Ezekiel’s vision concludes in its fourth chapter as God reveals to him those who will die for their rebellion (Judah’s leaders), and then He promises to restore the loyal remnant from where they have been scattered.
” ‘ …”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.” And… they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone… and give them a heart of flesh, 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. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things… I will bring their deeds upon their own heads…’ ” (v17-21 abr)
God’s heart is to correct and restore His people. Only those who, our of their own freewill, refuse to be corrected, will receive the full consequences of their sin.
In scripture we hear the phrase “I will be their God” approximately 43 times. It’s pretty clear that God wants to be in relationship with His people, yet we keep turning away from Him (‘our hearts go after detestable and abominable things’).
Let’s perform a heart checkup today and ask for the Spirit’s help in discerning what / who we are pursuing, and ask for help in altering our priorities if God / Jesus is not our primary pursuit.
Father God, our Majestic King and Everlasting Lord, You alone are worthy of our utmost pursuit. Please guide us through Your Spirit’s leadership and Jesus’ heart so that we may pursue You first and foremost. Please open our eyes to anything that distracts us from seeking You, and help us to lower that priority, so You have the highest place of honor in our hearts. May all other pursuits be made in alignment and partnership with You, pursuing only those things which bring You honor and build up our neighbors’ faith in You. May we seek You with our whole hearts throughout each day, and also seek to build strong relationships with others, so Your Spirit may minister to them through us. In the name of Jesus our Savior and Friend, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training