Mon.’s Devo - God is Our Hope

Read: Ezekiel 23:1-49; Hebrews 10:18-39; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 27:13 Ezekiel gives a very graphic description of Israel and Judah comparing them to prostitutes. Samaria, capital of Israel, had so admired the uniforms of the Babylonians. She not only admired their uniforms and the men who wore them but she lusted after their gods. She had never lost her love for Egypt’s gods when Moses led her out of Egypt. *** So, God turned her over to the gods of the Babylonians. Their gods called for the sacrifice of their children. They ended up captured by the Babylonians. *** Judah watched what happened to Israel and instead of turning away, they followed in her footsteps, even worse. Judah had solicited the Babylonians as an ally when Egypt was attacking them. Then they stopped paying Babylon their tribute, so Babylon came to attack with vengeance. Then, Judah went running to Egypt for help against the Babylonians. They never thought to ask for God’s help. What happened to Israel would happen to them. They would be captured by Babylon. *** God told Ezekiel to call out their sins. Their idolatry had caused them to murder their own flesh and blood and to worship their gods. They would offer their children as sacrifices to Molech then go into the Temple to worship God. God was disgusted with their worship. *** God said that righteous people would judge the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem for their adultery and murder. They will be turned over to be terrorized and plundered. They would be butchered with swords and their homes burned. In Hebrews, we learn that there no longer a need for a sacrifice since Jesus completed that on the cross. So, since we now have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, we can come boldly into the presence of the Lord. The blood of Christ cleansed our consciences and made us clean. We are to think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. To do this we must not neglect meeting together. If we deliberately continue sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice to cover our sins. The punishment for that will be great. God will take revenge and judge his own people. *** We must endure till the end so that we can receive our great reward. We must remain the faithful ones whose souls will be saved. *** Lord, may we with confidence stand firm against all the deceitful wiles of the enemy. May we turn to you every time we are afraid or confused. You are the stable rock in which we have salvation and life.