The Place, The People, The Promise
When you think about your favorite place, what comes to mind?
For me, as an introvert, I love to be at home. But I also enjoy traveling to bustling cities like Las Vegas and New York (and especially the places where I can rest where incredible spas are available!)
Recently, during my devotionals, I was studying Ezekiel 36. Now, this passage struck me as odd because, in this chapter, Ezekiel is prophesying to a place, not a people. (God sure does have His prophets doing some crazy things!)
So, after doing a little digging, I discovered four things that can be spoken over our lives today as God’s chosen ones. So, let’s travel together!
Ezekiel and the Land of Israel
Ezekiel, a prophet of the Lord was prophesying over the land of Israel. Why is this so significant?
Well, Israel was the land that he once belonged to before he was taken to Babylon, where he would live in exile. (Ezekiel wasn’t even physically in the land of Israel, and it was now desolate, but he was speaking life to it!)
Can you relate? Is there something in your life that was once prosperous and thriving and is now desolate and void of life?
Maybe your marriage was recently fruitful and now, the two of you can’t stand to be in the same room with one another.
Perhaps you had a successful year in your business and now business has seemed to decline.
Just like the prophet Ezekiel, God has a particular place for you in mind and He will do whatever it takes to get you there so that you can do what you are called to do at such a time as this.
The Place (Ezekiel 36:8-9, 11)
“But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”
-Ezekiel 36:8-9,11, NKJV
When God’s chosen people were in exile, other nations began talking about them, and God grew tired of it because, after all, He was the One who sent His people there! In His kindness, God calls Ezekiel to reveal to those in captivity that the very people who are out to get them will soon see judgment. God will turn it all around!
Your marriage may be desolate, your health may be in disarray, and your finances may be disheartening, but don’t worry; God says He will establish you to a place as it was informer days. (And it won't be the same, but better!)
The People (Ezekiel 36:17-21)
“Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.”
-Ezekiel 36:17-21, NKJV
There was a problem with the people.
You see, sometimes God sets you up for a certain place or position, yet after a while, you begin to think you did it all by yourself. He can surround you with the right people, and opportunities and open doors, and somehow, you begin to idolize yourself and your education. Remember: when you take your focus off of God, it has to go somewhere else, and that is idolatry!
This is exactly what happened to the children of Israel. They were living and loving their lives, murdering people (and taking bribes to do it), and sacrificing their children to manmade idols. What they did day in and day out defiled Israel.
So let me ask you—If we are chosen people, shouldn’t we be acting like it? Now we may not be murdering people, but we are murdering church folks with our tongues. We gossip, and slander. We tell white lies. And sadly, there are just as many aborted babies in the church as out in the world.
Did you know that the judgment on Israel was not because of the heathen people corrupting the nation? People who walk in the ways of the world are supposed to act like that. Judgment was for God’s chosen ones.
We have a women’s group at our church called the Grace Girls. Thanks be to God, we have women joining us from all over the world. (You know it’s official because we even have a merch store!) Well, recently, my sister-in-law, who doesn’t like to share with others that she is the pastor’s sister, was at the grocery store. She happened to see one of the Grace Girls (wearing a Grace Girl shirt) talking with a store employee about an item that was on hold for her. As it turns out, this item was unavailable and so the woman began to act poorly and cuss the associate out. After the employee went to the back room, my sister-in-law turned to the woman and said, “Hey, Grace Girl, hey!”
Sisters, if you’re chosen and you say you’;re chosen, live like you’re chosen! (Because you will reap what you sow.)
Two-Fold Problem
The problem is that the Israelites are sinning, and now their lifestyles are swaying how others view them and God.
Ezekiel 36:21, in the NKJV, says, “But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.”
We must be mindful to live in a way that reflects our calling to follow Christ. Because it will impact eternity.
The Plan (Ezekiel 36:23-24)
“’And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD’, says the Lord GOD, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.’”
-Ezekiel 36:23-24, NKJV
So what’s the plan? When God calls the Israelites out from the sin they are entangled in, they begin to worship Him, and that results in the world knowing He is the one true God.
Be encouraged; You may be in a frustrating sin situation you don’t want to be in, but God will turn it around. And He will put you in circumstances that you will have to change, not out of the power of your strength, but out of the power of His might!
The Promise (Ezekiel 36:25-27)
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
-Ezekiel 36:25-27, NKJV
Not only does God clean the people up, but He makes a covenant with them. He gives His chosen a new heart and God’s spirit.
When we are chosen, it means we have a relationship with God. God isn’t somewhere far away; He dwells with us. When we accept the salvation of His Son, Jesus Christ, He promises to change us!
God gives us a promise that enables us to walk how He wants us to walk so that people know that our God is the true God.
For more on walking in God’s promise, check out First Lady Trina Jenkins’ sermon, The Place, The People, The Promise.