August 20
Ezekiel 17:1-19:14
Ezekiel 17 ends with the Sovereign Lord taking a “tender sprig” from the top of the “cedar,” the messianic line, and planting the Messiah as King over Israel. The birds nesting in the tree symbolize all nations submitting to Messiah’s rule. The chapter ends with a promise, “I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” The Messiah will ultimately reign over the world.
This Messianic prophecy leads into a clear plan of salvation in Ezekiel 18. What a pleasant surprise! The proverb in verse 2, “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” implies the exiles believed they were being unjustly punished for the sins their fathers had committed rather than their own sins. This was leaving a sour taste like unripe grapes in the mouths of the children. Ezekiel immediately nullifies this belief by declaring, “The soul who sins is the one who will die” (v. 4). If a person commits one or more of the listed sins in the following verses, that individual is responsible for his/her own attitudes, values, and actions. The Sovereign Lord declares that individual is to “(r)epent…and get a new heart and a new spirit” (v. 30-31). The final words of this chapter are, “Repent and live.” This ‘living’ is more than just existing, it is communing with God and living in the abundance of his presence. Let’s take inventory of our attitudes, values, and actions─and repent.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).
Of what sins do I need to repent to have an abundant life?
Ezekiel 17 ends with the Sovereign Lord taking a “tender sprig” from the top of the “cedar,” the messianic line, and planting the Messiah as King over Israel. The birds nesting in the tree symbolize all nations submitting to Messiah’s rule. The chapter ends with a promise, “I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” The Messiah will ultimately reign over the world.
This Messianic prophecy leads into a clear plan of salvation in Ezekiel 18. What a pleasant surprise! The proverb in verse 2, “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” implies the exiles believed they were being unjustly punished for the sins their fathers had committed rather than their own sins. This was leaving a sour taste like unripe grapes in the mouths of the children. Ezekiel immediately nullifies this belief by declaring, “The soul who sins is the one who will die” (v. 4). If a person commits one or more of the listed sins in the following verses, that individual is responsible for his/her own attitudes, values, and actions. The Sovereign Lord declares that individual is to “(r)epent…and get a new heart and a new spirit” (v. 30-31). The final words of this chapter are, “Repent and live.” This ‘living’ is more than just existing, it is communing with God and living in the abundance of his presence. Let’s take inventory of our attitudes, values, and actions─and repent.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).
Of what sins do I need to repent to have an abundant life?
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