Maranatha Grace Church

Outline:

The Prophet's Call, Ch. 1--3

Prophecies Against Jerusalem, Ch. 4--24

Prophecies Againts the Nations, Ch. 25-32

Prophecies of the Final Restoration of Israel, Ch. 33--48

Ungers's Bible Handbook

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 20 Ezekiel 1, 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁷ You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

⁹ Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, ¹⁰ which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. (Ezekiel 2:7-10)

Suppose for a moment that you could gain perfect knowledge of anything  just by eating a book written about that subject, what would it be if you had only one chance. I want to think that I’d select the Bible, since this is the only eternal knowledge. God gave Ezekiel a scroll (a book) to eat in order to fill him with knowledge of his words. For God nothing is impossible, what it could take you years to learn, God can teach you in a minute.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 21 Ezekiel 3, 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

³ Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. (Ezekiel 3:1-3)

We must eat the word of God, which means that God’s word, the Bible must become part of our life. Ezekiel 3 reminds us of Deuteronomy 8:3, “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 22 Ezekiel 5, 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁸ “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. ⁹ Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. ¹⁰ And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them. (Ezekiel 6:8-10)

The people died because they lacked a true understanding of who God is. God is the Lord. We learn from the judgment of the people of Israel not to repeat their mistakes. Repentance is the first step toward forgiveness.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 24 Ezekiel 9, 10 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ⁴ and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” (Ezekiel 10:3-4)

In Ezekiel 10 we see the glory of the Lord slowly departing rom the temple. The temple without the glory of the Lord was nothing but an expensive beautiful building which was about to be completely destroyed.  The glory of Lord makes the difference between God’s people and the world. His seal, the Holy Spirit, distinguishes the redeemed from the unsaved. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 25 Ezekiel 11, 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁸ “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. ¹⁹ I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. ²⁰ Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:18-20)

Every spiritual accomplishment is a gift of grace. It is the Lord who gives to his people an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them. Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Mankind cannot change his heart, naturally he is in rebellion against God. But God always make the first step toward man. He is willing to remove from humanity a heart of stone to give them a heart of flesh which is very sensitive to the things of God, and very submissive to follow God’s decrees.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 26 Ezekiel 13, 14 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ “‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, ¹¹ therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. ¹² When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” (Ezekiel 13:10-12)

We say thank you to God for giving his only Jesus to die on the cross for us. In gratitude we serve God out of love not out of fear,  because God’s wrath has been poured out on Jesus on Calvary so we can live. What we deserved Jesus took on himself. The false prophets in Jeremiah's time  announced peace when there was no peace, there announcing a lie.  But we can announce peace, telling the truth, because Jeus, the Prince of Peace has come.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 27 Ezekiel 15, 16 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁴⁹ “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

Generally, people think that God punished Sodom and Gomorrah because of sexual immorality practiced by the inhabitants of these two cities. There is some truth on that line of thinking, but here the word of God explicitly says that their sin was that “they were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy (16:49).” The sin of being unconcerned about our neighbors’ plight can lead to a lot of grave sins. We pray that our church can always be recognized as a church that helps the poor and needy.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 28 Ezekiel 17, 18 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:” ‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?³ “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. ⁴ For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:1-4)

Tyrants, dictators and all types of bad governments often use the threat of punishing the wrong doings of a relative on another relative to keep people in check. God is the just God, “The one who sins is the one who will die,” he declares. But knowing this fundamental truth that God doesn't bring judgment on us for the sins of others does not remove our responsibility of confronting people about their sins. On this earth it is almost impossible for anyone to pay the consequences of their sins alone.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 29 Ezekiel 19, 20  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

³² “‘You say, “We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.” But what you have in mind will never happen. ³³ As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. ³⁴ I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. (Ezekiel 19:32-34)

There is a limit to self-determination for the people of God. For the sake of his name, he brought them out of Egypt (20:9). For the sake of his name, he did not destroyed them in the wilderness (20:14). God declared to the people of Israel,  “You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord (20:44).’”

God still does and does not do so many things just for the sake of his name. He gives us Jesus who paid the debt of our sins so we are not judged, we have been justified and reconciled with God.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 30 Ezekiel 21, 22 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

³⁰ “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. ³¹ So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (Ezekiel 22:30-31)

One person can make a big difference regarding the well-being of a whole community.  When he lives a life of integrity, his intercession covers all those around him.  God was looking  for someone among the people who would build up the wall and stand before him in the gap on behalf of the land so he would not have to destroy it, but he found no one (22:30).  He was looking for an intercessor.

All churches need intercessors; they are wall builders and gap fillers, protecting the church community. We don’t know now what difference our prayers on behalf of people make, but one day we will know.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 31 Ezekiel 23, 24 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. ¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. (Ezekiel 24:15-18)

Even in death there is a difference between those who trust God and those who do not. The believer grieves at the death of a loved one, but he does not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). He knows that, “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 1 Ezekiel 25, 26 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. ³ Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. (Ezekiel 25:1-4)

We should never rejoice when the Lord is chastising his people. In the contrary, it is an opportunity for us to reflect. The apostle Peter asks, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 3 Ezekiel 27, 28 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁷ Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

¹⁸ Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. (Ezekiel 28:17-18)

The first sin, and the most deadly one is the sin of pride. Prided corrupted and caused the downfall of Satan who wanted to be like God. The same sin of pride pushed Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit because they wanted to be like God. Sadly, pride continues to create miseries in the world, pitting nations against nations, people against each other.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 4 Ezekiel 29, 30 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁶ Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“‘You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel. ⁷ When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched. (Ezekiel 29:6-7)

The confidence that Israel put in Egypt in multiple occasion was misplaced. Egypt was fair-weather friend. Even when our friend forsake us or are just impotent to help us, we need to remember the surest friend is Jesus. God promises us, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 than to trust in humans.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 than to trust in princes. (Psalms 118:8-9)

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 5 Ezekiel 31, 32 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, ¹¹ I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside, (Ezekiel 31:10-11)

 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. ⁷ But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. (Psalm 75:6-7).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 6 Ezekiel 33, 34 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁷ “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. ¹⁸ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. ¹⁹ And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. ²⁰ Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.” (Ezekiel 33:17-20)

The biggest mistake that a Christian can make is to start second guessing God. In this life our understanding will always be limited, we know in part as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13.  That is why we need trust and faith to obey the Lord even when we do not understand. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 7 Ezekiel 35, 36 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

“Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.”’ ³ Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, ⁴ therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you (Ezekiel 36:1-5)

When was the last time you talked to a mountain? God has no problem talking to mountains (36:1). Jesus spoke to a tree, in Mark 11, he even told us to speak to mountains and command them to move, in Matthew 11:18-22. A lot of times we think about our mountains - sickness, financial situations, bad relationship, etc  -, but the Lord did not tell us to think about them, he told us to speak to them. Some mountains will not move unless we speak to them and ask them repeatedly to move in the name of Jesus. What are you waiting for? Start speaking now.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 8 Ezekiel 37, 38 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. (Ezekiel 37:4-7)

So I prophesized as I was commanded (37:7). The key to serving God is full obedience.  In chapter 36 the Prophet was asked to speak to the mountains of Israel; in this chapter, he is asked to prophesy to dry bones. People say, “It’s not over until it’s over,” but for the Lord it is never over. All we need is to be obedient and have faith in God.

Those who pride themselves in “saying it like it is” have no clue that this world is God’s world. God who calleth those things which be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). So, talk to your mountains and ask them move in the name of Jesus.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 9 Ezekiel 39, 40 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. ²⁶ They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. ²⁸ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. ²⁹ I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”  (Ezekiel 39:25-29)

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate gift of God to his people. Because they have the Holy Spirit they can be totally confident that God will no longer hide his face from them. All Christians have this assurance through the Holy Spirit, “When we believed, we were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 10 Ezekiel 41, 42 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, the sin offerings^[f] and the guilt offerings—for the place is holy. ¹⁴ Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.”(Ezekiel 42:13-14)

The reading of Ezekiel 41, 42 is probably tedious for most of us, but these chapters remind us that in the plan of God nothing is done haphazardly, everything is measured and counted. God even numbers every hairs of our heads (Luke 12:7). Thus, we must act in the confidence and certitude of who we are in Christ; we are special, “Jesus has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father” (Revelation 1:6).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 11 Ezekiel 43, 44 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, ² and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. ³ The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. ⁴ The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. ⁵ Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. (Ezekiel 43:1-4)

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 12 Ezekiel 45, 46 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁷ “‘The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions. ⁸ This land will be his possession in Israel. And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes. (Ezekiel 45:7-8)

“And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes (v. 8).”  Because God is Love, he is also a God of justice. His love is sustained by his justice as a result of his love for his people. We are also called to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy (Matthew 5:6-7)

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ezekiel Challenge – Day 13 Ezekiel 47, 48 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

We have reached the end of the Book of Ezekiel Challenge, tomorrow we start the Book of 1 Corinthians Challenge.

¹² And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:12)

Two years and eight months ago we started the Challenge of reading daily one or two chapters of the Bible. We started with the Book of Proverbs Challenge and today we complete the journey with the Book of Ezekiel Challenge. It is a great accomplishment, with God’s help we have read all the 66 books of the Bible in about three years.

Your passion for the word of God, your patience, your perseverance and your prayer will be greatly rewarded by the Lord. Please continue with your daily Bible readings, “For they [the words of the Lord] are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:22).

Thank you very much.

May the Lord richly bless you!