Ezekiel 19
As through the Fire!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 24.
Hardship and suffering are an unfortunate reality! Will any good fruit come through such fires in your life? The prophet concluded his message to the princes of Israel in Ezekiel 19:14b, “This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.” Whereas Jeremiah wept from the ashes of Jerusalem, Ezekiel grieved from the riverbanks of Babylonian exile, concluding his lamentation in verses 10-14a:
Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the waters; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant waters. And it had strong branches fit for scepters of rulers, and its height was raised above the clouds so that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches. But it was plucked up in fury; it was cast down to the ground; and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branch was torn off so that it withered; the fire consumed it. And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. And fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoots and fruit, so that there is not in it a strong branch, a scepter to rule.
Fire is an interesting metaphor. It can invoke the image of annihilation, the destruction of that which is thrown into it, or that of refinement, the purging of impurities from that which passes through it. In the above lamentation, if the fire invokes destruction, then there is no longer any purpose for Israel, all hope is gone. The Messiah had not yet come through Israel, so the fire must speak to their refinement, for they are the vineyard of God from which Jesus Christ, “the true vine” came, and from whom all eternal fruit flows (John 15:1-16).
Seize the moment and allow your lamentations to be a refining fire in your life, transforming your soul to the glory of God (Romans 8:28-30).
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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