Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Friday, August 4, 2023

QT 8/4/2023 Exek 24:15-18, Trusting in God's promise of the future

Ezekiel 24:15–18 (ESV) —

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

 

NOTE: What a horribly difficult position that God put Ezekiel. We don't know all the circumstances, we don't know his wife's condition. We really don't know anything except that God uses (causes) his wife's death to prophesize a message to Israel. Let's assume the worst case, that God caused his otherwise healthy wife to die a sudden death. Is that wrong or unjust? Let's start with "wrong," technically God created us, therefor by right he can destroy his creation, no matter how complicated the creation is. We could build a house and then burn it down, and as long as we did not take out a loan, and we have done nothing wrong. Of course, a house is not sentient, but that only means God's creations are more complex. Additionally, who is without sin? Does anyone have a right to stand for even one second before God? No, God is not wrong. But God himself says in Lamentations that he has no desire to see people die. We die because mankind originally rebelled against God's rule. Well, we say, God may not be wrong, but he certainly is unjust. The problem with the conclusion is that we have made the assumption that life on earth is better than anything else God may have for us. Since God originally designed us to live on earth, and to eat from the tree of life and live forever, this was "heaven." But when we rebelled from his rule, the earth and this life has been in decay. Weeds grow up and people now die. If this life is our reward then it is most certainly unjust for someone to die for story imagery. The reality is that God has planned something even greater for us. Our reward is still to come.

 

PONDER:

  1. Is there an issue where I feel God is unjust and I can't let it go?
  2. Do I believe God's word or do I primarily believe what I see?

 

PRAYER: Father, protect from my poor vision. Now I see in a mirror dimly, someday I will be amazed by the unseen world and the new creation.

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