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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.
“But the children rebelled against Me: They did not follow My
decrees, they were not careful to keep My laws, of which I said, ‘The person
who obeys them will live by them,’ and they desecrated My Sabbaths. So I said I
would pour out My wrath on them and spend My anger against them in the
wilderness. But I withheld My hand, and for the sake of My name I did what
would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I
had brought them out. Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness
that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the
countries, because they had not obeyed My laws but had rejected My decrees and
desecrated My Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols. So I
gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could
not live; I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every
firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.”
“Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and
lust after their vile images? When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your
children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to
this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live,
declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.”
“You say, ‘We want to be like the nations, like the peoples
of the world, who serve wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never
happen. As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. I will
bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have
been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.
I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations and there, face to face, I
will execute judgment upon you. As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of
the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will
take note of you as you pass under My rod, and I will bring you into the bond
of the covenant. I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against Me.
Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will
not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
“As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord
says: ‘Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely
listen to Me and no longer profane My holy name with your gifts and idols. For
on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord,
‘there in the land all the people of Israel will serve Me, and there I will
accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts, along
with all your holy sacrifices. I will accept you as fragrant incense when I
bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have
been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the
nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land
of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors. There
you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled
yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. You
will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for My name’s sake and not
according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel,’
declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Ezekiel 20:21-26,
30-44
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The theme has been the same across the first two devotions
in this three part series.
God’s people have sinned against Him and engaged in
idolatrous worship practices, behavior that has deserved the fullest measure of
His wrath and punishment. But what we have seen is that although God would
never condone the actions of His people, neither would He turn from His nature
in the sight of His people and others, a nature that is defined by mercy and
grace and forgiveness and love, a nature that eventually brings His people to
redemption.
Thus far, we examined the Israelites of old in part one,
those who were held captive and oppressed by Pharaoh in Egypt. Despite God’s
command for them to turn from the idols of Egypt, His people rebelled against
Him in blatant disobedience but God did not hold back rescuing them from the
hands of the Pharaoh. He still brought them redemption and deliverance.
This led us to part two where God specifically addressed the
children of those redeemed Israelites from Egypt, exhorting them to not repeat
the mistakes of their parents. But as we know, the children failed to listen.
They engaged in the same sins of those who raised them and thus incited God’s
anger to where they deserved to be destroyed in the wilderness. But once again,
God relented and chose to allow His people to live. He did not allow them to
enter into the Promised Land, the land described as flowing with milk and
honey, but He did allow them to survive and usher in a new generation of
Israelites.
And this brings us to where we are today as we look at our
third and final devotion in the series. Would the children listen to God and
turn away from the sins of their ancestors? Would they opt to leave
transgressions aside to follow His laws and decrees in obedience? Would they
return the Sabbath to a day that was again honored and kept holy?
Let’s look at our scripture passage again for the answers:
“But the children
rebelled against Me: They did not follow My decrees, they were not careful to
keep My laws, of which I said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them,’
and they desecrated My Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out My wrath on them
and spend My anger against them in the wilderness. But I withheld My hand, and
for the sake of My name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the
eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. Also with uplifted
hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the
nations and scatter them through the countries, because they had not obeyed My
laws but had rejected My decrees and desecrated My Sabbaths, and their eyes
lusted after their parents’ idols. So I gave them other statutes that were not
good and laws through which they could not live; I defiled them through their
gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so
they would know that I am the Lord.”
“Therefore say to the
Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves
the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? When you offer
your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile
yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you
Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let
you inquire of me.”
“You say, ‘We want to
be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.’
But what you have in mind will never happen. As surely as I live, declares the
Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched
arm and with outpoured wrath. I will bring you from the nations and gather you
from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. I will bring you into the wilderness
of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you. As I
judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge
you, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will take note of you as you pass under My
rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge you of
those who revolt and rebel against Me. Although I will bring them out of the
land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then
you will know that I am the Lord.”
“As for you, people
of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Go and serve your idols,
every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to Me and no longer
profane My holy name with your gifts and idols. For on My holy mountain, the
high mountain of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘there in the land all the
people of Israel will serve Me, and there I will accept them. There I will
require your offerings and your choice gifts, along with all your holy
sacrifices. I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the
nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I
will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations. Then you will know
that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had
sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors. There you will remember
your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you
will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. You will know that I am
the Lord, when I deal with you for My name’s sake and not according to your
evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel,’ declares the
Sovereign Lord.’”
As we see, the children didn’t do any better than their
forefathers and foremothers did.
God tells us they:
1. rebelled against Him.
2. failed to follow His decrees.
3. were not careful to keep His laws.
4. desecrated His Sabbaths.
5. defiled themselves by lusting after vile images and
idols, a practice deemed detestable by God.
6. stubbornly insisted in worshiping idols of wood and stone
like the other nations of the world.
Not exactly actions that are going to put you on God’s good
behavior list. We know so because of His response to His people’s wicked
behavior. They decided to disregard and disrespect God and so He promised them
the following in response to their sin:
1. He would pour out His wrath on them.
2. He would pour out His anger on them in the wilderness.
3. He would disperse them among the nations and scatter them
through the countries.
4. He gave them statutes that weren’t good and laws they
couldn’t live under.
5. He defiled them through their own gifts so they would be
filled with horror from their actions.
6. He refused to allow them to inquire of Him. If they
wanted to shun Him, they would see what being shunned felt like.
Ultimately, the people thought they were going to get their
way but they were dead wrong in that assumption. After all, they were up
against the Lord God Almighty, the Maker of all things, their Master who
assured them that the sinful things they had in mind were not going to take
place under His reign. For He would summon His people before Him and they would
answer for their rebellion and wickedness just as their ancestors had. Those
who still chose to revolt and rebel against God would be purged and He would
begin anew with people who wished to repent and live, those who desired to turn
away from sin and toward His righteousness. God would bring these recommitted
Israelites back into the “bond of the covenant with Him” and usher them into
the land of Israel where they all would serve Him and Him alone, listening to
Him and no longer profaning His name. At home in the Promised Land, God would
require His people to return to the worship practices He prescribed, bringing
offerings, choice gifts and holy sacrifices to Him. And once back in the fold with
God and devoted to Him fully, the Israelites would remember their sinful
conduct and loathe how they had rebelled against the very God who had showed
them redemption and mercy.
As we close this series, the word of God is asking us to
self examine where we are in our relationship with the Lord, our Maker and
Master, the One who reigns over us.
Are we openly sinning and rebelling against Him without
reservation regarding our actions?
Are we disrespecting and dishonoring Him without regard for
who He is and who we are before Him?
Are we intentionally forcing the hand of a God who despises
sin and will send punishment upon anyone who decides to willfully and willingly
commit evil in His sight?
If we are answering “yes” to any of these questions, then we
are no better than the Old Testament Israelites God is discussing in Ezekiel,
Chapter 20. Like them, we are repeating the mistakes of the past and it’s time
to wake up before it’s too late.
For rest assured of two things:
First, God is not going to allow sin to go unchecked. He
will send consequences on those who stubbornly rebel against Him and opt for
their will and way over His.
But be equally sure that God will again show mercy and grace
and forgiveness and love to His people who turn away from their wickedness and
recommit themselves to Him. He will bring redemption to His rebellious ones
today just as He has done for the ages.
It’s little wonder why they refer to His forgiveness and
pardon as “amazing grace”.
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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