Verse of the Week: V21 “I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.”
1. Tyrus Against Jerusalem (V1-6)
V2 “Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:”
God severely punished the people of Tyrus for mocking the people of Jerusalem or the people of God who had grievously sinned against God. However, God’s judgment was also upon the people of Tyrus who had also grievously sinned against God.
V3 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.”
2. Babylon Against Tyrus (V7-14)
V7 “For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horse men, and companies, and much people.”
The love of money was one of the grievous sins of the people of Tyrus. Their lives were centered on accumulating wealth, possessions and building large houses instead of worshipping the true God. Subsequently, God sent the powerful Babylonians to completely destroy them, their beautiful houses and robbed their possessions.
V12 “And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.”
3. God Against Sins (V15-21)
V21 “I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.”
God destroyed the people of Jerusalem, the people of Tyrus and the Babylonians because all had sinned against Him. When we disobey God, we shall reap His judgment and punishment, however, when we obey God, we shall be under His shadow and protection.
Psalms 91:1
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Prayer of the Week:
Dearest God, please help me to dwell and abide under Your shadow and protection.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:03 pm
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Verse of the Week: V11 “And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
1. The Ammonites Were Judged (V1-7)
V3 “And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;”
The Ammonites laughed at the people of Israel or God’s chosen people as God judged and destroyed them for their disobedience and rebellion. However, the Ammonites were also not spared as they too were punished by God for their disobedience and rebellion.
2. The Moabites Were Judged (V8-11)
V11 “And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
The Moabites disobeyed and rebelled against God and they were also judged and destroyed by the Almighty God.
3. The Edomites Were Judged (12-14)
V14 “And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.”
The Edomites disobeyed and rebelled against God and they too were judged and completely destroyed by the Almighty God.
4. The Philistines Were Judged (15-17)
V15 “Thus saith the Lord GOD; because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;”
The Philistines were the old enemies of Israel and it was no surprise that God severely judged and punished them for their wicked and evil hearts. No one, not even God’s chosen people or Christians, who disobey and rebel against the Almighty God, can ever escape His anger and judgment. Indeed, it is a fearful thing to fall into God’s judgment.
Hebrews 10:30-31
“For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Prayer of the Week:
Dearest God, please help me to trust and obey You and escape Your fiery judgment.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:20 pm
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Verse of the Week: V24 “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
1. The People Disobeyed God
V2 “Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.”
God sent the Babylonians to punish the people of Jerusalem because of their disobedience. In fact, Prophet Ezekiel described the city of Jerusalem as a boiling pot filled with scum or sins and was good for nothing. It was a sad day for the people of Jerusalem because they were God’s chosen people yet they disobeyed their God.
V6 “Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.”
2. The Prophet Obeyed God
V16 “Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.”
When God told Ezekiel to tell the people of Jerusalem in the morning that He would suddenly take the desire of his eyes and that he should not mourn, little did he realized that the desire of his eyes was his beloved wife. In fact, God took away his wife suddenly in the evening, and Ezekiel obeyed God and did not mourn though it was not easy for him.
V18 “So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.”
3. The Priests Disobeyed God
V21 “Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.”
The people of Jerusalem thought that they could hide their sins in the sanctuary of God or behind the priests, yet God immediately destroyed the sanctuary and the priests as they were unholy before God. Nothing, not even the Church or the Bible, and no one, not even the Pastor, can save you from the judgment of God if you are unholy before the holy God.
V24 “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to obey You in everything including crises in my life.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:55 pm
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Verse of the Week: V35 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.”
1. Israel Forgot God (V1-10)
V4 “And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.”
Aholah, the people of Israel in Samaria, had forgotten and despised their true and living God who had delivered them from idolatry and slavery in Egypt. Instead of worshipping their God, they worshipped the gods of the Assyrians, their enemies as well as neighbours.
V5 “And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,”
2. Judah Forgot God (V11-34)
V11 “And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.”
Not only Aholah, the people of Israel, had forgotten and despised God, even her younger sister Aholibah, the people of Judah in Jerusalem, had also forgotten their God. In fact, Aholibah committed immorality and wickedness far worse than Aholah. Instead of being an example of the world, the two sisters became the stumbling block of the world.
V30 “I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.”
3. All Have Forgotten God (V35-49)
V35 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.”
Not only the people of God had forgotten and despised their God, all the people of the world had also forgotten and despised God. No wonder the Almighty God had to severely judge the world for their immorality and wickedness. In spite of the doom and gloom, there was a ray of light and hope as the loving God had prepared His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to come and die for the sins of the whole world.
V49 “And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to remember You as my great God and loving Savior all the days of my life.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:19 pm
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