Ezekiel 12:15; 11:17

Ezekiel 12:15, 11:17 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. Ezekiel was the witness to God’s judgement upon his rebellious children, Israel. Ezekiel saw wicked King Jehoikin murdered and all of the people let away in chains. But as the Babylonians moved the Israelites to this country and that, Ezekiel was encouraged. For God had promised him that Israel would once again be gathered back into the land which God had promised to them. And God did. In 1948, Israel once again became a free country fulfilling God’s promise to Ezekiel! It took a long time, but God fulfilled that which He promised. A good lesson for us too. God will do what He promises!

Ezekiel 11:12

Ezekiel 11:12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. Sometimes we can know that God is really God when we mess up. Because when we mess up, God doesn’t let us get away with it. God is not only faithful to take care of us, God is faithful to correct us when we need it. We can depend upon God – when we obey and when we don’t obey. But always remember, God loves us. As the second verse of Jesus Loves Me goes,

          Jesus loves me when I’m good;

             When I do the things I should,

          Jesus loves me when I’m bad,

             Though it makes Him very sad.

Ezekiel 2:3,7,8

Ezekiel 2:3,7,8 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth … Well, this is a tough way to begin the book of Ezekiel. But the whole book of Ezekiel is a hard book. Ezekiel was a prophet in Israel just as the Babylonian army was sweeping over the country. Israel had been a rebellious nation, and God had to punish them. God allowed Israel to be taken into captivity and their king murdered. The capital of Jerusalem was defeated and the beautiful temple destroyed. And God sent Ezekiel to remind the people why these terrible things were happening: God was punishing them because of their rebellion against Him. Wow! That was a hard lesson for them to learn! And that is a hard lesson for us to learn. We should listen to God and obey Him. Let’s not be like Israel and disobey God; let’s obey God.