Ezekiel 33 sets forth a new direction for Ezekiels prophecies. Up to this point, Ezekiel has pronounced judgment upon Judah and the surrounding evil nations for their sins. After Jerusalem fell, he turned from messages of doom and judgment to messages of comfort, hope, and future restoration for Gods people. God previously appointed Ezekiel to be a watchman, warning the nation of coming judgment..... “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.” Ezekiel 3:17-21 In Chapter 33, the Lord appointed him to be a watchman again, but this time he was to preach a message of hope. Although there are warnings in this chapter, they are part of the larger picture of hope. The exiles were discouraged by their past sins. This is an important turning point in this book; before this the people had refused to face their sins. Here, they felt heavy guilt for rebelling against God for so many years. Therefore, God assured them of forgiveness if they repented. God wants everyone to turn to him. He has no favorites. He looks at what we are, and what we will become, not what we have been. Dwelling on failures in our lives is another one of the Enemys lies. God gives you the opportunity to turn to Him if you will..... “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. Ezekiel 33:10-12 Good deeds will not save a person who decides to turn to a life of sin. Some people think that if they do enough good deeds, they can hold on to the sins they dont want to give up. But its useless to try to be good in some areas, so you can be deliberately bad in others. God wants wholehearted love and obedience. Remember...we may be able to fool others, we might even fool ourselves, but God always knows the motives of our hearts. When Adam and Eve sinned, they immediately tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. This was their attempt at covering their sin. Thats what man made religion is; an attempt to cover up our sins with rituals and good deeds in the hope that God will not see them. Since God sees all things, even the ones we hide from ourselves, we should ask Him to search us and point those things out to us..... Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 02:59:28 +0000
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