The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Ezekiel 17-20
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 8: Exile: God Disciplines His People
Background Information: Ezekiel 17-20
In Exodus 20 God said that he visits “the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.” Ezekiel himself taught that the current and coming suffering of the exile was the result of the sins of generations of God’s people. Now he seems to be contradicting the principle that children pay for the sins of their fathers. He challenges their use of the parable where a dad eats a sour grape and the child’s face contorts in response. He isn’t contradicting it; he is giving the balancing truth. The truth that the innocent suffer for the sins of the guilty had become an excuse for passive determinism. They reasoned that if they were going to suffer because of the sins of the past, what is the use of obeying in the present? If exile was inevitable, then why obey God? What good does it do to make good choices today if it won’t change outcomes? Ezekiel gives the balancing truth here. Yes, children do suffer because of their parents’ sins, but God does not hold the children accountable for those sins. Each life, individually, belongs to God. To hide behind fatalistic determinism means that the sins of the past continue to be repeated in the present. Yes, life was going to be much harder because of the people’s past sins, but God continued to offer the path of a thriving life to all who would repent and obey. This thriving life would take place in Babylon as part of God’s will, but life inside God’s will would still be a choice that all could choose to make. What has happened in the past is in the left column. The left column are things that impact our lives, but we have no control over. What others do is also left column. What we do today is in the right column. The right column is where we have agency, or opportunity to make choices that impact our lives. What others do certainly can impact our lives. But what others do never take away the opportunity we have to obey God and to live within his will for our lives today.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for God to refresh Rick & Amelia as they visit family here in the U.S. Pray for God to provide a visa for them to be able to return to Central Asia.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.