July 27, 2011
SIN COMES AT A PRICE
Ezekiel 25
Brad Copeland
Central Truth
Our holy God hates sin, and there will be judgment and consequences for our sins.
Key Verse | Ezekiel 25:7
"[T]herefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and I will give you for spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands; I will destroy you. Thus you will know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 25:7)
Ezekiel 25
Prophecy Against Ammon
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon 1 25:5 Hebrew and the Ammonites a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Prophecy Against Moab and Seir
8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir 2 25:8 Septuagint lacks and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ 9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Prophecy Against Edom
12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.
Prophecy Against Philistia
15 Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”
Dive Deeper | Ezekiel 25
Ezekiel was a prophet some 600 years before Jesus hit the scene. A "street preacher" who walked the streets of Babylon for 22 years, he obediently spoke the word of the Lord, delivering His message of judgment and salvation and calling people to repent and obey.
In chapter 25 Ezekiel turns his attention to the pagan nations surrounding Jerusalem. They were gloating about the fall of Jerusalem and mocking God as weak and unable to defend His "chosen people." This did not sit well with God. They soon learned that God is all-powerful and, because of their sins against God and His people, they were wiped from the face of the earth.
Ezekiel lived in a tumultuous time. People were straying from God; they were suffering from growing moral decay, selfishness, and idolatry. Sound familiar? The words and warnings of Ezekiel are equally pertinent today.
My oldest son is a computer whiz. He knows how to create iPhone apps using a computer language called Objective C. It may take him 20 pages of code, but he tells the computer what to do, and it does it (the debugging process notwithstanding). Unlike computers, however, human beings present an unique challenge. They have independent wills and must choose to submit to whatever authority is over them. Those choices bring consequences, good or bad. God takes no delight in disciplining His children, just as I take no delight in disciplining mine. But without discipline and correction, our sin nature pulls us further from a relationship with God and with one another. Hebrews 12:11 says, "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."
Sin comes at a price. I know the sin in my life cost my Savior His life. He died that I may have abundant life! For that I'm eternally grateful.
Ezekiel tells us that God did judge His people and the pagan nations around them. But there was hope for them in turning back to God, and there is hope for us today in turning back to Christ!
Discussion Questions
1. What has the sin in your life cost you? Have you thought about how that sin may lead to other sin if left unchecked?
2. What have you learned from the consequences of that sin, and what can you do to make sure you don't suffer the same consequences again?
3. Who is a spiritual mentor in your life? Are you learning and receiving from him/her and putting that wisdom into practice daily?
4. How can you take what you've learned and experienced and encourage others to live a life honoring Christ?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
EZEKIEL 23-27 (JULY 25-29)
Read Ezekiel 27:1-11.
What did Tyre believe about itself in the second half of verse 3? Tyre was consumed with itself, and its people had become prideful. God is sending them a message through the prophet Ezekiel about their pride.
Read Proverbs 16:18.
What does God say about pride? What does pride look like? What does it mean to have pride in yourself? Your looks? Your gifts?
Read Psalm 10:4.
What does pride keep you from doing? Why is this sin and disobedience?
ACTIVITY: As a family, make a big list of things that people take pride in. Think about famous people, talented people, beautiful people, etc. What are the top three you struggle with most? Now, take time to go through each one on the list. Think about what will happen to these things in the future. Why should you not put your worth and pride in these things? Think about getting older, looks going away, strength decreasing, etc.
Now read Psalm 139:13-14, 2 Peter 1:3-4, and 1 Corinthians 12. What do these passages tell us about who made us? Who gives us what we need to accomplish His work? Who gave us the gifts and talents that we have? Can we have pride in anything that we do or should all the glory go to God?