Verse of the Week: V21 “I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.”
1. Tyrus Against Jerusalem (V1-6)
V2 “Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:”
God severely punished the people of Tyrus for mocking the people of Jerusalem or the people of God who had grievously sinned against God. However, God’s judgment was also upon the people of Tyrus who had also grievously sinned against God.
V3 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.”
2. Babylon Against Tyrus (V7-14)
V7 “For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horse men, and companies, and much people.”
The love of money was one of the grievous sins of the people of Tyrus. Their lives were centered on accumulating wealth, possessions and building large houses instead of worshipping the true God. Subsequently, God sent the powerful Babylonians to completely destroy them, their beautiful houses and robbed their possessions.
V12 “And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.”
3. God Against Sins (V15-21)
V21 “I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.”
God destroyed the people of Jerusalem, the people of Tyrus and the Babylonians because all had sinned against Him. When we disobey God, we shall reap His judgment and punishment, however, when we obey God, we shall be under His shadow and protection.
Psalms 91:1
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Prayer of the Week:
Dearest God, please help me to dwell and abide under Your shadow and protection.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:03 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V11 “And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
1. The Ammonites Were Judged (V1-7)
V3 “And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;”
The Ammonites laughed at the people of Israel or God’s chosen people as God judged and destroyed them for their disobedience and rebellion. However, the Ammonites were also not spared as they too were punished by God for their disobedience and rebellion.
2. The Moabites Were Judged (V8-11)
V11 “And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
The Moabites disobeyed and rebelled against God and they were also judged and destroyed by the Almighty God.
3. The Edomites Were Judged (12-14)
V14 “And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.”
The Edomites disobeyed and rebelled against God and they too were judged and completely destroyed by the Almighty God.
4. The Philistines Were Judged (15-17)
V15 “Thus saith the Lord GOD; because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;”
The Philistines were the old enemies of Israel and it was no surprise that God severely judged and punished them for their wicked and evil hearts. No one, not even God’s chosen people or Christians, who disobey and rebel against the Almighty God, can ever escape His anger and judgment. Indeed, it is a fearful thing to fall into God’s judgment.
Hebrews 10:30-31
“For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Prayer of the Week:
Dearest God, please help me to trust and obey You and escape Your fiery judgment.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 03:20 pm
| Permalink
| Email
Verse of the Week: V24 “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
1. The People Disobeyed God
V2 “Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.”
God sent the Babylonians to punish the people of Jerusalem because of their disobedience. In fact, Prophet Ezekiel described the city of Jerusalem as a boiling pot filled with scum or sins and was good for nothing. It was a sad day for the people of Jerusalem because they were God’s chosen people yet they disobeyed their God.
V6 “Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.”
2. The Prophet Obeyed God
V16 “Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.”
When God told Ezekiel to tell the people of Jerusalem in the morning that He would suddenly take the desire of his eyes and that he should not mourn, little did he realized that the desire of his eyes was his beloved wife. In fact, God took away his wife suddenly in the evening, and Ezekiel obeyed God and did not mourn though it was not easy for him.
V18 “So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.”
3. The Priests Disobeyed God
V21 “Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.”
The people of Jerusalem thought that they could hide their sins in the sanctuary of God or behind the priests, yet God immediately destroyed the sanctuary and the priests as they were unholy before God. Nothing, not even the Church or the Bible, and no one, not even the Pastor, can save you from the judgment of God if you are unholy before the holy God.
V24 “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to obey You in everything including crises in my life.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:55 pm
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
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
| Permalink
| Email
