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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Verse of the Week: V30 “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
1. The People (V1-22)
V2 “Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? Yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.”
Prophet Ezekiel warned the people of Israel to repent of their grievous sins including murder and to live a holy life before a holy God. However, the people refused to repent and continued to make and worshipped idols and openly rebelled against God.
V3 “Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.”
2. The Leaders (V23-29)
V26 “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have thy shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”
Not only the people of Israel sinned against God, even the priests, the princes and the prophets of Israel, who were supposedly to be examples of holiness, also sinned against God. It was a shame for both the leaders and the people to commit sins including murder as they sought for fame and fortune instead of trusting and obeying God.
V27 “Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.”
3. The Man (V30-31)
V30 “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
God was looking for a man in Israel who could stand in the gap of holiness but He found none except for prophet Ezekiel. As a result, God severely judged the people of Israel because of their constant rebellion and wickedness.
V31 “Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be the man who stands in the gap of holiness.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 05:22 pm
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Verse of the Week: V27 “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”
1. God’s Warning (V1-17)
V2 “Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,”
Before God judged the people of Jerusalem and Israel, He kept warning them to repent of their sins and be holy before Him. Even the righteous people in the eyes of men were wicked in the eyes of God because outwardly these righteous people were supposedly worshipping God but inwardly their hearts were unholy and far away from God.
V3 “And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.”
2. God’s Judgment (V18-27)
V26 “Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.”
Eventually God sent the Babylonians to attack and destroy Israel who had time and again refused to repent of their sins and be holy before God. It was a severe judgment from God as Israel was completely destroyed by the Babylonians, and to date, Israel never fully becomes a great nation like in the days of King David and King Solomon.
V27 “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”
3. God’s Wrath (V28-32)
V28 “And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:”
God did not just sent the Babylonians to destroy the people of Israel but they also destroyed the wicked Ammonites. Indeed God is no respecter of persons and His wrath and anger shall be upon everyone who is unholy before Him.
Leviticus 11:45
“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be holy as You are holy.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:36 pm
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Verse of the Week: V17 “Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.”
1. The Leaders (V1-17)
V3 “Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.”
The elders or leaders of Israel chose to pretend to enquire God concerning His Word yet they had no desire to know God and His Word but kept rebelling against Him. However, God was merciful and gracious and time and again spared them from total destruction.
V17 “Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.”
2. The Children (V18-32)
V18 “But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:”
Not only the people of Israel rebelled against God but even their children rebelled against God. It is important that parents not only teach their children of God and His Word but apply God’s Word in their daily lives so that their children emulate their godly examples.
V21 “Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.”
3. The Families (V33-49)
V32 “And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.”
Instead of choosing to serve the Lord, like Joshua and his family, the godly family in the past, the people of Israel and their families chose to serve wood and stone. It was a sad day for Israel as they rather chose to serve the creation of God than God their Creator.
Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me and my family to choose to serve the Lord, our Creator.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 06:57 pm
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Verse of the Week: V2 “And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.”
1. The Lioness (V1-9)
V2 “And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.”
Israel was like the lioness while her whelps or cubs were like the kings and princes. When Israel became wicked, the kings and princes also became wicked and God sent the Babylonians to attack and destroy them. Indeed, mothers have a great influence on the character of their children. When mothers are godly, their children will most likely be godly, conversely, when mothers are ungodly, their children will most likely be ungodly.
V9 “And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.”
2. The Vine (V10-13)
V10 “Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.”
Israel was like the vine while the kings and princes were like the branches. God blessed Israel when they were fruitful and godly, however, His fury was upon them when they became evil and wicked, and He had to send the Babylonians to attack and destroy them.
V12 “But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.”
3. The Lamentation (V14)
V14 “And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.”
God sent fire to destroy and burn the vine together with all her branches and it was a lamentation and grief as God sent fire to destroy His own people, the people of Israel. May our mothers raise our children like the virtuous mother of Proverbs who raises her children in godliness, instead of like the lioness and the vine in the days of Ezekiel.
Proverbs 31:28 “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be a godly mother or a godly father for Your glory.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:15 pm
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Verse of the Week: V31 “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
1. God Owns All Souls (V1-24)
V4 “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
It is with great pain and grief that God allows the people created in His image to die in hell because they refuse to believe in Him and acknowledge Him as their Creator and the Almighty God. God loves His people but He hates their sins. Every man is accountable to God. The son will not bear the sins of his father, nor the father bear the sins of the son, but every man will bear his own sins and reap the consequences of his sins.
V9 “Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.”
2. God’s Way Is Not Man’s Way (V25-30)
V25 “Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal?”
Many times we accused God for being unfair when we witnessed disasters destroying hundreds or thousands of lives. We may not fully understand the tragedy but let us remember that God never makes mistake and His ways are higher than our ways. What matters most is that we believe in God and obey His commandments. The ultimate consequence of man’s sins is physical death while the ultimate consequence of man’s sin of unbelief in God is spiritual death or eternal separation from God in the fiery pits of hell.
V26 “When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.”
3. God Gives New Hearts (V31-32)
V31 “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
Not only God gives new hearts and spirits to all who believe in Him and obey His commandments but He also gives them a place in heaven forever with Him the moment they die. God’s greatest desire is for all souls to believe in Him and obey His commandments and it pains and grieves Him to condemn the wicked souls to hell.
V32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please give me a new heart to live for You and You only.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 10:57 am
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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
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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
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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
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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
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