Posts with the tag “ezekiel”

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 47--Verse 12And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.It is believed that the water contained by the banks on eit...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 45—Verse 9bPut away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness.“Justice” is a funny thing. Consider this example: one man wrongs his neighbor. The wronged neighbor takes the perpetrator to court. If “justice” is served, the wronged man would be made whole and the perpetrator would be punished in an appropriate manner that fit the crime. The wronged...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 44--Verse 23They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common.You will hear well-meaning people exclaim “holy cow.” It’s typically an innocent phrase spoken in jest. But do those two words even go together? Sometimes we need to be taught (or at least reminded) that there is a difference. The word “holy” denotes that something is unique and utte...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 41--Verse 4And he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”Before Jesus came to be “God among us,” only priests could approach God. No one else could go past the veil into “the Most Holy Place.”When Jesus died, the veil was torn in two. Then He sent the Holy Spirit to help us walk out our faith.  We don’t serve a God who is far off—He is near to us. Anyone can speak ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 40—Verse 4And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”The prophets in the Old Testament had to share what they were hearing from God and sometimes he had them doing th...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 37--Verses 1-3The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”I replied, “Lord God, only you know.”Does your heart ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 36--Verse 23And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.Although God sent judgment on the nation of Israel for their sins, destroying their people, the...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 34—Verse 23And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.Oh this is beautiful! Do you know who God is talking about? “My servant David” – King David had already lived and died but this is referring to the promised heir of David – none other than Jesus! Isn’t it a funny coincidence that this...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 31--Verse 18Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below.It’s hard to argue against success because after all, it's working. So, people can get away with near murder just as long as it brings results. But, as we can see in chapter 31, worldly acclaim has a relatively short...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 29--Verse 3Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’Egypt had many encounters with God in their history, but they always rejected Him. Not only were there many gods, but they saw their Pharaoh as a deity. When Pharaoh claimed He was the creator of the N...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 28—Verse 24And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.Israel has a long history of wars and oppression. They’ve been captured multiple times, often because they were stubborn and disobedient. Even though they treat ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 25—Verse 3Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God: This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile...’Israel failed in their relationship with God. They followed other gods, they didn't follow the law-...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 23--Verses 48-49Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.In the biblical books written by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, we see so much prophecy of judgm...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 22--Verse 30And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.What does this mean? Well, in ancient times they build walls around their cities for protection from wild animals and attackers. If there was a “breach” or a gap in the wall, then there was a weakness...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 20--Verse 1Certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. Do you ever wonder what it’s like to preach a sermon? For certain ones to sit there in quiet desperation wondering if there might be a word of the Lord for them? It’s a daunting task and a heavy responsibility to have people sit before you. But this doesn’t just happen behind a ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 18—Verse 32For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.Even after all their wickedness, God still offered His people forgiveness if they turned from sin and chose right living. Eventually God made a way for all to be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus. Romans 3:23b says, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glor...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 16—Verses 62 and 63I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 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.After all this unfaithfulness, God still atones for Israel. After they go chasing idols God forgives them....  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 14--Verse 6 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your detestable things.’Israel had been in relationship with God for a long time. As a nation, they had seen God do amazing things. They had celebratory feasts to remember all God’s works.Still, they forgot, and began ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 12--Verses 27-28Son 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.’ 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.Throughout Scripture, there are many promises and pro...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 9—Verse 4And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”Those with the mark were spared. Why? Because living in a city surrounded by people who did not follow the God, people who were committed to false gods, or no god at all, broke t...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 7--Verse 26They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. In any healthy and functioning community there will be multiplicity of voices. Some will provide vision, others will offer instruction, and others still will give us counsel. But never is it one-stop shopping. No one person has all the goods. And there i...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 6—Verse 8-9aYet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive…Israel had abandoned God to serve false gods. They preferred serving something powerless over putting in the work it t...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 3—Verses 17 and 18Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If 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, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his bl...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Ezekiel 2--Verses 1-2He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.Have you ever noticed how powerful spoken words are? We can read words, understand them, and even write them, yet when they are spoken aloud, there's an extra oomph to them. An extra zing...  Read More