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The Bible Breakdown
Ezekiel 33: The End or A New Beginning
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, ezekiel, chapter 33, and today's title is the End or a New Beginning the End or a New Beginning? Sometimes it's hard to tell right If something is ending or if it's just pivoting. And what we're going to see today is a pivot in the ministry of Ezekiel that changes everything else, and so we'll get into all that in just a second. So if you get your Bibles and you want to open them up with me to Ezekiel 33, if you want to go ahead and get out your coffee make sure it's nice and hot. We're going to jump into that. But if you're new here, make sure that you take a moment to like, share, subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast it really does help and make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion. There's some amazing people who are doing a wonderful job every day, and also we want to know from you if you have any questions. Is there anything that, when we read through that just does not make sense? I will admit to you, I by no means am able to get through all of this, and there's things I still don't understand. I'm still a learner, just like all of you, and so if you have questions and things you feel like that we didn't adequately cover in the chapters, please let us know. You can email us or you can put it in the comment section of the Bible Breakdown discussion and we would love to just grapple with that scripture with you because, man, the more we dig, the more we find. Well, once again, as we are jumping into this together, we want to make sure that we remember that the overall scope of Ezekiel is God's promise of renewal, and the idea behind this is is over the course of Ezekiel's ministry, he goes from just declaring judgment on everybody Everybody's going to die, everybody is so dead Until now he is done with Jerusalem, they have fallen, they have been exiled and now he's looking at the other nations that helped do it and he said you think I forgot about you Jokers. He's coming after them, but don't worry, we can see that it's turning. There's an amazing ending coming to Ezekiel. You just got to stay with me on this, and some of that is going to come from today, because today there is a shift that's going to happen and kind of a new title given to Ezekiel and that is the one of a watchman. And many scholars believe this is just a pivotal moment in Ezekiel's life where he's beginning to see his ministry a little differently, whereas before he was just casting judgment on everybody. God's mad and he's going to tell you about it. Well, now Ezekiel is going to see himself a little bit differently and I wonder if maybe some of us, if we could see our lives especially around those who don't know Jesus just a little bit differently, what it would do in our lives. So if you're ready for this, let's jump into this.
Speaker 1:Ezekiel 33, verse 1 says this Once again, a message came to me from the Lord, son of man. So hey, buddy, give your people this message. Now pause. Notice how many, many times when God would talk to Ezekiel, he would say give the nation of Israel this message all this good stuff. Well, in this one he actually says give your people this message. So he's helping Ezekiel to understand the dynamic that's shifting here. Okay, ready, here we go again. Verse two says son of man. So hey, buddy, give your people this message.
Speaker 1:When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. There's the word watchman. When the watchmen see the enemy coming, they sound an alarm to warn the people. And if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm, but they ignored it, so their responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn't. But if he sees the enemy coming and doesn't, but if he sees the enemy coming and doesn't sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their death. Now, son of man, hey, buddy, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them. For me, if I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die on their sins and I will hold you responsible for their death. But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent, they will die on their sins. But you have saved yourself.
Speaker 1:Son of man, give the people of Israel this message. You are saying our sins are heavy upon us and we are wasting away. How can we survive? Now listen to this. This is the part that gets missed by us so much. Here it is, verse 11. As surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord. I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn, Turn from your wickedness, o people Israel. Why should you die? So, in other words, what he is saying is he is saying don't forget. Yes, I'm talking about all this judgment. This is not what I desire. I want you to turn, please turn. You see here God just begging with them to turn.
Speaker 1:Son of man, verse 12. Give your people this message the righteous behavior of the righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin. Nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sin. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor's security, return what they have stolen and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is right and just and they will surely live. Your people are saying the Lord isn't doing what's right, but it is they who are not doing what's right. Your people of Israel, you are saying the Lord isn't doing what's right, but I judge each of you according to your deeds.
Speaker 1:Verse 21, on January 8th, so sometime later, during the 12th year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said the city has fallen. Now pause. Now remember, ezekiel has already been exiled. He's not in Jerusalem. But now, as the siege has happened and it's all been taken over and all the things that we saw in the book of Jeremiah, now the word has come to Ezekiel that all of it has come to pass and let's go from there. Verse 22. The previous evening, the Lord had taken hold of me and given me back my voice, so I was able to speak when this man arrived the next morning. Then the message of the Lord came to me.
Speaker 1:Son of man, the scattered remnants of Israel living among the ruined cities keep saying Abraham is only one man, yet he gained possession of the entire land. We are many. Surely. The land has been given to us as a possession. So tell these people this is what the sovereign Lord says. You eat meat with blood in it. You worship idols. You murder the innocent. You really think the land should be yours? Murderers, idolaters, adulterers, should the land belong to you? Say to them this is what the sovereign Lord says as surely as I live. Those living in the ruins will die by the sword and I will send wild animals to eat. Those living in the open fields, those hiding in forts and caves, will die of disease. I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them. When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the Lord.
Speaker 1:Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at their doors. They say to each other come on, let's go hear the prophet. Tell us what the Lord is saying. My people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words but have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words and their heart seeks only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don't act on it. But when all these terrible things happen to them, they will certainly will. Then they will know that a prophet has been among them. And so we have this moment where we see that God is telling Ezekiel I don't want this, I do not want this to happen, but I'm going to repay the nation of Israel for what their deeds deserve. And what a lesson for all of us.
Speaker 1:I've been around Christians who have thought one or the other like falling into one ditch or the other. On one ditch they say it doesn't matter what I do, it's all washed away, all the sins have been washed away, so I can do whatever I want to do. And you're right we are not saved by how perfect we are. We're saved by the perfection of Christ, and he washes away all of our sin, but we can still be judged. We can still have earthly judgment upon that. Let me give you an example. If you love Jesus with all of your heart but you rob a bank, you may still love Jesus with all your heart, but you just go into jail. You're going to have consequences. You're going to have to pay. Jesus is going to love you, but he's not going to keep you out of that jail. You can, on the other hand, you can, struggle with robbing that bank, but then, after you rob that bank, you may confess and you may ask for forgiveness from the Lord. He's going to forgive you of that sin, even if you still have earthly consequences.
Speaker 1:And that's one of the things I think we get all mixed up is we think that if we repent of our sin, then we don't have to face earthly consequences and we do. But on the other side of things, we think that because Christ has forgiven us, that what we do now in this life don't matter. Now that's where it gets a little bit sticky and it depends on what your background is. Some people think that God is up in heaven with the Lamb's Book of Life if you know what that is. And in the Book of Revelation we see that. And he's got a pencil and an eraser and every time you sin, he erases your name out and he puts it back. He erases it out, puts it back.
Speaker 1:So people live in fear that if I'm not perfect, god won't accept me. Here's the thing. Did your perfection save you? No, then it's not your perfection that will keep you. It is the finished work of Christ that saves us and it's the finished work of Christ that keeps us.
Speaker 1:However, there's the rub. The rub is that just because Christ has saved us does not give us a blank check to then do whatever we want, but rather now he has saved us from having to sin and we're able to live in freedom. And that's what God's word is saying right here is he's saying if you say one thing and do another, I'm going to judge you this earthly judgment based on your actions, not on your words, because words are cheap. Say whatever you want. People declare things all the time, but they never act differently from what they truly believe. So they're going to act a certain way and God's saying it's what you act. That's important. But what I love is when he comes back and he says. But I don't want that. I want to help you.
Speaker 1:So here's my question to you today, something maybe to think about and ponder, and that is this would you say that you tend to love the Lord with your words, but yet you follow something else, like like you love? You say you love Jesus, but do you live like you don't? Do you live like you don't drop my mic for a moment. You live like you don't. Do you live like you don't Drop my mic for a moment? Mic drop, that was so stupid. But do you say that man, jesus, you're my number one, I serve you, I honor you with all my life. There's nothing more important than you. All the good things. But then do you live like he's number four on your list?
Speaker 1:If so, it's time for course correction, because God doesn't care that much about our words. He's happy, he's thankful when we worship him. All those things, I mean. They're important, but what's more important is how we live, and so if you are living as though God is number one, then today's a day of celebration. God, I'm so thankful. I haven't always been this way, but you've helped me to course correct and so you are number one in my life and I celebrate that. But if he's not, it's a wonderful opportunity, because God doesn't want you to experience judgment, but he does want you to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you're with us and that you're for us and that you. Thank you, god, that you're with us and that you're for us, and that you, god, continually speak to us, continually lead us, because you want us to experience your life. I pray today, god, that you'll help us to dig deep and just ask ourselves the question am I just saying I follow God or do I follow you with all my heart, lord? Repentance is one of the best things we can do, because repentance isn't getting in trouble, it's finding freedom, and I pray we will find any of the freedom that we need. Today, in Jesus name, we pray Amen. And what God's word says in Ezekiel 34, verse 14, say it with me. I will put my spirit in you and you will live again. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Ezekiel, chapter 34.
