Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+019
 

Ezekiel 19 (ESV)

¹ And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, ² and say:

What was your mother? A lioness!
Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
she reared her cubs.
³ And she brought up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
⁴ The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
⁵ When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
⁶ He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men,
⁷ and seized their widows.
He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
⁸ Then the nations set against him
from provinces on every side;
they spread their net over him;
he was taken in their pit.
⁹ With hooks they put him in a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
on the mountains of Israel.

 

REFLECTION:

This chapter is written in the form of an elegy, and Ezekiel uses imageries to convey a lot of information. He used the images of a lioness and a lion cub to attract the attention of the audience. The lioness symbolizes the kingdom of Judah, and the two cubs represent the two kings. The first lion cub was King Jehoahaz, who was taken captive by Egyptian Pharaoh Neco in 609 BC (cf. 2 Kings 23:31-33). The second lion cub may be King Jehoiachin who has been taken captive to Babylon (cf. 2 Kings 24:8), or it may be King Zedekiah who will be captured soon (cf. 2 Kings 25:7). Ezekiel told the people of Judah that they had no hope of ending their exile and returning home soon, nor was it possible to get rid of Babylon’s slavery to them. It is not the political and military efforts of Judah that can save the country, even if it is as strong as a lion, if it deviates from the path of God, it will eventually fall into a pit and be trapped in a cage. Do we rely on our own strength and our diligence and cleverness to make ourselves strong today? The real strength is to live peacefully in the temple of God, to rest in the shadow of the Almighty, to rely on God for everything, to look up to God for everything, so that the power of God is made perfect in our weakness.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to make you understand what is truly powerful; pray for God to make you discipline your body and keep it under control, and give you a spirit of power and love and self-control, so that you are willing to look to God on everything and follow His will; ask God to let you have the courage to boast your weakness in front of others, so that others can see God’s miraculous deeds of changing your life in your weakness, and attract more people to come to God.

 

HYMN:

His Strength Is Perfect – youtu.be/1XxxKTEun7Q

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+018
 

Ezekiel 18 (ESV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³ As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴ Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die…

¹⁹ “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. ²⁰ The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

 

REFLECTION:

The people of Judah believed that they were punished because of the sins committed by their ancestors rather than their own sins, which led to an irresponsible fatalism in their society. This may be due to their misunderstanding of the teaching of the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:5). Ezekiel taught them that the destruction of Jerusalem was indeed related to the spiritual corruption of previous generations, but the people misunderstood the laws of the Old Testament. They were punished by God because of the repeated sins by several generations and also by themselves. Although we are often implicated in the consequences of crimes because of the sins of the people around us, God will not punish us for the sins of others, and we cannot use their sins to justify our sins. Everyone is responsible to God for his actions, and God will judge everyone separately. In addition, some people of Judah used God’s blessing as an excuse for their disobedience. They believe that because they have a righteous ancestor, they can survive. But God told them that this is impossible. They are the evil offspring of the righteous ancestors, so they must perish. Therefore, “the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” (v.20)

 

PRAYER:

Come to God humbly, confess to God the sins you haven’t confessed or dared to confess, and ask for God’s forgiveness; count God’s blessings, reflect how you have progressed under God’s guidance, and ask God to make you have more righteous deeds that are commensurate with your faith, so that you will receive greater rewards when you meet the Lord in the future.

 

HYMN:

Make Me Holy – youtu.be/YR0QKyKNgZw

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+017
 

Ezekiel 17 (ESV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; ³ say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. ⁴ He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. ⁵ Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, ⁶ and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

⁷ “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. ⁸ It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

⁹ “Say, Thus says the Lord God: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. ¹⁰ Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”

 

REFLECTION:

This chapter uses two eagles as a metaphor. The first eagle represents King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who arranged for Zedekiah to be the puppet king in Jerusalem. Zedekiah rebelled against this arrangement and tried to ally with Egypt to fight against Babylon. The second eagle represents Egypt. Ezekiel described these events in Babylon, far from Jerusalem. Prophet Jeremiah of Judah also warned Zedekiah not to enter into such a covenant in Jerusalem (see Jeremiah 2:36-37). Although people are in different areas, the prophets have the same message, because the two are God’s vessels, and both are sincerely speaking for God. God guides His chosen spokesperson to speak the truth that He wants to speak to the whole world. Zedekiah eventually formed an alliance with Egypt, but even though Pharaoh led a large army and a large crowd, he still could not help Zedekiah. In 588 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, and Pharaoh Hophra sent troops to relieve the siege, which made King Zedekiah and the people excited. But Pharaoh broke the covenant and quickly retreated. Jerusalem eventually fell in 586 BC. King Zedekiah also abandoned the covenant he made with God, his country was destroyed, his eyes were gouged out, and he died in prison. Reflect whether we are in alliance with God or with the world today. If you turn your back on the faithful God and turn to the embrace of an unreliable world, that would be the most stupid thing! May God give us heavenly wisdom, knowing that the most important thing in life is to keep the covenant with God and do everything under His guidance.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to give you a pair of spiritual eyes that can see the essence of the world’s sins and lies through the superficial prosperity; pray for God to grant you heavenly wisdom, so that you can take Zedekiah as a negative example and seek God in everything in your life, not to be tempted by the world, and not to fall into the trap of the devil.

 

HYMN:

Seek Ye First – youtu.be/EsBpM9IcBts

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+016
 

Ezekiel 16 (ESV)

⁵³ “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, ⁵⁴ that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. ⁵⁶ Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, ⁵⁷ before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. ⁵⁸ You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.

⁵⁹ “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, ⁶⁰ yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. ⁶¹ Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. ⁶² I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”

 

REFLECTION:

The message in this chapter is a reminder of the former contempt of Jerusalem among the Canaanite nations. God used the image of a baby girl to grow into a mature woman to remind Jerusalem that it was God who raised her from a humble state and obtained the great glory of being a bride for God. But she betrayed God’s trust, flattering and prostituting herself to foreign nations, imitating their customs. Because the people of Israel did not keep their promises and did not want to repent, they were not worthy of anything but punishment. However, God, who is both righteous and loving, will not withdraw His promises to them. If the people are willing to turn back, God will forgive them again and re-establish the covenant with them. Today, as the people of God, if we also leave God aside and pursue other things, even things like career, family, and education that sound like good reasons to pursue, we are betraying God in the same way. As long as you repent sincerely when you committed a sin, you will be forgiven by God. Although we are not worthy of anything and only worthy of God’s punishment for our sins, God’s merciful hand can touch us. When we repent and fall into the embrace of God, God will forgive and never reject us. May we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and our lack in the world will be given to us by God.

 

PRAYER:

Come to God and talk to God about your love for Him; review the covenant you made with God at the beginning, express to God your willingness to keep the covenant, and follow Him for the rest of your life; ask God to give you greater faith, entrust your current needs and lacks to Him, so that you are willing to leave the world’s entanglements and run the heavenly journey.

 

HYMN:

The Old Rugged Cross – youtu.be/aNRHn2ztrXs

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+015
 

Ezekiel 15 (ESV)

¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? ³ Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? ⁴ Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? ⁵ Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! ⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁷ And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. ⁸ And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”

 

REFLECTION:

This chapter uses the metaphor of the vine to convey the message of God’s judgment. Grape vine is a vine, and its main purpose is to produce sweet grapes. Its material is not suitable for making utensils. It can’t even make nails to hang things, so it is “used for nothing.” If the vine does not bear fruit, it is only suitable for firewood, and it will be even more useless after it is burned. The people of Jerusalem seemed to God to be such a useless vine. Because they worshipped idols and did not have the holy life that God’s people should have, they were destroyed, and even their homes were burned down. Isaiah once compared the nation of Israel to a vineyard. If it does not produce good fruits, it will be ruined and trampled. There are thorns and thistles growing in it (cf. Isa. 5: 1-8). The Lord Jesus also said that all grape branches that did not bear fruit must be cut off and thrown into the fire (cf. John 15: 1-8). Reflect whether we have become numb to God’s teaching today and unable to bear fruit. May we listen to and obey the call and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, not just have branches and leaves, but strive to bear abundant spiritual fruits!

 

PRAYER:

Ask God to have mercy on your weakness. When you are far away from God, use His cord of love to pull you back to His side, so that you are like a branch abides in the true vine – our Lord Jesus Christ, gain faith and strength from Christ, imitate the humility and meekness of Christ, obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, live an abundant life, and bear a good testimony to the Lord!

 

HYMN:

You Are The Vine; We Are The Branches – youtu.be/Hw5En1VoYYw

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+014
 

Ezekiel 14 (ESV)

¹ Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me: ³ “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, ⁵ that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

 

REFLECTION:

These are the second group of elders who came to ask Ezekiel. Unlike the first group, they seek God on the surface, but they have already “taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces” (v.3), so they have been far away from the true God. For them, as long as they can predict the future and gain benefits, there is no difference between the true God and false gods. Therefore, God condemns them on worshipping idols in their hearts and dare to come to the true prophets for advice. They worship God on the surface and often go to the temple to offer sacrifices, but they have no sincerity in their hearts. In today’s so-called post-modern era, the pluralism of beliefs prevails in the world, and many people who profess to believe in the Lord have also received various false gods into their hearts. They are double-minded, serving God “fervently” on the one hand, while chasing fame and fortune enthusiastically on the other. People may not be able to see it, but God clearly sees the filth in their hearts, as Isaiah says: “this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). We should be vigilant not to let ourselves be such a person. In fact, each of us has a favorite person or thing in his mind, so we all have the possibility of idolatry. Ask God to have mercy on us and not let the object of our love replace or weaken our loyalty to God.

 

PRAYER:

Come to God quietly and ask God to enlighten you so that you can see which things you love in your heart have replaced or weakened God’s position in your heart and become your “stumbling block of your iniquity”; confess your sins to God and ask God to remove these stumbling blocks and strengthen your faith so that you can truly receive God into your heart and be faithful to God in your daily life.

 

HYMN:

There Is None Like You – youtu.be/EP0Wwn53ZgI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+013
 

Ezekiel 13 (ESV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ³ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. ⁵ You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. ⁶ They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. ⁷ Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”

 

REFLECTION:

This warning is for false prophets. The false prophet’s message did not come from God, but was a pleasant-sounding lie made up to gain fame and fortune. “Prophesy from their own hearts” (v.2) means speaking one’s own words in the name of God. At that time, there were some false prophets in Jerusalem and the exiles to Babylon. They predicted in the name of God that the exiles would soon return to their homeland. They gave the people a false sense of security and made Ezekiel’s work more difficult. False prophets are “like jackals among ruins” (v.4), who are most prosperous in every era of desolation of faith, because they are popular in a devastated society. And God’s true servants can’t just comfort people and help people solve all kinds of problems they see. They must “go up into the breaches” and “build up a walls for the house of Israel” so that every believer will “stand in battle in the day of the Lord” (v. 5), and can stand the judgment of God. Today, we must be careful of those who distort the truth in order to gain personal power and fame. Like the false prophets back then, they are also good at using the Bible as an embellishment, replacing the words of God with their own words and the words of the world; on the surface they are advocating people to be kind and urging others to be good, but in fact they make people stay away from God. We must be wise to see through such people, stay away from them, let alone indulge our own selfish desires, lest we also degenerate into such people.

 

PRAYER:

Ask God to give you wisdom and not listen to the teachings of false teachers, even if their words may sound good to your ears; ask God to make you more humble and tolerant, and be willing to listen to the truth that is not pleasing to hear, not to lose any opportunity that God use the people around to discipline you; ask God to make you a true servant who speaks the truth with love, and through you to build up the people around you.

 

HYMN:

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus – youtu.be/5OWWqS1jnOw

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+012
 

Ezekiel 12 (ESV)

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

²⁶ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”

 

REFLECTION:

Zedekiah was the last king of Judah (597-586 BC). He reigned in Jerusalem when Ezekiel delivered the message of God’s will. Ezekiel told the people what was going to happen to Zedekiah: Jerusalem would be destroyed again, and Zedekiah would join the exile to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar would gouge out Zedekiah’s eyes and make him blind (cf. 2 Kings 25:3-7; Jeremiah 52:10-11). According to God’s stern message, Ezekiel warned the people that what God said will soon be fulfilled! In less than six years, Jerusalem will be destroyed. But people are still skeptical. Unbelief and a false sense of security make them not believe that such a thing will happen. “‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing” (v.22), refers to the passing of time and nothing changed, everything seems to be peaceful. The prophets have prophesied the judgment for more than 900 years since the Exodus, but it has never come. Therefore, some people think that “all visions are lost”, and even turn this sentence into a well-known joke and “slang”. The warnings that satirize the prophet are just cliches. The apostle Peter also encountered this kind of problem in the church (see 2 Peter 3:9). It is very dangerous to say that Christ will not come again, or to think that the Lord’s return is in the distant future and has nothing to do with today. Everything God says will happen!

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to enlighten you and make you understand more deeply that the Lord’s return is not something that has nothing to do with you today. Pray for God to give you more vigilance and godliness so that you will no longer be lazy and procrastinate, but work diligently. Live a regular and restrained life, read the Bible, practice daily devotion, pray every day, and stand firm in the turbulent currents of the world.

 

HYMN:

Number Of My Days – youtu.be/-2oul9dn0JU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+011
 

Ezekiel 11 (ESV)

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. ¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

 

REFLECTION:

From God’s perspective, the Judahites who were taken into captivity were a faithful group, while those who remained in Jerusalem were an evil group, which is exactly the opposite of people’s concept. The outward appearance of a person can deceive, but God is the God who searches the heart. Even though idol worshipers worship in the temple in Jerusalem, they cannot find the true sanctuary. However, those loyal exiles will still be protected by God even if they are in a foreign country. Similarly, our external circumstances cannot reflect our true relationship with God. Those who seem to be safe and smooth may be far away from God, while those who have experienced hardships have peace in their spirit with the protection of God. “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (v. 19), this metaphor may have originated from the process of making mummies in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that there was a “judgment of the heart” after death. If the heart is encumbered by guilt, it will face destruction. Therefore, they replaced the heart of the mummy with a stone in the shape of a beetle to prevent the dead from being betrayed by the heart during the judgment and endangering their next life. But God’s heart-changing operation is the opposite of Egypt. He will replace the hard stone heart with a soft flesh heart. This is what David prayed for, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”(Ps. 51:10), which is the new covenant promised by God (see Jeremiah 31:31-34). When the people of God no longer look for false gods, the hard and stubborn “stone heart” will be replaced by a tender, obedient, and responsive flesh heart. This new life is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit. We must realize that this is God’s work and we should strive to escape from sin. When we do this, God will gives us new opportunities to guide us to new growth. Have we received such a “new heart”?

 

PRAYER:

Ask God to give you more humility and obedience, to make your heart soft and fervent, and to have new acceptance and new growth in God’s words every day; ask God to give you more love and greater faith, so that you will be more sensitive to the life and spiritual needs of relatives and friends around you, take practical actions to care for and guide them, so that they also receive a “new heart” given by God.

 

HYMN:
Create In Me A Clean Heart O God – youtu.be/2fVliokreqE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ezekiel+010
 

Ezekiel 10 (ESV)

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

²⁰ These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the likeness of human hands. ²² And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. Each one of them went straight forward.

 

REFLECTION:

This chapter depicts the glory of God leaving the temple because the people sinned. The glory of God first stopped at the north gate (8:3-4), then moved to the “threshold” (9:3), next to the south side of the temple (10:3-4), and then down to the east gate (10: 18-19, 11:1), and finally reached the mountain east of the temple (11:23). This mountain may be the Mount of Olives. God is a completely holy and jealous God, so sin must be judged. Cherubim are powerful angels, and they scatter red coals throughout the city, representing the cleansing of sin. In this case in Jerusalem means the demise of those who refuse to repent and commit blatant sins. Soon after this prophecy was issued, Babylon burned Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kings 25:9; 2 Chronicles 6:19). The glory of God left the temple, “went out from the threshold of the house”, and never returned to the temple, and even the temple itself was completely destroyed. The leaders and people of Israel have defiled the temple of God. In order for the Israelites to truly worship God, He had to completely destroy everything that was filthy and distorted by the Israelites. Today, we should take the Israelites back then as a warning. We must commit ourselves, our family, and our church to God and follow God faithfully. In this way our God will not leave us, and the glory of God will always be with us.

 

PRAYER:

Pray for your family so that Jesus Christ will truly become the head of your family, make every family member of your immediate family a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and show the glory of the Lord in your life; pray for the church, and may the glory of God not leave the church, to make it a holy church after God’s heart.

 

HYMN:

Let Your Glory Fall – youtu.be/UnnHSxW3N0w