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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“And say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On
the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob
and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, “I am
the Lord your God.” On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of
Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and
honey, the most beautiful of all lands. And I said to them, “Each of you, get
rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves
with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
“‘But they rebelled against Me and would not listen to Me;
they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did
they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them
and spend My anger against them in Egypt. But for the sake of my name, I
brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep My name from being profaned in the
eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed
myself to the Israelites. Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them
into the wilderness. I gave them My decrees and made known to them My laws, by
which the person who obeys them will live. Also I gave them My Sabbaths as a
sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.”
Ezekiel 20:5-12
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the greatest, most amazing experiences I will have in
my life has yet to happen but will. For despite the sins I have committed and
the times I have rebelled against God, disobeying His will and way to follow my
own, He is still willing to save me through His Son Jesus and want to live with
me forever.
It’s a truth that will forever blow me away, one I will be
eternally grateful for.
Why do I go into this personal testimony?
Because this matter of being rebellious toward God and yet
redeemed is not a new concept. As we see in our continuing study of Ezekiel,
Chapter 20, it happened in Old Testament days and we’ll be taking a look at
this through a three devotion series. Look at the scriptures which serve as the
foundation for part one:
“And say to them:
‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with
uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt.
With uplifted hand I said to them, “I am the Lord your God.” On that day I
swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched
out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all
lands. And I said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have
set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am
the Lord your God.’”
“‘But they rebelled
against Me and would not listen to Me; they did not get rid of the vile images
they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said
I would pour out my wrath on them and spend My anger against them in Egypt. But
for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep My name
from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in
whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. Therefore I led them out
of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them My decrees and made
known to them My laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. Also I
gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord
made them holy.” Ezekiel 20:5-12
You may recall Moses’ encounter with God at a bush that
mysteriously ignited and burned before him. During that engagement, God said
these words to the leader He had chosen to bring His people out of Egypt:
“I have indeed seen
the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their
slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to
rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that
land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home
of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And
now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the
Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring
my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Exodus 3:7-10
This is important for us to revisit for it is the very
reference point the Lord is referring to as He speaks in Ezekiel 20. He made a
promise through Moses to rescue His people from the oppression they were under
in Egypt and deliver them to a new land, one they would be given to settle in,
one that was “the most beautiful of all lands”, a “land flowing with milk and
honey”.
There was just one condition.
The people of God were to turn away from the “vile images” and
idols of Egypt, adopting a stance where they would not defile themselves by
sinning against God.
Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to their end of the
bargain. For God tells us Himself that His people rebelled against Him and
refused to listen, continuing to hold onto Egypt’s vile images and worship its
idols.
Well, this incited God’s wrath and frankly, He could have
pulled back His promise and poured out His judgment upon the Israelites but
that’s not what He did. God did not desire to be profaned in the sight of the
nations among whom His people lived and so He continued to make good on His vow
and keep His side of the agreement, despite the Israelites failing on their
end.
We know the rest of the story. God did indeed lead His
people out of Egypt with Moses in charge, ensuring they made it into the
wilderness safely to start a forty-day journey (or exodus) to the land God had
promised. And of course, we know one of the main events of that sojourn was God
delivering His decrees to His people through Moses at Mount Sinai, decrees best
known as “The Ten Commandments” (Exodus 20).
God had commanded His people to not worship other entities
outside of Himself in Egypt and the people didn’t listen. Still, He still
delivered them to a place of refuge and life as He promised.
Today, all of us have sinned and rebelled against God in
some way, violating His word, will, and way. And yet, He still loves us enough
to want to redeem us and abide with us forever if we just put our faith, hope,
and trust in the Son He sent to die in our place, the Lamb of God who was sacrificed
for the sins of all, the man named Jesus who was, is, and will always be the
Savior of the world.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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