Eze 8:17  Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 
Eze 8:18  Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

In view of all the abominations we have committed against the Lord, we have therefore provoked His anger and deserved to be judged. In verse 18, the Lord saying that He shall not spare us and will not have pity on us; another way of saying that as His elect, the Lord’s judgment of our old man in this age will surely be executed. As we are aware, it is through our judgment that we learn righteousness. Although our fiery trials are painful experiences, they yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness which is the prerequisite for reigning with Christ!! 

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 
Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 
Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Heb 12:12  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 
Heb 12:13  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

May the Lord give us the grace to continue in Him as He completes the work He has started in us. Amen!!