{"id":10774,"date":"2020-08-02T20:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T03:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ezekiel-20_30-49-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-08-02T15:51:40","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T22:51:40","slug":"ezekiel-21_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ezekiel-21_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Let It Run Through You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ezekiel 21:1-17\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 21:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 21:1-7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The word of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0came to me:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and say to her: ‘This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then all people will know that I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0have drawn my sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.’
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every knee become as weak as water.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign\u00a0LORD.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-7:\u00a0 In case the Israelites did not understand the message Ezekiel was sharing in Ezekiel 20:45-48, God gives Ezekiel an even clearer and more direct message to give the Israelites about the destruction that was coming to Jerusalem and Judah (the kingdom in which Jerusalem was situated).\u00a0 This time God gives Ezekiel the imagery of God\u2019s sword coming against everyone in Jerusalem, on \u201cboth the righteous and the wicked\u201d (v3-4) in relentless fashion (v5).\u00a0 He also tells Ezekiel to go out in front of the Israelites and groan out of grief (v6).\u00a0 Whenever anyone asks him why he is groaning, he is to remind them that the destruction he prophesied about \u201cwill surely take place\u201d (v7).<\/p>\n

How do we reconcile this prophecy that God\u2019s sword would come against both the righteous and the wicked in Jerusalem with previous prophecies such as in Ezekiel 20:40-44 where it seems to suggest that the Lord will preserve a remnant in Jerusalem who will worship Him?\u00a0\u00a0Is there a contradiction?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 At some point all of these prophecies would come true, just at different times.\u00a0 The destruction of Jerusalem prophesied about here is likely referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.\u00a0 God bringing back a remnant to live and worship Him in Jerusalem would happen much later.<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 21:8-17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The word of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0came to me:
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished–
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! “‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my son [Judah]? The sword despises every such stick.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘Testing will surely come. And what if the scepter [of Judah], which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign\u00a0LORD.’
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter– a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So that hearts may melt and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates. Oh! It is made to flash like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0O sword, slash to the right, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0have spoken.”
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 8-17:\u00a0 Notice that the word \u201csword\u201d comes up over and over in these verses.\u00a0 Here Ezekiel is prophesying further about how, after having given warning after warning for centuries, God has prepared a sword, \u201csharpened and polished\u201d (v9, v11) to come against the people of Jerusalem and Judah for their idolatry.\u00a0 It is a sword prepared for a \u201cgreat slaughter\u201d \u201cfrom every side\u201d (v14), stationed \u201cat all their gates\u201d (v15).\u00a0 This sword, Ezekiel prophesies, is meant to enforce, execute and ultimately extinguish the wrath of God against His people\u2019s idolatry (\u201cmy wrath will subside\u201d \u2013 v17).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 God\u2019s wrath against sin is real.\u00a0\u00a0With mercy and compassion God will first give sinners ample warning, but there comes a time when God must act on His wrath against sin for the sake of His name.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We see this imagery of God bringing His sword of judgment not just here in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament as well.\u00a0 Jesus came into this world as the lamb of God and the suffering servant who takes away our sins.\u00a0 But in the book of Revelation which describes the end times, Jesus is pictured as the King of kings with a sword in His mouth.\u00a0 As Revelation 19:15 says, \u201cout of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. \u2018He will rule them with an iron scepter.\u2019 He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.\u201d\u00a0 In Revelation, Jesus is the one who \u201cwill fight against\u201d the unrepentant \u201cwith the sword\u201d of his mouth (Revelation 2:16).\u00a0 In Ephesians 6:18 we learn that the word of God is called the sword of the Spirit.\u00a0 In Hebrews 4:12 we learn that the word of God is \u201csharper than any double-edged sword\u201d, that \u201cit penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the sword of the Lord is not just an Old Testament concept, but a New Testament one as well,\u00a0you and I have a choice: we can voluntarily let the sword of the Lord (that is, His Word) run through us now, or we can try to flee from the sword of the Lord only to have it run through us later when it is too late for us to choose<\/strong>.\u00a0 The earlier we voluntarily let the sword that is God\u2019s Word run through us, letting His sword judge our thoughts and attitudes, the more we will experience His life and blessing both now and in the future.\u00a0 But if we run from the sword that is God\u2019s Word all our lives and leave God no choice but to chase us down, His sword will eventually get to us, but in a much more painful way that does not lead to life and blessing but to death and destruction.<\/p>\n

So while we still can, let\u2019s surrender to the sword of the Lord, that is the word of God.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, You are the King of kings.\u00a0 Today I recognize that I can\u2019t compete with Your sword that is Your Word.\u00a0 So I choose to submit to Your Word today.\u00a0 Let it run through me, judging my thoughts, purging the things in me that don\u2019t please You, and leading me to a new life in You.\u00a0 Jesus be enthroned as King over my life, that I would serve and follow You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 21:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 21:1-7 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0The word of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0came to me:\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel\u00a0
\n3\u00a0\u00a0and say to her: ‘This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.\u00a0
\n4\u00a0\u00a0Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.\u00a0
\n5\u00a0\u00a0Then all people will know that I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0have drawn my sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.’\u00a0
\n6\u00a0\u00a0“Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.\u00a0
\n7\u00a0\u00a0And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every knee become as weak as water.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign\u00a0LORD.”
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-7:\u00a0 In case the Israelites did not understand the message Ezekiel was sharing in Ezekiel 20:45-48, God gives Ezekiel an even clearer and more direct message to give the Israelites about the destruction that was coming to Jerusalem and Judah (the kingdom in which Jerusalem was situated).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10774"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10775,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10774\/revisions\/10775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}