King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, September 01, 2024
Chapters: Ezekiel Chapters 18-20
Message: True Believers Seeking God
Hello My Friend,
Yesterday, my mother took her first steps on her own with a walker and used the restroom with only minimal assistance from me. This is a huge milestone for her since she still has limited visibility and just a month ago could not even stand up. The first thing I did was praise God for His mighty hand upon her for this miracle. I was also reminded by God that He hears our prayers and while we may think that He does not have plan He has a great plan, we just have to trust in His timing. The passage that keeps coming to my mind is this one, [Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.]
Well, actually this comes to mind also, [Luke 12:28-31 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.]
The Kingdom of God, it is not hard to find, in fact, Jesus said this, [Mark 4:30b-32 Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.]
The Kingdom of God is not an actual place like heaven per say, but is within the heart of every saved, born again Christian who accepts Christ as their Saviour. Those who are faithful and live their lives through Christ expand their knowledge of Jesus to those who are out in the world. If we need to visualize what the Kingdom of God looks like we can compare it to a tiny mustard seed that becomes bigger and bigger as it grows. Up until now, God, has been talking to Ezekiel in regards to what was going on in Jerusalem while he and the other exiles were in Babylon and he has been relating the message to the people. As we continue in the reading of Ezekiel, God turns the pages and gives the people instructions for those who have been taken to Babylon.
[Ezekiel 18:1-4 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? 3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.]
[The fathers have eaten sour grapes,] The people in Babylon felt as though they were sent to Babylon because of the sins of their elders so this was a well known proverb going around the Jews to try to come up with some reason as to justify why they were suffering. What they failed to acknowledge was that they were not only guilty of the same sins as their fathers, they added to that sin when they brought idols in the temple. Everyone is responsible for their own sin, and while we may suffer repercussions from the sins of others, we are accountable for our own, and since creation, the penalty for sin is death and hell, [Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
Now, God goes on to show the Jews what they needed to do in order to keep themselves from the sin, [Ezekiel 18:5-9 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.]
[be just, and do that which is lawful and right,] Why did God point out specific things that were written in the Law of Moses? While some do make sense others make no sense at all? It is all about the conscience, it does not matter if we are living within the Law, if we go about it with the wrong intention then it is sin, period and this is what God is trying to convey here. Salvation to ones soul has never been about obeying every commandment written, it is about honoring God by refraining from things that defile our flesh, [1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.]
You see, the reason why our own works cannot save us is the fact that we would keep doing all of these things that God approves us, but the second we commit one sin, all of that gets wiped out and we go back to square one. God, goes on to explain that all souls that sin will die because of their sin, but also explains how we are each individually responsible for our own soul and cannot die for the sins of another.
[Ezekiel 18:19-23 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?]
[Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?] God does not want to see any soul in hell. He takes no pleasure at all in seeing even the most vilest sinner being cast into hell. Why? It is His soul, He created it, and it is the most valuable of all His creation. Hell, was never meant for the souls of man, only for Satan and his minions, but that was changed when man succumbed to sin as well, [Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die….Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.]
There really is nothing new written in the New Testament that was not already written in the Old, the only thing different was how God dealt with their sin until His Son would give His life as a permanent means to salvation. If you think that God is unfair in how He deals with a soul, then take it up with Him. Not one soul that diligently seeks Him gets left behind, no matter how wicked they were before they believed. God, goes on to explain how a wicked person can get saved and how a righteous person can end up in hell.
[Ezekiel 18:25-28 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.]
[Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions] God, is stating the fact that since they are not so merciful and gracious so who are they to question how He handles His souls. Point blank, God, is the judge and has a very good reason for what He sees as being just and unjust, and we will all be judged by Him in the same manner.
[Ezekiel 18:30-32 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.]
[wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.] We need to make sure that we understand that this is not about God separating the Jews from the Gentiles, the same rules apply no matter what family we come from. Those who truly and honestly seek God’s favor in this life and beyond will have a new heart and spirit to live as He wants us to live, [Romans 2:9-12 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;]
Because we cannot save ourselves in our own righteousness, God sent Jesus in that His righteousness can save all who receive Him as their Saviour. We have to see past our flesh and look at the state of our soul, if it does not have Christ, simply put, it is dead. It is God who gives the breath of life to our flesh, and that is the only thing keeping us alive until He takes that breath away. The grief we feel about loved ones who have passed, and are in hell ought to be the drive we need to tell all we know and see about Jesus while they are still have their breath in them. This is what God is telling the Jews to do, to lament over their captivity, and the ones who fled to Egypt and died. God compares the kingdom of Judah as a lioness who raised her young to rule, but in the end lost it all because of their sin.
[Ezekiel 19:1-5 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. 3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. 4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. 5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.]
[Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost,] God, is referring to the two kings that were still living at the time, Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin. Jehoahaz, did not last very long as king, in fact, he was captured and taken to Egypt. Jehoiachin, instead of heeding warning by his brother’s fate was carried into Babylon. Those who want God’s honor and respect need to listen to Him, even if that means He wants them to go into unknown territories. We need to remember, that we who are saved are the branches on that tree, but if we do not listen to God our branch will shrivel up. God, goes on to describe Jerusalem as a vine that was once flourishing and fruitful that is now dried up and thirsty.
[Ezekiel 19:10-14 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. 11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. 12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. 13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. 14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.]
[planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.] This vine, rather the body of the soul, is now destroyed due to its sinful life, and although, it has not been plucked up by the roots, its body gets devoured by the fuel of sin within itself. The true Vine, Jesus Christ, and the Lion of Judah, is the only one who can bring life to a dead soul with His living water, [John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.]
[so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule.] No one from the tribe of Judah will sit on the throne again until the Messiah comes. This is why every male born from the tribe of Judah still today is hoping that their son would be the Messiah they have been waiting for, how sad it is that they still do not know who they worship, [John 4:23-26 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.]
God, gives everyone ample time to lost souls to find His Son, but time does run out, and their hope will be gone. You see, there is only one person who determines how long our life on earth will be, it could be one minute or one hundred years, and that is God. Now, as the Jews in Babylon hear Ezekiel speak these words many of them became uneasy and asked Ezekiel what would become of them.
[Ezekiel 20:1-5 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. 4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers: 5 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;]
[I will not be enquired of by you.] Why was God so harsh with them? God, will not listen to one arrogant fool who questions Him, let alone seeks answers from Him about the way He handles their soul. Now, it is one thing to ask God questions, we all do, and He welcomes that, but to question and criticize His ways, that is blasphemy, and He will not stand for it. God, goes on to give examples of how He had given Israel ample time to repent, but continuously rebelled from the day they left Egypt.
[Ezekiel 20:19-22 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. 21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept 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. 22 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.]
[wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen,] God, reiterated that the only reason why He continued and still continues to have mercy on Israel, even though the majority of them are rebellions, is because of the promise He made. Believe it or not, the decent and moral people of the world may not follow God, but they have respect for Him and therefore God has respect for them to a point. As for the wicked people of the world, that is another story, God, goes on to tell how He actually withdraws Himself from them.
[Ezekiel 20:24-26,31 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. 25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; 26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD. Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. 31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.]
[Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good,] In other words, God, gave them up to their reprobate minds. So, the truth of the matter is that the countless number of abortions, number of lives taken, number of people addicted to God knows what, number of people mutilating their bodies, and number of people trying to play God are all given up to their own devices, [Romans 1:22-24 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:]
Now, can anyone of these whom have given themselves up to a reprobate mind be saved? Anyone can be saved if they truly believe in God and seek Christ with all their heart. God, goes on to let them know that they do have the opportunity to be saved, they just need to acknowledge that He alone is their salvation.
[Ezekiel 20:33-35,38-39 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 38 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 ye shall know that I am the LORD. 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.]
[if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more] In other words, God is telling them to choose who their god will be, but if they choose another god then leave Him out of it. Any true believer will come to understand just how sinful they are, seek Him, and then God will accept them.
[Ezekiel 20:41-44 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. 42 And ye 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 it to your fathers. 43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye 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 ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.]
[when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways,] All of Israel here includes both Jews and Gentiles whom come to Him in full repentance. God, could destroy all the false religions, false Christians, and rebellious Jews right now, but the reason He does not is because He will not leave one soul behind that wants to choose Christ, [2 Peter 3:9-10 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Ezekiel 20:38 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 ye shall know that I am the LORD.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your gift of salvation, I know that there is nothing more I can do apart from receiving Your Son as my Saviour that will save me from my sins. His finished work on the cross is all that is necessary for me to be able to stand righteous before You. But Lord, I want the rest of my time on earth to be one of gives glory to You, one that not only pleases You, but brings others to You as well. Lord, Lead me and guide me, give me Your power to discern right from wrong in Your eyes, the knowledge to understand Your Word, and wisdom to know how to handle situations, obstacles, and difficulties that contend with my faith. Pour out Your mercy and grace upon me so that I may grow and be a faithful and honorable witness of Your Son in me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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