WEEP NOT

HOPELESS LOSS To spell out a clear warning, God uses all manner of threats to Israel.  He ties a tragedy in the life of Ezekiel when his wife dies to make a point.  For a loving God he has a heavy hand on his chosen people. Ezekiel 24 1 Again in the ninth year, in

SISTER WHORES

WILLFUL PROSTITUTION God has designated the children of Abraham as his chosen people.  He has cared for them as a God of love, only to be rejected by his unfaithful people.  They strayed during their captivity in Egypt, and now again with the idolatry and bad relationships with Assyria and the Babylonians.  God gives Ezekiel

THE REFINERY

COURSE CORRECTION God is not blind.  He saw the sin in Jerusalem and his messengers were ignored.  False prophets comforted false rulers and evil people even as they continued in great sin.  There is a way to get silver out of rocks and worthless metals.  God sends his fire to Jerusalem. Ezekiel 22 1 Moreover

REBELLION

REBELLION REPAID The king of Babylon left a puppet ruler in Jerusalem after he defeated Judah.  Gedaliah offered peace and prosperity to the Jews under Babylon but he had enemies.   Ishmael allied himself with the Ammonites and assassinated Gedaliah, his followers, and the Babylonian garrison.  The prophets had warned the Jews to submit to Babylon

TWO FACES

HAVE IT BOTH WAYS? Some “religious” leaders want to live like the world and still expect God to bless them.  Elders of Israel went to Ezekiel to learn what God would tell them even as they worshipped idols.  Be careful what you ask for.  Ezekiel 20 1 And it came to pass in the seventh