Year 3 Day 83

Year 3 Day 83


Pray (ACts)


Read - Ezekiel 8:1-4


Message - Alan Burke


Today as we come to chapter 8, Ezekiel is sitting with the elders of Judah, they have gathered to hear the word of God. It had taken extraordinary means to get their attention but now they are there waiting for a vision of the Lord to come to this His prophet. I’ll draw something out for us here at the start of this devotion and it is this, even though the elders had heard this prophecy of the Lord’s judgement against Jerusalem and against His rebellious people they are there waiting for the Lord to speak. Even though it had not been easy listening, even though it has shone a light on how God will not tolerate sin,  the elders of Judah are sitting there waiting for the Lord to speak through the prophet. 


What the prophet had to say may not have been easy listening but these elders still awaited it, they wanted the Lord to speak. I wonder how in the midst of passages like this, or when God’s word confronts us with much that we do not find easy listening are we wanting to listen? Are we wanting the Lord to speak? And if the Lord speaks to us through His Word read but primarily preached this coming Lord’s day are we willing to respond to it?


As the elders sit waiting on the Lord Ezekiel there in v3 is lifted up by the Spirit of God and taken to between earth and heaven, to Jerusalem. First to the entrance of the north gate, of the inner court where the idol that provokes to jealously stood. In this vision, the Lord was enabling Ezekiel to see things from His perspective. For there was the idol that provokes to jealously stood. Now in your head imagine cardinal points, that’s North, South, East, West. On the North, South and East point put a gate, three gates, these represent the three gates to the Jerusalem temple. The gate on the North was the most prominent, it was where the king would enter through on his way to the temple. Now  on the way to the temple where God dwelt among his people there was an idol in a place of prominence, and we are told there was the idol that provokes to jealously stood. 


The Lord is a jealous God for all that is due to his name, He is jealous for what is His, He is jealous for his glory and in their idolatry His people were robbing the glory due to His name. God’s own people were failing to live for the glory of God! (Ex 20:4-6). The Lord had told His people as much and they had ignored Him, they had provoked His jealously in their rebellious ways, in their idolatry. Maybe things today are different, maybe it doesn’t matter how we live and act, sure the worship of God and living for His Glory come after everything else. That may be how people live, it may be how you live but the worship of God and His Glory matter!


The world and all that is in it was made for the Glory of God, as the creator, God is rightly jealous for the glory due to his name! The glory of God was being manifested to Ezekiel, God had made his people to glorify him, our purpose, our raison d’etre, our chief end is to Glorify God and enjoy him forever, is that what we are trying to do? Do we have any desire to live like that, is that what people would say about us? Do we take His worship and His Glory seriously? Or are we living as the rest of the world to glorify ourselves, putting our wants, our desires, our sin before the living God and his glory!? 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q79 Which is the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’ s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’ s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’ s. (Exod. 20:17)
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