Weekly Guide：Week 87
September 22, 2019
Foreword
We continue to read the Book of Ezekiel this week. The land of Egypt had fascinated the Israelites. In the eyes of the drifters, the simplistic mana, does not come close comparing to the fresh produces, fish, and all kinds of meats. God’s way seemed tough compared to the rich Egyptian life. Judah looked at Egypt, with their invincible army and chariots, as their savior. Egyptian influence on them was like the world is to us today. It brings the desire for power, success and fame, means to control and source of comfort and lust for ego. If we believe and are attracted by the world to depend on the ability to achieve personal success and the pride of power, we would stumble because such strength is only superficial, and its essence is only a delusion.
Question
What was Ezekiel’s responsibility as the watchman?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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When the watchman sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.
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The Lord made Ezekiel a watchman.
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The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
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If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation.
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In the twelfth year of Israel’s exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to Ezekiel and said, “The city has fallen!” Ezekiel’s mouth was opened in the morning and no longer silent.
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Those who listen but do not put into practice of what the prophet says, will be punished.
Meditation: My Story
- Community - Fellow Christians watch over each other like Ezekiel watched over Israel. What should I do if I know someone who offended God? How may limbs of Christ be blessed by watching over each other? How may I watch over the world?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What wrong did the shepherds of Israel do?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The Lord commanded the prophet to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; to those shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!
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The Lord said, I am against the shepherds and I will remove them from tending the flock.
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The Lord said, I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.
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The Lord said, I will place over them one shepherd and he will tend them. I the Lord will be their God.
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The Lord said, I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.
Meditation: My Story
- Integrity - Are the strong and weak in faith helping each other in Church? How may I help those churches that are weak?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What did the Lord say about the Mountains of Israel?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The prophet set his face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax.
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The prophet prophesy against the Mountains of Israel, because the enemies ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander.
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Mountains of Israel will produce branches and fruit for people of Israel. The Lord concerned for Israel and will look on with favor, it will be plowed and sown.
Meditation: My Story
- Community - The Mount Seir was punished because of their ancient hostility they delivered Israel over to the sword when they faced their punishment. How does God look at those who hold grudges against others? What warning does the punishment for Seir remind me of?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What became of Israel?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The Lord said, because Israel had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols, I dispersed them among the nations and poured out my wrath on them.
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The Lord said, it is not for your sake, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name.
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The Lord said, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you and I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
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The Lord said, I will make their people as numerous as sheep.
- The Spirit of the Lord brought Ezekiel out in the middle of a valley full of bones, led him back and forth among them, and commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to these bones. Breath entered the bones, they came to life, stood up, and became a vast army.
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These bones are people of Israel. The Lord is going to open their graves and bring them up and back to the land of Israel.
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The Lord said, I am going to take the stick of Joseph - which is in Ephraim’s hand - and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick.
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The Lord will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.
- David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.
Meditation: My Story
- Identity - God gave promise to Israel to restore them. To the foreigners, this must have been a big joke. God gave Ezekiel the vision of the bones to up lift his faith. Am I losing faith? How does Ezekiel’s vision encourage me?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What happened to Gog?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The Lord told Ezekiel, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him.
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When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused in my zeal and fiery wrath, declares the Sovereign Lord.
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Prophesy against Gog, the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal.
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Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up for seven years.
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I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea.
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Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: Assemble and on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
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The Lord will display His glory among the nations that the people of Israel will know that the Lord is their God.
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The Lord said, I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will compassion on all the people of Israel, they will be brought back from the nations.
Meditation: My Story
- Identity - When prophesy against Gog, the Lord emphasized that His holy name was profaned and yet His glory would be made known. In the sinful and wretched world today, do I see the Lord’s name being profaned? What should my reaction to such profanity be?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What did the prophet’s vision mean?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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In the fourteenth year after the fall of the city, the Lord was on Ezekiel and in visions of God, He took Ezekiel to the land of Israel and set him on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.
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A wall completely surrounding the temple area. A man with measuring rod went to the east gate. He climbed the steps and measured the threshold of the gate.
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He measured the length and width of the north gate, leading into the outer court.
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Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements as the others.
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Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements as the others.
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Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others, as did its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico.
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A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offerings were washed.
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Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, which were rooms for singers.
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He brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the jambs of the portico.
Meditation: My Story
- Identity - The Israel had waited for God’s promise for more than ten years. They must have been deeply moved when the prophet saw the vision of surveying for the temple. Am I waiting for God’s promise to be realized? Do I know His will?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Scripture Reading
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How did the Judah pray to God for mercy?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Prayers express all the sufferings they experienced in front of the Lord.
+ Prayers admit all that was the consequence of their sins.
+ Prayers called on God to turn them around to give them joy they used to have.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Walking with God** - The prayer to call on God was not to remove the suffering but to repent and to turn themselves around. What do I call on God for in my prayer? What should I pray for?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How did Habakkuk's life change through his conversion with God?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Prophet Habakkuk calls on the Lord for help, but He does not listen. He cries out violence to the Lord but He does not save.
+ The Lord raising up the Babylonians as judgment.
+ Habakkuk asked the Lord, why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
+ The Lord answers, the righteous person will live by his faithfulness, but woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, gives drink to his neighbors till they are drunk, trusts idols of his own creation that cannot speak.
+ Habakkuk stand in awe of the Lord's deed, waits patiently for the day of calamity. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - Habakkuk truthfully asked the Lord of his doubt and continued to seek answers until he could understand. How does a prayer like this inspire me?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What did Ezekiel saw beside the Chebar Canal?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The heavens were suddenly opened to Ezekiel and he saw visions from God.
+ He saw, in this vision, a great storm coming toward him, driving before it a huge cloud glowing with fire, and in the fire there was something that shone like polished brass, from the center of the cloud were four living beings, the sky spreading out above them, and high in the sky above them was what looked like a throne.
+ On the throne was the glory of the Lord and upon it sat someone who appeared to be a Man. From his waist up, he seemed to be all glowing bronze, dazzling like fire, and there was a glowing halo like a rainbow all around him.
+ And when he saw it, the prophet fell face downward on the ground.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - The prophet described to us the glory and the majesty of God and the four living beings following Him closely. How may I join in the Lord's glory by the precious blood of Jesus Christ? What do I know of my identity and value through Ezekiel's description of the Lord's glory?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What power and responsibility did God give to the prophet?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The Spirit of the God entered into the prophet, sending him to the rebelling Israelites the message from God. Let anyone listen who wants to, and let anyone refuse who wants to, for they are rebels.
+ The prophet obeyed God's command and ate the scroll full of warnings and sorrows and pronouncements of doom to give its message to the people of Israel. It tasted sweet as honey.
+ Even though the Israelites were hard, impudent, and stubborn, God made the prophet's forehead hard as rock. Accompanied by the sound of a great earthquake, the Spirit lifted the prophet up and the hand of the Lord was strong upon him.
+ After the prophet sat, overwhelmed, for seven days, he was appointed by God as a watchman for Israel, to send warnings to the wicked and good man who becomes bad, or the prophet would be responsible for their sins.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Walking with God** - God gave the prophet the power and authority to face the enemies when he answered His calling. Jesus gave us the authority to walk among serpents and scorpions and to crush them (Luke 10:19.) And, whatever doors you lock on earth shall be locked in heaven; and whatever doors you open on earth shall be open in heaven (Matthew 16:19.) From Ezekiel's experiences, what conviction do I have in the great commission the Lord Jesus had bestowed upon me?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What were Ezekiel's signs of Jerusalem's siege?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ God commanded Ezekiel to draw out on a block of clay the siege of Jerusalem as a sign to the people of Israel.
+ God commanded Ezekiel to lie on his left to put the sin of the people of Israel upon himself and to lie on his right to bear the sin of the people of Judah.
+ God commanded Ezekiel to make bread for himself, to eat the bread and drink water according to the number of days of he was lying on his sides as a sign that the people would be in anxiety as food and water would be scarce and rationed in Jerusalem.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Fidelity** - Ezekiel's daily life was under much restriction in order to deliver God's message. When I testify for the Lord, do I feel being restricted? How do I feel about the price I pay for following God?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How did God command Ezekiel to prophesy Israel's exile?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The Lord commanded Ezekiel to shave his head as an analogy to Jerusalem's rebellion of God's laws and decrees.
+ The Lord commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against the mountains of Israel that His was about to bring a sword against them.
+ The Lord would spare some, for some of the Israelites would escape the sword when they were scattered among the lands and nations. Those who escape would remember God and repent.
+ The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, God would judge against Israel according to her conduct and repay her for all her detestable practices.
+ Israel made detestable idols in the temple. God would give their wealth as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked of the earth.
+ God commanded Ezekiel to prepare chains as a sign of Israel's exile.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - God judge the people to let them know "their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them, will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin." How do I see my own wealth? How should I make use of my wealth?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
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Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
Through what are we saved?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ We are elected through God's grace by faith.
+ We are elected through Jesus Christ who is the culmination of the laws and through His death and resurrection for us. Everyone who calls on His name will be saved. To call on His name, one needs to believe. To believe, one needs to hear gospel. To hear gospel, one needs to be preached.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - The Jews had zeal but no knowledge. Today, we have the knowledge but do we also have the zeal? What are the differences between the righteousness of man and the righteousness of God?
+ **Fidelity** - All who call on His name will be saved. But to call His name one must first believe. To believe one must first hear the gospel. To hear one must be preached. It is through God's sovereignty that we are elected. It is through God's grace that we believe. But it is our responsibility to preach. Are there people around me to whom I can preach and give them the opportunity to hear gospel?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How does God's election come to the Israelites and the Gentiles?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ There's a remnant of Israelites chosen by God's grace.
+ Because of the Israelites' transgression, the salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
+ By the depth and riches of His wisdom and knowledge, God's mercy has come to the Israelites as well as the Gentiles.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - God's election is full of His wisdom and knowledge as well as His grace and mercy. We sometimes ask why He elected those who seemed wicked but not those who look to be moral. What does passage on the wisdom of His election remind and inspire me?
+ **Integrity** - They were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. Do I look down on those who don't believe because I feel being superior? What does God's warning remind me of?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What is the life of one who's body is offered as living sacrifice?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
+ The life of a disciple is to serve according to one's gifts. To love others and overcome evil with good. Submit to governing authority. Clothe with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Integrity** - A Christian's life should be filled with love. To love not only the fellow Christians but to love even those who are wicked as well as submit to those who have authority to govern. A Christian is to faithfully serve, to clothe in Jesus Christ, and not to submit to one's own fleshly desires. Which of the aforementioned is the most difficult for me? In what area do I need to pay more attention? Have I gained more understanding through reading today's passage?
+ **Fidelity** - The offerings in the Old Testament were first killed then burnt. How does the Living Sacrifice different from that? What does it mean to offer our bodies as Living Sacrifice? What kind of life is a Living Sacrifice?
+ **Fidelity** - In verse 12:1, this is your true and proper worship. How does this help me to have deeper understanding of the Living Sacrifice?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How should our attitude be toward our brothers and sisters in Christ?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Accept those whose faith are weak. Do not judge. Act in love. Do not cause others to stumble. Bear with the failings of the weak.
+ Serve Lord Jesus Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - What matters in the Kingdom of God as described in verses 14:17-18? How does accepting the differences of the others relate to the life in Kingdom of God?
+ **Community** - Think about how Jesus Christ accepts us while we are still sinners. What is real acceptance when we face others? Think about how Jesus Christ bears our weaknesses and our failings. How should we bear the failings of the others?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What kind of life did Paul display in his parting words?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Paul would not dare to mention anything outside of what Lord Jesus Christ called him to do.
+ Paul was determined to spread the gospel to the end of the earth.
+ Paul asked all believers to work with him and pray for him.
+ Paul advised all believers to greet each other, to watch out for those who serve their own appetite.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Integrity** - Paul explained the reasons for writing the letter and tasks he relegated to the Roman Christians in the closing words. From his writing, we can see fully that Paul's life is a testimony of the New Life in Christ.
What can I learn from Paul in offering my own body as Living Sacrifice to serve God? What can I learn from Paul to stand for truth, hate evil, and cling to good? What can I learn from Paul to love others as myself?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What is wisdom and where does it come from?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Paul reminded the church of Corinth there should be no division and quarrel.
+ God wants the church to unite in mind and thought.
+ God uses the foolish things of the world instead of the wisdom of human to save those who believe.
+ God does not like those who proclaim to be wise.
+ God's people are taught His wisdom through the Holy Spirit for the wisdom of human does not understand the mystery of God.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Community** - Have I had caused or even thought of division and quarrel? Let me ask God to help me unify with other Christians.
+ **Integrity** - I am a follower of Christ but still living in the infancy of my spiritual life? Pray and ask God to help me to have a God centered life instead of focusing on the world.
Prayer
Notes and Responses