Reading: Ezekiel 20-21
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God(Ezek. 20:44).
Few verses in the Old Testament define God's grace as succinctly as the above verse. At a time when His people least deserved mercy, God chose to remind them how great His capacity was for it. For the third time, the Israelite leaders had come to Ezekiel to inquire of God. And for the third time, the Lord refused to entertain their questions (Ezek. 20:3). But instead of simply sending them away, God had Ezekiel explain why they were being rebuffed. Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers (20:4). Thus, with God’s leading, Ezekiel recounted for them the history of Israel from the point of view of the Lord.
In Ezekiel’s words, history unfolds, with two constants quickly emerging. The first is the ultimate power of God. From the beginning, the Lord orchestrated every moment of their lives (20:5,6,9,10,14,15,17,22,25,26,33-43). The second constant is the reckless, sinful nature of mankind. No matter how many times God moved to patiently instruct, direct and correct them, the Israelites had fought His guidance and insisted on doing things “their way.” (20:8,13,21,27-32) They had survived, as a people, not because of their choices but solely based upon the mercy of God.
As Ezekiel’s speech to these men ended, God delivered a profound truth. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you (20:33). And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord (20:38). The Israelites in exile were being given a final choice; either cede control to the Lord and accept both His rule and His mercy, or chose the path of a rebel and be barred forever from the land of Israel.
We are each of us God’s creation, and we survive in this world through His grace alone. Ultimately, His complete dominion over all will be readily apparent, even to those who have spent their entire lives denying Him. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God (Rom. 14:11). Through the work of Christ on the cross, every person alive today has received an invitation to join the family of God. If we accept that invitation, then we must turn control of our lives over to God (Matt. 16:24). As God’s Word attests, there is nothing that we can do as human beings to make our lives fit for God’s presence (Rom. 3:10-11). We are faced with the only choice that matters—will we be counted a rebel and barred forever from the land of promise (eternal life with God), or will we accept His life-changing grace?
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving (Col. 2:6-7).
Thought for Today: Claiming to work with God or work for God is the difference between pride and humility, respectively.
Christ Revealed: When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. . . . And these (goats) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Matt. 25:31-46; also 3:12).
Word Studies:20:5 I lifted up mine hand = I bound myself by an oath; 21:2 drop thy (your) word toward = pour out your words against
Pray for Staff: Ryan McCrary • Government Officials: Rep . Danny Davis (IL), Rep. William Keating (MA), Rep. Rep. Buddy Carter (GA), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX) • Country: Bermuda (69,839) North Atlantic • Major Languages: English, Portuguese • Religious Freedom • 46.1% Protestant; 14.5% Roman Catholic; 1.3% Jehovah's Witness; 9.1% Other Christian; 1% Muslim; 3.9% Other 17.8% None; 6.2% Unspecified • Prayer Suggestion: Call upon the Lord and He will save you (Ps. 55:16).
Optional Reading:Revelation 11