Ezekiel 20
Leaders want to talk with the LORD verse 1- 3
And it came to pass in the seventh year – in the fifth month
the tenth day of the month
that certain elders of Israel came
to inquire of the LORD
and sat before me
THEN came the word of the LORD unto me
saying
Son of man – speak to the elders of Israel
and say unto them
Thus says the Lord GOD
Are you come to inquire of ME?
As I live– says the Lord GOD
I will not be inquired of by you
History of Israel: Promised Land chosen verse 4- 7
Will you judge them – son of man – will you judge them?
cause them to know the abominations of their fathers
and say unto them
Thus says the Lord GOD
In the day when I chose Israel
and lifted up MINE hand to the seed of the house of Jacob
and made MYSELF known unto them
in the land of Egypt
when I lifted up MINE hand to them
saying
I am the LORD your God
In that day that I lifted up MINE hand to them
to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land
that I had espied for them
flowing with milk and honey
which is the glory of all lands
THEN said I to them
Cast you away every man the abominations of his eyes
and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt
I am the LORD your God
History of Israel: gods of Egypt verse 8- 9
BUT they rebelled against ME – and would not hearken to ME
they did not every man cast away
the abominations of their eyes
neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt
THEN I said – I will pour out MY fury upon them
to accomplish MY anger against them
in the midst of the land of Egypt
BUT I wrought for MY name’s sake
that it should not be polluted before the heathen
among whom they were in whose sight
I made MYSELF known to them
in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt
History of Israel: Law given verse 10- 12
WHEREFORE I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt
and brought them into the wilderness
and I gave them MY statutes
and showed them MY judgments
which if a man do
he shall even live in them
MOREOVER, also I gave them MY Sabbaths
to be a sign between ME and them
that they might know that
I am the LORD that sanctify them
History of Israel: Sabbath’s not kept verse 13- 17
BUT the house of Israel rebelled against ME in the wilderness
they walked not in MY statutes
they despised MY judgments
which if a man do
he shall even live in them
And MY Sabbaths
they greatly polluted
THEN said I – I would pour out MY fury upon them
in the wilderness – to consume them
BUT I wrought for MY name’s sake
that I should not be polluted before the heathen
in whose sight I brought them out
YET also I lifted up MY hand to them
in the wilderness that I would not bring them
into the land which I had given them
flowing with milk and honey
which is the glory of all lands
BECAUSE they despised MY judgments
and they walked not in MY statutes
BUT polluted MY Sabbaths
for their heart went after their idols
NEVERTHELESS MINE eyes spared them
from destroying them
neither did I make an end of them
in the wilderness
History of Israel: LORD warned not to worship idols verse 18- 20
BUT I said to their children in the wilderness
Walk you not in the statutes of your fathers
neither observe their judgments
nor defile yourselves with their idols
I am the LORD your God
walk in MY statutes – and keep MY judgments
and do them
and hallow MY Sabbaths
And they shall be a sign between ME and you
that you may KNOW THAT
I AM THE LORD your God
History of Israel: Continually violated Law of God verse 21- 22
NOTWITHSTANDING the children rebelled against ME
they walked not in MY statutes
neither keep MY judgments to do them
which if a man do
he shall even live in them
they polluted MY Sabbaths
THEN I said – I would pour out MY fury upon them
to accomplish MY anger against them in the wilderness
NEVERTHELESS I withdrew MINE hand
and wrought for MY name’s sake
that it should not be polluted
in the sight of the heathen
in whose sight I brought them forth
History of Israel: God promised scattering for disobedience verse 23- 26
I lifted up MINE hand to them also in the wilderness
that I would scatter them among the heathen
and disperse them through the countries
BECAUSE they had not executed MY judgments
BUT had despised MY statutes – and had polluted MY Sabbaths
and their eyes were after their father’s idols
WHEREFORE I gave them also statutes that were not good
and judgments whereby they should not live
And I polluted them in their own gifts
in that they caused to pass through the fire all
that opened the womb that I might
make them desolate
to the end that they might KNOW THAT
I AM THE LORD
History of Israel: They violated Law of God in land verse 27- 29
THEREFORE – son of man – speak unto the house of Israel
and say unto them
Thus says the Lord GOD
Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed ME
in that they have committed a trespass against ME
For when I had brought them into the land
for which I lifted up MINE hand to give it to them
THEN they saw every high hill – and all the thick trees
and they offered there their sacrifices
and there they presented
the provocation of their offering
there also they made their sweet savor
and poured out there their drink offerings
THEN I said to them
What is the high place whereunto you go?
And the name whereof is called Bamah to this day
LORD tells children of Israel: Nothing verse 30- 31
WHEREFORE say to the house of Israel
Thus says the Lord GOD
Are you polluted after the manner of your fathers?
and commit you whoredom after their abominations?
FOR when you offer your gifts
when you make your sons to pass through the fire
you pollute yourselves with all your idols
even unto this day
and shall I be inquired of by you – O house of Israel?
As I live – says the Lord GOD
I will not be inquired of by you
LORD to purge Israel verse 32- 38
AND that which comes into your mind shall not be at all
that you say
We will be as the heathen – as the families of the countries
to serve wood and stone
As I live – says the Lord GOD – surely with a mighty hand
and with a stretched out arm – and with fury poured out
will rule over you
and I will bring you out from the people
and will gather you out of the countries wherein
you are scattered – with a mighty hand
a stretched out arm
and with fury poured out
and I will bring you into the wilderness of the people
and THERE will I plead with you face to face
like as I pleaded with your fathers
in the wilderness of
the land of Egypt
so will I plead with you
says the Lord GOD
and I will cause you to pass under the rod
and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant
and I will purge out from among you the rebels
and them that transgress against ME
I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn
and they shall not enter into the land of Israel
AND you SHALL KNOW
THAT I AM THE LORD
LORD promises a future day for Israel of true worship verse 39- 42
As for you – O house of Israel – thus says the Lord GOD
Go you – serve you everyone his idols
and HEREAFTER also
if you will not hearken unto ME
BUT pollute you MY holy name no more
with your gifts – and with your idols
For in MINE holy mountain
in the mountain of the height of Israel
says the Lord GOD
there shall all the house of Israel
all of them in the land – SERVE ME
there will I accept them
and there will I require your offerings
and the firstfruits of your oblations
with all your holy things
I will accept you with your sweet savor
when I bring you out from the people
and gather you out of the countries wherein
you have been scattered
I will be sanctified in you before the heathen
And you SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
when I shall bring you into the land of Israel
into the country for the which
I lifted up MINE hand
to give to your fathers
LORD states that Israel remember their disobedience verse 43- 44
And there shall you remember your ways and all your doings
wherein you have been defiled
and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all
your evils that ye have committed
and you SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
when I have wrought with you for MY name’s sake
not according to your wicked ways
nor according to your corrupt doings
O you house of Israel
says the Lord GOD
LORD going to cleanse land with fire verse 45- 48
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me
saying
Son of man – set your face toward the south
and drop your word toward the south
and prophesy against the forest of the south field
AND say to the forest of the south
Hear the word of the LORD
Thus says the Lord GOD
BEHOLD – I will kindle a fire in you
and it shall devour every green tree in you
and every dry tree the flaming fire shall not
be quenched
and all faces from the south to the north shall be
burned therein
and all flesh shall see that I the LORD have
kindled it – it shall not be quenched
LORD speaks in parables to people verse 49
Then said I – Ah Lord GOD they say of me
Does HE not speak parables?
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 14 But I wrought for MY name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. (2490 “polluted” [chalal] means to be defiled, to profane, to be violated, dishonor, desecrated, treat with contempt, or be common and impure in the eyes of deity and /or society)
DEVOTION: The LORD cares about what those who claim HIM as their Savior and God. HE doesn’t want those who are HIS servants to desecrate HIS name in front of the unsaved world. HE wants to be honored by those who claim to be HIS followers.
The children of Israel were a people that many times dishonored the LORD in front of the world. This happened them and it is still happening now.
We should be honoring the LORD with our daily walk before HIM but many times in our lives we are not honoring HIM as we should. This should bring repentance on our part and a turn back to properly serving HIM.
The children of Israel had many times when they dishonored the LORD but didn’t repent and the LORD had to send judgment to get their attention. This can even happen today in our world as we are not honoring HIM as we should.
CHALLENGE: Our responsibility is to honor HIM in our daily walk with HIM. If we dishonor HIM, we need to confess it and return to a proper life that is pleasing to HIM. HE will forgive those who are genuinely asking for forgiveness.
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: 16 Because they despised MY judgments, and walked not in MY statutes, but polluted MY Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. (3820 “heart” [leb] means mind, midst, understanding, inner man, will, seat of appetites, seat of emotions and passions, volition, knowledge of right and wrong or thinking.)
DEVOTION: The outer man is considered our appearance to others. Most people will only look at you from their perspective regarding what you look like on the outside. Some will never even think about what you are on the inside. Appearance is everything to these individuals. If you don’t look good to them they will not listen to you.
However, the LORD looks on the inside of a person to see what is really going on. HE examines our thought life. HE examines what we do with HIS WORD in our inner life and how it is manifested in our actions.
Here HE found that the children of Israel were genuinely more concerned with worshiping their idols rather than HIM. They were not listening to HIS instructions HE had given to them in the wilderness as they left Egypt to go to the Promised Land. HE wanted a group of obedient followers but found them to be very disobedient from the time they left Egypt.
Most of the generation, except for Joshua and Caleb, didn’t enter the Promised Land because of their actions. HE lists what their sins were and they knew that they had disobeyed the LORD in their travels.
What does the LORD see in our inner man? Does HE see a genuine desire to serve HIM? Do we apply HIS WORD to our lives first in the inner man and watch them manifest them in our daily walk before people in the world? HE wants our knowledge of right and wrong to be manifested by our actions.
HE wants us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. This starts in the inner man and manifests itself in our attitudes toward HIM and others. If we judge people by their outer appearance we are not doing what the LORD wants us to do.
CHALLENGE: When we look at our inner man what do we see? Is it a place that honors the LORD on a regular basis?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 20 And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. (6942 “hallow” [qadash] means to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be holy, or be separate).
DEVOTION: The children of Israel were given a command from the LORD that they were to honor the seventh day of the week. This was Saturday. They were given special instructions regarding what they could do on the seventh day of the week.
They were not given manna on the seventh day of the week. On the sixth day they collected enough for two days. They were to do no work on the Sabbath. It was the day the LORD rested. HE wanted HIS people to rest on that day. HE wanted the land to rest on that day. They were not to walk far on that day.
The children of Israel did NOT consecrate the Sabbath. They treated it just like any other day. The LORD was not happy with their disobedience. HE told them that one of the reasons for their captivity was their lack of following HIS instructions regarding the seventh day of the week.
They also did not keep HIS statutes or HIS judgments. HE had given instructions in the wilderness regarding proper worship of HIM. HE could have judged them before they left Egypt but HE didn’t want to pollute them in front of the heathen. HE had called them out of Egypt to show the world that there can be a people that honor HIM. HE could have destroyed them in the wilderness but HE didn’t want to do it as a testimony to the nations. Once they entered the Promised Land HE still could have judged them for their sin but HE was longsuffering toward them.
Today we come together to worship the LORD on the first day of the week to commemorate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do it because we want to show our love for HIS provision of salvation. We do it because it is commanded that we are not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves together.”
Many think that they can just skip Sunday worship. Many think that they can skip giving their tithe to the LORD. Many think that the LORD will still honor them with blessings, even though; they are not honoring HIM.
The Bible says something different.
We are to honor the LORD with our daily practices of the spiritual disciplines, our weekly worship, and our regular joyful giving to the LORD. When we do these things, the LORD can and will bless us.
Are we willing to do this service to the LORD? What did we do last Sunday? Is HE asking too much of us for all that HE provides for us? Do people KNOW that the LORD is our God???
CHALLENGE: Continually study the Word of God to give your life meaning and direction. HE will bless you for your actions if your attitude is right. Don’t just go through the motions!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 31 FOR when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, you pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by you – O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. (1875 “inquired” [darash] means seek, search, consult, resort, ask, or demand)
DEVOTION: There is a false belief out there that God will answer anyone at anytime regarding anything they want. That is not true. The LORD only listens to the prayers of those who are committed to HIM though a personal relationship with Jesus Christ today. All others have to come with a prayer of repentance that redirects their life through the Word of God in obedience to the LORD.
The leaders of Israel had come to Ezekiel for a message from the LORD. They wanted a new revelation from the LORD. The LORD stated that HE would not give them a new revelation because they had not listened to the old revelation. HE was tired of them coming to HIM when they were in trouble without any confession of sin. HE would not listen to them. HE told Ezekiel that HE had no new message for them.
HE reviewed HIS history with the children of Israel from the time that HE brought them out of Egypt into the Promised Land. They had never really left their idols behind. They were always worshiping false gods but HE was longsuffering with them, so that, there would be a remnant that would be true followers of HIM.
Today we have the same problem. There are many people who come to the LORD in times of trouble expecting HIM to save them from the trouble without them giving HIM a genuine commitment to follow HIM. HE doesn’t expect perfection but HE expects obedience. HE knows if we are trying to follow HIM because HE knows our heart.
The LORD will only listen to those who pray to HIM with a genuine desire to change and give HIM glory. This was not true concerning the leaders who had come to Ezekiel and it is not true of many of those who come today to HIM for help.
The Bible teaches a proper relationship to the LORD. Learn what this is and desire it for your life and the LORD will honor your requests to HIM. Come any other way and you are not praying to the God of the Bible.
CHALLENGE: Correct your false beliefs regarding prayer. Train others from the Word of God regarding prayer. Practice daily confession to and adoration of the LORD.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Elders wanted Ezekiel to pray for them verse 1, 2, 31
LORD answers NO verse 3, 31
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group
Worship LORD on Sabbath verse 12
sign between God and Israel
Offerings verse 40
Firstfruits of your oblations verse 40
Holy things verse 40
Sweet savour verse 41
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 2, 45, 47
Thus says the Lord GOD verse 5
Statutes verse 11, 13, 16, 19, 21, 24, 25
Judgments verse 11, 13, 16, 19, 21, 24, 25
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 2, 5, 7, 12, 19, 20, 26, 38, 42, 44, 45, 47, 48
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 3, 5, 27, 30, 31, 33, 36, 39, 40, 44, 47, 49
GOD – Jehovah verse 3, 5, 27, 30, 31, 33, 36, 39, 40, 44, 47, 49
Lord GOD verse 3, 5, 27, 30, 31, 33, 36, 39, 40, 44, 47, 49
I will not be inquired of by you (elders of Israel) verse 3
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 5, 7, 19, 20
LORD your God verse 5, 7, 19, 20
I chose Israel verse 5
I am the LORD your God verse 5, 19, 20
I lifted up MINE hand unto Israel verse 6
I brought them out of land of Egypt verse 6
I had espied land for them – flowing with
milk and honey verse 6
I am the LORD your God verse 7
I will pour out MY fury upon Israel verse 8
Anger of the LORD verse 8, 21, 33, 34
My name sake verse 9
Made HIMSELF known to Israel verse 9
I gave them MY statutes and judgments verse 11
I am the LORD that sanctify verse 12
I would pour out MY fury – to consume verse 13
I was wrought for MY name’s sake that it should
not be polluted before the heathen verse 14
I lifted up MY hand to them in the wilderness verse 15
MINE eye spared them (Israel) from destroying verse 17
I made not an end of Israel in the wilderness verse 17
I said “ Walk you not in the statutes of your
fathers- neither observe their judgments
nor defile yourselves with their idols verse 18
Walk in MY statutes – keep MY judgments
and do them verse 19
I would pour out MY fury on them verse 21
I withdrew MINE hand verse 22
I will rule over Israel verse 33
Mighty hand verse 34
I will plead with face to face verse 35, 36
I will bring Israel into the bond verse 37
I will purge out verse 38
Holy name verse 39
I will be sanctified verse 41
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Land of Egypt verse 5- 10, 36
Heathen verse 9, 14, 22, 23, 32, 41
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Abominations verse 4, 7, 8, 30
Defile with idols verse 7, 16, 18, 24, 39, 43
Rebelled verse 8, 13, 21, 38
Not listening to LORD verse 8, 39
Idols of Egypt verse 8
Polluted verse 9, 30, 31, 39
Heathen verse 9, 14, 22, 23, 32
Walked not in MY statutes verse 13, 16, 21, 24
Despised MY judgments verse 13, 16, 18, 21, 24
Greatly polluted MY Sabbaths verse 13, 16, 21, 24
Heart went after idols verse 16
Statutes of fathers verse 18
Judgments of fathers verse 18
Blasphemed verse 27
Trespass verse 27
Bamah verse 28, 29
Whoredom verse 30
Gifts to idols verse 31
Human sacrifice to false gods verse 31
Serve wood and stone verse 32
Transgress verse 38
Evils verse 43
Wicked ways verse 44
Corrupt doings verse 44
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Enquire of the LORD verse 1
Chosen verse 5
Do statutes and judgments verse 11, 13, 19, 21
Worship LORD on Sabbath verse 12
Sanctify verse 12
Spared verse 17
Hallow my Sabbaths verse 20
Sign verse 20
Know that I am the LORD verse 26, 38, 42, 44
Covenant verse 37
Serve LORD verse 40
Remember your ways verse 43
Remember all your doings verse 43
Prophesy verse 46
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Elders of Israel verse 1, 3
Israel verse 1, 3, 5, 40
Son of man = Ezekiel verse 3, 4, 27, 46
Lord God would not be enquired verse 3
House of Jacob verse 5
Land of milk and honey (Promised Land) verse 6, 15, 38, 42
Glory of all lands verse 6, 15
Sabbath a sign between God and Israel verse 12
House of Israel verse 13, 27, 30, 31, 39, 40, 44
Land given to the children of Israel flowed
with milk and honey – which is the
glory of all lands verse 15
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
20:15–22 In spite of their history of rebellion, God gave them the land of promise, but once again they rebelled and would not enter (Num 13:26–14:12). So he left them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until all that generation had died (Num 14:26–39). Only those twenty years old and under were allowed to enter the land (Ezek 20:15–16; cf. Num 14:29–30). Though God took care of their needs and exhorted them not to follow idols, the people again rebelled against the law and desecrated the Sabbath. This reference to rebellion even after the judgment of the wilderness wandering was reminiscent of the Hebrew’s choice to follow Baal worship prior to their entry into the land of promise at Jericho (see Num 22:1–25:18; 31:16). God withheld judgment again as he “drew back his hand” (v. 22) and spared the nation (Cooper, L. E. (1994). Ezekiel (Vol. 17, pp. 203–204). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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In spite of the gracious blessings of God, this generation of Israelites rebelled against their Lord in the wilderness by rejecting the commands of the Mosaic covenant and profaning the Sabbaths (v.13a; cf. Num 11–14). Therefore, the Lord resolved to destroy Israel (v.13b; Num 14:11–12), yet he would not, because his name would be profaned before the nations if he destroyed his people. The nations would think that he was unable to protect Israel in the wilderness once he brought them forth from Egypt (v.14). Moses interceded in this manner on behalf of God’s people (Num 14:13–19; Deut 1:26–40; Ps 106:23–25) so that the Lord spared them. Instead God declared that he would not bring that generation into the Promised Land because they had rejected his ways in their idolatrous hearts (vv.15–17; cf. Num 14:32). It was only because of the Lord’s holy name that he graciously spared the nation from destruction. (Alexander, R. H. (1986). Ezekiel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 836). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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Israel in the wilderness (Ezek. 20:13–26). After leaving Sinai, the Jews marched to Kadesh Barnea where the Lord told them to enter Canaan and claim their promised inheritance (Num. 13–14). He had already searched out the land (Ezek. 19:6), but the people insisted on sending in a representative from each of the twelve tribes to scout out the land. They searched the land for forty days, and all of the men agreed that the land was exactly as God described it; but ten of the spies said that God wasn’t great enough to enable Israel to conquer it! This led to God’s judgment that the nation would wander in the wilderness for forty years and that everyone twenty years old and older would die during that time (Num. 14). You would have thought that the Jews had learned their lesson by now, but even during the wilderness wandering, they rebelled against God and He had to punish them. Once again, it was for the glory of His name that He didn’t destroy them and start a new nation with Moses as the father (vv. 11–21). At the end of the forty years, Moses prepared the new generation to enter the land by reviewing the law and the covenants, as recorded in Deuteronomy. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2000). Be reverent (pp. 94–95). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor/Cook Communications.)
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It was the Lord Himself who brought them into the wilderness, and there at Sinai, gave them His statutes and showed them His ordinances, concerning which He said, “Which if a man do, he shall live in them.” There, too, He made known unto them His sabbaths to be a sign between Him and them, the weekly memorial that He was Jehovah, their Sanctifier. But even in the wilderness they rebelled against Him and refused to walk in His statutes. They rejected His ordinances and profaned His sabbaths; thus they had forfeited all title to blessing, and God, in righteousness, might have given them up to utter destruction had it not been that He was concerned for the glory of His own name.
Speaking anthropomorphically, He declared He would pour out His wrath upon them in the wilderness to consume them, even as we know He threatened to do when He proposed to Moses that the people should be destroyed, and a new nation should come from him who had brought them thus far on their way. But when Moses interceded for them God wrought for His name’s sake. He would not have the heathen around say that He was unable to bring His people into the land He had promised; and therefore, although He swore in His wrath that all those of adult age should perish in the wilderness, nevertheless He brought their children to that land flowing with milk and honey, as He had promised.
The real reason for Israel’s failure is given in verse 16, “Their heart went after their idols.” How manifestly this was seen when they came to Aaron crying, “Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, this man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him” (Exod. 32:1). They preferred an image which they could see to the living God who could not be seen by mortal eye. So they turned to idolatry, rejecting God’s ordinances and refusing to walk in His statutes and profaning His sabbaths. But though He visited them from time to time with judgments because of their sins, nevertheless, as a nation He spared them, and did not utterly destroy them nor make a full end of them in the wilderness.
After pronouncing judgment on the older generation He called upon their children to walk in obedience that thereby they might enter into blessing. (Ironside, H. A. (1949). Expository notes on Ezekiel, the prophet. (pp. 131–132). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Their heart went after their idols; their will and affections, their zeal and resolution, were for their idols which they served in Egypt, and which they had brought with them out of Egypt. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 720). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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Ver. 16. Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths, &c.] Which were just causes of divine resentment and anger; see the note on ver. 13: for their heart went after their idols; which they had served in Egypt; and that led them off from the true worship and service of God; no man can serve two masters; if he holds to the one, and his heart is towards him, he’ll despise the other; and yet these idols were no other, as the word signifies, than dunghil-gods, as in ver. 17 and such are all worldly things, in comparison of God, that the heart of man is going after. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 98). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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UPLAND, Ind. (AP) — Dozens of graduates and faculty have protested the selection of Vice President Mike Pence as the commencement speaker at Taylor University in Indiana by walking out moments before his introduction.
The Indianapolis Star reports the protesters in caps and gowns rose and quietly walked down the aisle and out of the auditorium in the Kesler Student Activities Center at the university in Upland, Indiana.
The protest was planned and discussed prior to Saturday’s ceremony. Some faculty and students at the nondenominational Christian liberal arts school debated the appropriateness of the former Indiana governor at the commencement ceremony.
Most of Taylor’s graduating class did not leave. Pence received a standing ovation.
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Boaz marries Ruth and restores the fortunes of both Ruth and Naomi.
INSIGHT
What a happy ending. Because of Ruth’s faithfulness and circumspection, all the broad acres in which she once gleaned as a destitute alien are now hers, for she has become one with the owner.
When we are one with Christ, we are no longer aliens in another’s fields; and being one with Christ, all that is His is now also ours. As Ruth is translated from isolation and poverty to union and wealth in Boaz, so we become fellow heirs of the riches of Christ and the grace of God. It is likely that the story of Ruth is intended by God to picture our redemption in Christ. And our story is even greater than Ruth’s story. (Quiet Walk)
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JESUS’ UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP TO GOD
…no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Matthew 11:27
Our Lord claims that He is in a unique relationship to God in the matter of His knowledge of God. “No man,” He says, “knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son.” In other words, He looked at these people and said, “You see Me, but you do not really know Me. The only one who really knows Me is God, and I am the one, the only one, who really knows God. You pray, you speak to God, but you do not know God as I do.” Nobody “hath seen God at any time,” nor seen His shape. But Christ said that He had seen Him, and He claimed, as the Jews realized, an equality with God the Father. He put Himself side by side with God. Occasionally He withdrew the veil and gave a glimpse of that eternal, mystical relationship between the Father and Himself, and He claimed that He was in such an intimate relationship with God that all men were outside it. Here He is, the carpenter of Nazareth, and yet that is what He claims.
He stands there and tells these people, “Do you know that the whole of this world, the whole of time, the whole of history—heaven and earth and hell and all things—have been handed over to Me by God the Father?” That is His claim: a unique sonship, a unique relationship to God, and a unique relationship to this world. He stands there and says quietly that the whole world is in His hands. Never has the world seen or heard anyone who has claimed so much. Who is He, this babe of Bethlehem, this boy of Nazareth, this carpenter, this artisan, who claims that He is indeed the Son of God?
A Thought to Ponder: Christ claims a unique sonship, a unique relationship to God, and a unique relationship to this world.
(From The Heart of the Gospel, pp. 135-136, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Trump administration has come out against the Equality Act, which could face a floor vote Friday and would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Religious liberty and conservative groups warn the bill, if passed and signed into law, could have devastating effects on women’s rights and religious freedom.
“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights,” a senior administration official told the Washington Blade and several other media outlets.
The Equality Act (H.R. 5) would amend federal laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit and the jury system. Among the amended laws would be the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.
It would be the most significant LGBT rights bill ever passed. It has 240 co-sponsors, only three of which are Republicans. The rest are Democrats.
But religious liberty groups are warning the bill isn’t as innocent as its name indicates.
“[W]hile it may sound nice to some ears, this bill actually poses a devastating and unprecedented threat to religious freedom and the progress that women have made toward true equal treatment in law and culture,” Sarah Kramer of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) wrote in an online analysis.
The Equality Act, ADF says, would infringe on the rights of Christian business owners, churches and adoption agencies.
It would “threaten individuals, business owners, and non-profit organizations” by “forcing them to express messages or promote events that violate their deeply held religious convictions,” Kramer wrote.
It would prohibit churches and religious nonprofits “from requiring their employees to live out their religious beliefs about marriage, sexual morality, and the distinction between the sexes.”
“[Churches] would be required to open their sex-specific facilities to members of the opposite sex. For one Massachusetts church, that would mean it would have to open its women’s shelter for victims of domestic violence to biological males,” she wrote.
The Equality Act would “threaten religious foster care and adoption agencies with closure if they operate according to their beliefs that the best place for a child is a home with a married mother and father.”
It also would harm women’s sports, Kramer wrote, by allowing “male athletes who identify as female to compete in women’s and girls’ athletic competitions.”
“At a Connecticut state track meet, two biological males identifying as girls beat out the female competitors in several events, taking first and second place,” Kramer wrote. “… In Alaska, the same happened – a biological male competed as a girl at the state championship and won.”
Even supporters of the Equality Act are warning women’s sports are in danger. Doriane Coleman, Martina Navratilova and Sanya Richards-Ross wrote a Washington Post editorial saying the bill “would make it unlawful to differentiate among girls and women in sports on the basis of sex for any purpose.”
“The evidence is unequivocal that starting in puberty, in every sport except sailing, shooting and riding, there will always be significant numbers of boys and men who would beat the best girls and women in head-to-head competition,” the three women asserted. “Claims to the contrary are simply a denial of science.”
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