Verse of the Week: V15 “But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape that doeth such things? Or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?”
1. The City Was Proud (V1-6)
V3 “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:”
The great eagle was none other than the great kingdom of Babylon while the highest branch of the cedar was Jerusalem, God’s city. The Almighty God allowed the Babylonians to defeat His people and made them prisoners of war so as to humble them because God’s people had become proud and rebellious.
V12 “Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;”
2. The King Was Proud (V7-21)
V7 “There was also another great eagle with great wings, and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.”
The king of Babylon kept their side of the promise when they did not kill the people of Jerusalem, however, the king of Jerusalem broke their side of the promise when he secretly sent his ambassadors to ask Egypt, the other great eagle, for help. Instead of seeking God, the king of Jerusalem sought Egypt, thinking that Egypt could help them.
V15 “But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape that doeth such things? Or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?”
3. The Saviour Was Humble (V22-24)
V24 “And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.”
God shall bring down the high tree which was proud Jerusalem and its king who exalted themselves without seeking God. However, God exalted the low tree which was the Lord Jesus Christ, when He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life with God.
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please humble me to know that without You, I am nothing.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:05 am
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V62 “And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:”
1. The Unwanted (V1-14)
V3 “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.”
Prophet Ezekiel prophesied that the city of Jerusalem was like an unwanted baby, despised and hated until God took her as His precious child. This is exactly what we are: sinners born into this world, because our first parents, Adam and Eve, had disobeyed and sinned against God. However, God has a salvation plan for the entire human race by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and on the third day, Jesus rose again, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
V8 “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.”
2. The Ungrateful (V15-59)
V15 “But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.’
The holy God loved and accepted the people of Jerusalem if they obeyed Him and lived a holy life. However, the people of Jerusalem soon became ungrateful as they became proud and began to worship idols instead of the holy God. They committed immorality and wickedness and were a total disgrace to God who loved and accepted them.
3. The United (V60-63)
V60 “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.”
Though the people of Jerusalem had time and again sinned against God, yet God’s everlasting covenant of love, mercy and grace was extended to them if they repented their sins. Today, God’s everlasting covenant of love, mercy and grace is also extended to us and we shall be called His children, sinners saved by grace, united and reconciled with Jesus Christ, if we repent our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
V62 “And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, thank You that I am Your precious child as I believe and trust in You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:24 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V2 “Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?”
1. The Tree (V1-2)
V2 “Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?”
The vine tree produces grapes. God compares Israel with the vine tree. If the vine trees produce grapes, Israel must also produce its fruits. What kind of fruits is God expecting from Israel? God expects Israel to bear the fruit of His glory by being a great nation and a great blessing that all nations may know that the God of Israel is the true and living God.
Genesis 12:1-2
V1 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:”
V2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”
2. The Testimony (V3-5)
V4 “Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?”
When the vines no longer produce grapes, they are cast into the fire for fuel. When Israel no longer bears the testimony of God’s glory, it will be judged and condemned. The church must also bear the testimony of God’s glory by sharing the Gospel of Christ to the whole world otherwise God shall remove His glory from the church.
Ephesians 1:12
“That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
3. The Trust (V6-8)
V7 “And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.”
Unless the nation of Israel trusts God in everything, they can do nothing for God. Unless the church and Christians trusts God in everything, we can do nothing for God.
John 15:5
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to trust You in everything.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:35 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V14 “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.”
1. Great Sincerity (V1-5)
V3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?”
God judged the elders or religious leaders of Israel and found them guilty of having idols in their hearts, in other words, they were hypocrites who outwardly confessed that they loved and worshipped God, but inwardly they had idols instead of God in their hearts. Their idols could be their families, children, best friends or anyone, or their businesses, possessions, pleasures or anything that they loved and worshipped more than God.
2. Great Faith (V6-18)
V14 “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.”
God delivered Noah and his family from the great flood while the rest of the human race was destroyed because of Noah’s great faith. God delivered Daniel from the lion’s mouths even though the leaders had plotted to kill him because of Daniel’s great faith. God delivered Job from despair and depression when all his possessions and loved ones were destroyed because of Job’s great faith. However, even the prayers and great faith of these three men could not deliver the people of Israel from the judgment of God because of their great sins and hypocrisy.
Genesis 7:23 “…Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.”
Daniel 6:22 “My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths…”
Job 1:21 “….the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
3. Great Courage (V19-23)
V22 “Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.”
Though the majority of the people of Israel including the religious leaders were insincere and faithless, there was a remnant, a godly few, who had great courage to stand up for their love and faith in the true and living God even if it meant persecution and death.
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be the godly few who truly love You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:13 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;”
1. The True Prophet (V1-2)
V1 “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,”
The true prophet is one who preaches what God says to the people. In the Old Testament, God spoke directly to the prophets, and in the New Testament, God speaks to the pastors through the Bible, and both the prophets and pastors must speak to the people exactly what God says.
V2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;”
2. The Foolish Prophet (V3-16)
V3 “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”
In order to win the hearts and minds of the people, the false prophets distort the truth of the Word of God and preach what the people like to hear. God through Prophet Ezekiel described these false prophets as foolish prophets as they thought there were wise in the eyes of the people, but in the eyes of God, they were foolish prophets and shall be severely judged and condemned for their false teachings and lies.
V13 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.”
3. The Lying Prophet (V17-23)
V19 “And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?”
The worst sins are committed by these lying prophets and pastors who, instead of leading the people to know God and His Word, are guilty of lies, deceit, hypocrisy and selfish gains and misleading them from knowing God and His Word.
V23 “Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to discern the true preachers from the false ones.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:08 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V2 “The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,”
1. The Word Of God (V1-16)
V2 “The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,”
Prophet Jeremiah prophesied from the Word of God that the people of Israel must prepare their possessions and be ready to be prisoners of war of their enemies. However, the people of Israel refused to believe and when eventually the army of Babylon attacked and destroyed their cities, they knew that the words from Jeremiah were indeed from God.
V3 “Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.”
2. The Wrath Of God (V17-20)
V18 “Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;”
It was a tough and terrible time for the people of Israel as the wrath of God came upon them. They were once the most powerful nation of the world under King Solomon but now they were trembling in the hands of their enemies, the mighty Babylonians.
V20 “And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”
3. The Will Of God (V21-28)
V25 “For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.”
The people of Israel never thought that their God, the God of Israel, the true and living God, would allow their enemies to attack and destroy them. They were too complacent and proud to take heed of the warnings of the many prophets including Jeremiah who had time and again warned them of the impending wrath and judgment of God unless they repented of their sins. The will of God and the Word of God was eventually fulfilled as the Babylonians invaded and destroyed all the cities of Israel. Let us take heed of the Word of God in order for us to stay in the perfect will of God.
V28 “Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be always in the centre of Your perfect will.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:00 pm
| Permalink
| Email
