Title: The Heart of the Judge/ Topic: God's Motivation
Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 17; Ezekiel 18; Ezekiel 19; Revelation 7
Scripture: Ezekiel 18:23, 30-32
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
Observation: Some people think that if God judges at all, He is not a God worth serving. But here is such a clear explanation of His motivation and His heart toward us. He takes NO pleasure in the death of the wicked. He continually pleads with people to repent and is SO ready to forgive when they do. Though He takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked, He MUST do so if pride prevents them from repenting and changing. Otherwise, the peace and perfection of heaven which He promises those who follow Him is a lie and an illusion. If any evil person is allowed in, pain will enter also.
Application: The bottom line for me is to keep my heart humble. I must be ready to repent quickly when sin is brought to my attention. I also have a responsibility to warn others of coming judgment and to plead with them to repent. Otherwise I bear some responsibility for their spiritual death. See Ezekiel 3:17-19 , Galatians 6:1-3
Prayer: Father, may my heart remain soft and my spirit humble so that I'm always quick to respond to the rebuke of Your Spirit, which is given as a gift to keep me on the path of life.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
2 Comments:
Cynthia,
We posted from the same passage (although I narrowed the focus a bit). This was a great post. Many, if not most, people have a problem when it comes to judging. They say we should not judge and they don't like the fact that God judges. Of course, if someone does something hurtful toward them personally, they wouldn't hesistate to say it was bad and wrong. So judging is not bad -- in fact, it is a necessary part of life. And when we see the heart and purpose of God, as you showed in your post, we know it is absolutely right.
I wanted to share a thought on one thing you wrote. You said "If any evil person is allowed in [to heaven], pain will enter also." Instead of "evil person" I would suggest "imperfect person" might express your idea more correctly. And by "imperfect person" I mean a person who has not had a God-makeover through Jesus Christ. There's my thought.
Michael
Michael,
I agree, that rephrasing expresses my thought more accurately.
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