Ezekiel 3:16-6:14
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In Ezekiel chapter 3 today God appoints Ezekiel as a watchman for Israel! This might sound pretty good at first... but there are some serious ramifications for Ezekiel to follow through with what God asks Ezekiel to do. My thoughts based on this chapter - Are there times in our lives where God asks us to do something that may sound good at first, but then turns out to be harder than we initially thought it would be? With potential some serious ramifications? If so, do you quit? Or do you forge ahead with what God asks of you? Will you stay within God's will for your life - even when the going gets tough? If God calls you to be a watch-person, will you be obedient to the call?
Ezekiel chapters 4 and 5 get into God's signs of the coming siege and judgment of Jerusalem and Israel. The thing that went through my mind when reading all of this was the 3rd commandment from Exodus chapter 20, verses 4-6: "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments." The term in these verses "jealous God" did come to my mind when reading Ezekiel 4 and 5. And not in a bad way. But, just in the way it was. God commanded no idols. Israel/Jerusalem created idols and did not repent after repeated warnings. God was "jealous" of all of this, and the siege and judgment came.
Ezekiel chapter 6 continues along the lines of chapters 4 & 5 - with judgment against the very land of Israel because of the pagan shrines. Verses 8 & 9 stood out to me in this chapter: ""But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world. Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how grieved I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for other gods. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their wickedness." Here we see that God will preserve the Davidic line - and that the Israelites will eventually repent, and the nation will eventually be restored (as we know in hindsight now). Verse 10 in this chapter also seems to sum up a lot of what's going on in God's mind in today's readings in Ezekiel: "They will know that I alone am the LORD and that I was serious when I predicted that all this would happen to them." Do we know that God is alone the Lord in our lives today? Do we trust his Word and his predictions without a doubt?
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of the Third Day song "Lift Up Your Face:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij71LWwPt-w
Have you lifted up your face? Click here to lift up your face to God!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy!
Mike
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