Category: Ezekiel-BibleTrekToday
Cast those cares!
Scripture reading for November 13th: Ezekiel 2-5, 1st Peter 5
Key Scriptures: 1st Peter 5:6-9 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
Living in faith requires humility. We who believe must entrust all of our lives to God–the good and the trials of suffering. We must stay alert to the tricks of the enemy of our souls and resist the fear he tries to stir up. God cares for you and has promised to exalt you at the proper time. Cast those cares and resist the devil and his roars!
Ezekiel 2:6 “And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions.”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for caring for me and the promise of eternal life with You. Help me to cast all my cares and worries on You today. Amen.
Rejoice in Fiery Trials!
Scripture reading for November 12th: Lamentations 3-5, Ezekiel 1, 1st Peter 4
Key Scriptures: 1st Peter 4:12-14 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
Life will have its trials and tests. We will be called upon to suffer because we bear the Name of Jesus Christ as our Lord. When we suffer for doing good or as a believer, we can rejoice and be glad. God will bless us with His Spirit of glory resting upon us to give us grace to endure and the sure hope of eternal reward in God’s presence.
Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your faithful mercies and mighty Hand! Help me to rejoice in suffering and trials, relying on Your steadfast love and new mercies each day. Amen.
Rejoicing in the Eternal Kingdom!
Scripture reading for September 19th: Ezekiel 48, Daniel 1-3
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 48:35 “The distance around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.””
Daniel 2:44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands–a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.”
Ezekiel was a Jewish priest in captivity in Babylon, along with Daniel. God used both men as prophets to declare His eternal purposes to His people as well as to the Gentile rulers who were over them. Ezekiel’s last prophetic word gave a name to Jerusalem, the city of God: “THE LORD IS THERE!” Daniel was called upon to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statute with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, and legs and toes of iron and clay. Daniel’s revelation was a “Stone”, not cut out by human hands, striking the statue and destroying it. This “Stone” became a great mountain that filled the whole earth–an everlasting kingdom!
Rejoicing in our Eternal King of Kings: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose Rider is called “Faithful and True.” With justice He judges and makes war.” . . . “Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”” (Revelation 19:1, 15)
Rejoicing in the River!
Scripture reading for September 18th: Ezekiel 43-47
Key scriptures: Ezekiel 47:1, 12 “The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.” . . . . “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel saw a vision of water flowing from the temple of God in heaven. It flowed south of the altar and flowed deeper and deeper the farther it went. He saw that everywhere the “River” went, it brought life and fruitfulness–even to the Dead Sea! His attention was brought to fruit trees growing on the banks of this “River”. Their fruit came new each month and their leaves were for healing! John the Revelator saw this as well!
Rejoicing in the “River of Life”: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of Life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2)
Thankful for Visions of God!
Scripture reading for September 15th: Ezekiel 39-42
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 40:2-4 “In visions of God He took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. The man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”
Ezekiel was taken by God to Israel and given a vision of what looked like a city on the side of a great mountain. He then saw a man that was bronze in color standing in a gateway of this city with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. Ezekiel was told to write down everything he saw and heard and tell it to the house of Israel. John, the Revelator, had a similar vision while in the Spirit on Patmos!
Thankful for John’s vision: “The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,ooo stadia in length, and as wide and high as it was long.” (Revelation 21:15-16)
Thankful for God’s Dwelling with Us!
Scripture reading for September 14th: Ezekiel 34-38
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 37:26-28 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put My sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when My sanctuary is among them forever.'”
God spoke to His people concerning a new covenant of peace that would last forever. God promised to make the covenant and dwell with His people in His sanctuary that would be in their midst, never to be taken away again! All nations would know that it is the Lord that makes His people, Israel, holy! Under this new covenant, Gentiles would also experience God dwelling with them as their God and they would be His people!
God’s dwelling with us: “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the Living God. As God has said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 2nd Corinthians 6:16
Thankful for repentance!
Scripture reading for September 13th: Ezekiel 30-33
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 33:10-11 “”Son of Man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”‘ Say to them,’As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'”
God’s people were groaning from the consequences of their sins. The curse of broken law brings consequences as surely as gravity brings a falling object to the ground. Where was the remedy so God’s people could live? God declared His love for them by calling them to repent and believe in His grace! It was as simple as calling on Him for mercy and acknowledging their sins and turning from them! There is no other escape for sinners found in the Word of God.
Jesus called all to repentance: “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them–do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you pent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3-5)
Thankful for Heaven’s justice!
Scripture reading for September 12th: Ezekiel 25-29
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 28:14-17 “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”
Ezekiel was given a prophesy for the King of Tyre. This prophesy seems to speak about a fallen created angel who became proud and was thrown out of heaven and down to earth. Ezekiel’s prophesy mirrors part of John’s vision in the 12th chapter of Revelation!
The God of Justice: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)
Praying for intercessors!
Scripture for September 11th: Ezekiel 21-24
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 22:29-31 “The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery: they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.” ” I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”
Ezekiel understood God’s heart of mercy for His people and His justice that called for repentance. The people knew God’s love for the poor and needy and the alien, but they mistreated them instead. God looked for just one man, to call His people back to repentance and obedience but found none in this critical time. Today God is looking for His people to be filled with faith and interceding for the lost and back-slidden! Will He find faith when He comes?
Intercessors needed: “And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8)
Thankful for the Sabbath Sign
Scripture reading for September 8th: Ezekiel 16-20
Key Scriptures: Ezekiel 20:10-12 “Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the desert. I gave them My decrees and made known to them My laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. Also I gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.”
God told His people that He led them out of Egypt and revealed His holy laws and decrees to them so that through them they might really have life. One of these laws concerned the Sabbath–the seventh day of each week. The Sabbath was a sign to the Israelites that God had made them holy and set them apart to worship Him and belong to His family. Jesus Christ is our Lord of the Sabbath and through Him alone we enter into eternal rest and joy! He makes us holy and calls saints to rest in Him!
Ready to Rest! “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” (Revelation 14:12-13)