JMD Devotional 167 Ezekiel 12 Bondage and Exile
Ezekiel 12:1-3 THE WORD of the Lord also came to me, saying, Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the house of the rebellious, who have eyes to see and see not, who have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for removing and going into exile, and move out by day in their sight; and you shall remove from your place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider and perceive that they are a rebellious house.
On a national scale, God made Israel face the fruit of their rebellion and apostasy by being placed into bondage and exiled in Babylon. Like so many people today, they wanted to live any way they wanted to unfettered by God's Law. In their own minds they were a cosmopolitan people and too sophisticated for the time honored boundaries laid down by God concerning worship, marriage and business. But in claiming themselves to be wise they became fools; and pursuing sinful 'freedoms' resulted in physical and spiritual bondage and exile (from a right relationship with God, who is the source of our life and of every good thing). On a personal scale, God will also make us face the fruit of our rebellion through the self-correcting consequences of sin. Perhaps we take God's forgiveness for granted not realizing that forgiveness in no way diminishes the natural consequences of making bad choices and of disconnecting ourselves from His fellowship. (An adulterer can be 'forgiven' and still suffer the loss of his marriage, savings, home, reputation, work and potential for Christian service). Collectively, we may well indeed be seeing the beginning of judgment for generations of 'Christian' Americans' worldliness, compromise and of failing to acknowledge God's blessings on this nation. There has been a pattern of two kinds of conduct; one for church and one for the world, which is repugnant to Holiness (which does all things with an eye to God). In the place of invading armies we have CEOs outsourcing our livelihoods and futures; a declining economy; a youthful population out of control. This is really bitter fruit to swallow, and it is just the beginning of sorrows.
Vs 16-20 But I will leave a few survivors who will escape the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may declare and confess all their [idolatrous] abominations among the nations to which they go, and [thus God's punishment of them will be justified before everyone and] they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, eat your bread with shaking, and drink water with trembling and with fearfulness; And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness and drink water with dismay, for their land will be stripped and plundered of all its fullness, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be deserted and become a desolation; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord.
Dear God,
You are God, You are the Lord, and I am not the master of my destiny, I am not the captain of my soul: I am NOTHING without You. I praise Your name because in coming into my life You bring every good thing; the best of which is Your holy presence. Help me to guard my heart and life and conduct: keep me from perdition and iniquity. May I become completely loyal and obedient to You in every area of my life for Your pleasure and glory since it is You making all of the difference.
May the Christian people of this nation wake up to how far we have fallen from our first love; and remember to us our first (primary) works of repentance (seeing things Your way).
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
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http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
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http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
On a national scale, God made Israel face the fruit of their rebellion and apostasy by being placed into bondage and exiled in Babylon. Like so many people today, they wanted to live any way they wanted to unfettered by God's Law. In their own minds they were a cosmopolitan people and too sophisticated for the time honored boundaries laid down by God concerning worship, marriage and business. But in claiming themselves to be wise they became fools; and pursuing sinful 'freedoms' resulted in physical and spiritual bondage and exile (from a right relationship with God, who is the source of our life and of every good thing). On a personal scale, God will also make us face the fruit of our rebellion through the self-correcting consequences of sin. Perhaps we take God's forgiveness for granted not realizing that forgiveness in no way diminishes the natural consequences of making bad choices and of disconnecting ourselves from His fellowship. (An adulterer can be 'forgiven' and still suffer the loss of his marriage, savings, home, reputation, work and potential for Christian service). Collectively, we may well indeed be seeing the beginning of judgment for generations of 'Christian' Americans' worldliness, compromise and of failing to acknowledge God's blessings on this nation. There has been a pattern of two kinds of conduct; one for church and one for the world, which is repugnant to Holiness (which does all things with an eye to God). In the place of invading armies we have CEOs outsourcing our livelihoods and futures; a declining economy; a youthful population out of control. This is really bitter fruit to swallow, and it is just the beginning of sorrows.
Vs 16-20 But I will leave a few survivors who will escape the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, that they may declare and confess all their [idolatrous] abominations among the nations to which they go, and [thus God's punishment of them will be justified before everyone and] they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, eat your bread with shaking, and drink water with trembling and with fearfulness; And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness and drink water with dismay, for their land will be stripped and plundered of all its fullness, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be deserted and become a desolation; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord.
Dear God,
You are God, You are the Lord, and I am not the master of my destiny, I am not the captain of my soul: I am NOTHING without You. I praise Your name because in coming into my life You bring every good thing; the best of which is Your holy presence. Help me to guard my heart and life and conduct: keep me from perdition and iniquity. May I become completely loyal and obedient to You in every area of my life for Your pleasure and glory since it is You making all of the difference.
May the Christian people of this nation wake up to how far we have fallen from our first love; and remember to us our first (primary) works of repentance (seeing things Your way).
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 11:51 AM
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