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Ezekiel 5:1-9:11<\/strong><\/span> Ezekiel chapter 5 today gets into God\u2019s 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:\u00a0 \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 The term in these verses \u201cjealous God\u201d 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 \u201cjealous\u201d of all of this, and the siege and judgment came.<\/span><\/p>\n Ezekiel chapter 6 continues along the lines of chapters 4 & 5 \u2013 with judgment against the very land of Israel because of the pagan shrines. Verses 8 & 9 stood out to me in this chapter: \u201c\u201dBut 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.\u201d<\/em> Here we see that God will preserve the Davidic line \u2013 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\u2019s going on in God\u2019s mind in today\u2019s readings in Ezekiel: \u201cThey will know that I alone am the LORD and that I was serious when I predicted that all this would happen to them.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Do we know that God is alone the Lord in our lives today? Do we trust his Word and his predictions without a doubt?<\/span><\/p>\n Ezekiel chapter 7 has a line that repeats twice in verses 4 & 27: \u201cThen you\/they will know that I am the LORD!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 We are seeing here that God is not happy with Israel in large part because they do not realize that he is the Lord. They have sold out to other gods and idols and sin and don\u2019t really think God will do much about it. Well, God opens this chapter with strong words in verse 1: \u201cThe end is here!\u201d<\/em> God\u2019s patience has run out. But, keep in mind that God kept trying to get the Israelites to repent over and over and over again. They wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 Do we sometimes test God\u2019s patience? If so, will we repent in the areas of our life where we test God\u2019s patience?<\/span> Ezekiel chapter 8 reminds me of a lawyer making a case in court! And God absolutely puts forth a strong case for why the end arrived for Jerusalem in the 5th\/6th century B.C. It is so sad to see these sins take place in and around the Temple. In chapter 9 we see six angels of God appear from the north gates \u2013 where one of the major idols was located. In this vision, these 6 angels are carrying out God\u2019s judgment on Israel. Verse 7 gives us a hint that God is preparing to leave the Temple completely: \u201c\u201dDefile the Temple!\u201d the LORD commanded.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 We\u2019ll pick this up in tomorrow\u2019s readings\u2026\u00a0 Below is an artist\u2019s interpretation of Ezekiel\u2019s visit to Jerusalem:\u00a0 (I realize this is one of the more \u201cunique\u201d pieces of art I have posted up \u2013 just wait until we get to the book of Revelation! \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video: <\/strong>Today\u2019s readings reminds me of Blessing Offur\u2019s beautiful song \u201cBrighter Days:\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \n
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