SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/18/2014
10:27 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Ezekiel’s First Spoken Message PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezekiel
6:8-10
Message
of the verses: “8 "However, I
will leave a remnant, for you will have those who escaped the sword among the
nations when you are scattered among the countries. 9 “Then those of you who
escape will remember Me
among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their
adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which
played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the
evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 “Then
they will know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would inflict
this disaster on them."’”
The title of this second sub-point
is “God’s Grace to the Jewish Remnant” and this has to do with those hairs that
Ezekiel tucked into his garment when he had cut up his hair after he had shaved
with a sharp sword as seen in the last chapter.
Ezekiel will mention the remnant again in 7:16; 11:16-21; 12:15-16;
14:22-23; and 16:60-63. Dr. Wiersbe
writes “It was this feeble remnant that returned to the land, rebuilt the
temple, restored the worship of the Lord, and eventually made possible the
coming of the Messiah (Luke 1-2).”
I think that we spoke of this
earlier but the remnant of God’s people is mentioned in Lev. 26:40-46, which is
a part of the Law. “40 ’If they confess
their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness
which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility
against Me- 41 I also was acting with
hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-or if
their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for
their iniquity, 42 then I will remember
My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My
covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 ’For the land
will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made
desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their
iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My
statutes. 44 ’Yet in spite of this, when
they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so
abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD
their God. 45 ’But I will remember for
them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt
in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.’" 46
These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the LORD established
between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai.” Now the word remnant is not found in this
passage, but those he is talking about are the remnant.
The following is a quote from
Steward Briscoe on “The Remnant:” “God
has never left himself without a witness.
Even at the time of deep societal rebellion and disintegration which led
to the Flood, there was Noah and his family (see Gen. 6:1-8). Elijah remained faithful in the midst of
unfaithfulness and discovered there was a much bigger remnant that he
thought. He moaned, ‘I even I only am
left,’ but he was wrong! (See 1 Kings
19:14-18.) God has His people in Soviet
Russia and His Church in Red China. Even
in countries like Nepal where it is a crime to be a Christian, He has His
servants. They are around somewhere even
if, according to the authorities, they aren’t supposed to be there! He has His people among the Gypsies of
France, the communes of California, the high places in Washington, and Death
Row in many prisons.” (Now remember this
book was written in 1977 so some of the places he mentions are not there now,
but the point that he makes is surely valid.
As the world changes and countries are different God still has His
people, His remnant in places all around the world.) Briscoe goes on to write “They are there to
remember who He is, to reflect on His faithfulness, to mourn their prevailing
unfaithfulness, and to know that He is Lord so truly that they will make Him
know to others.”
We mentioned that the main sin of
Israel during this time was their worship of Idols, something that again comes
up in verse nine, and Ezekiel will again take up the subject of idols in
chapters 16 and 23. Dr. Wiersbe points
out that the nation of Israel had been married to God at Mt. Sinai and we get a
picture of this again in the book of Hosea, which will be the next OT prophet we
will look at (Lord willing). We can see
the hurtfulness of the Lord in verse nine of our text today, and I can imagine
that this was the way that Hosea felt about his unfaithful wife. His wife became a prostitute and was as
unfaithful to him as the children of Israel were to God, and having an unfaithful
wife brings heartache that is almost unbearable.
As we conclude this portion of this
SD we need to address that the people of God who would be scattered among the
gentile nations will realize their sins, and they will also remember their God,
and as stated they will be the remnant that will continue on in the worship of
God and the bringing forth of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I have
heard a lot about remembering in the last few days as our morning sermon on
Sunday was about remembering and now we look at the remembering that the
children of Israel did when they were scattered to Babylon. Daniel and Nehemiah remembered the sins of
the nation of Israel and included themselves in confessing these sins to the
Lord in the ninth chapters of their writings.
We can ask forgiveness for our sins and God will be faithful in forgiving
our sins, but then perhaps years later we remember them and feel terrible about
them, even worse than when we committed them. I am thankful of God’s
forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and glad that God does not remember my sins
as they are as far as the East are from the West.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the
Lord to give me His mercy today as they are new every morning, “Great is Thy
Faithfulness”.
Memory
verse for the week: 2 Peter 1:1.
1
Simon Peter, an bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have
received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and
Savior, Jesus Christ:
Answer
to yesterday’s Bible question: “Aquila”
(Acts 18:2).
Today’s
Bible question: “What is the longest
chapter in the Bible?”
Answer
in our next SD.
11/18/2014
11:10 AM
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