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The Bible Breakdown
Ezekiel 30: God Is In Control
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, ezekiel, chapter 30, and today's title is God is in Control. God is in Control. Even when things look like they are crazy and everything could be going wrong, and all the different things, god is in Control. As a matter of fact, I counted three. I want you to say that with me One, two, three. God is in control and we're just going to say that over and over again and we're going to learn about that today in God's word. So, if you have your Bibles, open up with me to Ezekiel, chapter 30. While you're doing that, as always, if you're new around here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. If you would like to receive these podcasts and videos and all that to your text messaging every day, you can text RLCBIBLE to 94000. Also, make sure you go into the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook, because we are diving into God's Word every day, doing an amazing job, and the more we dig, the more we find we're going to jump into Ezekiel, chapter 30. Remember, the overall goal of this is to remember God's promise of renewal and, as we've been talking about over the past several days, god's word in Ezekiel is starting to shift and turn from judgment on the nation of Israel to where now they are in the process of being restored and God is judging the enemies of Israel, and this is one of those. That is so very important, because we were telling you at the beginning of this journey through the book of Ezekiel that the book of Revelation is like. 68% of it is taken from the Old Testament, that's a majority of the book of Revelation, and one of the main books is the book of Daniel, the book of Isaiah and the book of Ezekiel. And so there are things that we, if you've ever read the book of Revelation, that we read through this and you go, you know that's kind of like Revelation. Well, it's the other way around. Revelation is kind of like Ezekiel.
Speaker 1:Ezekiel was the first one, because it's talking about the future glory of Israel and all that. And if you've ever read the book of Revelation chapter 6 through 18, god is judging the nations he's bringing. You know all of these different things on the nations, and there's a lot of people who look at Ezekiel 30 as the prototype for what John would be inspired by the Holy Spirit to write that. This is what it looked like for the very first time, and so, as we are kind of, we're going to be getting the book of Revelation pretty soon. This is what it's going to look like, but this is the very first time that we see this in the Bible this way. So, if you're ready, ezekiel, chapter 30, verse 1 says this this is another message that came to me from the Lord, son of man. So, in other words, buddy prophesy and give this message from the sovereign Lord Weep and wail for that day, for the terrible day is almost here, the day of the Lord. That is the day, or it is the day of clouds and gloom, a day of despair for all the nations. A sword will come down against Egypt and those who are slaughtered will cover the ground. Its wealth will be carried away and its foundations destroyed. The land of Ethiopia will be ravished. Ethiopia, libya, lydia and Arabia and all the other allies will be destroyed in that war, for this is what the Lord says all of Egypt and his allies will fall. The pride of her power will end From Migdal and Ashwan. They will be slaughtered by the sword, says the sovereign Lord, Egypt will be slaughtered by the sword, says the sovereign Lord. Egypt will be desolate, surrounded by desolate nations, and its cities will be in ruins, surrounded by the ruined cities. And all the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord when I have set Egypt on fire and destroyed all their allies. At that time, I will send swift messengers and ships to terrify the complacent Ethiopians. Great panic will come upon them on the day of Egypt's certain destruction. Watch for it. It is sure to come.
Speaker 1:But this is what the sovereign Lord says. By the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, I will destroy the hordes of Egypt. He and his armies, the most ruthless of all, will be sent to demolish the land. They will make war against Egypt until slaughtered Egyptians cover the ground. I will dry up the Nile River and sell the land to wicked men. I will destroy the land of Egypt and everything in it by the hands of foreigners.
Speaker 1:I, the Lord, have spoken. This is what the Sovereign Lord says. I will smash the idols of Egypt and the images of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken. This is what the sovereign Lord says. I will smash the idols of Egypt and the images of Memphis. There will be no ruler left in Egypt. Terror will sweep the land. I will destroy southern Egypt and set fire to Zoan. I will bring judgment against thieves and I will pour out my fury on Pelusium, the strongest fortress of Egypt. I will stamp out the hordes of Thebes. Yes, I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will be wracked with pain. Thieves will be torn apart. Memphis will live in constant terror. The young men of Helopius and Boistas will die in battle. The women will be taken away as slaves. I will come to break the proud strength. When I come to break the proud strength of Egypt, it will be a dark day for Thophanes too. The dark cloud will cover Thophanes, and its daughters will be led away as captives, and so I will greatly punish Egypt. And then they will know that I am the Lord.
Speaker 1:Then, on April 29th, during the 11th year of King Jehoiakim's captivity, this message came to me from the Lord, son of man or buddy. I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. His arm has been put in a cast so that it may heal. Neither has it been bound up with a splint to make it strong enough to hold a sword. Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says I am the enemy of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break both of his arms, the good arm along with the broken arm, and I will make his sword clatter to the ground. I will scatter the Egyptians to the many lands throughout the world and I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king and put my sword in his hand and I will break the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he will lie there mortally wounded, groaning in pain. I will strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon while the arms of Pharaoh fall useless to his sides. Wow, so it's gonna be a real bad day for Pharaoh. He's gonna have a broke arm and then God's gonna come along and break his other arm and he ain't gonna be able to hold a sword. That's messed up. And then he's talking about all these.
Speaker 1:Other things are going to happen, and this, for many theologians, look at this and say this is what the book of Revelation that the Holy Spirit may have been inspiring John to look back at, to write and just say that when the time of God's judgment comes, he's going to be in control, he's going to take care of things. Bad things are going to happen, but God is in control. What does that mean for all of us today? That is this Many times when bad things happen throughout our world, one nation goes to war against another, bad things happen. We wonder where God is God, are you not in control, god? Are you not moving? Are you not doing? And that can be difficult, because when one bad thing is happening to another, we wonder how is this going to come about for good? How is it possible that this devastation is? God is somehow in control, sovereignly of all of this, and it can shake our faith a lot of times because we see the bad but we don't see what's under it that God is doing.
Speaker 1:And in this chapter we see all this bad happening and it's happening to bad people because they did bad things with bad reasons. But if you're looking at it and it's not the holy spirit telling us this through the prophet ezekiel, but we're looking at it just in world history we're going man, what chaos, my goodness. It just seemed like everybody's just fighting everybody and nobody's getting out on top. They're all, they're all struggling. Well, the reality is, is that interweaving among this, there is a thread of god's will, orchestrating things. He's protecting his people, he's moving, but he's also causing judgment and justice to reign among all of these nations, and so what does that mean to us? That means God is in control.
Speaker 1:God is doing more than we can realize, and so many times when we look at bad things happening in the world, we have to be so careful not to immediately come to judgment and go. I don't see how God could be in that. God's not in that. I don't understand that. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there evil in the world? I can't trust God anymore. Maybe first of all, that's hard because we don't know everything. We have no way of knowing all that's going on, and so we really shouldn't have a judgment because we don't have all the facts. We don't know what God's doing. But on the other side, shouldn't we trust God by now? Shouldn't, at this point in our life, with the things that God has done, has God not earned our trust?
Speaker 1:I was thinking about that as I was putting this together together, and I was like you know, god, if it wasn't for us knowing this in the book of Ezekiel, if we were just looking at this in world history, how many of us would have come back and been like God. There is no way you were in any of that. It just seems as though everything is random and everything's just wrong. But then, as I look at the book of Ezekiel, I realized, wow, you are doing so much more than we would have ever given you credit for. But you know, we would have never given you credit for because we didn't know. And so it caused me to think and go how?
Speaker 1:Why is it that it's so easy for us to think you don't know what you're doing, to look back and go? All this bad is happening. Think you don't know what you're doing, to look back and go? All this bad is happening. I guess God doesn't know. But how many times, when we just waited a little while, have we looked back and went wow, apparently God does know exactly what he's doing, and that should help us to realize that if we're going through a season and we're looking out at the world, or we're looking at our own world, and it looks like chaos and just devastation is happening, it looks like God's nowhere near it. Maybe God is right in the middle of it. We just don't see yet what he's doing.
Speaker 1:And the question I would have for you is, instead of wondering where God is, instead of doubting God's faithfulness, instead of thinking, well, maybe God's not going to be faithful on this one, ask yourself the question hasn't God already done enough to earn our trust? To give him the benefit of the doubt just a little bit, because maybe he's proven himself at this point, just a little bit more. I think so, and if we do that, we have patience, we'll see that God is truly in control. Let's pray together right now, god, thank you so much. You're in control.
Speaker 1:That doesn't mean it's easy. That doesn't mean we don't have questions. It doesn't mean we have to just say God, I trust you because I don't understand that. But what it does remind us is no matter what we do or don't understand, it doesn't change your faithfulness. I celebrate right now, god, that you truly are in control, and though we hold to that and we trust you in that, in Jesus' name we pray amen, amen, amen. Well, say this with me. God's word says in Ezekiel 34, verse 14, here we go, I will put my spirit in you and you will live again. I pray you'll hold on to that promise and experience what true life is, real life in Jesus. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Ezekiel, chapter 31.
