The Message Bible more than any other Bible seems to give a clearer picture of the problem with the unrepaired defenses of the city. There were gaps (or holes) in the wall of that city where the enemy could come in and destroy its inhabitants. As I studied this passage I began to realize how applicable this story was to our natural lives today.
The city represents us and the walls represent our defense that keeps the enemy out of our lives. Over the years I have noticed that many people seem to have gaps (or holes) in their lives. In many cases these gaps are of their own doing and in other cases these gaps are not of their initiative. Some times when a person is growing up, the pain they may have experienced causes them to block out certain periods of time in their life in such a way that they really do not remember particular times or events. Yet at other times an experience is locked in their memory and although they remember these experiences, they can not talk about them. As unfortunate as these experiences are, they often leave gaps in that person’s defense, and they can become vulnerable in those areas of their lives.
Over the years I have spent hundreds of hours ministering to people…as I have dealt with most every kind of problem. The things that are painful enough to cause gaps in a person’s life can range from incest and other physical abuses to abortion.
Counseling itself is wonderful and should be explored, but some of these things can only be discovered through a word of knowledge. Even though some of these gaps are caused by physical problems, the need for spiritual healing is the only solution for healing the mind and memory.
I once ministered to a man that was in his early fifties. His spirit had been shut down all of his life—the results of a variety of physical abuses. He was a big man and he had always been very soft spoken and extremely withdrawn.
After a time of ministering to him through words of knowledge…he was completely set free. As a matter of fact, he was so changed that he was a shock to everyone else, including himself. Even his wife wondered what had happened to him, because he was not the same man she married. He discovered that he had been living a manufactured life shaped by his circumstances. He was not the man that God had created him to be. He was now able to repair the gaps in his wall and become the defender of his spiritual city because Christ had healed him.
If we are not careful we can get gaps in our walls where the enemy can enter and destroy our goods.
Father,
Help me to be a faithful repairer of the gaps in my own walls so I can help others repair the gaps that are in their walls. Thank you Lord for passages of Scripture such as Ezekiel spoke, which remind us of the strategies of Satan that could thwart the blessings you have in store for us.
Amen
They haven’t lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on GOD’s Day of Judgment. (Ezekiel 13:5 Message Bible)
Apostle John Dean Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved
Alliance International Ministries