Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Ezekiel 13-15 To study these chapters, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage: Ezekiel 13: 1-3; 10-12; 17-18 : [NLT] … 1 Then this message came to me from the LORD: 2 “Son of man, speak against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Tell them to listen to the word of the LORD. 3 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all! …
10 “These evil prophets deceive my people by saying, ‘All is peaceful!’ when there is no peace at all! It’s as if the people have built a flimsy wall, and these prophets are trying to hold it together by covering it with whitewash! 11 Tell these whitewashers that their wall will soon fall down. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. 12 And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, ‘Where is the whitewash you applied?’ …
17 “Now, son of man, also speak out against the women who prophesy from their own imaginations. 18 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for you women who are ensnaring the souls of my people, both young and old alike. You tie magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves? ============
Highlight Passage: Ezekiel 14: 1-7; 12-16 : [NLT] … 1 Then some of the leaders of Israel visited me, and while they were there, 2 this message came to me from the LORD: 3 “Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that lead them into sin. Why should I let them ask me anything? 4 Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: I, the LORD, will punish the people of Israel who set up idols in their hearts so they fall into sin and then come to a prophet asking for help. 5 I will do this to capture the minds and hearts of all my people who have turned from me to worship their detestable idols. 6 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your loathsome practices. 7 I, the LORD, will punish all those, both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me and set up idols in their hearts so they fall into sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for my advice.” ... 12 Then this message came to me from the LORD: 13 “Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals alike. 14 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, declares the Sovereign LORD. 15 “Or suppose I were to send an invasion of dangerous wild animals to devastate the land and kill the people. 16 Even if these three men were there, the Sovereign LORD swears that it would do no good—it wouldn’t save the people from destruction. Those three alone would be saved, but the land would be devastated.
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Highlight Passage: Ezekiel 15: 6-8 : [NLT] … 6 “And this is what the Sovereign LORD says: The people of Jerusalem are like grapevines growing among the trees of the forest. Since they are useless, I have set them aside to be burned! 7 And I will see to it that if they escape from one fire, they will fall into another. When this happens, you will know that I am the LORD. 8 And I will make the land desolate because my people have been unfaithful to me, says the Sovereign LORD.”
My Journal for Today: Wow! Ezekiel (and the other God anointed prophets) had a tough gig; and in these three chapters in Ezekiel’s journal from God’s word, we read of this one prophet being sent to proclaim God’s truth to the false prophets, the leaders of God’s chosen, and to the idolatrous and recalcitrant Israelites themselves. And most certainly I look around in these times and I see parallels where God’s warnings and call to repentance applies directly today, just as Ezekiel was called to prophesy in those days before Christ came.
Ezekiel, in Chapter 13 prophesied destruction for the false teachers; and most certainly today there are those who declare they are bringing God’s truth to the people; and all they are doing is speaking falsehoods to soothe the people, rather than faithfully knowing and speaking the hard truths from God’s Word [The Bible]. ... ____________ is a false teacher today; and I’ll let you put a name or names into that blank. It’s certainly not difficult for me to submit a bunch of names; and just as God declared judgment on such people in Ezekiel’s day, when the hammer of judgment falls, those false prophets in Ezekiel’s day and those today will be consumed by God’s wrath. Therefore, current day prophets, represented by preachers, teachers, and missionaries of the Gospel, must bring truth to the people; because if they do their thing for selfish purposes or misrepresent God’s truth (i.e., The Bible), they will be held accountable before God for their false teachings,
Then, in Chapter 14 Ezekiel is asked to take a message to the religious leaders of his day; and these leaders, represented by Elders, Ministers, Pastors, and the like today, are charged to lead God’s people by following the Lord closely and carefully. And yes, if they don’t do what Jesus charged in Luke 9: 23 (I hope you know that one by heart by now), then spiritual leaders of God’s people will be held to a VERY HIGH standard of Godliness; and if/when – in any era – religious leaders lead God’s people astray, the hammer of judgment will fall on them hard. In the 14th chapter above, three such leaders, Noah, Daniel, and Job are cited as example of the type of leader who will be spared if/when God’s hammer falls; and they will be spared God’s high standards of judgment and His wrath because of their faithfulness in following God and leading others to Him.
Then, all through these chapters, but especially in Chapters 14-15, no one is spared from God’s wrath if they have turned from The LORD and served their own desires rather than the desires of God. Yes, my fellow Christian, the only way to be spared death and given life when the hammer of judgment falls is to be faithful to The Messiah, either in Old Testament times or in the age of grace in which we find ourselves now. To know, believe in, and follow Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, is the only way that one will be spared unto eternal life when God’s wrath, His eternal hammer, falls. I pray that all who read with me here will be spared.
My Prayer Today: … Lord, I thank You for providing Your way, in You, Jesus, for me to be spared and live with You forever. Amen
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