24th January 2025

24th January 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ezekiel 19 focus v10-14)


Message (Alan Burke)


If you’ve read this chapter from start to finish you’ll have grasped already that it’s not the cheeriest of passages, actually it’s pretty dark and depressing. The first lament concerns the peoples leaders in verse 2-9 and this lament or rather this verse of the lament turns its attention to the people as a whole. The imagery moves from the lioness to a vine. Just as the lioness in the first lament had spoken of the people so too does the vine. This is speaking of the people themselves, how their mother was like a vine. The nation were planted beside abundant water in the land of Canaan (Deut 8:7-8) where they prospered. The Lord had given his people everything that they needed and all they were to do is to look to him. In the beginning it was a fruitful vine we are told, full of branches because of what the Lord had given to his people. The branches were strong suitable for a rulers sceptre, branches that towered above the thick foliage. 


But it was uprooted in fury, thrown to the ground, it shrivelled, was striped of its fruit, its strong branches withered and fire consumed them. The vine was replanted in the desert in a dry and thirsty land. Further woe came to them for destructive fire came from one of its own branches and consumed it and it had not branch left fit for a rulers sceptre. This is figuratively speaking of the history of the people of God, how they knew the favour of God, they were given everything that they needed, the Lord had provided for them in every way so that they might become a mighty nation and although the description is brief these verses speak of the fall of the nation. 


There was no hope in anywhere here in chapter 19, but the Lord would do a new thing. What that is the Lord had already told his people, for a shoot would come up from amongst them (17:22), it is Jesus Christ who is that shoot. God’s promises cannot and will not be undermined by human sinfulness, even if that is generational, his promises to Judah, his promises to David are being fulfilled, for the Lord has set his king on Zion his holy hill, one day, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, will triumph over all (Rev 5:5). The good news is that the Lord has done what we because of our sin were unable to do, he has triumphed to bring salvation for all of his people. What they needed to do was to trust in the Lord their God, to look to him and the salvation that he would bring. What we need to do is to look to the Lord and the Salvation that has come in Jesus Christ, trusting him in the midst of life and death. 


As we end think to what the Lord had done for his people, in short everything. He had chosen them, redeemed them, placed them in the land flowing with milk and honey and every time along the way his people had showed their ingratitude to what he had done. They turned from the Lord their God, the leaders were evil in his sight, the people rejected his rule and wanted kings to rule over him no matter how evil they had been. What we need to know is that we must look to the Lord above all things, he calls us to faithfulness, to be faithful to his word and his rule. His people expected his blessing because they were his but they failed to follow his ways. We can easily fall into the same expectation, thinking that we are the Lord’s so we can do what we like but we can’t, the Lord will not bless a people who do not follow his ways. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q96. What is the Lord’s Supper?
A. The Lord’s Supper is a Sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
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