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God’s chosen…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 15:6 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.”
The Israelites seem to have taken their status as God’s chosen for granted. They seem to think that there is nothing they can do to lose the favored status. But they have filled their land and their hearts with idols. They have utterly pushed God out while telling themselves and each other it’s ok because they are God’s chosen. At issue is their behavior and the state of their hearts.
Ezekiel 15:7a “I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them….”
God loves us because we are His. He created us. But He created us to  bring His light to the world and to have a relationship with Him. He cares about the state of our hearts. He knows when we place idols before Him. He knows that for us to live rich, full, eternally meaningful lives, our focus must remain on Him. And He will do all that He can to try to help us realize the error of our ways and return to Him. But He gives us the power to choose.
Ezekiel 15:7b “…And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.”
Lord, Thank You for Your fierce love and Your boundless compassion. Thank You for loving us so much that You pursue us boundlessly. Thank You for allowing us to choose You. Help me, always, to put You first. Amen.
Ezekiel 15:8 “I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Have a blessed day.
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God knows…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 14:1-2 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. Then the word of the Lord came to me:

God’s message here is that He knows the heart. He knows when outwardly pious people are inwardly idolatrous. Those people, according to this passage, no longer have the privilege of God’s council.

Ezekiel 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?”

God’s council is to repent and return, restore relationship with Him. False prophets say, “Don’t worry. You don’t have to do anything. God will save you.” These inwardly idolatrous men have replaced God in their hearts—and don’t we still do that today?—so the “don’t worry, don’t change” is the message they want anyway. But God wants relationship with us.

Ezekiel 14:4 “Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry.’”

Lord, Thank You for this look at Your “why.” Thank You for understanding that my understanding (or even seeing) the why helps me know You better. Thank You for a much deeper understanding of who You are throughout the Old Testament. Help me to remove any idols and stumbling blocks from my own heart so that I can draw closer to You. Amen.

Ezekiel 14:5 “‘I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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False Prophets…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’”

Commentary helped tremendously my understanding of this chapter. I thought at first it was talking about this idea of speaking or praying things into existence. In this instance, the false prophets are not trying to speak things into existence (salvation), they are prophesying that God will deliver His people and there is no need to be afraid—that the people don’t need to do anything differently and God will still save them.

Ezekiel 13:3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish a prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!’”

The issue here, and it took commentary to help me understand it, is that God has had both Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesy that this judgement is FROM God and that the people must prepare, repent, and return to restore that relationship. The false prophets are saying, “Don’t worry. Judgement won’t happen.” while the true prophets are saying, “Prepare yourselves because God’s judgement is imminent and it is because of your actions and attitudes.”

Ezekiel 13:6 “‘Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.’”

Lord, Thank You for allowing me to see Your compassion in this chapter. It is only because You want Your people to understand the need to repent in order to return that You speak against the false prophets and their false hope. The hope is in You, in returning to You. That’s the message that must be understood. Thank You for Your fierce love. Amen.

Ezekiel 13:8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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No one can serve two masters…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”
This motif of having eyes but not seeing, ears but not hearing, is present many times in the Bible and in life. It’s incredibly easy to not see what you don’t want to acknowledge, to not hear what you don’t want to know. God attributes this lack of willingness to see and hear to rebelliousness.
Ezekiel 12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people.”
These days, I’d call that tendency to willfully not hear, not listen self-centeredness, but the end result is the same—if I am, deliberately or not, not seeing and not listening to God’s messages and nudges, I am being rebellious. That realization hits hard in our “It’s all about me” society. Matt 6:24 tells us “No one can serve two masters.” The same truth applies here—either I look, listen, and seek His will or I put myself and my own desires first—not seeing and not hearing His call.
Ezekiel 12:13 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.
Lord, Forgive me for my tendency not to see, to not hear, to focus on my will instead of Yours. I am no better than the rebellious Israelites in that respect, but I do not want to be like them. Help me to seek You, to see You, to hear You. Help me to draw closer to You every day. Amen.
Ezekiel 12:28 “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”
Have a blessed day.
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Nuances of God…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 11:17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’”
This chapter is about both judgement and restoration. The people have wandered too far from God. He has given them every opportunity to repent and return without drastic measures, but they refused. The first half of this chapter is Ezekiel prophesying about God bringing judgement, but the second part of the chapter promises the hope of God’s redemption.
Ezekiel 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 
What a tender, loving God that even in the midst of punishment, He provides hope. His punishment is for a purpose—return and repentance. He doesn’t want pointless pain and destruction. He doesn’t want His people hopeless.
Ezekiel 11:20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 
Lord, You are much more nuanced than my childhood memories ever gave You credit for. Thank You for Your complexity. Thank You for Your compassion. Thank You for Your fierce love and boundless hope. Draw me closer. Amen.
Ezekiel 11:21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Have a blessed day.
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In the stress, in the busyness…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 10:4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. 
The title of this chapter is “God’s Glory Departs From the Temple.” As with many chapters in the Bible, there’s a lot going on here that I don’t understand. But as with every time I earnestly seek my Savior, He is using these words to speak to my heart.
Ezekiel 10:18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.
Today is a busy day. This week is busier than most. These aren’t bad things, but I find them stressful. As I have read and studied this chapter this morning, the main thing God keeps laying on my heart is the reminder that He is still here, still with me—in the stress, in the busyness. God says He will never leave me nor forsake me, and He always keeps His promises.
Ezekiel 10:19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this promise. Thank You for the reminder that You are with me always and that I will find You when I seek You with my whole heart. Help me, especially during this stressfully busy week, to hold tightly to Your presence and Your promise. Help me to lay my stress and my worries at Your feet and to wrap myself in Your peace. Amen.
Ezekiel 10:20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.
Have a blessed day.
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Fiercely loving and deeply compassionate…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 9:3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side….
Even in the midst of bringing judgement—with the hopes it will allow His people to see their error, repent and return to Him—Gods still demonstrates compassion. His level of fierce compassion is what jumps out at me with this reading—the hope, the opportunities to repent and return. He gave the Israelites opportunity after opportunity before He went to extremes to get their attention.
Ezekiel 9:4 …and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
My childhood memory of the God of the Old Testament is of an angry, vengeful God. This fiercely loving and compassionate God that I’m finding in this reading of His word is an incredible gift. At every turn He offers hope if they will only repent and return.
Ezekiel 9:9 He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’”
Lord, Thank You for the call to read Your word and to know You more. Thank You that the vengeful God of my youthful memory is not the God that I find in Your word. You are fiercely loving and deeply compassionate. Leaving the 99 to rescue the one began in You. Thank You for that insight. Thank You for Your love. Amen.
Ezekiel 9:10 “So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”
Have a blessed day.
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Insult upon injury…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 8:6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”
I readily admit that I am applying human logic to an eternal God. I’m not sure of the wisdom there, but I’m using the intellect He gave me to make sense of His word, and I think He’s ok with that. I find it interesting that with each atrocity He shows Ezekiel, He says, essentially, “But wait. There’s more.” It is clear from this chapter that the people have heaped insult upon injury to the Lord. This is not just one paltry offense.
Ezekiel 8:9 And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.”
The level of God’s care for His creation also seems clear to me in this passage. If God didn’t care about His people, 1. He would not have made sure Ezekiel understood the level of offense and 2. He would not have bothered with…retribution? Justice? I’m not sure what the right word is here, but if God didn’t care, He would not have been so upset and would not have taken such drastic measures to help His people see their real need for Him.
Ezekiel 8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”
Lord, Thank You for Your fierce love. From here, it seems that people are more trouble than they are worth at times. Thank You that that is not the way You think. Help me to love as You love. Help me to forgive as You forgive. Help me to serve as You serve. Draw me closer to You. Amen.
Ezekiel 8:18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.”
Have a blessed day.
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An end to pride…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 7:20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their detestable idols. They made it into vile images; therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.
Pride has reared its ugly head again in this chapter. God’s people have become proud and vain. They took His abundant blessings and turned them into idols instead of using His blessings for His work and remembering that He is their center. They became self-sufficient money-grubbing social climbers instead of leaning into His goodness.
Ezekiel 7:21 I will give their wealth as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked of the earth, who will defile it.
God tried many, many different ways to help His people see the error of their pride, but they were so enamored of themselves and their idols (wealth, power, beauty, etc) that they couldn’t even see that their pride had led them so very far away. God knew that if He wanted His people to return to Him—which was the only way for them to truly live a good life—He had to break utterly their stubborn pride so that they could see their way back to Him.
Ezekiel 7:22 I will turn my face away from the people, and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure. They will enter it and will defile it.
Lord, I don’t even pretend to understand the way that You work, but I know You love us fiercely and You value our relationship with You. I know pride can rear its ugly head in so many ways, and pride causes us to elevate ourselves and our rights and abilities unnaturally and in an unhealthy way. Help me to keep You at my center. When my pride rears its head, help me humble myself before You. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.
Ezekiel 7:24 I will bring the most wicked of nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.
Have a blessed day.
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Relationship matters…. (devo reflection)

Ezekiel 6:8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.’”
God is grieved when we turn our hearts from Him (see verse 9a below). Soak that in for just a moment. The God of all creation, maker of heaven and earth, loves YOU so much that He is grieved, cut to the quick, when you turn your heart from Him.
Ezekiel 6:9a “‘Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols….’”
For me, that truth is incredibly powerful. I believe in a God who values relationship with His creations. I believe that that relationship is the point—we are here to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him MORE, and to point others to Him. There’s a lot going on in this chapter, there are things that I truly don’t understand, can’t reconcile, but I cling to this truth with both hands.
Ezekiel 6:9b ‘“…They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.’”
Lord, You tell us that You will never leave us nor forsake us. You tell us You are with us always. You tell us that we will find You when we seek You with our whole hearts, and still we doubt the value You place on Your relationship with us. Forgive us for being so dense. Thank You for Your fierce love. Draw us closer. Amen.
Ezekiel 6:10 “‘And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.’”
Have a blessed day.