Tag: God’s throne

Are You An Accountable Watchman?

Ezekiel 1 – 4

Ezekiel 3 17 NIV sgl

 

The prophet Ezekiel was among the Jewish exiles taken to Babylon.  While there, he had amazing visions of God, which are recorded numerous times throughout the book of Ezekiel.  In chapter 1, we read about his first vision.  He started by describing four cherubim inside a fire in great detail, including each of the four faces per cherub, and what their feet looked like (not what you might expect), he went on to describe in detail what their wheels looked like. And that was just the introduction.  He then went on to describe God’s throne, sitting on a platform above the cherubim, and then he went on to describe the glory of God that he saw sitting on the throne.  If you want the details, you’ll have to read Ezekiel chapter 1.

 

During this encounter, God told Ezekiel that He was sending Ezekiel as a prophet to the people of Israel.  God told Ezekiel in 2:7, “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.”

 

Then, in 3:18-19, we read this, “17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”

 

Wait a minute.  Does verse 18 really say that God will hold Ezekiel accountable for the blood of the wicked if he doesn’t warn them?  Yes it does.

 

God demands obedience.  And there is always punishment for disobedience.  That disobedience can range from eating forbidden fruit in a garden, to doing things He prohibited, to not doing things He requires.  In this case Ezekiel is commanded explicitly to warn Israel to return to the Lord, and he is warned that if he disobeys, there will be consequences.  As we read throughout the rest of the book, we will find that Ezekiel obeyed faithfully, but it cost him dearly.

 

We have been given some similar commands.  Jesus told his followers to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”  In 1 Peter 2:9, we find, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

 

Remember, as we’re told in 1 John 2:4, “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

 

Will you obey?

Steve Mattison

 

P.s.  If you want the recipe for Ezekiel bread, please read chapter 4.  And while you’re there, please pay special attention to Ezekiel’s dining conditions.

Today’s Bible reading passage can be read or listened to at Ezekiel 1-4

Tomorrow’s reading will be Ezekiel 5-8 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Living Water

Revelation 22

Revelation 22 1 NIV

First off … Revelation 22 is so deep and glorious that I feel inadequate to even write a devotion about it.

The scene portrayed here as Pastor Jake talked about is the main point. This is what the  whole book of Revelation is pointing us to and even the entire  Bible.

The vision described  is magnificent and has a great implication on our lives in the here and now. Verses 1-2 point us to this river of life that is going through the middle of the thrones of God and Christ. Just imagine the throne of God on earth with his son seated next to him. Through the middle of these glorious, holy and spectacular thrones is a river flowing from it. The scripture says this river is bright like a crystal. Have you ever held a crystal in your hand? It’s a beautiful stone that has a certain awe-inspiring quality to it. Now, imagine a river with the same breath-taking quality flowing from the throne of God and Christ! When I imagine this scene, I see everything I hope for wrapped up before me. Imagining being in the presence of a holy God where I in my sinful flesh have no business being near and seeing this stream descending from them overwhelms my heart with gratefulness for the grace of God.

The river in this vision is feeding the Tree of Life. The same Tree of Life that we see in the beginning with Adam and Eve. The tree needs to be connected to this river simply to be alive. This tree is pretty crazy though because I don’t know about you but I have never seen a tree produce 12 different kinds of fruit. I have never even seen a tree produce two different kinds of fruit. There must be something special about this river that it has the capacity to produce twelve different kinds of fruit on one tree.

When we look at the tree and its fruit, we must conclude that without this river, this tree and its fruit would not exist.

When we examine our world today if a tree or plant doesn’t receive the water it needs it will die. There is even a great example of a plant dying from lack of water in my living room right now. It is a proven fact that trees need water.

In the same way so does the human soul. But not physical water, living water. The greatest mistake we can ever make in our lives is when we disconnect from this river that is flowing from God and Jesus. Sometimes we think that the busyness of our lives doesn’t allow us to spend time with God on a daily basis. We think that today I don’t have time to spend with or connect to the river or well that never runs dry. The tendency is to think that I can skip a day or a week and still be fine. We think “After all I’m still doing fine” and its only when we are hurting that we run to God.

We were made for so much more than just existing, though. We, like this tree, were made magnificently to produce multiple different kinds of fruit. I feel like personally I short change myself and my whole existence when I don’t go to the river and well to fill my soul. When we go to God or the river we can allow ourselves to be changed from the inside out by God. Then we start to produce in hearts and in souls this natural fruit  that can come from nowhere else but God. This fruit externally manifests itself in the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5.22-24).

In verses 3-5 it talks about how God will be the light of the world and there will no longer be need of lamps or a sun. God isn’t dwelling on the earth yet; instead, he is allowing us to be the lights in this world. The only way this happens in our lives is through this connection to living water. We simply cannot be the lights in this world without the connection to these waters of life.

So, I encourage you and I frankly am encouraging myself to stay connected to these waters and don’t let the days go by without connecting to God. When we do, we will become the people God created us to be with lives that shine lights reflecting the God we serve.

Daniel Wall