{"id":10890,"date":"2020-08-11T20:00:29","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T03:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ezekiel-24_15-27-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-08-09T18:45:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T01:45:59","slug":"ezekiel-25_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ezekiel-25_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Gloat When Others Suffer, And Don\u2019t Seek Revenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ezekiel 25:1-17\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 25:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 25:1-11 (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 the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign\u00a0LORD. This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the\u00a0LORD.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For this is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the\u00a0LORD.'”
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah has become like all the other nations,”
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns–Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim–the glory of that land.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations;
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the\u00a0LORD.'”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-11:\u00a0 After previously prophesying at length about the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem and such destruction coming to pass, Ezekiel here receives messages from the Lord for nations that were historically enemies of Judah and Jerusalem. \u00a0\u00a0The first nation God has a message for is the Ammonites.\u00a0 Because the Ammonites gloated and rejoiced over the deportation of the Israelites, the desecration of the temple and the destruction of the land of Israel, God will cause the Ammonites to be cut off and exterminated.<\/p>\n

The second nation was Moab.\u00a0 Because Moab looked down on Israel and spoke with contempt\u00a0about Israel\u2019s\u00a0downfall, God would punish the Moabites and give them over to other nations.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God watches how we respond to the misfortune or loss of others.\u00a0 When others suffer loss, including people you would consider your enemies or your competitors, do not gloat boastfully about it.\u00a0 \u00a0Rather, have a heart of humility and compassion toward them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ezekiel 25:12-17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on the house of Judah and became very guilty by doing so,
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0therefore this is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill its men and their animals. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign\u00a0LORD.'”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“This is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0therefore this is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the\u00a0LORD, when I take vengeance on them.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-17:\u00a0 The third nation God addresses is Edom.\u00a0 God mentioned Edom earlier in verse 8 (\u201cSeir\u201d being another name for Edom) when talking about Moab.\u00a0 In other words, like Moab, Edom also spoke contemptuously about the Israelites and their downfall.\u00a0 However, in verses 12 to 14 God brings up another issue He has with the Edomites. Because Edom took revenge on the house of Judah (v12), God will take vengeance on Edom.\u00a0 The same goes for the fourth nation mentioned here, the Philistines.\u00a0 Because the Philistines \u201ctook revenge \u00a0with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah\u201d (v15), God will take vengeance on the Philistines.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God will hold us accountable when we harbour grudges and try to seek revenge.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you have been badly hurt, instead of taking vengeance into your own hands, trust God to avenge you and ask Him to help you forgive those who hurt you.\u00a0\u00a0For despite how attractive and satisfying as Hollywood makes revenge out to be, the reality is that revenge never satisfies but only makes the situation worse.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Paul writes in Romans 12:19-21:<\/p>\n

19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me that I am not to gloat or rejoice when others suffer loss, whether it\u2019s people I like or don\u2019t like.\u00a0 Please help me not to seek revenge myself against those who hurt me; instead, please help me to forgive them and to trust that You are my Defender and Avenger. \u00a0Thank You for being my Shield and my Protector. 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 25:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

On verses 1-11:\u00a0 After previously prophesying at length about the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem and such destruction coming to pass, Ezekiel here receives messages from the Lord for nations that were historically enemies of Judah and Jerusalem. \u00a0\u00a0The first nation God has a message for is the Ammonites.\u00a0 Because the Ammonites gloated and rejoiced over the deportation of the Israelites, the desecration of the temple and the destruction of the land of Israel, God will cause the Ammonites to be cut off and exterminated.<\/p>\n

The second nation was Moab.\u00a0 Because Moab looked down on Israel and spoke with contempt\u00a0about Israel\u2019s\u00a0downfall, God would punish the Moabites and give them over to other nations.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God watches how we respond to the misfortune or loss of others.\u00a0 When others suffer loss, including people you would consider your enemies or your competitors, do not gloat boastfully about it.\u00a0 \u00a0Rather, have a heart of humility and compassion toward them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10890","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\/10890","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=10890"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10902,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10890\/revisions\/10902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}