Before we get too far away from the 4th of July, let’s roll the holiday into Ezekiel…

Because of the fires in our area, as I wrote before, fireworks were banned here:

That didn’t stop people from shooting off fireworks. We heard a steady barrage of pop, pop, pop all evening. We weren’t alone:

CSFD said emergency dispatchers had taken more than 90 firework-related calls as of 9:47 p.m., despite fireworks being banned in the city for the Fourth of July due to fire danger. – Colorado Springs Gazette, July 5, 2026.

I hope you don’t have trouble understanding the message on practically every page of Ezekiel. For example:

For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules…” (Ezekiel 11.12, ESV)

True then. True now. Laws do not prevent people from doing what they want. In the case of fireworks, it’s not just a law, it’s a good idea! There was a grass fire in a neighborhood on the 4th of July. It had not been officially determined that it was caused by fireworks, but it certainly could have been. If nothing else, it was a reminder that fire danger is real.

It’s been an ongoing problem since Genesis 3. As one comedian observed:

And God said, “Don’t eat the forbidden fruit!” And they said, “Where is it?”