2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
As I was in prayer this morning, God directed me to spend some time comparing EZK 11: 13-21 (which I mentioned the other day and will review here) with EZK 36: 24-28. Our Lord wants us to understand His love for us revealed in His promises and interactions with us as our covenant Partner. The lessons within these two passages are very important to us in deciding and taking action on how we will participate in our own covenant relationship with Him. We have the advantage that having a compact Bible and a knowledge of history that people in Ezekiel’s time did not. That is why I believe God expects even more of us in the faithful obedience department than He did of them. All more reason why we should feel very dedicated and diligent about keeping up our part in the covenant relationship we have with our Abba.
Let me review EZK 11: 13-21. Ezekiel asks the question of God, “Are you going to kill everyone left in Israel (13)?” God responds by telling Ezekiel that all the people remaining in Israel (remember Ezekiel and other Jews are in exile in Babylonia at the time) say the exiles are too far away to worship God, and therefore, God has given possession of the land [Israel] to them. Then the Lord goes on to say that Ezekiel should tell his fellow exiles that He is the one who scattered them and that He will be present with the exiles where they are. God then promises He will gather them and return Israel to them, implying in His perfect time. When the exiles return , they will get rid of the filthy, disgusting idols they find. God will give the people a new heart to replace the heart of stone they have had. The people will keep God’s laws faithfully and obey His commands. They will be His people, and He will be their God. God will punish violators for what they have done.
Now let’s look at EZK 36: 24-28, “I will take you from every nation and country and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put My Spirit in you and will see to it that you follow My laws and keep all the commands I have given you. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be My people, and I will be your God.” These are bold, live-giving promises which only the Lord has the authority and the power to make and keep. They are grounded in unique compassion and love for mankind.
I find it exciting to look at these two OT passages against the backdrop of what we learn in the NT, because God’s heart and His will for us is so clearly revealed in doing this. Our Abba is awesome in both His love and consistency. If you look at both passages, they clearly refer to the supernatural transformation of people by the renewal of their minds. RO 12: 2, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the renewal of your mind. Then, you will be able to know the will of God-what is good, pleasing, and perfect to Him.” Both EZK passages teach us to eschew idolatry. I’m sure that God means that in any form, not just the worship of man-made statues, but even the forms that idolatry takes today-materialism, social prestige, hunger for power at any cost, overindulgence on food, drugs, or drink, the love of money and what it can buy, and so on. Both passages demand obedience to God. Both require putting God first. Aren’t those the same things that God asks of us today? Of course they are. I have said many times that God repeats a simple, but crucial tenet of His will over and over again. He wants us to open our hearts to Him so effectively that He can claim us as His people, and that we claim Him as our one and only God.
Naturally, all of this means that the ancient Israelites that God would eventually allow to go free from Babylonian captivity had to reform their ways and stop practicing idolatry. We also must make whatever changes God commands us to make in our own lives in order to be freed from the marketplace of slavery to sin. God’s will for them is the same as His will for us. His reasons for issuing these promises and commands is also the same. He wants the people who will love Him to advance in the process of sanctification. He wants all His people to be purified from sin and to be perfected, so they can enjoy eternal life with Him.
One very exciting point that is made in EZK 36:27 is God’s words about putting His Spirit in His people and seeing to it that they follow all His laws and keep all His commands. Doesn’t that sound like NT language? Yet, here it is being said long before Christ is ever on the earthly scene. JN 14: 15-17, [Christ speaking], “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, Who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, Who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive Him, because it cannot see Him or know Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you and is in you.” Now, Dear Ones, this is powerful! You’ll notice that the word “laws” in EZK 36: 27 is not capitalized. That’s significant, because what is meant here is God’s teachings, not the 613 laws that were put out in the Jewish Talmud, which led to legalistic hypocrisy, and which were described in GA 3: 10 as a “curse.” We should meditate on what GA 3: 13-14 means in our own individual lives as God’s covenant partners. “But by becoming a curse of us Christ has redeemed us from the curse the Law brings; for the Scripture [DT 21: 23] says, ‘Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God’s curse.’ Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.”
PRAYER: O Lord, Your wisdom, consistency, and profound love is awesome! We stand before You today as sinners desirous of confessing our sin and placing our lives into Your wonderful hands. We acknowledge Your motives for us have always been pure and righteous and always will be. You alone have the power to transform our minds, to forgive our sin, to have sacrificed Your Son in one great sufficient act to open salvation to all who will believe in Him, and to give us the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Your will for us is clear and consistent. Through Your Spirit, You have given us the means to know and understand it. Your desire has always been for all who love You to trust and obey Your commands. Today, we come before Your altar to dedicate ourselves to doing just that. You are indeed our one and only God, and we are Your people. Our lives from this day on will be about fulfilling Your wish for us and eagerly awaiting that Day when the last trump is heard, and Your Son calls us to a meeting with Him in the air. The hope of the resurrection and the encouragement You continually give us assure us that You have equipped us for victory in spiritual warfare and victory over second death. We are privileged and honored to by Your covenant partners. To You alone, we offer our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, praise, and utmost thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will take a good look at those who God intended to receive the blessings of His Gospel. When we see this, hopefully, we will have a better understanding of the depth of His love and life-giving blessings. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn