SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/15/2014
11:58 AM
My Worship Time Focus: False Confidence PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezekiel
12:17-28
Message
of the verses: We will look at the remaining verses in the
12th chapter of Ezekiel in today’s SD.
The People Will Live in Terror (Ezekiel 12:17-28): “17 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me
saying, 18 "Son of man, eat your
bread with trembling and drink your water with quivering and anxiety. 19 "Then say to the people of the land,
’Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of
Israel, "They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with
horror, because their land will be stripped of its fullness on account of the
violence of all who live in it. 20 “The inhabited cities will be laid waste and
the land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am the
LORD."’"
21 Then the word of the LORD came to me,
saying, 22 "Son of man, what is
this proverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, ’The days
are long and every vision fails’? 23 “Therefore say to them, ’Thus says the
Lord GOD, "I will make this proverb cease so that they will no longer use
it as a proverb in Israel." But tell them, "The days draw near as well as the fulfillment of
every vision. 24 “For there will no longer be any false vision or
flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 “For I the LORD will
speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, for in your days, O rebellious
house, I will speak the word and perform it," declares the Lord
GOD.’" 26 Furthermore,
the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 27 “Son of man, behold, the house of
Israel is saying, ’The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he
prophesies of times far off.’ 28 “Therefore say to them, ’Thus says the Lord
GOD, "None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak
will be performed,"’" declares the Lord GOD.”
We have seen in many of the passages that we have looked
at so far that the Lord makes it clear that He is the Lord, and that He will do
as He wants to do. God can do anything
that He wants to do as long as it is in His character, or His attributes. Some may as “can God sin?” but the answer is
no for this would not be in His attributes or character, but anything in His
attributes or character he can do and no one will stop Him. One of the major
problems that is going on in our country today is that there is no fear of the
Lord, as few people believe that God is in charge of the things that are going
on today. This is a great mistake.
In verses 17-20 we see that God tells Ezekiel to eat his
food and drink his drink in a quivering manner because that is exactly what is
going on in Jerusalem, and so God is showing those in exile exactly what the
people are going through in Jerusalem through the action sermons of Ezekiel. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Anxiety, worry, fear, and
consternation would grip the people as the fall of the city became more
imminent.”
As we look at verses 21-18 we see that they speak of the
nearness of God’s judgment on Judah is very near. Let us look at verse 22 as seen in the AMP
version of the Bible: “The days drag on
and every vision comes to nothing and is not fulfilled.” Dr. Wiersbe writes “In other words, ‘Ezekiel
tells us about all his visions, but nothing ever happens. Why worry?
His prophecies will come to nothing!’”
In verse 23 we see the proverb that the Lord gives to Ezekiel to give to
the people: “"Tell them, ‘GOD, the
Master, says, This proverb’s going to have a short life!’ "Tell them, ‘Time’s about up. Every warning
is about to come true (Message).”
We have the benefit to know that all that God said that would happen to
Judah happened exactly as He said it would, and this should give us confidence
that all He tells us about the end times will happen exactly as He said it
will.
The false prophets were even in Babylon and were refuting
what Ezekiel is prophesying, and some were saying what he is saying is true,
but it will happen many years from now as seen in verse 27. God says the following in verse 28: “Therefore say to them, ’Thus says the Lord
GOD, "None of My
words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be
performed,"’" declares the Lord GOD.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “Six years later, the Babylonian army breached the
walls of Jerusalem and Ezekiel’s predictions came true. How tragic it is when people deliberately
ignore or reject the dependable Word of God and put their faith in the empty
but soothing words of false religious leaders!
It reminds me of a story that came out of World War II. A group of soldiers asked their new chaplain
if he believed in hell, and he laughed and said that he didn’t. The men said, ‘Well sir, if there isn’t a
hell, then we don’t need you. But if
there is a hell, then you’re leading us astray—and that’s worse!’ There is no substitute for God’s Word.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I indeed like to
study the Bible and then tell others about what I have learned when I
study. It is my desire to write the
truth so that I do not lead anyone astray from what the Word of God says.
My Steps of Faith for Today: “I Pray that the Lord will give me wisdom in all of the decisions that
I have to make today. Proverbs 3:5-6
says “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own
understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths
straight.” “I’m putting on the belt of
truth. I ask You to make it very clear
to me what I am to accept into my life and what I am to reject. Help me to see clearly the motives of others
as they deal with me and converse with me.
Let me walk in Your truth, making decisions and choices according to
Your plans and purposes for my life.” This quote comes from a book by Charles
Stanley on the spiritual struggles of a believer and what to do to prevent
these troubles.”
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 1:2-5.
2 Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that
His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness,
through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and
excellence. 4 For by these He has
granted to us His precious ad magnificent promises, so that by them you may
become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
the world by lust. 5 Now for this reason
also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in
your moral excellence, knowledge
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “The rainbow” (Genesis
9:13-15).
Today’s Bible
question: “How many people waited
together in the upper room for the coming of the Holy Spirit?”
Answer in our next SD. 12/15/2014 1:01 PM
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