Skip to content The Unchanging Pattern of Humanity's Disobedience - Ezekiel 20 Apr 2 · 13 min ...more
The Unchanging Pattern of Humanity's Disobedience - Ezekiel 20
April 2, 2025 · 13 min
Understanding the significance of God's name through His interactions with Israel, and how it applies to our worship and obedience.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand April 2, 2025 · 13 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Understanding the significance of God's name through His interactions with Israel, and how it applies to our worship and obedience. ...more Show the full description Show less Understanding the significance of God's name through His interactions with Israel, and how it applies to our worship and obedience.
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Ezekiel's Message and God's Name 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, we're reading a very powerful passage of scripture, Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 44. Then you should know that I am the0:21 lord when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, oh house of Israel, says the lord God. Now Ezekiel provides the,0:33 the date of this encounter that he has with the elders of Israel. It's the seventh year of their captivity in Babylon, 2 years after Ezekiel had been called into the ministry. This would have put the encounter roughly0:45 around 5 90 BC, just a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem in 5 86. Now the leaders of Israel most likely were those that were in captivity,1:00 Jerusalem. They come to Ezekiel inquiring of the Lord saying, hey. What's going on here? Well, as we read, the Lord basically says, I don't wanna hear from them. He says he will no longer hear their1:12 insincere, nonrepentant inquiries. However, the lengthy chapter makes clear why the judgment finally came in, by way of reviewing1:24 the different periods of Israel's history. First, when they were in Egypt, then the journey from Egypt, then the wilderness, and then when they went into the promised land all the way to the present time that Ezekiel was1:35 giving this word. And what we see here is a pattern, direction by the Lord, disobedience by the people, delay in God's judgment, and then destruction coming by their own design.1:48 Now let me just say this. This is not unique to the children of Israel. This is the pattern of mankind. I'll also point out a couple of things along the way that I think are really important principles that we find in1:59 this chapter. And I wanna make sure we grasp these because of the powerful truths that we see here that we need to understand and utilize. Okay? That's a part of this journey is the application2:11 of God's word to our lives. That's 1 of the things we pray for each and every day as we are on this journey. Verse 3 of chapter 20 of Ezekiel. Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, thus says the Lord2:23 God, have you come to inquire of me? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them?2:34 Then make known to them the abominations of their fathers. So here's where the history lesson begins. It starts with Egypt, verse 5. Say to them, thus says the Lord God, on the day when I2:46 chose Israel and raised my hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised my hand in an oath to them saying, I am the Lord your God. On that2:58 day, I raised my hand in an oath to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all the lands. So 3 times3:10 we see this description of God as a promise maker and a keeper. I raise my hand in an oath to them. Now here's what God required of them in order to be a required of them in order3:22 to be a people of their of his favor. Verse 7, then I said to them, each of you throw away the abominations which are before his eyes and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the lord your god.3:34 But they rebelled against me and would not obey me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, I will3:46 pour out my fury on them and fulfill my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. So here we see this pattern beginning, God's direction, their disobedience. Then now pay close attention to this next3:58 verse, verse 9. But I acted for my name's sake that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made myself known4:10 to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt. So here we see the delay in judgment. Why? Well, we've seen this before, but this is a profound truth that we need to understand4:22 and we need to operate under. God acts for the sake of his name. Now the Lord made this clear when he revealed his commandments that his name is not just another4:33 name. Look at verse Exodus 20 chapter 7. You shall not make you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Now understand,4:46 when when we're talking about god's name, we're talking about more than just a name. It's like, you know, like like Tony. Okay? You you probably know several people named Tony. You know me by that name, but that name4:57 does not reveal who I am. There there are 16 at least 16 different names for god, and there's many more titles. The names of god are the total of his5:09 perfect perfect character and his nature, and he is jealous for his name. He is jealous for his nature. He is jealous for his character. And and I was just thinking that this weekend,5:21 I was at a church service, with, Bucky Kennedy in Georgia, a a good friend, and and and they were singing a praise song, worthy of your name. And I just as I was reading5:33 through Ezekiel chapter 20, that that passage or this the lyrics of this song came to mind. You are my author, my maker, my ransom, my savior, my refuge, my hiding place. You are my helper,5:45 my healer, my blessed redeemer, my answer, my saving grace. You are my hope in the shadows, my strength in the battle, my anchor for all my days. You stand by my side, and you stood in my place,5:57 Jesus, no other name. You're worthy of the name. You see, god's name is special. Remember how Moses appealed to God based upon his name, his reputation,6:09 and his promises in Exodus 32? And even before Moses, you go back to Genesis chapter 18, and Abraham appealed to God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah based upon6:20 God's reputation. You see, our most powerful and effective prayers to God are based upon his name, which describes who he is. It's a very powerful,6:32 understanding of biblical truth of how God acts and how we appeal to god based upon his name, his character, who he is. Alright. Back to Ezekiel. Let's look at verse 10. Therefore,6:45 I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness, and I gave them statutes and showed them my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. Now did you catch that? Here's another6:57 truth we need to grab a hold of. And I gave them my statutes and showed them my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. As with much of scripture, almost all of7:08 it, especially in the Old Testament, it has both a spiritual eternal application as well as a temporal application. Now as Paul wrote, we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The law of7:20 God, can't save us. Alright? It convicts us of our sin, but it can't save us. Our salvation is through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. However, the moral law of God7:32 established at creation is really kind of a, quote, unquote, secret to successful living. Just last week, right, the Tennessee legislature advanced legislation that if it7:44 becomes law would require schools in the state of Tennessee to teach that the keys to a8:00 happen? Marry, then have kids. Wow. Profound. Where'd that idea come from? Well, we find life in acknowledging we find that life, that success,8:12 that abundant life in acknowledging and living by the truth of God. Even those who don't know God, if they live according to the principles of God, they will enjoy a higher measure8:24 of success, temporarily, not not not spiritually, not eternally. That comes only through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Alright. Verse 13, yet the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did8:36 not walk in my statutes. They despised my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. And they greatly defiled my sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them in the wilderness to consume8:48 them. But I acted for my name's sake that it should not be profane before the Gentiles in whose sight I had brought them out. Verse 15, so I raised my hand and9:00 an oath to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands, because they despised my judgments and did not walk in my statutes,9:09 but profaned my sabbaths for their hearts went after their idols. Nevertheless, my eyes spared them from destruction. There's a delay in destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness, but I9:21 said to their children in the wilderness, do not walk in the statutes of your fathers nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. Jump to verse 21. Notwithstanding, the children9:33 rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to observe my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. But they profaned my Sabbath, then I said I9:45 would pour out my fury on them and fulfill my anger against them in the wilderness. Verse 25. Therefore, I also gave them up to statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live. Alright.9:57 Now here is the destruction by their own design. Alright? Finally, god just said, okay. That's what you want. Live by your own law. Well, god gave them up to their own statutes10:09 and judgments, their own rules. And this is just what we read in Romans chapter 1. God gave them up to their own destruction. I mean, how else do you explain what is written here in verse10:20 26? And I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts and that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire that I might make them desolate that they might know that I am10:32 the lord. You see, in our disobedience is our own destruction. And and as you go down this path and the heart becomes hardened and the corruption,10:44 the the the moral compromise leads to corruption, and and then we see the destruction that follows place follows in in its place. Now the same pattern is repeated over and over,10:56 but through the through the power of the Holy Spirit and the word of God, we can break this pattern. It doesn't have to be repeated. So I I I encourage you, in this this is there's so much good stuff in this11:08 chapter, chapter 20 of Ezekiel. Number 1, grab a hold of the name of God and what that means as we pray and intercede even for our family, for our communities, and for our nation, and for the world.11:21 And the truths of God's word, if we will follow them, we will live by them. Life is in the word of God. Father, we thank you for your word. Lord, it is life. It is life to11:33 us. We thank you for the salvation that we have through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the guidance we have through your word. And we thank you for your name. And, lord, we lift up your name, and we worship you,11:44 and we praise you, and we ask all of this in the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name. Name. In his name, we pray. Amen. Alright. Let me just remind you, this Saturday is our monthly11:56 stand on the word bible reading, stand on the word bible study, in person gathering. It's the first Saturday of Saturday of every month. We'll we'll actually gather at our facility in, Baton Rouge. Now I know12:08 some of you, obviously, many of you can't get there, and I've gotten messages, from those who can't be here saying, hey. Could could you do this, online? Well, starting this Saturday, it will12:20 be on the Stand Firm app. Only on the app. But if you'd like to join us, it's 7 o'clock central time, and you can, participate via the Stand Firm app.12:32 We'll begin at 7 PM central. That's 8 o'clock eastern time. And, but if you'd like to join us in person, if you're in the Baton Rouge area, just email me tony at tony perkins dot com. Again, that's this12:44 Saturday, the Stand on the Word monthly Bible study. Until next time, keep standing on the word.12:53 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:05 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Ezekiel's Message and God's Name
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