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Ezekiel 17-19

Ezekiel
17:1-24  -  To those who adopt a ‘rebellious’ attitude to Him, God speaks His Word of warning. They shall ‘not escape’ His judgment (12,18). To those who abandon this  attitude of rebellion, there is a way of salvation. In verses 22 to 24, we have a prophecy which looks forward to the coming of  the Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This prophecy ends with God’s promise: ‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it’. God has fulfilled His promise. He has sent His Son to be our Saviour (Matthew1:22-23). We now await the fulfilment of prophecy concerning Christ’s Return: ‘I will come again’; ‘This same Jesus... will come back’; ‘The Lord Himself will come down from heaven’. He says, “I am coming soon’. We say, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 22:20).
18:1-32  -  ‘The soul that sins shall die’ (4). ‘If a man is righteous... he shall surely live’ (5-9) What hope is there for us? If we look with honesty into our own hearts, we discover this dark truth concerning ourselves: ‘None is righteous... All have sinned’ (Romans 3:10,23). Is there any Good News for us? Is there a way that leads to eternal life? ‘Suppose there is a truly good man, righteous and honest...’ (4). Is there such a man? Is there a man concerning whom God says, ‘That man is righteous; he will surely live’ (9). Yes! There is! Who is this man? What does the Word of God tell us about him? He is Jesus Christ, our Saviour. He ‘died for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18). We put our faith in Him. He gives us ‘eternal life’. We ‘pass from death to life’ (1 John 5:11-13; John 5:24).
19:1-14  -  There is real sadness here. It is the sadness of God - as He looks upon the sinfulness of His people. If we truly love the Lord, we will have great sadness when we see people turning away from the Lord and ruining their lives. We have joy in the Lord - ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4). There is also ‘great sorrow’ in our hearts when we think of those who refuse to come to Christ for salvation. This ‘sorrow’ leads us to pray: ‘My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved’ (1,14; Romans 9:2; 10:1). Let us pray for our ‘dry and thirsty land’. Pray that God will come to our ‘wilderness’: ‘He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth’. Pray that people will ‘return to the Lord’. Pray that they will ‘press on to know the Lord’ (13; Hosea 6:1-3).

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