"An Ugly Win" June 13 Readings: Ezekiel 19-24

Today's Reading - Ezekiel 19-24

Background

More vivid, graphic prophecies against Judah as the first main section of prophecies against God's people comes to an end.

Devotional - An Ugly Win

Wow, that's depressing, isn't it?

In chapter 22, God spells out the ongoing sin of Israel that caused all this judgment, then laid out one graphic onslaught of retribution after another. A fire. A sword of judgment. Jerusalem as a furnace in which God would burn off the dross of sin from his people. Two wicked sisters. A boiling pot of God's wrath poured out. And the sudden death of Ezekiel's wife.

Not an uplifting six chapters to read, is it?

On the surface, that would seem to be true, but in reality, you should draw great encouragement from these chapters. Unfortunately, you, like Judah, have a sin problem. You recommit yourself to God and then slowly drift back. That cycle can tend to repeat itself over and over again. It is depressing and sometimes we think we will never break free of the cycle of sin.

But look at what God said in Ezekiel 20:39.

As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to me, and you will no longer defile my holy name with your gifts and idols.

God doesn't judge the sins of his people because he hates them but because he is determined not to let sin win in their lives. No matter how much Israel sins, God is going to work in such a way that eventually his holy name will be honored among them and not defiled.

God doesn't let me run free in my sin because of his love for me. He rebukes me and even disciplines me - because he LOVES me. Because he desires the best for me. Because he is determined to defeat sin in me. God's holiness and his discipline are not depressing; they are signs of his victory, of his determination to win against our relentless sin.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord, for your grace and power, but also for your holiness and for your discipline, that works to defeat the fleshly nature in me. Win, Lord. Win!

Think and Pray!

Do you see the discipline and the holiness of God in negative terms?
Spend time meditating on the idea that God's discipline is evidence of his love and his determination to gain the final victory in us.