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Featured image of Ezekiel Chapter 45 - When God wants to dwell among His people…
Bible Reading

Ezekiel Chapter 45 - When God wants to dwell among His people…

From chapter 40 until the end of Ezekiel, God foretells of a glorious future for His people: when, after thoroughly measuring the temple (chapters 40 to 42), God’s glory re-enters and re-fills the temple (43:4-5). Thereafter, God promises that He will dwell amid the children of Israel forever (43:7). However, there is one condition: there cannot be anymore defilement of God’s temple, including uncircumcised foreigners (44:9) and in terms of the priests’ lifestyles and conduct (44:17-27). Ezekiel 45 continues from chapter 44 with God’s requirements for His people, including the princes (i.e., leaders) and the whole nation, when He dwells among them. The chapter starts with God’s instructions for dividing the land of Israel. He instructs a bigger area to be allocated for Himself compared to the area for the prince and people. The area for the prince and people is 25,000 cubits long and 5,000 cubits wide (45:6); whereas God’s area, albeit the same length, is double in width (45:1). Reflecting on this: today, how much ‘space’ does God occupy in our hearts? Does He have a bigger space than our personal wants, worries and aspirations? The amount of ‘heart space’ we give to God shows in how submissive we are towards God in our lives – the more God fills and controls our thoughts, the more we will align our speech, conduct, and decisions with His will in the Bible. Ultimately, with continual spiritual nurture, God should not just occupy ‘a big enough space’ in our hearts, but all of it, filling us all in all (Ephesians 1:23b) and having complete control over our hearts. There is no limit to the infilling of the Holy Spirit (John 3:34b). Meaning, as long as we live, the pursuit of being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit is a never-ending one. So, let the ‘district’ of God in our hearts be an ever-growing one until He fills all in all. Leaders who are just and righteous, instead of oppressive towards the people (Ezekiel 45:9); leaders who use honest measures (verse 10-12); and leaders who will help make atonement for the people’s sins by preparing the various offerings to God such as the burnt, grain, drink and sin offerings (verse 13-17, 22-25). In short, these leaders, together with the priests and Ezekiel (verse 18-20), were to actively bridge the people to God. Today, as long as we are in the True Jesus Church, we are also supposed to actively bridge people to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). How active and faithful have we been in our daily ministry of reconciliation? Reflecting on the three requirements of God for His leaders mentioned earlier: By shunning sin, including sins against others; by carefully following all of God’s moral standards in the Bible; and by faithfully praying for the salvation of others, God will zealously work through us to reconcile the whole world to Himself. Then, we will be approved by Him as good and faithful servants worthy of entering His joyous kingdom (Matthew 25:23). Not because of their great numbers or any other physical merits, but simply because of His great love and because He is a God who keeps covenants (Deuteronomy 7:7-9). In return, as His people, God wants our complete love in the form of complete obedience to His commandments. This means letting His Spirit fill and control us ceaselessly and living a life of zealously bridging our world to God. Amen.

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3 min read

Featured image of Ezekiel Chapter 38 - Coming Like a Storm, Covering Like a Cloud 
Bible Reading

Ezekiel Chapter 38 - Coming Like a Storm, Covering Like a Cloud 

In the previous chapter, God prophesies about how He will revive His people Israel with His Spirit, transforming them from a valley of dry bones to His great living army (Ezekiel 37: 1-14). Such a spiritual revival was necessary to enable the Israelites to face a coming enemy in the last days: a foreign nation named Gog, who will come like a storm and cover them like a cloud (Ezekiel 38:9, 16). Furthermore, God states that this event will occur in “the latter years/days” (Ezekiel 38:8, 16), meaning this is a prophecy about the last days. As such, we who are God’s spiritual Israelites through our baptism (Galatians 3:27-29) must note this enemy Gog and prepare ourselves to face him.  Here are three things we must note about our spiritual enemy:  The time when we can live and worship God safely, freely, and easily is also the time when we are most prone to letting our guards down, perhaps even losing our “walls, bars, and gates” (v11). In times of peace and religious freedom, we may take for granted the ease of coming to church weekly and safely, being able to pray and read the Bible peacefully in our homes and being able to openly practice and preach our faith before others. Yet, here lies the danger: when we, because of such ease, unknowingly slacken in our faith. Remember that the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is always on the lookout for any opportunity to topple us through temptation (Luke 4:13). Therefore, sober up instead of slackening in our safety!          Twice in verses 16 and 17, God says, “I will bring you (Gog) against My land.” Not that God will twist the heart of Gog from a godly to evil one and consequently destroy His people. Rather, God already knows the heart of Gog, that it is thoroughly evil (v10); that Gog, upon seeing how God gathers and blesses His people (v8), will respond by devising evil plans to destroy them instead of joining their worship of the one true God. And yet, knowing Gog’s reaction, God is still determined to gather and bless His people anyway. Why? Because God is in absolute control and more than able to quell Gog (v18-22) and deliver His people from Gog’s evil plans; and when this happens, God will be magnified, sanctified, and known to all nations, who can then turn to Him for salvation (v23). Knowing this, our part is simply to endure all temptation, with absolute unwavering faith in our God, until we receive His approval and crown of life (James 1:12).          The phrases “coming like a storm” and “covering like a cloud” are used to depict the vastness of Gog’s army (v9, 4-6). Spiritually speaking, they also depict the all-encompassing nature of the forces that attack our faith. Assaults on our faith can come from all areas of our life – our health, our studies, our career, our relationships, our media, our cultural and political systems, just to name a few. Knowing our spiritual enemy will attack us in all possible vital points, we must therefore wear and bear the whole armour of God for complete protection (Ephesians 6:11-17); do not neglect any pieces of this armour! Just like how a storm is preceded by tangible warning signs – the sound of thunder rumbling, the darkening of the sky as clouds gather, the windiness and coldness we feel – the coming of this great spiritual enemy will also be preceded by early warning signs (Luke 12:54-56), such as the prevalence of falsehood and evil (Matthew 24:4-12). May we therefore discern the spiritual “climate” of our times and prepare ourselves for this storm so that we can rise above it, approved by God. 

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3 min read

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