KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, August 26, 2016
Chapters: Ezekiel 1-4
Message: A Voice For Christ
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Ezekiel contains forty-eight chapters, the author of the book is Ezekiel and it was written to the people of Judah. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 590BC to 570BC. The purpose of the book was to inform the Jews of the events that would take place during and after their captivity. The Book of Ezekiel is a complete covering of what will happen to the children of God, saved Jews and Gentiles, scattered around the world today. What we are to learn from the book is that God orders historical events so that all nations will know He is God. “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” – Ezekiel 38:23.
As you begin studying the Bible you discover something, people during Old Testament times heard the same message as we do today. Besides the Book of Revelation, perhaps the most complex book is Ezekiel, that is because they are almost identical to each other, further proof that the author of the Bible is God Himself who directed these men to speak from two opposite timeline’s. Ezekiel was one of the Jews held in captivity to Babylon, he was a godly priest, and those were very rare to find in those days. God came to Ezekiel with a very peculiar vision, in this vision he sees a mythical looking creature with four different heads, and wings.
“And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.” – Ezekiel 1:4-6,10-12.
“they had the likeness of a man.” A mans face, lion, ox, and eagle, it had wings, hands, and even wheels in the center. The creature itself represents the likeness of Jesus Christ in which we are to conform to. The man’s face represents man as we are created in the image of God, which means we have the ability to speak His language, to know right from wrong, and to make choices (free will). The lion, being the strongest and king of the beasts represents the strength of Christ, our King. The ox, the biggest and strongest of cattle, yet very gentle, represents the meekness of Christ. And the eagle, who gets it’s strength from it’s eyes, can see sharply and clearly, able to look straight into the sun, represents the eyes of Christ that are on His people. Once we receive Christ, we are to conform to Him.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – Romans 12:1,2.
We may not have all the answers or understand many of the things that are going on in the world today, but as Christians we need not fear what is to come because God is in control. He loves His children and yes, with God’s love comes trials, tribulations, sickness, and even famine, but no matter what we are going through, no matter what we have done, no matter what we will do in the future, nothing will separate the believer of Christ from their God. Now, as God speaks to Ezekiel, if you read carefully you will see that God is actually speaking to someone else, the man He is about to send to the people of Israel.
“And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.” – Ezekiel 2:1-5.
“Thus saith the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel may not have known who it was that God was speaking to through Him, but Son of man, is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. God sent His Son to preach the Gospel to Israel first, He knew some would listen, but the majority would not, but He was still called to warn them of the judgment they faced for their sin. Think about this, Ezekiel was among thousands of Jews living comfortably in Babylon, the destruction was coming after their seventy years of captivity would be lifted. God was warning them to get out of there before it would take place. Today, Babylon is a picture of the world, it will be destroyed, if we do not know Him personally as our Saviour than we will be destroyed along with it. God calls all who are saved to preach the Gospel to the world, yes, most are rebellious, but we are still called to warn them of what is to come. We can do this because God fills every saved soul with His Spirit, He touches u,s and teaches us how to speak His words, just like Jesus.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19,20.
God is always with us, believe it or not, He will direct His people to the lost, and it is our duty to tell them of Jesus. God instructs Ezekiel on how to speak to Israel, still speaking to Jesus also, He hands him a scroll and tells him to swallow it.
“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.” – Ezekiel 3:1-4,12-14.
“and I went in bitterness,” The Word of God is sweet to the soul, but it must go through the flesh first, and that is a very bitter pill to swallow, very few will take the medicine and be healed. Jesus came to a physician to heal sinners, and while we are all sinners, He will not heal anyone who will not admit that and come to Him.
“But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:30-32.
“I came not to call the righteous,” There is none righteous apart from Christ, which is why He only saves those who admit they have sinned. Ezekiel was to represent the siege of Jerusalem and Judah by signs.
“Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.” – Ezekiel 4:3-7.
“For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity,” Four hundred and thirty years, this number of years will take us back from the year in which Judah was finally seized by Nebuzaradan, B.C. 584, to the establishment of idolatry in Israel by Jeroboam, B.C. 975. “Beginning from 1Kings 12:33. Ending Jeremiah 52:30.” The destruction of a nation does not happen over night, it progresses slowly over time through the sins of the world. Sin always comes with consequence, we can try to escape it, but there is not escape apart from Jesus Christ. We who are saved have the responsibility to tell those God lays upon our hearts about Jesus, and let me tell you, if we do not, their death will haunt us until the day we die. We are not responsible to make all we talk to believe, even God cannot make someone believe in His Son, but we are responsible to tell the lost about Him.
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” – 1 John 5:10-12,16.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.” – Ezekiel 2:3.
Today’s Prayer: God, All the signs in the world today indicate that Jesus can come at any moment, and You have given us the knowledge to know the Gospel and be saved from judgment. Thank You for sending Jesus to save us. Lord, give us Your power, make us more like Christ, help us to be bold, yet gentle in reaching the lost, give us a passion to preach the Gospel to every person You lay on our heart, keep us safe and protected as we follow Your command to tell all the Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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