Daily Bible Devotionals

“Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.” Ezekiel 10:18-19 (NKJV)

At one time, I lived in a neighborhood where the homes were built in the 1950s, so I know that termites eventually make their way into every residence. One morning, on my way to a coffeehouse where I studied my Bible, I noticed a house in my neighborhood had been “tented” by an exterminating company. When termites are discovered, the worst-case scenario is that the owners must evacuate the structure for a weekend while exterminators cover the home with a tent and fill the house with potent gaseous pesticides. After the smoke clears (literally), the occupants may return home.

This is a good picture of what today’s chapter is communicating. Because of the nagging destructive presence of sin in His house, God is leaving home for a God-sized weekend while His “exterminators” get to work. What needs to be grasped is that this is worse than any of God’s judgments thus far. The presence of a God who judges, however terrible His rebuke, is indeed preferable to the absence of God and His mercy!!

God’s presence is His most treasured gift. It is at the heart of His promises, i.e., He “covenants” to His people. “You are with me,” David says in Psalm 23:4, and we get the sense that it was the truth that David cherished most. Other Bible writers echoed that thought: God is with us (Matthew 28:20), around us (Psalm 34:7; 139:5), in us (John 14:7), in the midst of us (Psalm 46:5), underneath us (Deuteronomy 33:27), near us (Psalm 148:14) and before us (John 10:4).  

Most importantly, He promises never to leave or forsake His faithful children:  

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

In essence, because God is everywhere, He can never really leave. Even so, some aspects of God’s presence may well be withdrawn, even from God’s people. He may remove all perception of visibility so that we may not feel it even though He is present. He may decide to withdraw His help – as Samson discovered with Delilah. But what happens here in Ezekiel 10 is of a different order. Here, God is withdrawing from His “Temple,” the place where the people went for comfort.

Today’s chapter gives us better insight as to the seriousness of God’s warnings in Revelation 3:12-17, where God threatens to fight against the Pergamum church because of their moral and spiritual deviances, and in Revelation 3:14-22, where He threatens to “spit” the Laodicean church out of His mouth. Not all who say, “Lord! Lord!” follow Him as He requires regarding salvation. (Matthew 7:21) God clearly distinguishes between His true Church and the “synagogues of Satan” (Revelation 2:9; 3:9). In such cases, where the congregation ceases to be “His” in their practices, Ichabod, God departs.

“So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?’ Then He said to me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.’ Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, ‘I have done as You commanded me.’” Ezekiel 9:8-11 (NKJV)

When a newspaper wrongly published in advance an obituary of Mark Twain, he wrote in the paper the next day, “News of my death had been greatly exaggerated.” In contrast, Judah’s obituary was no exaggeration. The fall of Israel in the 8th century B.C. and that of Judah in the sixth century B.C. are foretastes of the coming of another day, the Day of the Lord.  John saw this day and warned of it.

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15 (NASB)

Ezekiel has been taken from the banks of the Kebar River in Babylon to the Temple in Jerusalem. There, he showed how far the Israelites had fallen from their true faith. Their worship had become thoroughly idolatrous. God’s patience had run out. Executioners had done their work. First to fall were the elders and then the city itself. The destroyers showed no pity. The Day of Judgment had arrived…and what a day it was. Ezekiel prophesied the death of Jerusalem. This had been Judah’s obituary – in advance!

Every follower of Jesus should have the burden of lost souls that Ezekiel had. The certainty of judgment should make us all fall on our knees and plead that souls be gathered into God’s Kingdom. Ezekiel laid hold, not of God’s reluctance, but His willingness and promise to save.

The return of the seventh angel, having accomplished what he had been asked to perform, indicates that the wrath is tempered with mercy. It is a further incentive for us to pray, knowing that, unlike the prayers of the unbeliever, God hears the prayers of His children.

“Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:18 (NKJV)

By “children,” of course, the Bible talks of those who follow the Lord, as He requires, through faith in the Messiah and obedience to His Word.

“Jesus answered, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” John 14:23 (HCSB)

“He asked me, ‘Human being, have you seen this? Does the house of Judah consider it a casual matter that they commit the disgusting practices they are committing here, thus filling the land with violence, provoking Me still more? Look! They are even putting the branch to their nose! Therefore, I will act in fury, My eye will not spare; I will have no pity. Even if they cry loudly right in My ears, I will not listen to them.’” Ezekiel 8:17-18 (CJB)

Show me a man who sees his wife in the arms of another man, and he doesn’t get jealous, and I’ll show you a man who doesn’t love his wife. God has found His “wife,” the Jewish people, in the arms of foreign gods. And He is extremely jealous!

God asks Ezekiel, “Does the house of Judah consider it a casual matter…?”  With God, there is no such thing as “casual sex,” so to speak. But to many in Israel, it seemed trivial to go after foreign gods—no big deal.

In our generation, the idea of Biblical idols/deities seems strange. But what if we substitute ancient idols with sports mascots, a flag, or an automobile insignia? On their own, these things may mean nothing. But, collectively, they represent a set of beliefs about life itself. Yes, we also ascribe power to inanimate objects, which belong solely to God. We are not far removed from Ezekiel’s vision.

Consider Darwinian evolution and how it is worshipped in most classrooms as the origin of all that exists; it is, in essence, worship of nature’s powers. “Evolution” differs very little from what the women wailed about beside the north gate of the temple in Jerusalem. Have you checked your horoscope lately? Astrology is nothing short of worship of the (supposed) powers of the stars. And, of course, secular humanism is the worship of the accomplishments of contemporary man.

Whatever the idol, God finds it “detestable.” Idols are a stench in His nose. Consequently, the Lord promises swift punishment. Though God’s people may cry out in prayer under their penalty, God declares that He will not hear them:

“Therefore, I will act in fury, My eye will not spare; I will have no pity. Even if they cry out loudly right in My ears, I will not listen to them.” Ezekiel 8:18 (CJB)

God has been provoked to anger; His jealousy aroused. God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Yet, He does not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:6-7) God’s anger is not a fit of irrational temper, and His judgment is not ruthless and mechanical fate. Nevertheless, His anger & judgment are real, and to prove it, there comes the point where He says, “Enough!”  

There will come a day when God’s patience will run out with this world. The sad fact is that while salvation comes exclusively through Jesus and is offered to anyone who would accept it, many will refuse to repent and receive it. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, that He might lift you up and spare you from that terrible day.

“Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains Like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, Each for his iniquity. Every hand will be feeble, and every knee will be as weak as water. They will also be girded with sackcloth; Horror will cover them; Shame will be on every face, Baldness on all their heads. ‘They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like refuse; Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; They will not satisfy their souls, Nor fill their stomachs, Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.” Ezekiel 7:16-19 (NKJV)

Chapters 6 and 7 have focused principally on the reality and nature of God’s wrath. God is angry with Israel because of their sin, particularly their idolatry. There can be no truce between God and sin. When He sees lawlessness and Godlessness, He must react with holy anger. It is His very nature to honor holiness and punish sin. Were God to be without anger toward sin, the World would have no meaning.  

But all is not doomed in these chapters. God had an unavoidable purpose, which nothing can destroy – not even the unfaithfulness of Israel! What emerges from today’s chapter of judgment is a theology of Grace…and we must not lose sight of it.  

A remnant will be saved despite their spiritual adultery. So, what explains that God perseveres with the constant, unrelenting grumblers of Moses’ day or the thankless apostate people of the seventh and eighth century BC...or us for that matter? It can only be His promise of Grace! As I often say, two things confound a fool: How slow God is to judge sin and how quickly He shows up. Even up to the siege of Jerusalem, the people simply would not believe God would allow His people to fall.

How could this be so? Because the people had abandoned God’s Word and followed after idols. Sure, the Temple was still standing, and many of the forms of worship seemed to follow the methods prescribed by Moses, but they had abandoned their God. Whenever we depart from God’s Word, even the slightest, Satan gets his foot into the doorway of your theology. To not trust in God is only to trust in Satan. Step away from God’s Word, and even if you follow a God-themed religion, you have departed from the real thing.

We are wrong if we simply see the God of the Tanakh (Old Testament) as a God of judgment. His judgment is swift and decisive, but only after His gracious patience, kindness, and longsuffering. Even when every Israelite and Judean was worthy of destruction, God allowed a remnant to survive for the sake of His name and His merciful promise.

Though these chapters are tough and unrelenting, the message of Grace shines in the remnant. It is a remnant that God, and God alone, rescues. This is not just the story that Ezekiel tells; it is the gospel itself that threads its way from Genesis to Revelation.

“The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am YHWH. Yet I will leave a remnant when you are scattered among the nations, for throughout the countries there will be some of you who will escape the sword. Then your survivors will remember Me among the nations where they are taken captive, how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from Me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil things they did, their detestable practices of every kind. And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten to bring this disaster on them without a reason.” Ezekiel 6:7-10 (HCSB)

In recent years, there has been a movement among parenting circles not to spank children. I say “recent years” because when I was growing up, I remember getting spanked all the time, in public, whenever necessary. I remember people patting my parents on the back and applauding them for disciplining my siblings and me. But, if a parent were to spank a child in public these days, there is a high probability that someone would call the police, and the child would be taken into protective custody. An investigation would be conducted on whether they were fit to raise children.  

I am not advocating abusing children. It’s just that there are times when harsh discipline is necessary for the healthy long-term development of children so they transition into law-abiding adults. If you do not believe in the potential necessity of harsh discipline (with the ultimate goodwill of the one undergoing harsh discipline in mind), you will not understand what God is doing to Israel. And you will not understand how a massive reckoning is in store for our generation. Why would God allow Israel and Judah to be defeated and driven from their land? Because they had abandoned His Word. And not just the average Jew. From the pulpit, the whole community was corrupted as God’s Word had been compromised.

“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:13-14 (HCSB)

The message of the false prophets was simple: God is only a God of GRACE and not of JUDGMENT. “Peace, peace!” had replaced God’s standard of personal holiness and His hatred of sin. They preached a false hope, assuming that God is a pushover Who is not concerned with the faithfulness of His people. Paul warned the early Messianic community about a coming day that would be just like the days of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. And we see that day quickly approaching!

“About the times and the seasons: Brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘Peace and security,’ then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains come on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (HCSB)

“And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them. You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. Then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there, a fire will go out into all the houses of Israel. Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’” Ezekiel 5:1-6 (HCSB)

Those of us who get weary of what God asks us to do should remember what He asked the prophets to do in His name. Then, we should consider closely the words of Paul:

“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NKJV)

To imagine doing Ezekiel’s job for even a few days is difficult, but Ezekiel’s faithfulness shines in his willingness to do the same task every day for over a year! We might be called upon to perform many tasks that may be regarded as humdrum and others that might attract ridicule from an unbelieving world. But God calls us to be faithful, even if that means becoming fools on behalf of the Gospel.

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!” 1 Corinthians 4:10 (NKJV)

God hates sin. And how had His people sinned? They turned their backs on God and His covenant – a covenant in which the warnings that those who disobeyed it would incur its curses. (Deuteronomy 27, 28) Those who serve other gods are guilty of violating the purpose for which they were created. At the time of today’s chapter, Jerusalem’s destruction was only five years away, and it was the direct result of the people’s sin. In light of that harsh truth, we can appreciate God’s love for us and Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on our behalf.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)

As sure as the destruction of Jerusalem was prophesied and fulfilled with complete accuracy, so too will the prophecies of the Day of the Lord in the Book of Revelation come to pass. Will you choose to be a rebel or participate in the Remnant?

This Groundworks Ministries Podcast is coming soon! In the meantime, click the “Read Full Chapter” button above to study Ezekiel 4.

"Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, "You shall surely die," and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.'" Ezekiel 3:15-19 (NKJV)

They say everyone wants to be their own boss until they open their own small business! The same seems to be true of followers of God. We want to obey Him until He tells us to do something that makes us feel uncomfortable. Ezekiel knew what that felt like. In response to God's call on his life, Ezekiel nursed his anger for seven days.

And what was God's call on Ezekiel's life? To be the channel through which God's Word comes to a rebellious people. The expression, "the word of the Lord came to me," occurs fifty times in the book of Ezekiel. By this, we know that it is important to God that people walk with Him personally through His Word. As a matter of fact, Jesus was the personification of the Word of the Lord. (John 1) In essence, having a saving relationship with Jesus is a saving relationship with the Word-made flesh.  

Why so few professing followers of Jesus read the Bible is beyond me! If God's Word is so important, perhaps the question for our generation should be, "How intently do we seek the Word of the Lord?"  

There comes a time when we must stop thinking about how we feel and get on with doing what God wants us to do. God wanted Ezekiel to become a watchman. The duties of a watchman included standing on the city's ramparts, watching for the coming of invaders, and quickly blowing a trumpet to warn the entire city of the onset of danger. Ezekiel's commission contained a sign of God's continued favor for His covenant people. No matter how great their sin, He would not abandon them entirely. Even in Babylonian exile, God gave Israel a "town crier" to warn them of dangers and summon them to action.

As "watchman," Ezekiel's task lay in two directions: to the "wicked" and the "righteous." Under the ministry of the prophets, the people were called to true repentance and to return to God. The call to repentance focused on God's covenant with them. But the deeper message of Ezekiel's calling was not simply to return people to the covenant of God but to return them to the God of the covenant.

These daily devotionals exist primarily to return believers to an ongoing personal relationship with God through His Word. The hope is that people would discover what it means to really KNOW Him and that they would share Him with others.

"The children are obstinate and hard-hearted. I am sending you to them and you must say to them: 'This is what the Lord God says'. Whether they listen or refuse to listen – for they are a rebellious house – they will know that a prophet has been among them. But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words, though briars and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. Don't be afraid of their words or be discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. But speak My words to them whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious." Ezekiel 2:4-7 (HCSB)

There is a trend spreading through the Church these days where there is a high concern that we do not offend non-believers with the "potentially offensive" aspects of the Gospel. The goal of such a congregation would be to stress only the positive aspects of salvation (love, acceptance, forgiveness), hence making Jesus more "attractive."

"Potentially offensive" aspects of the Gospel would include mankind's sinful hopelessness in our natural state, the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus alone, or the absolute authority of Scripture. And it would extend into social items like sexual sin and abortion. The articulated reason many professing believers stay away from such topics is that they do not want to offend people and thus hinder non-believers from entering into a saving relationship with Jesus. The lingering unasked question in such circles is: When we don't share the whole truth, are people actually entering into a saving relationship with Jesus, or are they simply choosing a convenient Jesus-themed option?

Ezekiel was commanded to share the whole truth and nothing but the truth and not worry about his audience's response. We would do well to heed God's directive to Ezekiel because God's character is unchanging; He might as well be talking directly to us. In that, we can hang our faith on the old saying: If we humiliate God's Word for fear of offending our fellow man, we have offended God. Put simply: Be more concerned with your responsibility to God than man's repose to you.

We are not judged by men's response to the Gospel, only by our faithfulness to preach it. To most people, Jesus is a "Rock of offense" (1 Peter 2:8, Romans 9:33), but He is also the Rock of salvation for many others…us included. You never know who will receive the Gospel or how much they will cling to it. We only know that we are commanded to share it. We should also remember that prophets were not popular men. Not only did they have an unpopular message, but they also had the added charge of speaking primarily to the religious establishment! Still, Paul placed "prophecy" as the most precious gift, one that we can and should seek out.

"Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you may prophesy." 1 Corinthians 14:1 (HCSB)

As you read the Bible, pray that God will reveal His Word and give you the boldness to share it!