Some Things That Provoke God

Devotion for Friday May 18, 2018

Topic: Some Things That Provoke God

Text: Ezekiel 36:16 – 20

One characteristics or nature of God is that He doesn’t punish and restore us without telling us our wrongs. Most cases He sets before us the wrong and its consequences, and the right and its blessings (Leviticus 24 and Deuteronomy 28). The scripture has the story of how God spoke about the impending danger on the house of Eli but he did not heed the warning (1 Samuel 2:27 – 34). In our text for the day, God told Ezekiel what made Him to drive away the Israelites from their land into exile. This was God’s reason: “When the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity” (Ezekiel 36:17). These actions of the Israelites were contrary to the covenant they made with God in Mount Sinai when they came out of Egypt. They chose their ways rather than the ways of God. This was the thing that provoked God’s anger. By virtue of our new birth and as Christians, we entered into a covenant with God called the New Covenant. In that New Covenant, Jesus Christ commands us to believe in Him and keep His commandment. It was for this reason He gave us the New Commandment that we should love one another as He loved us. Do we keep the commandments as required of us? Do we love one another as He loved us? Failure means that we have chosen our own way as against the ways of God as the Israelites did. By that action, we have severed ourselves from God’s kingdom except we repent. Let’s join H. Bonar to sing A&M 356, Abu 186.

Food for Thought: Obedience to God is required from us if we hope to have a place in His kingdom.

Memory verse: Ezekiel 36:17

Prayer: Grant me the grace I need O Lord to always do things according to your will and not mine in Jesus name.