Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Thank you for being with
me today.
I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in
Hudson, OH.
This coming Sunday is the 14 Sunday after Pentecost. During
this part of the church year the Old Testament Lesson falls in line with the
Gospel reading. Perhaps you will notice how Matthew 18 encouraged us to go to
those who had sinned against us in order to call them to repentance and this
week’s O.T. reading finds God calling Ezekiel to warn his people to turn away
from their sin.
The Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9 – I will be reading from the
English Standard Version translation.
7 "So you, son of man, I have made a
watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you
shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked
one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from
his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will
require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his
way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity,
but you will have delivered your soul. (Ezek. 33:7-9 ESV)
Comments
When we think of Old Testament prophets and their ministries
we probably think of Israel or Jerusalem as the location of their work.
Ezekiel, however, was one of the Jewish people who were taken into captivity to
Babylon, and his ministry was in Babylon to his fellow Jews. Early on in his
ministry God told Ezekiel that he would make him a watchman for the house of
Israel. In fact, God spoke the exact same words to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:17-19
as he did in our reading in Ezekiel 33:7-9. So why would God commission twice
like this? The first time Ezekiel was commissioned to proclaim that Jerusalem
would fall and the people should settle in Babylon as part of God’s judgement
against them because of their idolatry. The second time Ezekiel was
commissioned was when Jerusalem fell and he was to proclaim the comforting
message of the Gospel to Israel.
All of us bear, to some degree, the prophetic task. As we
learned in our Gospel lesson yesterday, “If your brother sins against you go
and tell him his fault.” And for what purpose are we to confront our brothers?
To bring them to repentance and forgiveness. Ezekiel was called to do that –
not only for his brother, but for all of Israel. He was to warn Israel – at the
peril of his own soul of their wicked ways. And it is clear, a little after our
reading, that God’s desire is that the wicked turn from his way and live. The
text almost begs, “Turn back! Turn back from your evil ways, for why will you
die, O house of Israel?”
Pastor’s bear this prophetic tasks for their congregations,
too. This is one of the hardest parts of pastoral ministry: Confronting the
sins of people in the congregation, especially if that pastor knows his own
sin, too. It can be uncomfortable. People become angry. Pastors sometimes feel
hypocritical as they wrestle with their own sin. So pray for your pastor so he
can do his job faithfully as God has called him to.
I feel it is important to say again why God commissioned
Ezekiel as a prophet. He was to warn the people to turn away from their wicked
ways. We call that repentance when a person turns from his or her sin. God
desired his people to turn away from their sin and to turn back to him as their
God, savior, provider, protector, and Lord. His desire on that front has not
changed. 1 Timothy 2:4 reminds us that he desires all people to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth. That truth is that we are sinners, that God
loves us, that Jesus suffered, died, and rose to atone for our sins, and that
God wants us to turn from our sins to live in Jesus’ salvation.
Prayers
In our prayer today I’d like to take some of our time to
pray for the folks in Houston who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey, the
folks in the Caribbean and Florida who are in the path of Hurricane Irma, and
the folks in the South Asia who have experience heavy flooding from monsoons
and many have died there.
Lord God, we thank you for the ministry of your servant
Ezekiel. He had a hard task, calling people to repentance, warning them about
their sin, and calling them back to you. Sometimes we find ourselves in similar
situations and so do our pastors. Forgive us for the times that fear,
intimidation, discomfort, apathy, or any other motive kept us from speaking
your words of warning and mercy with love. Help us all to faithfully hold forth
the truth of your Word to draw people back to you and away from their sins. We
also pray for people who have been impacted by disastrous storms. Lord, please
protect and spare lives where they are in danger, and assist relief efforts
where those are taking place. Be in the midst of people’s suffering to comfort
them, help them, and provide for them. And we pray that your people would be
active in the midst of those difficult times giving witness to the hope they
have in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day. I hope you’ll come back tomorrow when we take time to meditate on
Psalm 32:1-7.
One of the things we can do to help us meditate on God’s
word is to memorize it. Psalm 119:11.
Memory Verse: Matthew 18:12 - What do you think? If a man
has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the
ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
(Matt. 18:12 ESV)
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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