SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/28/2014
11:45 PM
My Worship Time Focus: The Unfaithful Wife PT-3
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezekiel
16:35-42
Message of the
verses: We look at the next to the
last sub-section from this main section in Today’s SD.
Israel Suffered a Great Discipline (Ezekiel 16:35-42): “35 Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD. 36
Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your lewdness was poured out and your
nakedness uncovered through your harlotries with your lovers and with all your
detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons which you gave to
idols, 37 therefore,
behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all
those whom you loved and all those whom you hated. So I will gather them
against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them that they
may see all your nakedness. 38 “Thus I will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed
blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
39 "I will also give you into the
hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high
places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you
naked and bare. 40 “They will incite a crowd against you and they will stone
you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 “They will burn your houses
with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women. Then I will stop you from
playing the harlot, and you will also no longer pay your lovers. 42 “So
I will calm My fury against you and My jealousy will depart from you, and I will be pacified and angry
no more.”
We see again a list of the sins that Israel had committed
against the Lord and against His covenant with them, and when we look at the
punishment for these sins in the Law we will see that the Lord was doing exactly
what He said He would do if they broke His commandments, the Law. Israel had been a prostitute and the
punishment for that sin according to Lev. 21:9 prostitutes were to be burned,
and they also committed adultery and for that the punishment was to be stoned,
and we can see that the Babylonians were the ones that the Lord used to take
care of His wrath against Israel by the killing and the burning of the people
and the city of Jerusalem and the Temple in Jerusalem.
The crimes are seen in verses 35-36, and then in verses
37-42 we see that the Lord through Ezekiel announces the punishment for these
sins. As stated God would call all the
lovers of Israel and have them attack Israel and destroy the city and the
temple, and kill many people, and send many more into exile.
What happened to Israel to cause them to have the wrath
of God come upon them? In verse 43 we
see that Israel had forgotten what the Lord had done for them. I suppose that is a part of human nature
asking what have you done for me lately.
Now in verses 44-52 we will see that Israel failed to understand how
great their sins were against the Lord.
We must remember that Israel was tempted by Satan and Satan had a great
deal of time to get them to fall into sin as this came more gradually. Judah had the benefit to see the Northern
kingdom fall because of their sin against the Lord, but this did not seem to
have any effect on them because they committed the same sins at the Northern
Kingdom had done.
We see that Ezekiel calls Judah Sodom and we know that Sodom
was destroyed because of the sins of homosexuality, however Sodom did not have
the benefit of having the Law like Israel did and when more is given then more
is expected. When I look at our country I
see some of these same sins being committed, sins like homosexuality, greed,
killing of innocent unborn babies, and now even turning our backs on the state
of Israel, and people do not think that the Lord will bring His wrath on us,
but that is wrong. Billy Graham once
said to an audience that if God did not judge the USA that He would have to apologize
to Sodom and Gomorrah. I totally have to agree with that statement.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I have to make
sure that I take sin seriously and not sin or else I will be a part of the
problem that will help cause our nation to fall.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Hate sin!
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Eli” (1 Samuel 3:11-14).
Today’s Bible question: “What coming event had the people of
Thessalonica so disturbed that Paul wrote First Thessalonians?” I think you can add Second Thessalonians into
this question too.
Answer in our next SD.
12/29/2014 12:15 AM
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