Through the Bible: EzekielSample

## God’s Heart is Grieved > Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes nor kept My judgments, nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. > ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭5:7-8‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬) ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ > Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. > ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭6:9‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬)‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ The phrase “Therefore thus says the Lord God” is used 24 times in the book of Ezekiel. We see the message of God’s warning and judgment throughout this book. God’s people had been called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). Instead, they had engaged in worse evils than the pagan nations around them despite having God’s laws and God’s love. They had showed utter contempt for God’s laws and failed to honour the covenant God made with them. They even committed idolatry and great abominations in the Temple which were detestable to God (Ezek. 8). When we read about the judgements of God upon Israel, it should cause us to sit up and take notice. They should not be taken lightly. Ezekiel 6:9 also tells us that God was crushed or literally broken by His people’s rejection of His love. He is hurt when we disobey Him. ### Prayer Father God, forgive us when we grieve You by failing to obey You. Help us to take Your warnings about judgment seriously and to live holy and blameless lives, being faithful to You in all that we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.