Introduction to Ezekiel chapters 25-28

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/18/2015 9:34 PM

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Introduction to God Judges the Nations

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ezekiel 25-28

            Message of the verses:  Now before we begin to look at the introduction to these chapters in the book of Ezekiel I want to post a quote from Steward Briscoe on what he wrote about the death of Ezekiel’s wife.  “It is impossible for us to imagine Ezekiel’s anguish the day his wife died so suddenly.  He attracted great attention to himself by his failure to engage in the traditional forms of mourning and his apparent unconcern about his own bereavement.  It should be no surprise to us by now that his behavior was a sign from God to the people which, at their request, he interpreted to them.

            “It was related to the impending calamity, but the Lord added a poignant touch by reminding the people that when Jerusalem and the temple finally fell, they and the Lord would be losing a treasure as irreplaceable and precious as the wife that Ezekiel had just lost.  Furthermore, the people would be son stunned by the immensity of the tragedy that they, like Ezekiel, would be incapable of mourning.  They would be numbed by the immensity of their loss.”  As I read this quote and found nothing in it or in what Warren Wiersbe had to say about what I wrote that the death of Ezekiel’s wife had something to do with God’s marriage with Israel one way or another.

            When the Lord called the nation of Israel into existence there were several reasons that He did this.  He wanted the people to receive His Law, to move into the Promised Land and defeat the nations that were there in order for Israel to be a witness to them about Himself.  We know that they failed in that part, but they did keep a record of the Scripture which we read.  Through the nation of Israel, in particular the tribe of Judah and then the family of David God would bring the Messiah into the world and this to was accomplished.  Now when the city of Jerusalem and the temple fell the Gentile nations around them were happy because they thought that the God of Israel was not as powerful as their idols, and they even saw Israel worshiping idols too, so they must have also though that Israel gave up on their God too.  They probably also remembered when David was in charge and the defeat that he gave to their nations and this too would make them happy.  We can see their happiness in some of the other prophets that are found in the Scripture.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “What the nations didn’t realize was that the destruction of Jerusalem wasn’t just a punishment of the Jews; it was also a warning to the Gentiles.  ‘If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner?’  (Prov. 11:21, NKJV)  For if God displays His wrath against His own people, ‘What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?’  (1 Peter 4:17)  There’s a great difference between a loving parent chastening a child and a judge punishing a guilty criminal.  Israel knew God’s Word and therefore had sinned against a flood of light, but the Gentiles had the clear witness of creation (Rom. 1:18-32; Ps. 19) and conscience (Rom. 2:11-16) and were without excuse.  But God was also judging the Gentiles for the way they had treated His people, because this was the covenant promise He had made with Abraham.”  Now we want to look at the endnote Dr. Wiersbe has after this last statement:  “In Amos 1:3-2:3, the prophet passed judgment on the Gentile nations on the basis of their inhumanity, their barbaric treatment of their enemies; but when Amos came to judging the Jewish people, it was on the basis of God’s law and their covenant relationship to Him (Amos2:4, 10; 3:1).”

            Now as we look at these quotes and the Scripture that is involved in them we can give an answer to the person who is asking about the heathen or the person who has never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I might add that most people who ask that question care little or nothing about the person who has not heard the Gospel.

            One more thing we can look at as we are about to complete this SD and that is Ezekiel did not bring a judgment against the Babylonians, but other prophets did.  Tomorrow we will begin to look at the nations that Ezekiel did bring judgment against.

2/18/2015 10:00 PM