Thurs.’s Devo - The Great Race

Read: Ezekiel 24:1-26:21; Hebrews 11:1-16; Psalm 110:1-7; Proverbs 27:14 It was the 10th day of the 10th month and God told Ezekiel to write that date down because on that very day the king of Babylon was beginning his attack against Jerusalem. To illustrate this, Ezekiel was to put a pot on the fire. He was to pour water in the pot and put pieces of the most tender cuts of the best sheep in it. Then he was to light the wood under the pot and boil the meat. He explained that Jerusalem was the pot whose corruption couldn’t be cleaned out. They were a city of murderers. Then he was to take the meat out in random order to illustrate the leaders who had murdered innocent children. Their blood would be scattered on the rocks to pay them back for not honoring the blood of the children they had murdered. Afterwards, he was to bury the bones and then empty the pot and let it continue to burn on the fire. The fire would not be able to burn out the impurities meaning that God had tried to cleanse them of their impurities but they had refused to repent. It was now time to judge the wicked for their actions. Then as an act of a better illustration, God told Ezekiel that his wife who he dearly loved would die the next day and that he was not to mourn her publicly or allow anyone to comfort him in his grief. This would be a picture of what would happen to them when they lost the ones that were dearest to them. They would not be allowed to mourn or bury their own children. Then God gave a message to Ammon. Because they had cheered when His Temple was defiled and had mocked and laughed when Judah went into exile, they would be destroyed completely and no longer be a nation. Moab said that Judah was just like all the other nations so they would be judged like Ammon. Edom would be wiped out because they came against Jerusalem. They would become a wasteland. The land of Philistia took bitter revenge against Jerusalem so God would take revenge against them. Tyre was a seaport that rivaled Jerusalem for trade. They had rejoiced when Jerusalem fell because they would now be the only trade route and get all of the trade for themselves. God would come and destroy the city of Tyre and it would become the prey of many nations. God would use Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon to do all of his destroying work. When Tyre fell, all the nations would tremble in fear. Tyre had been the great military giant of the world so when it fell, there would be no hope for the rest of the world. In Hebrews we learn that faith is believing in evidence and manifestation that is not yet in the physical realm. Chapter Eleven is the “hall of faith” where we read about some of the great men of faith. God had a reason why he named these particular men. The first is Abel. He is a type of Jesus who died and his blood still speaks from the ground. Abel’s blood speaks of vengeance but Christ’s blood speaks a better word of salvation and forgiveness. Enoch was a man who walked with God so closely, he was taken to heaven without having to die. He speaks of eternal life and the final victory over death. Noah is next and is a type of the perseverance and faithfulness of God. God carried Noah through the storm and the flood to the other side. He condemned the world and received righteousness by faith. Noah represents our passing through this life to the other side of death into heaven. Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home and going blindly to a land that he had no idea about. He is an example of our walk on earth while we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth even though we have no idea what it will entail. We follow the Holy Spirit as our guide just as Abraham did. Sarah was given faith to believe in an offspring and an inheritance that seemed impossible to have. She believed what God said about her inheritance even though it looked hopeless. All of these people died without seeing the fruit of their faithfulness in their lifetime. They saw it through their spiritual eyes and didn’t give up. They now see it from heaven and they see the fruit of their labors. They are our cloud of witnesses we will read in the next chapter. They are cheering us on to finish the race they started. Lord, thank you that we are a part of a blood line that started at the very beginning and we are just doing our part in the timeline. Help us to keep our eyes on the race and endure till the end.