Punishment

Scripture:

Ezekiel 21:24 "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'Again and again you remind me of your sin and your guilt. You don't even try to hide it! In everything you do, your sins are obvious for all to see. So now the time of your punishment has come!'"

Observation:

God is speaking to Israel in this passage. They had a covenant between them and they were never living up to their end of the covenant. They continued to serve other gods, worship idols, and everything else their covenant told them they couldn't do. Here God tells them that they don't even try to hide the fact that they are unfaithful. They are blatantly sinning against God and now He must punish them for it.

Application:

A covenant is a powerful thing, but there are terms to a covenant. If one party doesn't live up to their end, the contract is broken. Israel never seemed to live up to their end of God's awesome covenant with them. Finally God would judge them and bring punishment. Many people see God as a mean God because of scriptures like this, but we must understand His purpose was to bless them, but they wouldn't follow the covenant so He could. It is like a parent who tells their child the consequences of certain behaviors beforehand. When the child disobeys and the consequences are enacted, the child can't say the parents are mean. They knew the consequences beforehand, yet chose to disobey. We can't blame God for punishing sin. He wants to bless us, but our actions have consequences. We must point the finger at ourselves and not at a holy God.

Prayer:

Lord, Your word is so amazing! Thank you for sharing this with me today. You are not a mean God who punishes His people, rather, a loving God who has people who make wrong choices. Teach me to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. I desire to follow you well and live in Your blessing!

Yours,
Jeff