I Have Spoken - Ezekiel 5:13-17

Ezekiel 5:13-17 ESV 

“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—when I spend my fury upon them. Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. You shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations all around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— when I send against you the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your supply of bread. I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

The Lord has spoken here and in Revelation. A beast will ride forth against them, deceiving and conquering. A sword will prevail, famine will come upon them, and pestilence will strike them. 

This prophesy was spoken by Moses to be the curse if Israel failed to keep the law. He knew at that time they would not. 

The end is yet to come. 

Though - Ezekiel 33:13-16

Ezekiel 33:13-16 ESV 

Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, though I say to the wicked, You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.

Though. A word which implies that the expected result of a condition or situation may not be what happens. The end of a matter is determined at the end. 

This is a word which may bring hope to some and worry for others. The possibility of change is possible. 

It gives a thoughtful person something to think about when one considers the exhortation in Scripture to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Believing God is not a one time decision, but a way of life. It is the way of life. 

You Only Have I Known - Amos 3:1-2

Amos 3:1-2 ESV 

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

“You only have I known

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.

Israel is God's elect. The rest of us choose Him. 

They face a punishment from God that is like no other people because they have fallen from a unique relationship to God. 

We who believe in the name of Jesus Christ escape the punishment we deserve because of our unique relationship with the Son.  

It is a fearful and wonderful thing to be in the hands of the Lord. 

In Us

The prophets of old were visited by the Spirit and spoke the word of God. Today the Spirit dwells with the children of the light and He speaks with us. 

The word is in us. 

According - Jeremiah 17:9-10

Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV 

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

“I the Lord search the heart

and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Every man will receive something from the Lord, according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds. The heart and mind are where the evaluation will take place. That is where we will be judged. What we do merely gives witness to what and who we are. 

As Jehovah Lives - Jeremiah 12:14-17

Jeremiah 12:14-17 ESV 

Thus says the Lord concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”

The Lord's heritage is Israel. Though the time of Jacob's trouble is upon them, it is the Lord's doing. He will end this time of affliction and restore Israel to their covenant state of blessing. 

There is one God and Jehovah is His name. If the surrounding nations can swear by His name and learn His ways, then their salvation will be near. 

Jehovah is His Old Testament name. His New Testament name is Jesus, the Christ. Any other name is the same as Baal, and is the way of destruction. 

So it is and Amen.  

So Turn, And Live - Ezekiel 18:32

Ezekiel 18:32 ESV 

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

No one will be turned away, they who turn to the Lord.