26 June (Ezekiel 1-4)

Ezekiel was a prophet during the time of the seige of Jerusalem by Babylon. He was from the tribe of Levi, so he could have been a priest, but God called him to be a prophet, and to speak to His people.

At this time, there were many false prophets who were promising the people that Jerusalem wouldn't be destroyed, and that they would be able to return in a few years. The people wanted this ordeal to be quick (who wouldn't) but as with life, God has specific plans for us, and sometimes that means we must endure hardships for longer than we want.

Like the other prophets of his time, Ezekiel wasn't liked since his messages were about repentance or there would be judgment. Like we see today, people just want the nice things about life and God, and they don't want to actually repent and let Him be our LORD.

Ezekiel 1

(v.3) Ezekiel was a priest, but God called him to serve as a prophet. This makes me think of the many times I thought I was supposed to be something, but God had other plans! I pray I'm more like Ezekiel, and I listen to what God wants me to do for Him!

(v.10) These angelic beings are called Cherubim...which Lucifer, Michael and Gabriel are as well. These are the mighty angels, and they serve the LORD continuously...except for Lucifer!

I point out to my girls that we need to study these cherubim, since the four faces represent the four themes of the Gospels in the New Testament:

Lion - Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah - Matthew

Ox - Jesus as the Servant - Mark

Man - Jesus as the Word in the flesh - Luke

Eagle - Jesus as God- John

I also show my kids that these same images are represented in Rev 4:7

Ezekiel 2

(v.5) We need to remember this...it's our job to speak of God's love in the Gospel, and let God do the converting. We are only to plant seeds and let the Spirit do the watering and nurturing. Testify to your family and friends, and let God do the rest.

(v.6) Our biggest enemy when witnessing is ourselves...we let Satan tell us that we aren't equipped or holy enough to share God's Word. We all fall to this from time to time, but if we pray and let the Spirit give us the words, then we'll be doing His will when we witness.

Ezekiel 3

(v.8) Does your pastor speak from the Word? Does he focus on it, or just read one verse and tell anecdotes? God's Word is sufficient, and the best thing a pastor can do is just point out things or clarify things.

(v.15) In order to witness or do missionary work, we need to be amongst the people God is having us witness to. To me, this means we are to witness to friends, family and coworkers, since we are in the same life experiences for the most part. From there, we can then go and witness to strangers or in missions.

(v.16) Are we watchmen or watchwomen of God's Word? Do we look at God's Word and compare it to current events, and share with our family and friends? We aren't supposed to predict things, but we can point out where God's Word is manifesting itself right before our eyes!

Ezekiel 4

My kids thought this chapter was funny, since God had Ezekiel do some strange things. It's strange if we don't know the culture of the time, and if we don't look deeper into the imagery of what God is showing us.

The Bible is to be taken literally, but obviously, if there is imagery or metaphors, then we see the pattern of what God is showing us. When we see this, the Bible comes alive to us, and we understand more what God is saying to us.