S5: Day 252: Ezekiel 31–33

0:00Hey, you're listening to a year in the Bible with daily grace. This is Shelby and CJ and we're in the book of Ezekiel. Today, we're going to talk through chapters 31 through 33. Don't forget to subscribe and follow wherever you're listening or watching. CJ, chapters 31 through 33. We have been talking about these oracles against nations. It seems like those are continuing a bit throughout these chapters. Yep. So Egypt is still in focus and Ezekiel warns Egypt, reminding them of Assyria. Assyria was a world empire before Babylon, but even Assyria could not withstand Babylon when God told Babylon to destroy Assyria. So God says, if I could do that to Assyria, of course, I can do that to you. And again, it's a oracle against the nation saying that Egypt you've done evil and now Babylon is going to destroy you. So Babylon is still a tool in God's hands.

1:01But then we come to Ezekiel 33 and again, Ezekiel is called a watchman. If you remember, a watchman is a person who stands up in a high location and is looking out for danger and looking out for armies, you're going to come and attack them. And that's what Ezekiel is supposed to do and it's supposed to represent that judgment is coming and I, Ezekiel, I'm here to warn you of it. And in these chapters, we hear some really powerful things from God. In 3311, it says, God insists that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God does not want this to happen in other words and that they should turn from their wicked ways and pursue justice and righteousness. But yet it says in 3317 that these people say the way of the Lord is not right. So in other words, again, God is extending his hand out. Ezekiel is a watchman, extending mercy to people and people are saying God's way is not right. We want nothing to do with them. They remain hardhearted, which of course is the story of the Old Testament and the story of us, whether or not we'd like to admit it. And then this hardheartedness leads smoothly into Ezekiel 33, 21 through 33 where again,

2:07Jerusalem is described as being besieged again. So if you remember, we go all the way back to Ezekiel 24 before the oracles to the nations. We hear all about the oracles to the nations and then the besieging of Israel or of Jerusalem is picked back up here. And here it's described or here it describes how Jerusalem is finally taken. We've heard all of these warnings, all of these prophecies from Ezekiel, all of these crazy acts that Ezekiel has to do to convey his message to the people and it's finally happening. Jerusalem has been taken. Babylon has judged Israel. Babylon is also judging these other nations and God is in control of it all. And this means that after a decade plus of Ezekiel going on and on and on, God's word finally comes to pass. Yeah. I think even understanding that timeline is really helpful because we could just read it and think that this has been the span of weeks or months, but it's been much longer

3:07than that. Okay. What do we take away from these chapters? Have these applied to our lives today? Yeah. So it says again in chapter 33 that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. We see that God is constantly extending mercy. And as you said, when we think about Ezekiel having like a decade plus ministry of just extending mercy to people, warning them of coming judgment and how they constantly spurn him, I think that shows God's patience. You know, God being patient and kind and faithful. Those are all key words that we hear all the time as we think about the Old Testament as we read the Old Testament. We perhaps hear them preach to us on the Sunday morning, but I think here in Ezekiel, we actually see it in action over and over and over again. God is extending mercy to us people who just don't want to listen. And then ultimately that leads to exile. Ultimately, God's people are living in exile. And then hundreds of years later, this humble man is born of a virgin and is wandering around

4:10telling people again that the judgment of God is coming and the kingdom of God is here. And if you repent and believe and turn to me, well, you'll be saved and you'll take part of the kingdom of God. So again, even though we have all of these moments of judgment and it feels like it's the end because of the gravity of the situation in Ezekiel and Jerusalem's destroyed, God's still is extending mercy hundreds of years later and even today through his son, Jesus Christ. And I guess let us not be the people like those in Jerusalem who are unwilling to turn and to have faith in the Lord, but that we would say the Lord's ways are right and we want to follow Christ. Yeah. And I'm just going to build off of that a little bit. I think what really stuck out to me in these chapters are, you know, this siege has happened. Jerusalem has been taken in here. You see God affirming to Ezekiel, his call as a watchman.

5:12And so God is also in some way affirming his relationship with his people. I'm still speaking. I still want a relationship with you through this person that I have appointed to speak my words to you. And so I think we just see God's desire for an ongoing relationship with his people for redemption and restoration, even in the midst of a lot of judgment that we've been seeing here. And so just like you've said, that shows us God's mercy and his love toward his people. So okay, great. We are through Ezekiel 31 through 33 and we'll pick up chapter 34 tomorrow. Great.