The Daily Fountain Devotional Tuesday, August 9, 2022
The Daily Fountain Devotional Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
TOPIC: A PROMISE OF RESTORATION
TEXT: Ezekiel 37:15-28
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
The Daily Fountain Devotional Tuesday, August 9, 2022
INTRODUCTION TEXT
After the death of Solomon, the nation Israel was divided into two Kingdoms (I Kings 12). One was called Israel, occasionally Ephraim; the other was called Judah. They were known also as Northern and Southern kingdoms respectively. When the Northern kingdom sinned against God and refused to repent, God allowed them to be carried into exile. Judah did not learn any lesson from the experience of Israel, she committed sin which provoked God to anger. They too were carried into exile. While in exile, they lost hope; they thought God had forsaken them and they were saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost..." (v. 11).
God now promised that the two kingdoms would be reunited as one kingdom, with one king ruling over them. The Northern kingdom, Israel, and the Southern kingdom, Judah, would become one kingdom. The king to rule over them be the descendant of David and the fulfilment of Davidic covenant (II Sam. 7:16). This Person is Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Today's passage shows that God's anger does not last forever. Even while He is angry with His people because of their sins, God still has good plan for their restoration. What God requires from a sinner is total repentance and confession of sins. "Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face" (A&M 181:4, lines 3&4).
Action: Pray that God will help you rise from where you have fallen short of His glory.