August 29 - Ezekiel 4-6
Today, we read about Ezekiel's strange actions and strong messages to the Israelites in exile to remind them of their sins and God's punishment upon them because of their sins. I urge you to consider the graphic portrayals of the siege of Jerusalem and how that would have been effective to get the attention of the people. It is a reminder to us that God wants us to do whatever it takes to get His message across, even if it makes us seem crazy or foolish. We should gladly be fools for Christ's sake.
The overwhelming message to me was that it is not in God's best interest to allow a person or a group of people to forget their sins, until there is complete repentance and forgiveness of those sins. God was telling Ezekiel to remind the people of God about all of these terrible memories, because they had not repented. That was evident from our reading in Jeremiah. Even the poorer people who took over after the exile would not submit to God. God was not going to let them for get their sin until it was dealt with sincerely. God tells them several times in these chapters that He does these things so that they will know He is Lord.
Let's think about this a little. If God punished us for our sins by a set punishment, and then, He forgot about it, and He let us for get about it, that would encourage us to sin more. Instead, God is looking for us to realize the seriousness of our sins and to turn from them. Then, if we ask for His forgiveness in sincere repentance, He sends those sins away. That is what forgive means in the original language. He forgets, and we can begin to forget them. That is why I John 1:9 is so important. God will not wash away our sins until we have confessed them and repented. Otherwise, He would be encouraging us to simply do that sin over and over again and if we wait long enough, we would forget it. God does not let us forget our sins that way. He wants the guilt and stress to build up, until we come clean with Him. That is why He told Ezekiel to do all of these things and say these things to the people in exile. That is why He does the same things for us today. We can't say to God, "I'll just take the punishment and go on." He says, "I will keep reminding you until you repent or until you die." Why not take some time and practice I John 1:9 today? It will do wonders to clear your heart and mind of those unconfessed sins. God wants you to be able to forget them, and He wants to forget them, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 7-9.
The overwhelming message to me was that it is not in God's best interest to allow a person or a group of people to forget their sins, until there is complete repentance and forgiveness of those sins. God was telling Ezekiel to remind the people of God about all of these terrible memories, because they had not repented. That was evident from our reading in Jeremiah. Even the poorer people who took over after the exile would not submit to God. God was not going to let them for get their sin until it was dealt with sincerely. God tells them several times in these chapters that He does these things so that they will know He is Lord.
Let's think about this a little. If God punished us for our sins by a set punishment, and then, He forgot about it, and He let us for get about it, that would encourage us to sin more. Instead, God is looking for us to realize the seriousness of our sins and to turn from them. Then, if we ask for His forgiveness in sincere repentance, He sends those sins away. That is what forgive means in the original language. He forgets, and we can begin to forget them. That is why I John 1:9 is so important. God will not wash away our sins until we have confessed them and repented. Otherwise, He would be encouraging us to simply do that sin over and over again and if we wait long enough, we would forget it. God does not let us forget our sins that way. He wants the guilt and stress to build up, until we come clean with Him. That is why He told Ezekiel to do all of these things and say these things to the people in exile. That is why He does the same things for us today. We can't say to God, "I'll just take the punishment and go on." He says, "I will keep reminding you until you repent or until you die." Why not take some time and practice I John 1:9 today? It will do wonders to clear your heart and mind of those unconfessed sins. God wants you to be able to forget them, and He wants to forget them, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 7-9.