Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ezekiel 20-21.
In Ezekiel 20, the Lord presents a summary of the history between Him and the people of Israel.
“And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God, on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands. I said to them, ‘Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, I am the Lord your God,’ But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness“‘” (Ezekiel 20:5-10).
This pattern is repeated throughout the history of God’s people. It shows how God extends His grace to man.
- God determined to save them.
- He gave them instructions to obey.
- They rebelled against Him and became worthy of punishment.
- God acted for the sake of His name and spared them.
- They were given a second chance to serve the Lord.
When God spares us from punishment, it is not because we deserve His kindness, it is because of Who He is – a God Who is merciful and is willing to extend another chance for us to serve Him. However, we should not think lightly of His kindness (Romans 2:4). If we do not repent, we are “storing up wrath” for ourselves (Romans 2:5). Therefore, we ought to take advantage of His kindness and patience and give up our sin in order to serve Him faithfully.
Tomorrow’s reading: Ezekiel 22-23
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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